by J. B. Hawker
“Not really, I’m afraid. But you like surf and turf, don’t you? Let’s go to the Crab Shack. It’s one of my favorite places and we can walk from here. You’ve probably had your fill of driving for today. Tomorrow we can go to Tillamook and find a good Mexican place, if you want.”
Scott threw a piece of driftwood out into the waves and Reacher plunged happily to retrieve it. Both dog and master were in high spirits, enjoying a walk on the beach at the end of a busy day.
Looking up at the boardwalk Scott saw Bunny sitting at one of the outdoor tables at the Crab Shack and felt a surge of emotion.
He had a great deal to say to her and this was as good a time as any. He whistled to the dog and climbed up on the boardwalk.
When she saw a shadow fall across her table Bunny thought it was Max returning from the men’s room. She was startled to feel Reacher nuzzling her arm.
“Reacher! Hi, you good doggy. Hello, Scott. I didn’t see you there.”
“Looks like Reacher has been missing you. You need to stop by to visit, now and then, you know.”
“Will I be welcome?” Bunny asked, shyly.
“Of course. Rosamund tells me that you two have made peace, so why wouldn’t you be welcome?”
“You know,” she met Scott’s gaze levelly.
Scott gave a snort of laughter and pulled Bunny up to give her a hug.
“I know, alright. I know more than you think, you little schemer.”
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked innocently, suspecting that Naidenne had spilled the beans.
“I know all about the plans you set in motion. Naidenne felt guilty about ‘setting her cap’ for me and confessed. Isn’t she the sweetest thing?”
“She is a lovely person.”
“Lovely. Yes. Exactly. And I want to thank you. For everything.”
Scott hugged Bunny again.
Max had been observing from inside the restaurant and stepped forward now, with a questioning smile on his face as he approached the taller man.
“Howdy there, I’m Max Banks, here from Texas. And you are..?”
“Max, this is my pastor, and my good friend, Scott Davidson. I’ve told you about him. Scott, this is Max, my…uh, well, my first husband.”
The men shook hands and Max invited Scott to join them for dinner.
“No thanks. I’d better be getting home. Oh, Bunny, did Naidenne tell you the good news about the immigrants from the Port? Three of our local churches have agreed to sponsor a refugee and several of the smaller congregations plan to contact their denominations to see about churches in the entire region banding together.”
“That’s wonderful, Scott, it’s almost a miracle.”
“You know, I think perhaps this is the reason God allowed everything to happen and why I felt such a compulsion to find that container. It is a humbling experience to be used to fulfill God’s plans.”
Bunny felt a shiver at Scott’s words, and then chose to lighten the moment by asking, “Will we be hearing more about that in Sunday’s sermon?”
Scott smiled and nodded then turned to Max, “Will you be joining us at church next Sunday?”
“You never know, Preacher, you just never know.”
The food arrived and Scott took it as a cue to say goodnight and then led his dog toward home.
“So that’s your partner in the romantic adventure/comedy you call your life here, eh?”
“Scott helped me through quite a few dangerous experiences, if that’s what you mean. Why so snarky, all the sudden? Didn’t you like him?”
“Oh, sure. I guess he’s alright, if you can overlook his ostentatious height. I never trust anyone over seven feet tall, except on the basketball court.”
“You goof! He’s only about six-foot-five. You aren’t having some sort of stature-envy, are you?” Bunny teased.
At five-feet-nine inches, Max was more than tall enough for Bunny.
“Course not. Now, stop talking foolishness and eat your dinner before it gets cold.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love – Psalm 90:14
Walking along, holding hands and enjoying the mild evening, Max and Bunny were approaching her home when Bunny stopped suddenly and turned to Max to ask, “Where are you staying while you’re in Bannoch?”
“You are the only person I know who can’t walk and talk at the same time. Even when I walked you home from high school all those years ago you always stopped dead in your tracks every time you opened your mouth. Can you even walk and chew gum at the same time?” Max teased.
“Of course I can! But I like to look at you when I talk and if I keep walking I might bump into something or fall into a hole.”
“Oh, I see…makes perfect sense,” Max chuckled and kissed the top of her head.
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m staying here with you, of course. What did you think? That I’d sleep in my car?”
“I supposed you were booked into a motel, actually,” Bunny murmured with a slight frown.
“Oh, come on, Honey! I thought we had gotten past this childish prudery.”
Without replying, Bunny unlocked her door and Max followed her inside.
Max perched on a stool by the breakfast bar and took Bunny’s hands.
“We aren’t kids, Bunny. We’ve been married to each other, remember? When we were in Italy you didn’t seem to have a problem with us sleeping together, so why now?”
“It goes against the Bible. You know that I try to lead an obedient life. I just keep giving in to temptation. But that doesn’t mean it is right.”
“Okay. Let’s talk this through logically, like the adults we are. The Bible says marriage is until death, right? Well, we were married before God and everyone. You were my first wife and I was your first husband. The way I understand it, in God’s eyes our other marriages were actually adulterous and we are still married.”
“That’s not the way the law and society see it.”
“But, you are only worried about pleasing God, remember? Besides, in today’s society it is common for unmarried couples to live together so long that their grown kids stand up with them at the wedding, if they ever get around to one. And how many women do you know who introduce the father of their children as their ‘fiancé’? Nobody even bats an eye.”
“But we are legally divorced…”
“I thought we were talking about religious scruples, not legal technicalities.”
“You are just trying to confuse me by rationalizing a life of sin because you aren’t a believer.”
“Now, that’s where you are wrong. I’ve been thinking this whole God thing over ever since Naples. I’ve been attending church and even reading the Bible and I can tell you that I do believe. I’ve seen too many instances of God stepping in and saving your silly neck, for one thing, to doubt that he exists.”
“That’s wonderful, but then you should see my point.”
“No. I believe that God is real and that the Bible was inspired to give us guidance, but I don’t believe that man always understands what his words mean. From Bible times people have been layering their own rules and opinions on top and twisting the words for their own ends. If God didn’t want us to be together I wouldn’t even be here today. There just aren’t that many coincidences in the world.”
“But that doesn’t mean he wants us to disobey his laws.”
“Is this idea you have really his law? I think you are using your interpretation as an excuse to keep me at arm’s length and not to give in to your passions. Why can’t you enjoy this second chance God’s given us? Are you afraid to be happy? Or maybe it is that you are afraid of what your friends and the folks at church might think.”
“I don’t…,” she began and was cut off by Max’s kiss as he drew her into his arms. When she didn’t resist, his embrace became more passionate and her knees began to tremble.
Max swept her up into his arms and carried h
er toward the stairs where he paused and began to chuckle.
“If I do the Clark Gable thing and carry you up these stairs you won’t have to worry about any sinful acts once we get to the top, Bunny. The spirit’s willing, but the flesh isn’t as young as it used to be.”
He set her down gently and took her hand, leading her up to the bedroom.
“You know that I love you, you goof, and you love me. Let’s go to bed and we can talk theology in the morning.”
Bunny pulled him back down to her step and kissed him tenderly before leading the way up the stairs.
Max stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing with a mug of coffee in his hand when Bunny awoke. She thought he looked so right standing there with the sun warming his bare chest.
Bunny stretched luxuriously. She felt completely rested and restored. For the first night in weeks no nightmare had disturbed her slumber.
“Good morning, lazy bones. I was beginning to wonder when I would see your bright eyes open. I thought you were always such an early bird. Here, I made coffee.”
“Thanks, that was sweet of you,” Bunny sat up and accepted the mug he poured from the carafe on the bedside table, and then added a spoonful of sweetener before taking a sip.
“Mmmm…just right. You know, you gave me my very first taste of coffee.”
“I gave you your first taste of quite a few things, if I remember correctly,” Max said with a wicked grin.
“The coffee,” Bunny emphasized, “was on our first real date. We went to Etta’s Place for dinner and they served vanilla ice cream for dessert. You’d been drinking coffee…I thought that was very grown-up of you…and you spooned coffee over the ice cream. I still do that whenever I have left-over coffee and vanilla ice cream. I love the crunchy coffee-ice crystals that form on the ice cream. And I think of you and that first time whenever I eat it.”
“I thought of our first time last night and every night when we are together,” Max responded. “There is no one else in the world that can do that for me. No one else that can make me feel so young and hopeful, just by being there.”
Bunny’s heart swelled with love. She put her coffee on the table and reached for Max.
After breakfast they decided to walk to the beach, since it was such a beautiful day. Max wanted to see the spot where Bunny found the sea chest and her latest adventure began.
The boardwalk took them from the beach in town, across sea grass dunes and rocky outcroppings, to the Ramparts Rock Beach where she had discovered the chest.
The fogbank kept them company from a mile off shore and the sea breeze was on a rest break making it a perfect day to be at the seaside.
When they reached Ramparts Beach they abandoned the boardwalk for the sand and walked along the damp waterline carrying their shoes and splashing in the surf.
“About last night…,” Bunny began.
“Yeah, how about that! Am I the man, or am I the man?” Max leered.
Bunny laughed and said, “Seriously. I think you were partially right.”
“Only partially?”
“I think maybe my attitude about being with you wasn’t entirely Scriptural.”
“Oh, really? So, I actually got through to you? Cool!”
“Max, be serious. I’m trying to tell you that I think I was being legalistic. When a person accepts Christ they become a new person, but that is only the beginning of a journey that lasts a lifetime. I got sort of stuck, maybe. But, I am willing to consider what you said.”
Max was picking up rocks and driftwood to hurl into the sea as she talked.
“So you think we can be on this faith walk together? And maybe end up at the same spot, eventually?” he asked, flinging a large pebble into the surf.
“Maybe.”
They continued walking along in silence, with Max picking things up and throwing them into the water. He suddenly stopped and looked back.
“Boy, you can find all sorts of stuff on this beach. Look, there’s another box!”
He pointed to a knot of driftwood they had just passed. A small dark blue box was nestled in the sand.
“What sort of adventure do you suppose this one will lead to, Buns?”
Max picked up the small box and held it out to Bunny.
“Open it and see!” he urged.
“Not me. I’ve had enough adventures, thank you very much.”
“Oh, come on! Don’t be such a coward. Besides, you’ll have me with you this time. Open it.”
Bunny took the box, lifted the lid and gasped.
She looked all around, as if trying to find the person who might have dropped it.
“Well, say something!” Max urged.
Bunny swallowed a few times and tried to speak. She looked a question at Max and when he nodded reassuringly, she flung herself into his arms, sobbing.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you like it? We can always exchange it, you know. But the jeweler in Houston said it is one of his most popular styles. Try it on. You may like it better when you see it on.”
Bunny slipped the ring on with shaking fingers and breathed, “I love it. It’s beautiful. Is it really a, an… uh, is it?”
“It better be, for what I paid for it. So what do you say? Shall we wipe away all those scruples once and for all?”
Bunny pulled herself together and with a mischievous expression said, “Only if you say it. Go on, right out loud.”
Max plopped down on one knee in the sand, took Bunny’s left hand in his and said, “Bunny Davis Banks Elder, I adore you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my first and last wife?”
“Yes! Oh, yes,” Bunny’s true self breathed from the depths of her heart.
Ω
…AND SOMETHING BLUE
Book Four, Bunny Elder Adventure Series
JB Hawker
Copyright © 2014 J.B. Hawker
All rights reserved
ISBN-13: 978-1499133059
ISBN-10: 1499133057
For my three amazing sons, Grey, Adam and Neal
Prologue
So hot.
Analise runs her tongue over her parched and shriveled lips, remembering when those same lips were full and soft. Lips that inspired her strong, handsome Franz to murmur, “Honey lips,” while nuzzling her neck each night.
Looking down at the sunburned claw-like hands resting on her equally scrawny thighs, she feels a pang of grief for the smooth, golden-brown flesh of her youth. Could this same body have once been clothed in the firm, rounded muscle and taut silky skin that drove Franz mad with ardor?
She once loved to bask in the sun, feeling its warmth kissing her bareness with a tawny-rose glow. How many times was she forced to cover herself to prevent Franz from making love to her on a public beach? What harm would there have been if she had let them spontaneously satisfy their desires? Would it have been so bad? Perhaps the gritty sand and tender sunburn would have been worth it. But, she could never risk the disapproval it might bring.
What other delights had they both missed while seeking the approbation of strangers? And now, when she would gladly throw caution to the winds? Too late.
“I thirst,” she groans.
“What did you say, my beautiful dove?” Franz responds, bending over from behind her chair.
“Water.”
“Ah, but, of course. I will ask this nice gentleman here for a drink, my darling.”
The man he mentioned, standing guard nearby with an automatic rifle in his hands, snarls, “Silence! No talk!”
“Please, sir. My wife needs a drink. Have mercy. She is ill.”
For the briefest of moments the man seems to be on the verge of considering this request, but as he reaches for the canteen at his side, a shout forestalls his impulse of mercy.
A rapid conversation with his captain in the strange-sounding Mudug dialect of the Somali language follows.
“What do you think you are doing?”
“The old ones wanted water. I thought it would do
no harm.”
“These are prisoners, not houseguests, fool! If they cause trouble, get rid of them. It will serve to keep the others in line.”
“The woman is a cripple and only asked for water.”
“This worthless piece of dried up skin and bones wants water, eh? Then we will give her water! Grab the chair!”
The two pirates take hold of either side of Analise’s wheelchair and, swiftly knocking the protesting Franz out of the way; heave it over the side of the cruise ship into the waves below.
Franz! …Cold...the water burns my nose, my throat.
So cold…
Chapter One
The shorelands will quake when your sailors cry out. – Ezekiel 27:28
“…forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“You may kiss the bride.”
Bunny sighed as she relived the beautiful ceremony in her mind.
The handsome men in their tuxes, the bridesmaids looking like exotic blooms in a tropical garden, all surrounding the bride and groom as they stood with hands clasped together pledging to love and cherish one another, brought tears to Bunny’s eyes, even now.
The white satin wedding gown was perfection. A corona of flowers in her honey blond hair, so like Bunny’s own before the gray strands faded it, was like a crown of jewels.
Her grandniece, Ellery, was such a lovely bride, and so in love.
Gilles was a lucky man.
Bunny hadn’t been too sure about him when he first began to court Ellery while he was still her professor at Seattle University. Bunny feared her niece was being swept away by his position, good looks and roguish Australian accent, so like Ellery’s own. As she got to know him, Bunny had learned that Gilles was a man of integrity, a believer, and totally devoted to Ellery.
The newlyweds were on their honeymoon in Queensland, now, meeting family and visiting childhood haunts together.
Ellery’s storybook wedding satisfied Bunny’s romantic side, leaving no regrets about her own more modest ceremony, only a week later, reuniting her in holy matrimony to first husband, Max.