She sank into her seat as he pushed it in then he rounded the table, hung his leather jacket over the spare chair, and took his own seat. He reached across the table and gathered her hands, lightly skimming the rose at her wrist.
“Can I get you something to drink?” asked the waiter.
Dan tore his gaze from their entwined hands. “Uh. Do you want something, babe?”
“I better not. Unless there’s something nonalcoholic?”
His heart swelled at the change in her as the waiter rattled off several options.
“The pomegranate ginger spritzer sounds good.”
“Make that two,” he agreed.
He managed to keep his hands off hers long enough to examine the menu and place their order, but then they were there, clasped in the middle again. He ran his thumb over her tapered fingernails. “Dixie, I love you.”
She smiled at him. “I love you, too.”
It wasn’t the first time they’d shared those words in the past six weeks or even in the past three years. They meant something now, more than they had. Dan’s heart was full of wonder as their gazes met and clung. They’d weathered so much, come through so strong.
He leaned a few inches closer, gaze intent. “Dixie, will you marry me?”
Dan hadn’t meant to do it this way. He’d meant to get on one knee and all that. Maybe it wasn’t too late.
Her lips parted, her eyes shining.
He dug in his pocket and moved around beside her chair, dropping to one knee and opening the little box. “Please don’t say no again, Dix,” he whispered. “I couldn’t bear it.”
She leaned over and held his face between both her hands before brushing his lips with her own.
The sweet intensity of that brief caress nearly dissolved him, but it wasn’t an answer. Not quite.
“I’ll marry you tomorrow, Daniel John Ranta.”
His breath escaped as he plucked the diamond from its satin nest and slipped it on her waiting finger. “I love you, Dixie.” He dropped a sweet kiss to her lips before rising to his feet. “So, so much.” He took his seat.
She angled her hand in the candlelight, the gleam playing off the diamond. “Is tomorrow too soon?” She glanced his way, and he could see the vulnerability on her face.
“There’s a three-day waiting period in Washington State.” His thumb touched the diamond. “But, babe? Much as I want to make you my own, I think we need to wait a little longer.”
Dixie’s eyes glistened when she looked over at him. “Longer?”
“I feel you, babe. I do. But I want you to have a real wedding. A pretty white dress. A...”
“I don’t deserve the white dress, Dan. You know I don’t.”
“Sweetheart, did Jesus make you new?”
Hope caught in her eyes. “He did.”
“Then you are new. Wear white, babe. Wear it knowing Jesus covered everything.”
She studied him. “How about Easter?”
Another six weeks. “Sounds perfect.”
“Only...” Dixie bit her lip. “Ava asked me to join the church dance troupe for Easter Sunday. She and Fran figured the Christmas one went so well, and there are some kid parts, too.”
“Christmas was amazing. Do it. We can have the wedding Sunday afternoon or maybe evening.”
“I’d be dancing with Alex if I say yes.” She peeked at him. “Is that a bad idea?”
“If you’re worried about me being jealous? I’m not.” He leaned closer and lifted her chin, so her gaze caught on his. “I trust you totally. And I want you to follow your dreams. I know you’ve always wanted to dance like that. Would Mandy get a part?”
Dixie nodded, her eyes fixed on his. “She’s got a lot of talent for a little kid. Ava wants her. I think doing this production together would be good for our relationship.”
“Then do it.” His hand grazed her cheek. “It will be a busy weekend, but Linnea and Logan will be home from Edmonds by then, and I can leave the business in their hands for a week or two. We can get away for a honeymoon.”
“How about the kids?”
He leaned back in mock horror. “We’re not taking them!”
“Silly.” She giggled. “That’s a long time to leave them with someone.”
“Between Tony and Fran and other neighbors, I think we’re okay.” He tapped her nose. “Let me worry about that. You focus on the Easter performance and the wedding. Keep it simple.”
Their plates had arrived, and Dan was suddenly starving. Maybe proposing first had been a good idea, after all.
24
It was interesting how marriage counseling had turned into two families enjoying spending time together. Dixie would never have thought it possible that December day when she’d first entered Juanita’s office in fear and trembling.
Now she and Dan ushered their three through the door into the Ramirez house. Nine-year-old Sabrina beckoned Mandy into a world of glitter gel pens and ballerina paper dolls, while six-year-old Emmanuel pulled Buddy through to the trampoline in the backyard. Isaac shared cars with Henry, who was a year younger.
It was a pleasant day for mid-March, and Juanita prepped salads in the kitchen. Dixie rolled up her sleeves to help.
“How are wedding plans coming?” Tomas asked, stirring sugar into a gallon jar of iced tea.
Dixie sent a mock-glare at Dan. “Good, but he won’t tell me where we’re going on our honeymoon. Other than I don’t need a passport.”
He grinned and shrugged, obviously unrepentant. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“I watched a few minutes of the drama practice this week when I was over at the church,” Juanita put in. “Wow, I can’t believe how professional you guys are. I didn’t think you’d ever had lessons before?”
“I didn’t, but Ava gets the best out of us all. She’s a talented teacher, and we’ve been working super hard.”
“Good for you! And who knew Alex and Evan had that kind of rhythm in them? Even Manny looks pretty good for a little kid.”
Dixie laughed. “Your son is naturally dramatic.”
“Isn’t he, though?” Tomas said wryly. “But I was curious if you two had room for one more big thing Easter weekend.”
Dixie frowned over her shoulder at the pastor. Dan leaned against the doorway, arms folded across his chest. It didn’t look like this was a surprise to him. “What’s that?” she asked cautiously.
“Sadie Guthrie dropped in to see me in the office a few days ago.”
Dixie’s blood chilled. Dan’s attorney. She thought they’d called off the custody hearing completely. She kept her voice even. “Oh?”
“I don’t know how well you know her—”
She laughed, a forced sound even to herself.
Dan’s arms slipped around her. “Babe, it’s not about the kids. Not at all.”
“Oh, man. I never thought of that.” Tomas’s face reddened. “I’m so sorry.”
Juanita shook her head. “Men. Tell her what it is, not what it isn’t.”
Now there was some good advice, but Dixie already felt a little reassured in Dan’s firm grip. She leaned back against him, eyebrows raised at the pastor.
“Sadie asked if we had a baptism planned for anytime soon. She’s been a Jesus-follower for quite a while, but she’s never taken that step. I can’t think of a better day of the year to host a service like that than Resurrection Sunday.” Tomas glanced at Dan then refocused on her. “I talked to Dan for a few minutes after men’s breakfast this week, but I want to ask you, too. Are you ready to follow our Lord in baptism?”
Juanita had mentioned the concept in one of their recent counseling sessions, but it had been more on an abstract basis than concrete. Being immersed in the baptism tank represented dying to oneself and rising again, a new creature in Jesus.
Dixie straightened out of Dan’s arms and took a few steps closer to Pastor Tomas. “Do you think I’m ready?”
His eyes crinkled with his smile. “New believers in New Test
ament times were often baptized within minutes of confessing their faith in Jesus. It’s not whether I think you’re ready, but if you feel ready to make a public confession of faith.”
She lifted both shoulders in a shrug. “Totally. The old me is gone.” A sudden thought struck her. “That’d be cool, actually. I was planning to invite Tanisha and Billie and Jared to the drama presentation. I’d like them there when I get baptized, too.”
Dan took her hand. “Busy day for them, too, since they’ll be back for the wedding at four.”
Dixie turned to him. “Are you doing it?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s okay if you choose to wait... but I’m glad you’ll be right there beside me.”
She stretched to press a kiss to his lips. “Beside you all the way, babe.”
Dan brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “I like the sound of that.” Then he bent to kiss her.
A kiss that took her knees out right there in the pastor’s kitchen. She’d all but forgotten their location until she heard Tomas chuckle. Cheeks blazing, she pushed away from Dan.
He laughed, too, love shining from his gorgeous eyes as he winked at her.
That man. She looked over at Juanita. “Um, where were we? Do you need that salad mixed?”
Juanita grinned. “What I need is for Tomas to fire up the grill and start cooking burgers for the troops. Everything in here is pretty much ready.”
Tomas held up both hands. “I know when I’ve been delegated.” He jerked his head toward the patio door, beyond which the laughter of two jumping little boys rang out. “Join me?” he asked Dan.
Dan offered Dixie one more lingering smile and hand squeeze before following Tomas outside.
Dixie fanned her face. “Whoa. That man.”
Juanita burst out laughing. “Now that’s good to see.”
Dan sat beside his mother in the hushed, darkened sanctuary on Easter Sunday morning with Linnea then Logan on the other side of her. If she’d ever stepped in a church for anything but a wedding or a funeral, he didn’t know when. As music swelled behind the closed theater curtains at the front, Buddy stood between Dan’s knees, peering between the people in the row in front of them. Henry seemed to enjoy the fact that his daddy’s knee wouldn’t stop jiggling.
The curtains pulled apart as a spotlight brightened on the adult drama team, all on the floor except for Evan Santoro, who opened the performance by ‘awakening’ the others to the words of So Will I.
Dan knew there were other dancers onstage, but once Dixie erupted into her first jump, he had eyes for no one else. The song spoke of God speaking creation into existence, and the human heart’s response of worshiping just as creation did. Dan’s heart rang with the victorious refrain. So Will I. Then the lyrics moved into God’s passionate love for His creation, and the beautiful response. Somewhere in there, Mandy and three other kids joined the four men and four women onstage and danced their way to the finale.
Dan’s throat choked at the beauty of his gorgeous woman and precious daughter expressing love for the God of the universe. The song spoke of choosing glad surrender, the same way Jesus chose to submit on the cross, knowing that the triumph was coming.
The lights slowly dimmed over the dancers as they held their final positions. The curtains moved back across the stage, and a small light illuminated Tomas at a podium to the side.
“‘In the beginning was the Word,’” the pastor quoted quietly. “‘And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.’”
The spotlight steadily brightened, and Tomas’s voice rang out with conviction. “‘In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’”
Tomas leaned on the podium. “Friends, we’ve just seen a powerful reimagining of creation, but the reality, in the words of the song, was a hundred billion times more dramatic.”
Light laughter rippled across the audience. Dixie slipped in beside Dan, and he slid his arm around her shoulder, tugging her close. “Good job, babe.” Nearby, Mandy climbed onto Linnea’s lap.
“Think of it,” Tomas went on. “Think of the One who created everything. The galaxies, the planets, the stars, all of nature. Think of the majesty. Think of the celebration! John chapter one goes on to say, ‘The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.’”
The place was solemnly quiet as Tomas paused, his gaze scanning the room. “Do you think God didn’t know that would happen? That this great gift would be rejected by many? He knew, my friends. He knew. The One who was light itself was abandoned to die in darkness, but it was for a purpose. He allowed His light to be extinguished, but it was temporary!
“Let me read a little more. John says, ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ Today we’re going to celebrate with several of our friends and neighbors as they publicly declare their allegiance to Jesus. Because here’s the thing, my friends. On Good Friday, we looked into what the death of Jesus means for each one of us.”
Dan remembered the evening service a few days back. It had been a powerful reminder of the depth of despair as darkness overtook the known world. He’d felt the crush in his spirit, even though he knew, like the early church had not known, how the story would end.
“But without the resurrection, Jesus’ death on the cross would have been just one more would-be messiah failing in his mission. It’s because He rose again that the darkness was pushed back, ushering in a new dawn. It’s because He rose again, we have new life. It’s because He rose again that we can celebrate!”
Dixie squeezed his leg. It was time. He passed Henry to Tony, who was sitting behind them, and rose to follow Dixie out of the pew and out the side exit as Tomas wrapped up his brief message.
Sadie soon joined them in the ready room, dabbing tears from her eyes. She reached for Dixie and gave her a big hug. “Thank you. That drama — dance — whatever — was so powerful. I’m so glad you used your talents today.”
Dixie hugged back. “Thank you.”
From out in the main auditorium someone began to play the same song on the piano. Dan tilted his head and smiled. Sounded like his brother-in-law, Logan.
Juanita came in. “Everyone ready?”
They all nodded.
“All right, just as we rehearsed, Sadie, you’re first. Okay?”
The attorney nodded and stepped into the doorway, waiting for Tomas to call her name. Dan listened as she answered the pastor’s questions, affirming her faith, then the big splash and slosh as he dipped her under the water and back up. She accepted a towel from her fiancé’s mother and made her way back to the ready room, a big smile on her face.
“Dixie?” questioned Juanita.
His girl nodded, firmly stepping through the door and down the steps into the tank. She stood waist-deep in water, chin up, looking out into the audience where several friends from their old crowd watched.
“Dixie Dawn Wayling,” said Pastor Tomas from beside her. “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who died for your sin and, on the third day, rose again from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins?”
Her voice rang out. “I do.”
In just a few short hours, she’d be saying those words to Dan, pledging herself to him in marriage. This day would be nothing short of amazing from one end to the other, a day he’d never seen coming. Thank You, Jesus.
“Dixie, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Tomas dunked her under the water.
She came up glowing, and Fran was right there to wrap her in a towel and hug her. She came toward Dan, her
face radiant.
He opened his arms, and she walked in, every soaking wet inch of her. It didn’t matter if he was half wet when he stepped into the tank himself. This was Dixie’s moment. Their moment to share together, like the long, dark night had ended, and daybreak had finally arrived.
25
Dixie stood just out of sight at the back of Bridgeview Bible Church, her bouquet trembling, as Ava completed her walk to the front. Mandy grabbed Buddy’s hand and hissed at him to behave as she towed him forward. Instantly her face brightened like angelic sunshine as she tossed yellow petals to the carpeted runner. Buddy trudged beside her, carefully holding his pillow level as though a brimming cup of water rested on it. No way was her boy dumping rings off that pillow.
Logan used the entire keyboard on the grand piano as he changed from So Will I to the traditional wedding march. People rose and turned toward the back. Lots of people, including Linnea, arm circled around Henry as he stood on the front bench. Dixie had wanted a small wedding, but who could they leave out when the entire community of Bridgeview wanted to celebrate with them?
This was beyond her wildest dream. Even as a teen she’d never expected to be garbed in white, marrying in a church. She’d never dreamed of a man like Daniel Ranta waiting for her at the altar.
Dan.
Suddenly the qualms left her. It didn’t matter that she had no father to walk her down the aisle. That her mother had been court-ordered to stay away from her and the children and thus wasn’t present.
All that mattered was her beloved. He’d chosen her. He loved her. And now he waited for her, standing tall between Tony and Pastor Tomas, a look of adoration on his face as he watched her first few hesitant steps toward him.
Buddy grabbed Dan’s leg, and Dan bent to pick the boy up. Then somehow Henry kicked free of Linnea and bolted forward. Their friends laughed a little as Dan scooped the almost-two-year-old into his other arm.
From beside Ava, Mandy parked her fists on her hips and scowled before coming to a decision. She dashed across the stage and collided with Dan’s side beneath Henry’s black leather shoe. Dan grinned down at her, puckering his lips in a mock kiss. He had no hands free for Mandy.
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