Route 66 Reunions (43 page)

Kevin opened her car door and reached for her hand, which she gladly gave. Side-by-side they followed the path to the fountain. Hand-in-hand they watched the beauty of the water and the fountain. The four seahorse statues representing the four states that touched the lake. The colorful lights, the music. All of it together couldn’t have created a more romantic moment for her.

Kevin turned to face Sarah. She watched the water arch above and behind him in a spectacular display; then she only saw Kevin and the love in his eyes.

“I’ve accepted a job in real estate.”

His words surprised her. “You’re leaving Parkers?”

“Oh yeah.” He grinned. “When I made it clear I didn’t want the daughter, the job lost its appeal. I’ve got another week to go, and then I get to play in what I really enjoy. Only I’ll have a salary as well as commission. I think it’s a good choice.”

“That’s wonderful.” That he didn’t want Miss Parker. Maybe changing jobs, too.

“But that isn’t all.” His grin disappeared, and his eyes darkened as he searched her face. “I love you, Sarah. I always have. I walked away from you twice, but I never stopped loving you. Not even once. Can you forgive me?”

She swayed toward him. The night, bright lights from the fountain, Kevin so close. He could ask her to forgive anything tonight and she would. Only love filled her heart. “Yes, if you’ll forgive me.”

He released her hand and caught her by the shoulders.

“You were never at fault. Unless you can be blamed for letting me walk away.” He smiled. “Will you marry me? If you say no, that will be the second huge mistake of our lives.”

“Yes.”

His eyes shone. “Yes, you will?”

Love stretched toward every corner of her heart. She lifted her lips as he pulled her close. “Yes, more than anything I want to be your wife.”

Their lips touched in a sweet kiss. Mist from the fountain drifted over them as the wind shifted. Kevin pulled back and smiled at Sarah. “Can we take that as God’s blessing?”

She smiled. “I think so.”

They kissed again and Kevin murmured, “Let’s get married real soon.”

“Oh yes, before Trey goes to college. We’ve wasted entirely too much time already.” Sarah lifted her lips for another kiss.

Sarah stood at long last beside the only man she would ever love as they said their vows. The minister turned to her.

“Do you, Sarah Anne Maddox, take this man, Kevin Nichols, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“Do you have a ring?”

Kevin turned as Trey, standing tall and handsome beside him, handed him the ring. His hands were steady and warm when he slipped the ring on Sarah’s finger.

Then she placed a ring on his finger, and together they repeated their vows.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Sarah’s heart soared with love for Kevin. For the boy she’d never stopped loving, but mostly for the man he’d become.

“You may kiss the bride.”

“I will cherish you always,” Kevin whispered before he claimed her in the sweetest kiss she’d ever known.

“I love you, Kevin,” Sarah murmured. Together they faced the crowded church in Litchfield, Illinois.

“May I present Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Nichols?”

Music swelled as the wedding party hurried down the aisle toward the fellowship room in back to receive congratulations from their friends and families. Kevin’s parents stopped with wide smiles on their faces. Both hugged Kevin first and then Sarah.

Sincerity shone from Mrs. Nichols’s eyes when she said, “Sarah, I’m glad you’re part of our family now. We need to get together sometime and shop. I can’t think of a better way to get acquainted.”

Sarah laughed. “I couldn’t agree with you more. Give me a call anytime.”

Kevin gave her a quick hug. She smiled then watched her new in-laws shake Trey’s hand.

Mrs. Nichols said, “I understand if you don’t want to think of us as your grandparents. We’ve made plenty of mistakes in our lives, but…”

When she left her thought hanging, Trey smiled at her and said, “We all make mistakes, but I know the One who brings joy from ashes. Mistakes can always be forgiven.”

When he opened his arms to hug his grandmother for the first time, Sarah exchanged a smile with her husband and whispered, “I hope mother pride isn’t a sin, because I couldn’t be prouder of our son.”

“How about father pride?” His grin widened. “Or husband pride? You’re pretty special, too, you know.”

“Maybe it isn’t pride at all. Maybe it’s love.”

He pulled her close. “Oh, it’s definitely love.”

As the reception drew to a close, Sarah changed from her wedding dress into comfortable slacks and a short-sleeved cotton blouse. Before they left the ladies’ restroom, she hugged her best friends. “Thank you for everything. Especially for being with me today. In less than two months, you both made the long trip to be here. That means so much. I love you, Tessa. I love you, Amanda. You’re the best friends anyone could have.”

“You would do the same for us.” Amanda brushed off her words.

“That’s right,” Tessa agreed. “You were at my wedding, weren’t you?”

“Of course. Texas isn’t so far away.” Sarah turned toward Amanda with a teasing grin. “California isn’t much farther, you know.”

Amanda laughed and pushed the door open. “Remember that when you come for a visit. Just don’t expect another wedding from me.”

She let the door close behind her. Tessa’s eyebrows rose. “Was that a prayer request?”

Sarah tapped her chin with one finger. “You know, I think it was. But as my son says, we must pray for God’s will above all.”

“Definitely.”

Tessa and Sarah followed Amanda.

Sarah loved the possessive feel of Kevin’s fingers interlaced with hers as they prepared to leave the church.

Trey stopped them near the door. “Hey, I want to say thank you for so many things.” He shrugged. “I mean the car is beyond cool, but well, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Thanks for giving me a chance at life. Thanks for letting Mom and Dad adopt me. Thanks for caring enough to meet me and become my friends. You know what I’m trying to say.”

Sarah couldn’t stop a tear from sliding down her cheek. She brushed it away and smiled as she took the tall boy in her arms. “Maybe you haven’t realized, but you’ve given us life, too. Without your prayers and words of encouragement, we’d still be lost in our complacency. We wouldn’t have each other, and we wouldn’t have the Lord living in our lives. Thank you, Trey.”

“That’s right.” Kevin stepped forward and, with one arm around Sarah, clapped Trey’s shoulder. “We may not be a family like we could’ve been, but because of God’s forgiveness, we are family and always will be. Thanks, Trey. We owe you.”

A sly smile crossed Trey’s face as he looked from Kevin to Sarah. “There’s one way you could pay me back. I never liked being an only child. I wouldn’t mind having a little brother or sister to play with once in a while.”

Kevin’s laughter joined Sarah’s. He hugged her close. “Now that’s an idea. Guess we’ll leave it in God’s hands.”

Trey grinned. “Fair enough.”

K
evin Nichols is not a cook, and neither am I
,
but my oldest son is, and this is his easy version of a favorite. It would be hard to mess this up, yet it tastes great and never lasts long. It’s also a great way to use up left over vegetables and mashed potatoes.

S
HEPHERD
’s P
IE

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ cup milk

1½ pounds ground beef, venison, or turkey, browned and drained

1 can drained green beans, corn, peas, or carrots

8-10 potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, if desired season as desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add mushroom soup and milk to cooked ground beef and mix thoroughly. Line casserole dish with meat mixture. Pour drained vegetables over meat. Cover with mashed potatoes, spreading to edge of dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired. Bake until potatoes are lightly browned.

To extraordinary foster parents who give more than meets the eye to make a difference for good in the lives of children. Especially to Kathy Bowman, a fellow foster parent who went out of her way to serve others. We miss you, Kathy.

A
manda Wilson knelt on the soft, thick lawn beside the tombstone and placed a spray of forget-me-nots against the cool marble. She took a deep breath, letting the scent of fresh-cut grass fill her senses while the early May sun warmed her skin.

With her finger, she traced the words engraved in the stone. J
EFFREY
A
LLEN
W
ILSON
. Beloved Son and Husband. We Miss You. Such impersonal words to convey the love and loss she could never regain.

She lifted her face toward the blue sky. “Oh Jeff, I do miss you, even though our life together seems more like a dream with each passing year.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “I finished college. That’s the good news. The bad news is I’ll be teaching in Litchfield, so I have to move home to Illinois.”

A sigh escaped as she settled back against her heels. “I’ll be staying with Mom and Dad.”

She brought her gaze back to Jeffrey’s name. “At least it’s only temporary, until I get my own place. Anyway, I couldn’t leave California without saying good-bye.”

She shifted her position, moving closer to a small grave beside her husband’s and placed a bouquet of baby’s breath in the vase set in front of the marble slab. Tears blurred her vision as she read the engraving. C
HARITY
F
AITH
W
ILSON
. G
OD’S
L
OVE
B
ROUGHT
Y
OU INTO
O
UR
L
IVES FOR
S
UCH A
S
HORT
T
IME
.

A sob escaped before Amanda could hold it back. She held a tissue to her eyes then covered her trembling lips. Five years since she held her tiny daughter. The hurt was no longer fresh and constant as it had once been, but leaving Charity’s grave would be hard.

“My precious baby, I miss you so much. I love you, Charity. I always will.”

Amanda stood and looked from one stone to another. She and Jeffrey had married much too quickly and for all the wrong reasons. Still, she’d grown to love him and would miss him for the rest of her life. Sometimes little Charity seemed a distant memory brought real by the empty ache in her arms. An ache that would never ease because her arms would never hold another child of her own.

“Good-bye, Jeffrey. Good-bye, Charity,” she whispered before turning on her heel and making her way across the cemetery to her car. Time to go home.

She turned the ignition key and let the engine warm while she took one last look at the stones sitting side by side across the cemetery. In her imagination she sensed Jeffrey and Charity urging her to get on with her life.

A sigh escaped. Why Litchfield? Sometimes it was so hard to know if the turning points in life were God ordained or only a cruel twist of life. She put the gearshift in drive and rolled out of the cemetery.