“I can see myself out here in the morning with a cup of coffee.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“With you by my side.”
“What?”
She turned to discover he had dropped to one knee. Tears rose to cover her lashes. “Oh, Brandon.”
“I love you, Bree,” he said softly, taking her hand. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I know you’re the reason God brought me here to Pittsburgh.”
She tried to speak but couldn’t. The lump in her throat wouldn’t allow it.
He gazed up into her eyes and smiled. “I told you I have the best view in town, and I do. It’s right here in front of me. If I could spend every morning of my life waking up to that smile—those eyes—that beautiful heart—I’d be the happiest man in town.”
She nodded and managed to whisper, “I love you, Brandon.”
His eyes filled with tears, and he reached into his pocket, drawing out a tiny box. Her heart beat faster as he popped it open to reveal a large, exquisite marquise diamond in a white gold setting. Could this really be happening?
“I love you, Bree. I think I’ve loved you from the first day I saw you outside the duplex. And I’ve loved you more with every passing day. The more I get to know you, the more there is to love. You’re the most giving, caring person I’ve ever known.”
No, you are.
He grinned and gave her an innocent pleading look as he stammered the rest. “Will you—would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She hardly remembered saying yes, barely remembered the feel of the ring as he slipped it on her finger.
What would stay with her—for the rest of her life—was the cheer that went up from the other side of the open sliding glass door.
EPILOGUE
On a Saturday afternoon in mid-July Brandon suited up—not in his football uniform, but a tuxedo. He turned to Gary Scoggins, football player turned groomsman, for assistance. As always he was full of sage advice.
“Shake off the nerves, Campbell,” Scoggins instructed. “No point in getting tensed up before the big game.” He laughed as he realized his mistake. “I, uh, I mean big day.”
“Okay.” Brandon went through a couple of his usual warm-up routines, though it proved to be difficult in a tux. His heart swelled with joy as he thought about all the Lord had done over the past several months. Seemed as if he’d lived in Pittsburgh forever.
His heart raced at the thought of marrying Brianna. Why have You blessed me so much, Lord? You know my history. You know where I’ve come from. What did I ever do to deserve her?
The answer came in the form of a gentle reminder that he was not the man he used to be. Not even close.
He glanced up at a sign on the wall, one he’d read dozens of times during the season: The Game of Life is a Lot Like Football. You Have to Tackle Your Problems, Block Your Fears, and Score Your Points When You Get the Opportunity.
Ironic. Especially when he considered the fact that they were getting married on the fifty-yard line.
A rap on the locker room door caused him to turn around. Brandon’s mouth dropped open when he saw his older brother standing there, looking spiffy in his black tux. Their mother stood at his side.
“I don’t believe it!” Brandon exclaimed. “I thought you said you couldn’t come.”
Patrick shrugged as he entered the room. He sauntered Brandon’s way and extended his hand. Brandon took it. For a second. Then he grabbed his big brother and gave him a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here. It means so much to me.”
“Well, I heard you needed a best man.”
“You heard right.” Brandon glanced over at his mother, who looked stunning in her light blue dress. She moved in his direction, and he leaned down to whisper, “Thanks.” Then he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
“No, I’m the one who’s thankful,” she whispered back. “You’ve done so much for me.”
“Done so much?” What had he done, after all? Introduced her to three of the goofiest women he’d ever met? Watched as she’d fallen in love with the church—and the city? Moved her into his old duplex? Spiffed up the place to suit her taste? Created an opening between her side and Abbey’s since they spent nearly every waking moment together anyway?
“Just one thing, Brandon,” she said, as she stepped back to give him a once-over.
“What’s that?”
She pulled a paper fan out of her purse and waved it back and forth in front of her face. “Why didn’t you tell me it was so hot in Pittsburgh?”
The laughter that followed was probably heard out on the field.
❧
Brianna primped in front of the full-length mirror, amazed at the fairy-tale-like quality of the white gown and tiara. She truly felt like a princess. Her mother leaned over to insert another bobby pin to hold the veil in place.
Brianna heard a sniffle and turned to see who had walked in the room. She looked up into her father’s tear-filled eyes and smiled, not just because he’d flown from L.A. to Pittsburgh to walk her down the aisle, but because the Lord had done such a marvelous work in their relationship over the past few months. Their weekly calls had progressed from awkward to genuine and heartfelt. And the fact that they had openly discussed the past—asking for and receiving forgiveness from one another—had sealed the deal.
Well, that and the fact that she’d fallen in love with a football player. Her father was more than a little happy to be getting a quarterback for a son-in-law, though he never came out and said so.
Not that Brianna minded. Her days of football angst were definitely behind her. No twinges of doubt left. She would start the new season as Pittsburgh’s biggest fan.
A strain of music drifted in from outside, and Brianna looked up, startled. “Is it time already?”
“They told us to listen for the Vivaldi piece,” her mom said. “So I’d better go take my seat. I’ll see you in a few minutes!” She leaned over and gave Brianna a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, babe. And I’m so proud of you.”
Brianna looked around the locker room, suddenly alarmed. “Where’s Gran?” She couldn’t get married without her matron of honor, now could she?
“I think she’s disappeared on us,” Brianna’s father said.
Her grandmother appeared, right on cue. “Sorry, sorry! I had to make one more trip to the little girls’ room, just in case. Thanks for waiting.” She let out a giggle. “Nerves, I guess. I’ve waited all my life to step onto this field, but I never dreamed it would be for a wedding.”
Brianna laughed. Leave it to her grandmother to make this entertaining.
“Do you think I look okay?” Gran-Gran asked as she joined her at the mirror.
“You’re prettier than the bride,” Brianna said.
“Oh, posh. Now that’s just ridiculous.” Her grandmother stepped up for a closer look, dabbing at her lipstick. “But I do look pretty good if I do say so myself.”
“Yes, you do.” In fact, she looked amazing in her sky-blue dress. But there was something more. Gran-Gran glowed with both an inner beauty and an outer one. Now that was something one couldn’t buy in a bottle or spread on with an applicator. No, this was a true-to-the-heart kind of beauty.
They stood, side by side, gazing into the mirror. In so many ways, Brianna saw herself in her grandmother’s reflection, and vice versa. That revelation almost brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather be like than the woman who had poured so much into her.
Gran-Gran yanked up her skirt a few inches and fought with her slip. “Crazy thing,” she muttered. “Hope it stays in place.”
Brianna chuckled. “I certainly hope so, too. I can see the headlines now.”
“Oh?” Her grandmother looked up, intrigued. “Do you think I’ll make the papers?”
“Well, not for that, I hope,” Brianna said with a smile.
A shift in the music let them know the time had come. Abbey led the way
, and Brianna followed behind on her father’s arm. They made their way out of the locker room and onto the ball field, where rows of chairs had been strategically placed facing the fifty-yard line.
Even from quite a distance she could see Brandon standing next to Pastor Meyers, waiting for her at the center of the field. A man who looked suspiciously like him stood to his left. Surely Cora had a hand in that. But how wonderful that Brandon was finally able to communicate with his brother again.
She squeezed her dad’s arm, and he glanced her way. “Doing okay?” he whispered.
Her eyes filled with tears, but she nodded anyway. When she thought back to that wounded young woman who’d boarded the plane to Pittsburgh years ago—when she reflected on how far she’d come—she couldn’t help but cry.
She brushed back the tears and watched as Gran-Gran made the trip up the aisle on Gary Scoggins’s arm. Sure, she moved a little slow, but everyone in attendance seemed quite taken with her, something Brianna knew she loved. As her grandmother took her place at the front on the pastor’s right, Brianna’s gaze landed on Brandon. He looked stunned as he saw her for the first time in her wedding gown.
The bridal march began, and the moment she had waited for all her life arrived at last.
“Are you ready?” her father whispered.
She nodded, and they started the rehearsed march toward the fifty-yard line. Right, together. Left, together. Right, together. Left, together.
Oh, forget that.
“Can we pick up the pace?” she asked her dad with a wink. When he nodded, she hiked her skirt up a couple of inches and sprinted—sprinted toward the goal.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading White as Snow. I hope you enjoyed Bree and Brandon’s story. Please enjoy book three in the series, Out of the Blue.
Out of the Blue
By
Janice Thompson
Out of the Blue
Copyright © 2015 by Janice Thompson. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of the author.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, new International Version ©, NIV©, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
About the Author
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
Red Like Crimson
White as Snow
PROLOGUE
Paradise, Pennsylvania
“Stand still, Katie, or I might accidentally stick you with a pin.” Katie Walken stopped her twisting and turning long enough for her mother to finish pinning up the carefully measured hem of her new dress. She let out an exaggerated sigh, wishing she could be anywhere but here. Why Mamm and Aunt Emma had chosen Friday, her busiest day at the store, to finish a simple sewing project was beyond her. She glanced down at the navy blue broadcloth and sighed. It hung heavy on her, like a weight, a burden in need of lifting. Oh, how she wished she could wear a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, like so many of the English girls who came into the store. And if only she could cut her cumbersome mane of brown hair into one of those trendy styles, tossing her white kapp for good. . . then she would be happy.
The last few weeks had been filled with such longings. Katie pushed them aside at first, remembering her obligations, her strict Amish upbringing. But now, as the summertime crowd of tourists made their way through Lancaster County, as the outside world merged with her own once again, she could avoid the inevitable no longer. Katie ached for what she could not have—the life of an Englisher. One free of pointless restrictions.
Like this ridiculous blue dress.
The rocker in the corner creaked as her aunt Emma eased her weight back and forth, back and forth. “I wore that same shade of blue on my wedding day,” she said with a smile. “I was just eighteen, like you.”
“I’m not quite eighteen yet,” Katie replied as she gave one of the sleeves a tug. “And I’m not altogether sure I will ever marry, in this dress or any other.” She continued to pull at the fabric, wondering why it seemed to stifle her breathing.
“Of course you will!” Her mother eased another pin into the sturdy cloth. “Karl Borg will ask you to be his as soon as you turn eighteen.” She gave Katie a little wink. “That boy has been smitten with you for as long as I can remember.”
“Everyone in Paradise knows the two of you will marry in the fall,” Aunt Emma concurred.
Katie did her best not to groan. Karl was her best friend, to be sure. Their mutual affection had started in childhood and lingered still. She’d watched his sparkling blue eyes twinkle with mischief many times over the years as they’d played together. But marriage?
Mamm reached for another pin. “Your father says Karl has already come to him, asking for permission. Why do you think we must hurry with the dress?”
Hearing this news almost knocked the breath out of Katie. Right away, her hands began to tremble. “What did Datt say?”
“He will give his permission as soon as you are baptized and join the church.” Her mother’s eyes watered. “And I will wait for that day with a joyful heart. To think, my daughter will be happily married before the year’s end.” She dove into a lengthy conversation about the many benefits of a godly marriage, but Katie found herself lost in the words. All she could think about—all she would ever again be able to think about—was Karl Borg’s visit to her father.
And what she could do to stop this wedding from ever taking place.
ONE
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, twelve years later
Katie leaned back in her chair and glanced at the calendar on the wall. Friday. Funny how she could never keep one day straight from another. With such a hectic schedule, remembering the names of her clients—and the addresses of her listings—took all of her energy. She couldn’t be expected to remember the day of the week on top of everything else, could she?
Not that she minded the busyness, really. Filling the days with work certainly beat the alternative: quiet solitude. Too much time to think, especially about the past, wasn’t a good thing.
For a moment, she allowed her mind to slip back to the farm, to a quieter, simpler life. It seemed like a hundred years had passed between then and now. Had she really left all of that peacefulness behind, swapping it out for a chaotic lifestyle, one she could barely keep up with?
For a moment, she allowed her thoughts to go there. To Paradise. Just as quickly, she shifted back to reality. In an attempt to distract herself, Katie gazed around her office, taking in the beautiful decor. She couldn’t help but wonder what her parents would think if they saw all of this, especially the framed artwork on the walls. Such luxuries were forbidden among the Amish.
But the furniture would hold some appeal, especially to her father. The mahogany bookshelves. The matching credenza. The fabulous desk with its glass top. Such beautiful craftsmanship. Then again, Katie wouldn’t have it any other way. These furnishings—which she had chosen w
ith great care—made her feel at home.
The blinking of the cursor on the computer screen beckoned, and Katie shifted gears. She spent a few minutes entering some necessary information and uploading a few photos of an exquisite lakefront property she’d just listed, one complete with a spacious five-bedroom house. She also chose a new photo of herself, one recently taken, to replace her old one on the company’s site.
She stared at it for a moment. The woman in the picture smiled back at her with a white-toothed smile, her green eyes sparkling, her yellow linen suit freshly pressed, and her shoulder-length hair styled in the latest fashion. Yes, she looked quite professional. And why not? You had to put your best foot forward in real estate if you wanted to garner the top clientele.
After finishing up on the Internet, Katie checked her voice mail. Only six messages this time. Three pressing. Two, not so pressing. One from a former client, asking for a date. Nothing new there. He’d been at it for several weeks. How long she could continue putting him off was yet to be seen.
“Hey, girl!”
A voice at the door distracted Katie from the phone. She glanced up to discover her coworker Aimee Riley. The petite blond looked especially pretty today in dark slacks and a sky blue blouse. Katie couldn’t help but wonder what Aunt Emma would think of that particular shade of blue.
“Hey, I’m surprised to see you here.” Katie turned her attentions back to her friend. “Did you skip lunch?”
“Yeah, I was busy,” Aimee said with a shrug. “Had about a dozen calls to make. I’m following a couple of pretty good leads.”
“I’ve been busy, too.” Katie grinned. “Just uploaded some new photos to our Web site. You’ll have to sign online in a few minutes and check them out.”
Red, White and Blue Weddings: Red Like Crimson, White as Snow, Out of the Blue Page 30