Lone Star Holiday

by Jolene Navarro

  * * *

  John quit breathing and rushed to her side, pulling her from Jake’s arms. He eased her onto the picnic-table bench.

  “What’s wrong?” Rachel’s worried stare didn’t leave Lorrie Ann.

  The moan Lorrie Ann released twisted his spirit. She leaned forward, resting her forehead in her hands. Her fingers threaded through her hair, screening her face from view. He moved his hand to her back, needing to keep some sort of contact.

  With the other hand, he pulled Rachel closer. She looked so lost. Celeste squeezed between and crawled into his lap, pressing her small body next to his heart.

  For a moment, he closed his eyes and thanked God for them all being safe in his arms. He prayed for Seth and Vickie.

  “Daddy, I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I’m sorry.” More tears ran down Rachel’s already red and swollen eyes. “Lorrie Ann?”

  Lorrie Ann raised her head. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I just feel so stupid. I’ve never fainted before.”

  Jake took one step closer and sat on his heels. “It’s a crash from the adrenaline rush. It’s common.” The trooper moved his gaze from Lorrie Ann to John. “They’re airlifting Seth to Methodist. I called Vickie’s parents. She won’t be able to ride in the helicopter. Are you going? She needs someone with her, and I’m pretty sure that useless ex-husband of hers can’t make it.” He sneered the last sentence.

  John sighed. They needed to head to the hospital. Vickie had a long night ahead of her, and she needed all the physical and spiritual support they could give her.

  “First, Lorrie Ann and Rachel need a change of clothes before we go to San Antonio.” He realized he assumed Lorrie Ann would come with him. She might just want to go home and burrow in her bed deep under her quilt.

  He felt Lorrie Ann straighten. “Yes, we need to get Rachel out of those wet clothes. I...um...apologize for my little bit of drama.” She rubbed her palm across her forehead, and he noticed it still shook.

  “Lorrie Ann, thank you.” His throat tightened. “I shouldn’t have gotten upset earlier. I was—”

  “You were worried.” Lorrie Ann finished his thought for him. “It’s okay.”

  “Well, I’ll be going. Good night, and please let me know if Vickie needs anything. She won’t call me.”

  John watched as the state trooper backed out and drove down the graveled driveway of the old limestone house.

  “I’d planned to put a fence around the stairs to the river when we moved in here. I should have done it already.” What he would like to do was build a twelve-foot fence around his girls.

  “Daddy, I’m going to the hospital with you, right?” Rachel asked.

  “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you behind.” When he stood, Celeste clung so tightly he didn’t need to hold her to him, but he did. With a slight smile, he kissed the top of her head and moved to the truck. He had driven Maggie’s golf cart, but he could have one of Dub’s boys take it back in the morning.

  “Daddy, is Seth going to be okay?” Rachel’s whisper could barely be heard over the night sounds.

  “All we can do is pray and trust in God.”

  A flash of anger crossed her face as she sent a glare his way. “You can pray all you want, Daddy, but sometimes bad things still happen.” Her young voice sounded old beyond its years.

  He focused on buckling Celeste into the backseat of the truck and prayed for the right words to say.

  As he slid in behind the steering wheel, he found his daughter in the rearview mirror. Her face turned away from him and pressed against the window.

  “Prayer and faith doesn’t mean a life without trouble and loss, sweetheart. But it does mean you’re never alone, even if the people in your life can’t be there.” He took a deep sigh and glanced over at Lorrie Ann. She had her arm stretched over the seat with her hand resting on Celeste’s leg. He faced the front, looking over the hood at the trees in his headlights. “Rachel, life has brought me to my knees many times, but God is my strength.”

  He made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror. In her short eleven years, his little girl had experienced too many harsh realities of life. He knew a pat on the head and a reassurance that everything would be all right would insult her. “The hardest and most fearful prayer I’ve ever spoken was to ask for God’s will to be done. I’ve never regretted following God. I have questioned many things in my life but never God’s love for us.”

  She sat alone in the backseat, huddled in a ball. “Daddy, I’m so afraid.”

  “Let’s pray.” He twisted, and with his right hand, he entwined his finger with hers. He took his left and invited Lorrie Ann to join the family circle.

  Her hand still had a slight tremble. He noticed Rachel’s also shook as she reached for Celeste. He closed his eyes. “Dear Father, we turn our fear over to You. For we know You are with us. We lift Seth up to You. Your love will strengthen us and help us. Thank You, God, for holding us in Your hands. Amen.”

  Once at the pecan farm, it didn’t take long to get Celeste settled in and find a change of clothes for everyone before they headed to San Antonio. He bent down to give Celeste a kiss.

  “Daddy, can I go?”

  “No, you stay with Aunt Maggie, but I need you to pray.”

  “Like the disciples in the garden? I can do that. Miss Martha said they fell asleep. I won’t, Daddy. I’ll pray for Seth.”

  John smiled and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. “Pray as long as you can then sleep. You promise to sleep? I don’t want to worry about you.”

  “Faith means not to worry, Daddy.”

  He shook his head at the wisdom of innocence.

  Chapter Eighteen

  John’s hand controlled the steering wheel as he eased the truck off IH-10 and onto the Medical Drive exit.

  Lorrie Ann sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”

  He hated the doubt in her voice.

  “It’d be an understatement to say Vickie and I weren’t friends. I might be the last person she wants around her right now.”

  “You gave her son a fighting chance to survive.” He reached over and took her hand. “It’s a big hospital. If it becomes a problem, there’re plenty of other waiting rooms.”

  She weaved her fingers through his hand and held tight. “I guess you’re a bit familiar with hospitals. I don’t know what to say.”

  “From experience, I can tell you there’s nothing you can say. It’s just about being there, so no pressure to find the perfect words of wisdom.” He tightened his grip for a second before putting his hand back to the job of driving.

  With a deep breath, Lorrie Ann tilted her head back and combed her fingers through her hair.

  “That was a loaded sigh if I ever heard one. Want to share what’s going on in that brain of yours?”

  “I’m thinking your family would be much better off without me. Since my arrival, your girls have been in a car accident, the drama in the pageant, and I let Rachel just two-step right out the front door.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know you were all-powerful.” He found the energy to give a half smile as she rolled her eyes at him.

  He pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine. “Lorrie Ann, God puts people in our path when He knows we’re going to need them.” He turned to make sure he had her full attention. “Did it occur to you that you didn’t bring the bad, but you’re the gift God sent to help us through these events?” He pulled her hand into his. “I know you can’t wait to get back to your old life, but you’ve been a godsend. Don’t ever forget you’ve impacted the lives of my family and others.”

  He moved in a little closer, their noses inches apart. “You got that?”

  Her eyes turned a strange shade of grayish-green surrounded by the moisture gathered in the black lashes. She nodded.
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  “Good.” He reached over the seat and gently nudged his sleeping daughter. “Rachel, sweetheart, we’re at the hospital.”

  Climbing out of the truck, both girls followed John across the parking lot. As they walked through the sliding doors, John grabbed Rachel’s left hand. He watched his daughter reach out to Lorrie Ann with her free hand. Joined, the threesome entered the children’s wing, prepared for the worst, praying for the best.

  Entering the waiting room, Lorrie Ann saw Vickie with her parents on either side of her. She tried to duck behind John and Rachel, but the girl wouldn’t let go of her hand. She licked her lips and swallowed the knot in her dry throat.

  Vickie looked up and, with a gasp, rushed them. She headed straight to Lorrie Ann and wrapped her in a death grip.

  “Thank you, oh, thank you.” Vickie started sobbing. “They said you saved him. If not for you we would have lost him.”

  Huge gulps of air filled Lorrie Ann’s ear.

  Not knowing what to do, she brought her arms around Vickie’s shoulders. She made eye contact with John and gave him a help me look.

  He moved in and gently touched Vickie’s arm. “How’s he doing?”

  She turned and sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Oh, Rachel.” She grabbed the girl’s face, cradling it in her hands before pulling her into her arms.

  “How...how is he?” Rachel asked.

  “He’s alive.” Vickie held Rachel at arm’s length and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Thanks to you and L.A., he made it here.”

  Vickie pulled Rachel back into her chest and looked at John. “They’re running tests on his brain and spine.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” John’s hand gripped Vickie’s shoulder.

  “No.” She shook her head. “We’re just waiting and praying.”

  A doctor walked in, and Vickie’s mother led her to meet with him.

  Lorrie Ann found a lone chair in the corner. She leaned back, causing the vinyl chair to squeak. With eyes closed, she tilted back her head. The strong smell of disinfectant faded as she focused on the images of people, events, words and decisions that swirled in her brain, creating a whirlpool of thoughts. Her mother, Aunt Maggie, John, the girls and Vickie, the list went around and around until she felt the pressure suck her under.

  John knew the truth to a life well lived. She didn’t fully trust God, not with her heart.

  Bowing her head in prayer, she asked for guidance. “God, please show me what You have planned for me.” She waited. Opening her eyes, she studied her hands. How do I know what to do, God?

  More silence. With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes. So, what if she went to Nashville?

  Quiet, she waited and listened to her heart’s response. The sounds of the hospital faded as the beat of her heart rushed in her ears. The girls—she’d miss Rachel and Celeste. She bit her lip at the thought of leaving John’s daughters. They had taken a permanent place in her heart. She nodded.

  Okay, what else? Images filled the darkness behind her eyelids: the river, the trees, Aunt Maggie’s smile, Yolanda. With a sigh, she waded deeper into her consciousness and found her mother’s sober eyes. A woman she didn’t even know yet. Then the youth and all their music and laughter entered her thoughts. That surprised her. She’d discovered an unexpected purpose working with the youth group. A purpose she’d just found.

  John. She bit down on her top lip. He felt like home. A home she never allowed herself to even dream about in her most secret desires.

  Lorrie Ann thought of the new job in Nashville. She searched for anything positive. Nothing.

  Opening her eyes, she scanned the waiting room and recalled her life in L.A. She had been spiritually dead. God had brought her here so John could give her CPR.

  “Lorrie Ann?”

  She jumped, surprised by the nearness of John’s voice. She opened her eyes to look up at him.

  “Can I sit?” He motioned to the empty chair next to her.

  She nodded. “How is he?” Please, God, let it be good.

  John smiled. “It looks like he’ll be fine. Vickie took Rachel to see him.”

  “Oh, thank You, God.” She reached out and placed her fingers on John’s arm. The warmth shot through her. She pulled her hand back into her lap and hoped to give the impression of being unaffected.

  She stared across the waiting room, not wanting to risk the rejection she might see in his eyes if she declared her change of plan. Would he even care if she stayed?

  “I’m thinking of sticking around for a while.”

  John’s eyes widened. “Really? Why have you decided to stay?”

  She bit her lip, twisting her fingers together in her lap. “I’m thinking it might be nice to get to know my mom.”

  His stubbled chin rested on his fist. Cutting a side glance at her, he nodded. “She’d like that.”

  “And I’d love to keep working with the youth, after the pageant’s over. I mean, if it’s all right with you.”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “I think it’s a good idea. How about—”

  Rachel burst through the doors and ran straight to John. Wrapping her arms around her father, she buried her face in his chest. “He talked to me, Daddy, and made a lame joke.”

  John pulled her closer and smiled at Lorrie Ann over his daughter’s head. “That’s good news, sweetheart. Let’s talk to Vickie, and then we can head home.”

  Lorrie Ann smiled back and followed as they walked toward Vickie and her parents.

  She felt lighter. With the decision to remain, a burden lifted. She was home to stay. Now, God, what do I do about John?

  Chapter Nineteen

  The day of the play had finally arrived. Unlike Lorrie Ann, John had no doubt the Christmas pageant would be successful. He had other reasons to be nervous. He pushed the sour-apple-flavored candy around in his mouth.

  He looked at his girls, sitting in front of him. Rachel, wise beyond her years, reminded him so much of Carol—not just her looks, but her mannerisms, too. He smiled at Celeste. Less than a minute of sitting and she already wiggled in her chair.

  “Girls, you know I like spending time with Lorrie Ann, right?”

  They nodded. Rachel’s face became tight. “Just as friends, right?”

  “I love Lorrie Ann, Daddy.” Celeste kicked her feet.

  Rachel turned on her little sister. “Can you sit still for five minutes?”

  He pulled Celeste into his lap and, with his other hand, settled Rachel against his side. She grumbled, but nestled in close and laid her head on his shoulder. For a moment he savored having them close.

  “After the play—” he took a deep breath “—I’m going to ask her to stay with us.”

  Rachel picked her head up. “But, Daddy, she’s already decided to stay in Clear Water.”

  “No, I’m going to ask her to marry me and live with us at the ranch house.”

  Celeste jumped off his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, Daddy, she’ll be my mom, and we can have sleepovers!”

  Rachel pulled back and yelled, “We already have a mom, Celeste!”

  Celeste looked at her sister in confusion. “But she’s not here.”

  “Rachel, it’s okay to love more than one mother.” He knew she would have a harder time than her sister. Tucking Rachel’s hair behind one ear, he brought her face up to look him in the eye. “I love Lorrie Ann, and I want to share my life with her. You’re part of that life.”

  The tears hanging on her lower lashes sliced at his heart. “But, Daddy, I love Momma and I don’t want to forget her.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, the human heart is phenomenal when it comes to loving. It doesn’t kick people out. It just gets bigger. Your mom will always be a part of us, living in our hearts.
” He squeezed Rachel with his arm and laid his cheek against the top of her head. “You know what your mom is doing right now?” He felt her shake her head against his chest with her nose pressed flat. “She’s scooting over to make an empty space right next to her. I can see her patting the seat as she invites Lorrie Ann to join her. That’s what your mother always did, at every opportunity. She pulled people in and loved them.”

  “You think Momma would like Lorrie Ann?”

  “Yes, and just because I love Lorrie Ann doesn’t take away any of the love I have for you or your mother. It’s just more love.”

  “I think Lorrie Ann would be good for Celeste.” Rachel pulled away a little and sat straighter. “You’ll have more help. It’s nice to have a woman to talk to about things.”

  John laughed. “Yes, it is.” He kissed her forehead and pulled both girls tight within the circle of his arms. He flexed his jaw and sent a prayer out. Now he had to convince Lorrie Ann.

  Chapter Twenty

  The unfinished youth building had become a biblical village. Red-and-green Christmas sweaters filled the seats. Lorrie Ann nodded and smiled as people greeted her. A gentle breeze mixed the fresh outdoor smell with the aroma of the cinnamon snicker-doodles set out for the audience.

  She glanced at the entrance and saw John shaking hands with each person coming in to watch the pageant. He looked over the crowd, stopping and smiling when he made eye contact with her.

  He sent a slow wink that melted her spine and demolished all the tight nerves. She felt her smile reach her ears. Oh, God, please wrap Your love so tightly around every heart here tonight, so all they see is the hard work the kids have put into the play.

  Mrs. Miller moved next to John, and the look she sent Lorrie Ann’s way did not include a smile. Acid burned her throat as monkeys flipped wild somersaults low in her belly, pulling every nerve taut.

  The list of things that could go wrong flashed through her brain. We shouldn’t have used the donkey. What if he does something embarrassing? The cherry picker might get stuck again. Uncle Billy sat at the controls, so he would handle any malfunctions.