Sweet Surprise: Romance Collection

by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kristin Billerbeck, Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Birdie L. Etchison, Pamela Griffin, Joyce Livingston, Tamela Hancock Murray

  Erica returned the smile.

  After a moment, Paula withdrew her hand. “Twice, someone called social services, and they came. I was so glad to get out of there and live a normal life with normal people, even if it was only a foster family. But they were nice.”

  Erica’s mouth dropped open. “You were glad Mama gave us away?”

  “No, sweetie, maybe glad is the wrong word. Relieved might fit better, though I missed you and Wes a whole lot. It would’ve been perfect if we could’ve stayed together. Just the three of us. I guess I loved Mama, too, but even at ten, I knew something was wrong with her and with the way we lived.”

  Paula released a soft breath. “Mama got married young, she told me once. When Daddy ran out on her, it’s like she completely folded. She never finished high school and couldn’t get better work than to sack groceries. With her drug habit, the money went fast, and we never had enough food on the table. Then there were those weird, perverted boyfriends of hers that always came around.” Paula shuddered. “Let’s just say, sometimes it’s better not remembering.”

  Erica stared at her flowered mug. “But she did love us?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. She never physically abused us, though she slapped my face on a few occasions when I sassed her. She just never was able to take care of herself, much less three kids.” Paula shook her head, as if to dispel her thoughts. “I learned long ago not to think about those days. Even the Bible mentions something about not looking behind and only looking forward.”

  “If I’d done that, I wouldn’t be here,” Erica argued.

  “Maybe. But I believe God had a hand in all of us finding one another again. We’re all Christians—thankfully all raised by Christian families—and God is our Father and leads us. He’s the One who brought you home, Erica. All I’m saying is that I don’t think we should look too closely at what happened before. Let’s just live in the present and forget the rest.”

  Erica thought about Paula’s words. Margaret and Darrin could hardly be called Christians. Erica had accepted the Lord through their maid’s counsel. Yet her sister was right. Now that the past had been dug up and laid bare, it was time to lay it to rest.

  “Paula, have you talked to Mama since Wes found her?”

  Her sister fidgeted with the handle of her mug, looking at it as she ran one coral fingernail up and down the curve. “No. Why?”

  “Wes has her number in New Mexico, and I’d like to call her. Do you want to get on the extension?”

  Paula’s expression was one of surprise.

  “I think you’re right, and we do need to let go of what happened,” Erica admitted softly. “But I want to talk to Mama again. I never had much of a home life, so this is important to me.”

  “But why involve Mama? We have each other now.”

  “Wes’s pastor said that a big part of forgetting is forgiving. He’s right. How can I carry a grudge about the past and forget it at the same time? There’s no way. Wes has already forgiven Mama. Let’s you and I do the same.”

  Paula’s brow creased. “I hadn’t realized I still had any bad feelings toward her until today. But I’m not sure I’m ready to talk to her yet, either.”

  “Will you at least try? Or, if you can’t, will you just listen to what she has to say?”

  “You realize that could be painful?”

  “Yes. But how will we know if we don’t try? I’d like for us to call her together. That way we’ll be here to support one another if it doesn’t turn out well.”

  Paula was quiet a moment. “I guess you’re right. It’s time.”

  Erica hurriedly located the number written in the address book by the wall phone and made the long distance call. Now that she’d reached this decision, she didn’t want to delay. Cowardice might set in if she did. Paula might change her mind. Erica could almost hear the rapid beats of her heart as she waited. One ring…two…then three…

  Disappointed, she was about to hang up on the fifth ring when a woman’s husky voice answered. “Hello?”

  Erica froze, her mind reeling. She sank to a nearby chair.

  “Hello?” The woman seemed perturbed now. “Is anyone there?”

  “Mama?” Erica croaked.

  A pause. “Who is this?” The woman sounded almost angry.

  Oh, dear God…did I made a mistake and dial a wrong number?

  Resisting the impulse to slam the receiver back on its hook, she clutched the phone more tightly. “It’s, um, it’s Erica. And—and Paula’s here, too. We’re at Wes’s house.”

  She impatiently nodded toward Paula, who’d moved to the family room, staring at the cordless as if it were a live snake ready to strike. Finally, she picked up the receiver. “Hello, Mama.” Her voice came out in a flat monotone.

  “Paula?” the woman said in a raspy breath. “And Erica?”

  Erica nodded then realized what she was doing. “Yes.”

  “My Paula and Erica?” The woman was clearly crying.

  “Yes, Mama. It’s me.” This from Paula, who sounded subdued.

  “Oh, my babies. I’m so sorry. You’ll never know just how sorry…”

  Erica smiled through her tears. She knew.

  Chapter 8

  T hree weeks later Erica watched as Wes pulled up to the bus station. “You’re sure about this?” he asked with a frown. “You’re welcome to stay.”

  She forced a smile. “It’s time I went home. I can’t impose on you and Stacey forever.”

  “But I don’t understand why you changed your mind about living here. The job at the mini-mart probably wasn’t the greatest anyway—I’m sorry that they’d already found someone. But, like I said, they’re looking for a secretary at the church. That’s right up your alley.” He cast a studied glance around the parking lot.

  “I know, but after talking with Mama, I realize I need to have a heart-to-heart with Margaret and Darrin, too. Maybe their reasons were wrong for adopting me, but they did take care of me all those years. I need to at least thank them for that. I never did.” There was another reason for her sudden getaway, one Erica didn’t want to voice. Her heart was tied to Ryan’s, and living in Preston Corners had become too difficult. She admired Ryan’s decision to wait for the wife that God handpicked for him, and she loved him too much to try to change his mind. Every time he came to Wes’s house—twice a week for the baseball game and Sunday dinner—was bittersweet torture for Erica. What was worse was when he stayed away, as he’d done this past week. Maybe, in time, she would consider living in Preston Corners. But not yet.

  Wes helped her with her luggage, making sure the bus employee stowed it properly. He asked her if she had her ticket for the fourth time and generally treated her like the big brother he was. And she loved every bit of it.

  “You’re coming back for Thanksgiving and Christmas?” Wes asked. “It’s the earliest Mama can get here with her husband. He sounds like a nice guy. He’s the one who helped her get into the drug rehabilitation program, you know. Now they both head a drug support/help group in their community. You really have to come back, Erica. Christmas in Preston Corners isn’t something to miss. Peggy and Billy can take you sledding on the hill behind our house, if we have snow. And Stacey makes one mean turkey with all the trimmings. You can even make a dessert to go with it, if you really want to.”

  He seemed edgy, talking more than usual and about things she already knew. She studied him curiously. “Wes, you’re acting weird. Is everything okay?”

  “Sure. Except that my little sister is leaving us.”

  Erica accepted his tight bear hug. “I’ll be back,” she said into his shoulder. “Now that you’ve found me, you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me.”

  “As if I’d want to try.” His smile was wide in his beard. “You know, Erica, Ryan wasn’t too happy when I told him you were leaving. I thought there might be something between you two…”

  “No. Please, tell him good-bye for me.” So Ryan wasn’t too happy? Still, that hadn
’t stopped him from keeping his distance.

  “You have my number?” Wes asked as they walked to the bus door. He shot another look around the parking lot.

  “I think Stacey wrote it on every available piece of paper she could find and stuck them all in my luggage. I’m surprised she didn’t embroider it on the throw pillow you guys gave me for a birthday present.”

  He grinned and scratched his beard at her exaggerated teasing. “If you’d have put the idea in her head, she probably would have.”

  “I never knew my birthday was in June until Paula told me. Margaret always gave me a party in August, the month they adopted me.”

  “Erica, did they abuse you?” Wes’s voice grew gruff. “You never said much about your life with them.”

  She let out a long sigh. “No, not physically, anyway. More like emotional neglect. It’s in the past, and I’d rather not talk about it. I’ve forgiven them, too.”

  Admiration shone in his eyes. “Ryan was right. It’s awful you had to grow up living with those people, but it’s helped to shape you into a woman of character. I’m proud to call you my sister.”

  Wes’s words floated through Erica’s head minutes later as she sat on the half-empty bus, waiting for it to depart. She put her carryall on the seat beside her, not wanting company. For Wes she had been brave, but now, with no one around to see, she slipped into the doldrums.

  Oh, how she would miss Ryan! He, on the other hand, was probably breathing a huge sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to sample any more of her cooking disasters. Her last flop two weeks ago had been her worst. No wonder he hadn’t come around last Sunday.

  The chocolate cake layers had turned out flat—like pancakes—and she’d used two containers of fudge icing to try to give them a lift. Erica had laid her fork down after the first strange-tasting bite. Surprisingly, Ryan continued to eat the cake, though with a martyred expression on his face. Halfway through, when he asked what she’d substituted this time, she told him she’d had all the ingredients for once, then named each one. His face seemed to turn a little green on the last item she mentioned, and Stacey laughed outright. Erica felt the blush rise to her cheeks again. How was she supposed to know that cream of tartar wasn’t the same thing as tartar sauce? To make matters worse, she’d confused the recipe amount with the ingredient above it and had put in a half cup instead of a teaspoon.

  Sighing, she propped her elbow on the armrest and laid her cheek in one hand, turning her head to stare out the window for a last glimpse of Preston Corners. From her place in the sixth row, she heard the pressurized sound of the door shut, then several seconds later, open again. Footsteps clomped up the metal stairs. Obviously the latecomer had almost missed the bus, as she had that long-ago day in January. Had it really been five whole months since she’d sat beside Ryan on a seat much like this one and admired his gentle brown eyes?

  “Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”

  Erica’s heart skipped a beat. With disbelief, she turned to face the tardy passenger.

  “No?” Ryan smiled, took her carryall off the aisle seat, and sank into it, setting down the sack he carried. “At least we have better traveling weather today. Sunny. Warm. Though it’s a bit humid, isn’t it? Probably because of all that rain we got last night.”

  “What are you doing here?” Erica managed.

  He pulled a wrapped box from his sack. “I missed your birthday and wanted to get this to you. Happy birthday.”

  Tears clouded her eyes. She blinked them away as he laid the box on her lap. When she didn’t move, he pulled the yellow ribbon holding the flower-sprigged wrapping paper together.

  “You really shouldn’t have, Ryan.”

  “Hush and open your present.”

  With trembling fingers, she undid the flaps at both ends and slid a shirt box from the confines. She offered him a puzzled look, but he only nodded. “Go on.”

  Erica lifted the box top, pulled back the tissue, and stared. A tear escaped and fell to the pinafore covering the green calico dress of the Raggedy Ann doll in her lap.

  “Interesting thing about those dolls,” Ryan said close to her ear. “They come with a message printed on their chests.”

  Erica didn’t remember that. “They do?”

  “Go ahead and take a peek. I don’t think your new Red Baby would mind.”

  Feeling incredibly foolish as well as strangely anticipatory, Erica lifted the dress over the doll’s white bloomers. Emotion catching her throat, she cupped a hand over her mouth at the embroidered message that met her eyes: A red heart held the words “I love you.”

  Suddenly she heard the sound of tires crunching over gravel. Her gaze jerked to his expectant one. “Ryan! The bus is moving. You need to tell the driver to let you off.”

  He blew out a short breath and shook his head with a wry grin. “Not quite the response I was hoping for. Maybe this will prod you into saying the right thing.” He lifted the doll—to reveal a black velvet box nestled in the tissue.

  Erica’s eyes widened as she looked from the box to Ryan then back again. She swallowed. Did this mean what she thought it did?

  His fingers went to her chin, gently forcing her gaze to meet his serious one. “Erica, I was a fool. All along the Lord was showing me His will regarding you, but I’d been so accustomed to running away I couldn’t see it. Not until our kiss. That really started me seeking Him. Then when you called me your best friend that day we went to the cabin, well, I knew I wanted much more than to just be friends with you. Still, God had to show me the truth.”

  Erica felt dazed. “The truth?”

  “That you’re the one He handpicked for me. Maybe your personal quest brought you to Preston Corners, but God had a hand in it all along. For my benefit, as well as yours.” He clasped her hands, his expression tender. “I love you, Erica Langley.”

  “Really?”

  Ryan nodded. “Je T’aime…” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of her fingers. “Te amo…” He kissed her other hand. “Ich liebe dich…and if you want me to say it in sign language, I’ll tell you I love you that way, too. Just please tell me I’m not too late, and you’ll be my wife.”

  Erica never knew joy could produce itself in so many tears.

  “Erica?” he prompted, as if concerned.

  “Before I give you my answer, I think I do want you to say it in sign language,” she said staunchly, though she felt deliriously giddy. “I’m not convinced yet.”

  With a wide grin, Ryan took her in his arms and kissed her breathless.

  Loud clapping and wolf whistles filled the bus, breaking them apart. They cast self-conscious glances at the smiling people in the seats around them. Then they looked at each other. Erica stared up into Ryan’s shining eyes, knowing she could gladly look into them a lifetime. “Okay, Ryan, you’ve convinced me,” she whispered. “I’ll marry you.”

  Ryan gave her another kiss, this one brief but tender. Erica giggled, swiping one hand over her tear-wet cheek. “When you make up your mind about something, you don’t collect dust, do you?” she asked.

  “I’ve waited a lifetime for you, Erica. How could I wait another moment?”

  The words warmed her soul, but reality beckoned. “Shouldn’t you get off the bus before it leaves the city limits? I’ll come back to Preston Corners soon.” Nothing could keep her away now.

  “I made arrangements to take some time away, though I’ll bet Wes thought I’d never get here. He flagged the driver to wait when he saw my car careen around the corner.”

  “Wes?” she said incredulously, then remembered his extreme interest in the parking lot while they were saying good-bye. “So, he knew all along you’d show!” She grinned. “The weasel. Playing it up and making me think we wouldn’t see each other again for a very long time.”

  “He probably was beginning to wonder when I was so late. I had to go through the third degree when I told him of my feelings for you several days ago. But we now have his blessing.”
Ryan smiled. “I’m going back with you to help you pack and get your affairs settled. I have a friend in the area I’ll stay with. Then I’m personally escorting you back to Preston Corners, where you belong.”

  Erica didn’t argue. She’d felt this place was home almost since the moment she saw it.

  “Don’t you want to see your ring?” Ryan asked.

  “Oh—of course I do!”

  Ryan popped open the jeweler’s box. He pulled out the diamond solitaire and slid it onto her extended finger. Awed, Erica looked at the beautiful token of his love, then tightly interlaced her fingers with his—though what she really wanted was to throw her arms around him and kiss him again. Yet they’d given the other passengers enough of a show for one day. She lifted his strong hand clasped with hers and contented herself with kissing one of his knuckles.

  “Ryan Meers, I love you,” she whispered, certain no one could be as happy as she.

  Epilogue

  W ith winter’s breeze chilling her face, Erica stood beside Ryan at the front door and watched their guests leave. Paula herded her troop into a mini-van, then slid inside next to her husky husband. Their mother hesitated beside a silver Buick’s car door, which her tall, dignified-looking husband held open for her, and looked over her shoulder once more to wave. Erica smiled and waved back at the beautiful brunette, whom she’d been surprised to see she so strongly favored at their first face-to-face meeting—the day before Erica’s wedding.

  This past year, after three weeklong visits and countless phone calls between them, Erica and her mother had grown close. Erica was happy to see that even Paula was loosening up around their mother, though she still seemed sullen at times. But for the most part, they were all friends.

  “You’ll see them tomorrow,” Ryan teased, tightening his arm around her waist. “They’ll be here another week.”

  “I know,” Erica sighed happily. “It’s just that every moment is so precious. Sometimes you don’t know how blessed you are until it’s all taken from you. But thankfully, what got ripped away from me was restored.” She looked up at him, her gaze adoring. “And you’ve been such a rock of support through it all. I’ve loved every moment of our married life together, Ryan.”