by Amanda Tru
“I’m not sick, Drew. I quit.” Why was it so embarrassing to admit that? He’d probably never quit anything in his life. He always handled himself well.
“Why?”
She held back the hiccup that would have let loose the floodgates. If she let that out, she’d be lost. “Kaylie threatened to fire me, so I took away the option.”
“Fire you?” His face hardened as he set the bowl down on the table. “What could you possibly have done to make her want to fire you?” He took two steps closer to her.
She wanted to collapse into him, let him hold her up. She’d had to handle so much since that morning, but he wasn’t there to hold her. “Because of Friday, and because I was supposed to set you up with her.”
“So, you made a date with me, then decided you wouldn’t show up? You’d send her in your place? You played me?” She couldn’t handle the anger that created a deep V-shape between his eyebrows. He’d never looked angry before and especially not at her.
“It wasn’t like that. I didn’t agree to meet you with the intent to trick you. She threatened me.”
“Threatened to fire you, then you quit anyway. You knew how I felt about her, that I didn’t want to see her again. I even told you the only reason I wanted to keep going to The Bean was to see you. When will you figure out that the only person I want to see is you? I made a mistake, I saw something in Kaylie that wasn’t there, and worse, I thought I saw things in you that weren’t there. But these last few weeks, you are all I think about. Are you throwing me away?”
Her heart screamed no, and it wouldn’t be silenced. “I’ve watched every single guy I’ve ever had feelings for walk away with my friends. Every one. I figured it was only a matter of time until you figured out that Kaylie—or anyone else, really—was a better option than me.”
He strode up to her, and his arm slid around her waist, the warmth of his breath on her face spread quickly down her neck and over her whole body. His lips lowered to hers. He started softly with the gentle caress of unease, but the moment she responded, he tucked her closer still. In a moment, she clung to his suit coat lapels and prayed that her kiss had the same effect on him as he had on her.
His hand slid up her back to her nape and held her there as he took his time exploring every bit of her mouth, then finally released her.
“Please don’t throw me away, Addi.”
“Please don’t leave me, Drew.” She didn’t want to lose him, ever. She’d made a mistake. Holding back her anger against Kaylie had made her say and do things she didn’t mean. “I’m sorry for listening to Kaylie. I was scared.”
“I won’t leave you Addi. I want you with me always.” He dug in his pocket and held out a ring. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
“Are you telling me that I’m going to be engaged before I ever go on a real date?”
He kissed her again and caressed her cheek, then captured her gaze and held it. “Only if you say ‘yes,’ beautiful.”
She slid the ring on her finger, and it fit perfectly. “I say, yes.”
She slid her arms around him. “I guess Betwixt was right.”
“I’m going to spend my life proving just how right they were.”
The End
I think all of us, no matter how pretty or popular, have felt alone at some point in our lives. Romance novels tend to focus on beauty, but what’s inside is what truly matters. When we find our inner strength in Christ, the beauty within us comes forth. I hope that came through in this story. Neither of these characters was physically appealing to others in the story, but to each other, as they grew and accepted the reality of who they really are, they became even more beautiful to one another. Beloved, that is all of us in Christ.
1. What do you think is really holding back Drew and Addi? Do you feel that they have worked through it enough to have a future? Romans 12:12 offers a little hint.
2. What is the difference between Drew’s reaction to his first set up with Kaylie and the second? Do you think he already had some inkling of what he felt for Addi? John 8:15
3. The experience Addi had at the worship center is the beginning of Addi’s realization of who she really is. Do you think that it’s necessary to know exactly who you are to have a meaningful relationship? 1 Peter 3:1-6
4. Kaylie was also given the opportunity to have her own special date set up by the Betwixt matchmaker. Do you think she has any hope of a happily-ever-after? What might be holding her back?
5. Liberty has dealt with a lot in her short life, making her a very strong person. What qualities do you see in her that you would want in a best friend?
6. This story was based on a few verses relating to waiting on the Lord, specifically: Romans 5:3-5, Psalm 69:13 Which do you think apply the best to the situation?
7. Sometimes it is easy to let what others think of us define who we are, and we are told specifically to be watchful of our words, so we don’t bring down others in Ephesians 4:29. Where could you put this verse to remind yourself daily to offer grace and remind yourself how our Heavenly Father sees you?
www.KariTrumbo.com/
International bestselling author Kari Trumbo writes historical and contemporary Christian romance. She began her writing journey five years ago and has over thirty titles published to date. Before writing, she was a freelance developmental editor and beta reader.
Kari is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) national group as well as her local chapter MN N.I.C.E. She makes her home in central MN—where the trees and lakes are plentiful—with her husband of over twenty years, two daughters, two sons, a cat, a bunny, and one hungry woodstove.
Follow Kari’s newsletter to find out what happens to Drew and Addi in the future, and to learn when Liberty will meet her match!
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by Kari Trumbo
Find the latest information and connect with Kari at her website: www.KariTrumbo.com
Contemporary:
Great River Romance
Whole Latte Love
Big Dreams
Better Than First
Whispers in Wyoming
Heartstruck and Heavensent
Temptation and Tenderness
Sensitive and Secure
Historical:
Brothers of Belle Fourche
Teach Me to Love
What the Heart Holds
Deep Longing of the Soul
Seven Brides of South Dakota
Dreams in Deadwood
Kisses in Keystone
Love in Lead
Romance in Rapid
Sparks in Spearfish
Hearts in Hot Springs
Courting in Custer
Brides of Blessings
Blessed Beyond Measure
Bounty Beyond Reason
Beauty Beyond Understanding
Cutter’s Creek
Montana Trails
A Lily Blooms
A Carol Plays
A Ruby Glows
An Ivy Tangles
Keepsake
Cutter’s Creek Companion Novellas
A May Bride
Holston’s Legacy
Western Vows
To Honor and Cherish
For Richer or Poorer
To Love and Comfort
Abiding Love
An Imperfect Promise
Introducing Alana Terry
By Kari Trumbo
I very much hope you enjoyed Whole Latte Love.I welcome you to join me f
or my new Great River Romance series. The next book features Liberty. She was such a fun character! Join me at www.KariTrumbo.com/contemporary for updates on all releases.
Now, I’d like to introduce an amazing woman who you may already be familiar with if you’ve read other Crossroads Collections. Alana Terry is full of passion, not only for writing stories but for humanity. Like me, she is a homeschooling mom. She is also a pastor’s wife and lives in beautiful rural Alaska. I’ve had so much fun getting to know her as a member of this group. Her story Seoul Refuge, is about a wife away on a mission trip while her husband investigates a murder. There’s more than one mystery, though.
I hope you enjoy her story and thank you so much for reading.
Author of Whole Latte Love
a novella by
Copyright Notice
Seoul Refuge, original copyright © 2019 by Alana Terry
All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or recording—without express written permission by the authors and publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed or broadcasted articles and reviews.
Each book in this collection is the intellectual property and the copyrighted material of the respective author and/or publisher and is reprinted as a part of this collection (anthology) only once and only by permission of the owners. The publisher makes no claim on, or to, the property of the owners which exceeds that permission. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imagination or intended to be used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, places, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intention of either the authors or the publisher. The characters are products of the authors’ imaginations and used fictitiously.
Caroline glanced up from her airplane reading when a white-haired woman stopped beside her in the aisle.
“Excuse me, sweetie.” Her voice warbled but seemed to possess the strength of someone half her age. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Caroline stared. There was something familiar about the woman’s fiery features, the laugh lines streaming from the corners of her sharp eyes, the collar of her billowy blouse.
“The gentleman in the seat beside me insists on using the Lord’s name in vain,” she explained, “and the stewardess said I could move to an empty spot if I found one.” She gestured to the window seat. “Would you mind?”
Caroline had enjoyed her solitude toward the back of the plane but felt it would be rude to deny the woman’s request. She moved to unbuckle her seatbelt, but the old woman held up her hand.
“Don’t worry about that. I’m not too big. I can just hop right over you.” Which is exactly what she did.
Once settled in her seat, Caroline’s new travel companion gave her a smile. “Now tell me, do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?”
Caroline blinked. Never in her entire life, not in her fifty-something years as an agnostic or her three years since she became a Christian had anyone asked her a question this pointed about her faith, especially not a stranger she’d just met. She was so startled, it took her several seconds before she found her voice and stammered her answer.
The woman beamed. “I’m so glad to hear it. I’m Lucy Jean, by the way, but you can call me Grandma Lucy. And I’m just delighted the Lord led us together. When my granddaughter was driving me to the airport to catch this flight, I was just praying to God, asking him to give me a Christian to sit next to. I’m healthy for my age, which is saying a lot, but every once in a while, I get forgetful. In fact, my niece didn’t want me to take such a long flight, but my grandson was recently married, and…”
Her voice trailed off when she glanced at the book Caroline was holding. “What’s that you’re reading? Is that one of the books by Cameron Hopewell’s son?”
Caroline nodded, surprised that Grandma Lucy’s smile could grow any more enthusiastic.
“What a delightful man of God,” Grandma Lucy gushed. “You know, I have a grandson who was saved at a Hopewell revival.”
Caroline was about to ask how many grandchildren this old woman had but didn’t have time.
“What a true servant he is. Such a powerful anointing.” Grandma Lucy was beaming at the author photo on the back cover of Caroline’s hardback. “Is this his newest one?”
Caroline lowered the book to show Grandma Lucy the title. “I don’t think so. This is the one he wrote with his wife. It’s talking about…”
Grandma Lucy clasped her hands in front of her oversized collar. “The spiritually mismatched. I know this book.” She gave a soft chuckle. “Wish I had had something like this when my husband was still alive.”
Caroline didn’t know what to say. Their flight had only left Seattle an hour earlier, and it was still a long way to Seoul. She’d hoped to get more reading done before trying to settle in for a nap, but Grandma Lucy seemed to have other plans. She stared at Caroline and asked pointedly, looking over her thin glasses, “So, is he backslidden, nominal, or unbelieving?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Grandma Lucy continued to smile. “Your husband. Your spiritual mismatch. Is he backslidden, nominal, or unbelieving?”
“Unbelieving,” Caroline answered, feeling her cheeks heat up.
Grandma Lucy nodded as if she’d known the answer and Caroline was only confirming her conviction.
Caroline waited, although she couldn’t have said what for, feeling mildly annoyed. After all the time Caroline had spent praying for her marriage, especially over the past three weeks, why was God pouring salt into open wounds, plunking her down on a plane next to this outspoken little firecracker of a white-haired old lady? She held her breath.
Still waiting.
Still uncertain what for.
Then, before there was time to react, Grandma Lucy’s hand shot out. Her palm landed flat on Caroline’s forehead, and Grandma Lucy’s prayer rang out so loudly over the hum of the airplane engines Caroline wondered if the pilot locked up in his cockpit could hear.
“Dear Lord,” Grandma Lucy prayed, “great and merciful Savior, we lift your name on high. Yes, sweet Jesus, for you are good and your love endures forever. You know everything, from the smallest hair on our heads to the names of the stars in the outer stretches of the universe. You know, dear Lord, for you created all these and so much more.
“You created my beautiful and sweet sister here, giving her a heart for you, saving her out of her sins. Your mercy extended to her mightily, and I know that you have already used her to advance your kingdom in ways she isn’t even aware of yet. But, Lord, her heart is heavy, this sweet sister of mine. She’s been united in the holy bonds of matrimony with a man who doesn’t believe in you, who doesn’t proclaim your name. He doesn’t proclaim your name yet is what I should say, for you, dear Lord, are in the business of saving even the hardest of hearts.
“I do not know her husband’s situation. I do not know what pain or anger he’s carrying around in his spirit, but I sense a heaviness, sweet Jesus. I sense pride and arrogance that keeps him from acknowledging his need for you. Only you can show him, Lord. Only you can open his eyes. Only you can soften his heart. Only you can speak to his soul and let him realize how much you love him, how lost he is without you, great and merciful Savior.
“And so, Lord, we leave this dear husband, this lost sinner, in your hands, and we pray that you would do whatever it takes to draw his heart to yours. We ask this in the great and mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who wills that none should perish but that all should come to repentance to enjoy your glorious gift of salvation.”
Caroline’s forehead burned hot the entire length of the prayer, but after the old woman pulled her hand away, the sensation disappeared, along with any conviction or hope that had started to burn in Caroline’s spirit. What was left was an emptiness. A longing
. Was Caroline’s deepest pain so obvious that even a stranger on a plane flying across the Pacific Ocean could perceive it?
She clutched her book, hoping Grandma Lucy would say something, anything, to soothe over the giant, gaping wound that had opened up in Caroline’s spirit during that prayer. But the old woman simply smiled and pulled out a cowboy handkerchief from her pocket.
“These long overseas flights always make me feel sleepy.” Grandma Lucy covered her face with the handkerchief, crossed her arms, and settled back in her seat without another word.
Caroline stared at her book, the one she’d meant to finish on this flight. The one her pastor’s wife had recommended to encourage Caroline while she watched her marriage fall to pieces. The one that was supposed to teach her how to keep her marriage from dissolving into millions of infinitesimally small particles. Teach her how to live with a man who’d despised everything about her ever since Caroline gave her life to Christ.
She wanted to read more, but her heart was too heavy. Her eyes were dry, and even when she opened the book, she sat blinking at the words, comprehending merely a fraction of their meaning.
She glanced once more at Grandma Lucy, this strange woman whose prayer had felt so inspired and yet at the same time so depressing. Caroline had been praying for her husband’s salvation for three years, sometimes spending a full hour on her knees crying tears of desperation. And God still hadn’t answered her. Things had gotten worse even before Calvin moved out. Before Caroline came to Christ, her husband had been a comfortable agnostic, apathetic to religion. Now he was outspoken, angry whenever Caroline did or said anything relating to her faith.