Revved Up Hearts (34 page)

They got on the road right after breakfast the next morning. Dawn went to all her favorite stores. She got a new pair of tennis shoes so that she’d have an extra pair for the garage area. Jeremiah surprised the owners of a store that sold NASCAR merchandise. Jeremiah posed for pictures with the couple and signed a couple of diecast cars. Dawn slipped into a national chain store that sold soaps, shampoos, and such. Jeremiah realized that this was where she got the strawberry stuff that he liked so much. He noted their website on the store window. Now he could buy it for her
online.

Then they went down on the lake for a different view of Branson. They had lunch at a gourmet sandwich shop.
There is just so much to do in this little town
, Jeremiah thought while he ate. It would take a week to do all the things he wanted to do. He got brochures for all the things he thought his mom would enjoy. Then he spotted a store that sold hunting and camping supplies. Dawn had to drag him out of there three hours later. It was Wednesday, and Dawn really wanted to go to church to see all of her youth kids
again.

Kat and Lorrie were the first to see Dawn as she approached the church a couple of hours later. They screamed and ran to hug her. All the other kids followed: Carissa, Autumn, Katrina—just to name a few. It was so good to see all of her buddies again. There was quite a buzz over Jeremiah too. All the girls who didn’t watch NASCAR thought Jeremiah was a really hot guy. The kids and adults that did follow the sport all scrambled for autographs and took pictures with the cameras on their cell phones. Dawn wondered what Jeremiah would think of the service. In his short Christian life, all he had listened to were the more traditional hymns. Since this service was for teenagers, the music was more Christian rock and other more modern styles. He must’ve liked it because she saw him raise his hands shortly after the music started. Out of the corner of her eye, she even saw him wipe a tear during Chris Tomlin’s version of “Amazing
Grace.”

Before the lesson, Lindsey surprised Dawn by asking her if she would like to testify. Dawn stood and spoke, “I want to start by thanking God for the opportunity to come back and see all of you again. As you know, I was in a pretty bad way when I left here a few months ago. Things were not working out in my life the way I had planned, and I had been hurt very badly by someone I loved. I left here to get away from that situation. I needed a fresh start and a fresh prospective. The Lord kept his hand of protection on me while I was gone. He got me a great job and a great place to live. He blessed me with a lot of new friends. I’m happy to say that he has replaced that old, unhealthy relationship with something better than I could have ever imagined or dreamed.” She wanted to glance over at Jeremiah at this point but couldn’t. She could feel his eyes on her. “When I left, I wasn’t really sure that I was in the Lord’s will for my life, but I was so desperate for a change that I went anyway. Now I know that I’ve been in the Lord’s will all along. He never forgot about me. His plans are greater than mine because he loves me so much.” She wiped a tear as she sat back down. Jeremiah’s arm came around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She took a moment to lean into his embrace before straightening up to listen to the
lesson.

“I need to ask you a couple of questions,” Jeremiah said later as they were saying good-night at the door of the B&B.

“Okay.”

“First, in your testimony tonight you said that you loved Kevin. Did you mean
that?”

“Yes. If I didn’t love him, I would’ve never considered marrying him. Once I saw the character flaws that he had kept from me, I realized that he wasn’t the person I thought he was. That’s when my feelings for him started to
change.”

“Okay. Second question. What did you mean when you said you had been blessed with a relationship that was better than you had ever hoped or
dreamed?”

She smiled at him as she slipped her hand out of his and slid it around his waist. “You.”

“Really?” He was standing in front of the old porch light, so she couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was smiling. “That’s what I thought, but I wanted to hear you say
it.”

“I did love Kevin, but I love you so much more,” she told him as she closed the distance between them for a
kiss.

Saturday night, Dawn, Jeremiah, and the other members of Dawn’s family went to her cousin Tracy’s house for BBQ hamburgers. Jeremiah counted nineteen people in the little mobile home. This was the type of big family get together that he had missed since his parents’ divorce. When he thought about it, it was a little odd that her family was so much like his and that he fit in so well. He also knew that she would fit in just as well with his folks in Montana. But then another thought surprised him.
It’s not odd, it’s God.
It was true. Jeremiah took a moment to thank his heavenly Father for all the little miracles in his
life.

After the meal, the kids scattered in all directions to play while the adults sat around to talk. Dawn and Jeremiah decided to go for a walk. They strolled hand in hand down the little country road. “Are you really having a good time?” Dawn asked when they got out of sight of the
house.

“Yeah. Why would you ask
that?”

“I just think how you have been all over the country and you could be anywhere on your week off, but you chose to come to the middle of nowhere in Arkansas. This has to be boring for
you.”

“No, it’s not.” He stopped and turned her to face him. “First of all, you know that I want to spend time with you. Secondly, your family is so much like mine. I grew up in a little town myself. I’m sure that if I hadn’t come here I would’ve gone back to Montana.” He leaned down to kiss her but stopped when he heard kissing noises coming from the woods behind them. They both looked to see Cody, Hayden, and Kaleb watching
them.

“We’ve been spotted,” Cody said. “Run!” At that, the three boys took off back to the woods. Dawn was surprised when Jeremiah took off after them. She heard them yell when they realized that they were being followed. Jeremiah caught up with the boys and passed them, jumping over roots and ducking branches. Jeremiah, out of breath, was the first one back to the house, followed closely by Cody. Hayden and Kaleb weren’t far
behind.

“How did you know how to run through the woods like that?” Cody asked. “Our cousin Bethany brought a boy home last month, and he got so mad when we followed
them.”

“I grew up running through fields and woods, too,” he told the boys. “I know how to sneak through the woods so that what I’m hunting can’t hear
me.”

The wonder on the boys’ faces told Jeremiah that he had just made three new friends. “What are you boys up to?” came Tracy’s voice from the back door of the house. “Are they bothering you, Jeremiah?”

“No, we’re just playing hide-and-seek. It’s been a long time since I’ve got to run through the woods like
that.”

“Where’s Dawn?” Tracy
asked.

Jeremiah realized that he had left Dawn standing in the road. He looked that direction to see her walking back. “Uh-oh,” he said as he ran toward
her.

“Somebody’s in trouble,” he heard Hayden say behind
him.

“Are you mad?” Jeremiah asked when he got back to
Dawn.

“No, it was fun to
watch.”

“Really? You mean
that?”

“You were bonding with some more of my family. Why would I
mind?”

“You’re the best,” he told her as he leaned in for the kiss that had been interrupted
earlier.

The next morning was Easter Sunday. The little church that Dawn grew up in was filled to capacity for the morning service. Dawn and her family were barely able to find seats together. Jeremiah squeezed into the pew beside Dawn just as the service began. They stood together for the opening prayer. Dawn held the hymnal between them during worship. As always, Jeremiah was very popular during the part of the service where visitors were welcomed. Jeremiah stretched his arm out along the back of the pew behind Dawn as they were seated again. The youth did an Easter skit depicting the crucifixion of Jesus that lead into Brother Walker’s sermon on the resurrection. Using Mark 16:9-20 as his text, the pastor reminded the congregation that Jesus’s last words before being taken up into heaven were to tell us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” This didn’t just apply to the disciples of Jesus’s day but to us as well. He closed by urging those gathered to do whatever they could to spread the gospel to those who needed to hear
it.