by Debby Mayne
“Stop saying that. No, you’re not.” Janie took her by the arm and gently shoved her toward the front door. “Where’s your purse? I’m taking you out.”
Instinctively, Shannon ran her fingertips along her cheek. Her insides lurched at the thought of people seeing her like this.
“I can’t go out.”
“Oh, get over it, Shannon. The sooner you face people the better. Staying inside, cooped up, hiding, won’t solve any problems.”
Shannon numbly let Janie guide her toward her car. Fear clutched her once again as she thought of riding in a car. “I can’t.”
“You can and you will.” Janie held the door and nodded for Shannon to get in.
They were both buckled in the front seat of Janie’s car when Shannon spoke again. “This is so silly. I’m really not in the mood.”
“At the rate you’re going, you’ll never be in the mood.”
Shannon looked out the window before turning back to face Janie, who seemed determined not to listen. “Where are we going?”
“Church.” Janie put the car in reverse and carefully backed out of the parking space. “I’ll be super careful. I know how hard it is to get back in a car after an accident.”
Shannon remembered when Janie had hit a car head-on seven years ago. It took three strong friends to get her to ride in a car after that.
“Church?” she asked. “It’s Monday. What church is open on Monday?”
“It’s my singles’ group.”
Shannon tilted her head back and chuckled. “You go to a singles’ club at a church? Now I’ve heard everything.”
“I didn’t say singles’ club. That’s for desperate people. This is my church singles’ group.”
“What’s the difference?”
They were stopped at a red light, which gave Janie a chance to turn and face Shannon while she explained. “We discuss issues in the Bible that relate to things single people have to face today.”
“Hmm.”
“Yeah, hmm.” Janie grinned. “This is what normal, Christ-loving people do in Atlanta. I know it sounds strange after your jet-set modeling career, but it’s really nice. I think once you get into it, you might actually enjoy it.”
“How long have you been doing this singles’ thing at your church?” Shannon asked. This was the first she’d heard of it, although she did remember something Janie had said a couple years ago about how her life had turned completely around now that she’d let the Lord into her life. Not being one who needed that sort of thing, Shannon had glossed over it and changed the subject as quickly as she could. Now that she was being held captive, she was curious about what she was about to face.
“The singles’ group started up about a year ago, and I’m one of the founding members.”
Shannon shook her head. “Did you tell them about some of your shenanigans back in high school?”
“They know I’m not perfect.”
Janie turned into the parking lot of a small building that looked like a converted house. Shannon looked from left to right then back at Janie.
“Where’s the church?”
“We’re there.”
Pointing to the building, Shannon said, “This is a church? Sure doesn’t look like one.”
“A lot of things aren’t what they look like. You should know that.” She put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and opened her car door. “Let’s go. Everyone will be here soon, and we start in a few minutes.”
Shannon followed her friend into the building, trailing close behind. She’d always been the one eager for new experiences, but this was different. This was scary. This was church. A foreign place to Shannon.
“Hey, Janie,” said a deep, masculine voice from a dark corner.
“Paul, I’m glad you’re here. I have someone I want you to meet.”
Suddenly, the man materialized from out of nowhere. In the semidarkness, Shannon saw him reach over and flip a switch on the wall. Light filled the space and illuminated chairs, positioned in a full circle around the room.
“Paul, this is my friend Shannon,” Janie said softly.
When Shannon looked him in the eye, she saw his gaze dart to her scar. She started to lift her hand to her cheek, but he reached for her arm. “Don’t,” he said. “Janie told us what happened.”
Shannon pulled away and looked down, letting her long, straight blond hair fall in front of her face. She’d never hidden behind her hair before, but then she’d never been scarred before either.
Instead of making a big deal of her reaction, Paul turned his attention to Janie. “Did you talk to Jason or Dana?”
“They’ll be here, but Dana said she might be late.”
“That’s okay. I just finished making the coffee. It’s her turn to bring cookies.”
Janie turned to Shannon and explained how they took turns bringing treats for the group. Shannon only half listened. Her shame was blocking her senses.
Within a couple minutes, people began to arrive, some alone and others in pairs. Fifteen minutes later, the room was filled with twenty- and thirtysomething people, all of them laughing and greeting each other as if they’d known everyone all their lives. Shannon felt ill at ease. She was perfectly comfortable at black-tie affairs where she was able to show off the latest elaborate gown some designer had created for the occasion. But this was real. She wasn’t in costume. These people could see her for who she really was.
“Hey,” Janie said as she walked up behind Shannon. “Lighten up. I’ve never seen you so shy before. You were always the life of every party.”
“That was before—” She cut herself off as she reached up to touch her face again.
Janie leveled her with a stern look. “Look, Shannon, no one here cares about your scar, other than the pain you must be feeling. They don’t see the scar when they look at you.”
“Hey, you’re that model in the corn chip ads, aren’t you?”
She heard Janie groan.
Shannon whipped around and saw the man as he walked up, grinning ear-to-ear, like he’d just discovered gold. He was nice-looking but not devastatingly handsome. What she liked about him right away, though, was the way his eyes seemed to twinkle when he smiled. Like stars.
“Yeah, so she sells corn chips,” Janie said before Shannon had a chance to speak. “Don’t hold it against her.”
The man chuckled, showing teeth with character—not perfectly straight like Armand’s. But still, there was something that compelled her to continue studying him. He was interesting-looking, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, and he gazed right at her, not past her.
“What brings a famous model to our church in downtown Atlanta?” he asked.
“My friend Janie brought me,” Shannon said, taking his comment at face value.
“Janie has always been full of surprises. C’mon, let’s go grab some coffee before the rest of the vultures arrive.”
She glanced at Janie, who’d already turned to grab a stack of Bibles from the table behind them. Shannon realized she was on her own.
Shannon followed the man to the long row of tables lined up against the wall. “I’m terribly sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”
The man stopped and pivoted to face her, thrusting his right hand toward her. “Sorry. My name’s Judd Manning. I’m the pastor’s nephew, so I didn’t exactly have a choice but to join this singles’ group when I came to stay with him a few months ago.” He laughed as if he knew a joke he wasn’t telling. “These goons seem to think I might know something. Don’t tell them my secret, but I’m just as lost as the rest of them.” He made a face before adding, “Maybe even more so.”
Shannon instantly felt at ease by this very nice man who became handsomer the longer they chatted. Taking his hand in hers, she tilted her head toward him. “I’m Shannon McNab.”
“Yes,” he said quickly. “I know.”
“You know my name?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s not like your picture isn’t plas
tered all over the place.”
“I guess being a model has a few drawbacks.”
“You don’t like it?” he asked, pulling his hand back and once again edging toward the tables.
Shannon shrugged. “Oh, I like it all right. It’s just that …” Her hand went up to touch her face. Janie shot her a warning look, so she jerked it back down to her side.
Judd studied her face, his eyes resting on her scar, the smile fading from his lips. “What happened?”
“I thought Janie told everyone,” Shannon replied.
He shrugged. “I wasn’t here when Janie announced the details. I had to go out of town.”
Although Shannon hated talking about it, Judd’s openness made it easy for her to reply. “Car accident.”
“Man, that’s rough. How are you otherwise?”
“Fine, I guess.”
“You’re fortunate, then. It could have been much worse.”
Obviously, Judd Manning didn’t know what he was talking about. How could it have been any worse than it was? Did he realize she was scarred for life and would never be able to earn a living doing the only thing she knew how to do?
two
“Who wants to lead the prayer tonight?” Paul asked as he scanned the room. “Janie?”
“Sure,” she replied.
Shannon listened to her best friend as she thanked the Lord for the many blessings, asked for guidance in the Bible study, and begged forgiveness for sin. The prayer wasn’t long, but Shannon could tell it was heartfelt.
When everyone opened their eyes, Shannon noticed several of them looking at her, smiling. She started to reach up and cover her face, but she remembered what Janie had said. She resisted the urge and shyly grinned back.
“Janie, why don’t you introduce your guest?” Paul said.
“Everyone, this is Shannon McNab. She and I have been best friends practically since we could talk,” Janie began.
Judd interrupted. “And you haven’t stopped talking since.”
Janie shot him a glare, then continued. “Several weeks ago, Shannon had the misfortune to be in a really bad car crash. The man driving the other vehicle wasn’t as fortunate, and he didn’t make it. We need to pray for his family.”
Shannon gulped. It hadn’t crossed her mind to pray for that man’s family until now. After all, the accident had been his fault. If he hadn’t been drinking, she wouldn’t be sitting here right now feeling like the world was staring at her scar.
“How long will you be in Atlanta, Shannon?” Paul asked.
“I, uh … I’m really not sure,” Shannon said. She hated being put on the spot. “Probably until my—”
Janie cut in. “She’s got to figure out what to do with the rest of her life now that she won’t be modeling anymore.”
Shannon had never told Janie she wasn’t going to model anymore. That was just an assumption she had based on her own ideas of what she thought Shannon should decide.
Hoping to end the conversation as quickly as possible, Shannon just smiled and nodded, fully intending to talk to her friend about this later—to set her straight. At some point, she needed to start speaking for herself, something she always did whenever Janie wasn’t around.
As the group settled into their discussion of the scripture topic of the evening, Shannon felt the warmth of Judd’s stares. She’d gotten used to people looking at her, but this was different. He never looked away when her gaze met his. He only smiled and occasionally winked. She felt her cheeks grow hot each time.
When Paul called a break, everyone stood and made a beeline for the snack table, including Janie. Out of habit, Shannon hung back. She’d learned early on that munching on snacks wasn’t conducive to keeping her model figure.
“Not hungry?” Judd asked as he joined her.
She shrugged. “Not really. I don’t generally eat anything after dinner.”
“Which consists of a salad without dressing and water to drink, right?” He leaned away from her, studying her face, making her squirm.
She held her breath. Was he testing her?
“Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Well, isn’t that what models eat? Rabbit food?”
Shannon started to argue with him, but she stopped short. What was the point? He obviously understood her as well as he possibly could, considering they’d just met. Besides, she didn’t owe him anything—certainly not an explanation as to why she wasn’t gorging at the snack table.
“Not exactly,” she said. “But close enough.”
“Yeah, I try to stay away from the desserts myself. I have to watch my figure, too.” He quirked his eyebrows as she snapped around to look at him.
A retort started to form in her mind, until she realized he was having fun and kidding around with her. Okay, time to lighten up. She tilted her head back and forced a hearty laugh.
“You’re too much, Judd.”
“Too much of a good thing, I hope.” He suddenly looked serious, and his voice was laced with hope. She felt a quick flash of satisfaction.
“Oh, I’m sure,” she said with a little flirty hair toss. This felt really odd for Shannon. She hadn’t flirted since before she’d met Armand. Who was this guy, other than some man with nothing better to do than hang out at a church on a Monday night?
“Good,” he said with a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m glad you agree. I like you, too, Shannon McNab. You’re not half bad for a beauty queen.”
“Wait a minute.” Shannon felt her defenses rise. “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is,” he said very slowly, drawing closer to her and lowering his voice to where no one else could hear him but her, “you’re a very sweet woman. Unpretentious. Smart. Not what I’d expect from a world-class model.”
His backdoor compliment caught her off guard. Her face heated once again, and her senses were out of balance. She couldn’t think of a quick comeback, so she flashed one of her famous smiles. “Wow,” he said. “Now I know what it’s like to experience my own personal sunshine.”
Most people had the wrong idea about models. They had no idea who she was deep down. Nearly everyone thought that with her looks, she could have everything she wanted with a snap of her fingers, but that simply wasn’t true. Sure, Shannon was satisfied with her life for the most part, but the reality of losing it all just as quickly—as her accident had proven—was stressful.
“I have a feeling—” he began.
“C’mon, everyone,” Paul said to the group, interrupting Judd. “We have a lot to cover tonight, so let’s get going. Bring your coffee and cookies with you, and we’ll get back to our topic.”
“You have a feeling …?” Shannon prompted Judd as they turned back toward the circle of chairs.
“We’ll talk later,” he said as he turned his attention to the speaker.
Throughout the remainder of the evening, Shannon was fully aware of the effect Judd was having on her. Each time he looked at her and smiled, she felt a tingle coursing through her. Sometimes she smiled back, but other times she tried to pretend not to notice.
After an hour, Paul requested another prayer. “Why don’t you say the closing prayer, Judd?”
“You sure you want me to do this?” Judd asked.
“Yeah, but try to keep it sane, okay?”
A few snickers could be heard through the room, but Judd began his prayer. As Shannon listened to his simple words, she realized they were open, honest, and sincere.
She liked Judd Manning. He was a different kind of guy from anyone she’d ever met, but he made her feel good on the inside. She had a feeling he might be attracted to her because of who she was or how she once looked, but that wouldn’t be what determined their friendship. There was nothing pretentious about him. His face wasn’t perfectly chiseled like Armand’s, but he was handsome enough—in a sort of scholarly way. He wore glasses and dressed in khaki slacks and a polo shirt. Nothing out of the ordinary. But he’d struck a chord in her that made her
want to know more about him. The warmth of his brown eyes offered her a sense of peace and understanding.
Shannon wasn’t surprised when Judd cornered her immediately after everyone stood to leave. “How long will you be in town?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure yet. Everything’s still up in the air at the moment.”
He studied her scar. “Tough break on the car crash, but you’re still just as beautiful as ever. More beautiful, if that’s possible.”
Shannon chuckled. “You’re too kind.” She wasn’t able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.