The Troublesome Angel (16 page)

Someone laid a folder on Stacy’s desk. Assuming it contained more enrollment forms, she added it to the stack. Suddenly, Lewis perked up, ears forward and alert, and thumped his tail on the floor at her feet.

Following the dog’s line of sight Stacy did a double take.
Dear Lord,
she was imagining things again. The man standing off to one side at the back of the room looked exactly like Graydon Payne! She blinked to clear her head. The vision remained. This time, he was real!

Holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers he stood there, smiling confidently, as though he didn’t remember a thing about his claim that marrying her was a stupid idea.

Stacy’s first impulse was squeal with delight and run straight into his arms. Then she thought about how he hadn’t even bothered to phone her since that day at the camp and she quickly regained her senses, acknowledging him with no more than a polite nod.

Gray stepped forward and pointed to the folder she’d just received. “Tell me what you thought of that.”

Stacy never took her eyes off him. “What is it?”

“A professional prospectus,” he said. “I wanted you to know exactly what you were getting into before I asked you to marry me. Again. Look at it.”

“Why should I need to?” She was having a terrible time remaining in full control of her wobbly knees and trembling hands, not to mention the flock of butterflies holding an impromptu square dance in her stomach.

He gestured again. “Because it’s all in there. Every drawback and every asset. Read it. Please.”

Stacy shook her head. “No. I do want to know about your work, eventually, but you’re not going to get away with treating me like one of your clients. I want you to talk to me. If you have anything to say, say it.”

He snorted in self-derision. “You mean here? Now?” The firm set to her jaw told him that was exactly what she wanted. “I don’t know. I didn’t do such a good job the first time I tried proposing.”

“True. But since you’ve had practice, you should be a little better at it by now.” She folded her arms across her chest and watched as the teasing tone of her comment brought a mischievous sparkle to his eyes, then added, “Since I love you so much it’s making me crazy, you might start by telling me you’re nuts about me, too.”

There was a faint giggle from the back of the classroom. Closer to the front, somebody coughed,
sounding like they were strangling on a repressed snicker. That was all it took to launch the entire class into giggles.

Circling the desk, Gray ignored everyone else and gently took Stacy’s hands. “Oh, honey. I’ve been miserable without you. You’re all I think about, all I dream about. But I was afraid that if you knew everything about me, you’d turn me down flat. I finally decided to do what I know best. I worked up a list of the pros and cons so you could make a rational decision.”

Laughing and shaking her head, Stacy looked into his beloved face through a veil of happy tears. “There is nothing rational about my falling in love with you, Mr. Payne. I don’t want to consider all the reasons I shouldn’t marry you. I just want to follow my heart and do it.”

“You do?” Elated, he swept her into his arms, kissed her solidly, and swung her around in a circle, taking care to avoid stepping on Lewis.

So overcome with gratitude to her Heavenly Father she could hardly think straight, Stacy held tight. As soon as Gray put her down she rested her palms on his chest, unmindful of their student audience, and looked into his cherished face. The spiritual rapport she found there blessed her beyond her fondest dreams. Only one important question remained. “What about Missy?”

“She’s fine,” he said, his expression filled with pure wonder. “She’s already staying with me. I
hired an older lady to look after her and they’ve become pals, so don’t think I only came here to get her a mother. Okay?”

“It will be my pleasure to be her mother,” Stacy murmured with tears of happiness running down her cheeks. “It ranks right up there with my delight at being your wife.”

Loud applause filled the room. Stacy wrapped her arms around Gray and clung to him. Judy had been right. It was much better to know someone loved you and wanted to spend eternity with you, than it was to be alone. The only complication was that this intimate moment had come
now.

Sniffling and grinning, Stacy let go of her future husband and stepped back. “I hate to say this, but I’m afraid I have a class to teach.”

“No problem. I’ll just take a seat right here in front.” He quickly slid into an empty desk in the first row and faced her, smiling. “Go right ahead. Don’t mind me. I’ve always wanted to learn how this is done anyway.”

“You don’t have to take my class to impress me.”

“I know that.” Gray’s tone conveyed absolute sincerity. “I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching lately, and I’ve realized it isn’t enough for me to just work hard, then give my money to charity, the way Nathan does. I need to be there. To get personally involved with helping people. To be more like you…if you don’t mind.”

“No, I don’t mind a bit.” Absolute joy filled her to overflowing. If the good Lord threw any more blessings her way she was afraid she’d explode! Or dance. Or sing His praises at the top of her lungs. The way she felt right now, even if she did all three it wouldn’t be
nearly
enough!

T
he white, clapboard country church was small, perfectly suited for the intimate wedding ceremony. James stood up as Gray’s best man, paired with Stacy’s friend Judy as maid of honor, much to that young woman’s obvious pleasure.

Missy hadn’t been able to decide which of her prospective parents she should accompany so she’d chosen to be a flower girl and walk bravely down the aisle by herself.

It was a balmy fall day; perfect in every way as far as Stacy was concerned. She’d been far more nervous planning her nuptials than she was taking part in them. Mostly, she’d worried that Gray would complain her arrangements were too unsophisticated or that her choice of a modest church was inappropriate. Her fears had proved groundless. He’d welcomed the simplicity with genuine relief.

As Stacy stood at the altar beside him and took her vows, she felt perfect peace, perfect love, filling the sanctuary. This was the very church where she’d declared her faith and this was the place where she was about to promise the rest of her life to the man she loved.

She glowed with happiness as Gray slipped the gold band on her finger. This time, she’d remembered to pray for guidance ahead of time and was trusting the Lord in all things. The fact that Gray’s entire family had condescended to attend the wedding was one of the miraculous answers she’d received.

In addition, her entire tracking class had passed with honors, including Gray, and had all been invited. They, and close friends from church formed Stacy’s substitute family.

Once this day is over, she thought with awe, I’ll be part of a real family, again. Her heart swelled with so much divine praise she wanted to lift her arms and shout,
Thank you, Jesus!
right there in front of everybody.

Raising her veil and carefully folding it back, Gray prepared to kiss his new bride. Suddenly, several pagers squealed, startling everyone. Dozens of wedding guests scrambled to see if they were the ones being summoned.

“Oh, no,” Stacy whispered. “Not now.”

Gray was grinning down at her and shaking his head. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t bring mine.” He ignored the slight tug on his left pant leg and tried
once again to give his new wife the customary nuptial kiss.

The tug intensified. Missy’s shrill, frantic little voice carried wonderfully in the small sanctuary. “I didn’t do it, Uncle…Uncle Daddy! Honest, I didn’t!”

Stacy giggled. “
What
did she call you?” In the background, the remaining guests started to laugh, too.

“It sounded like,
Uncle Daddy,
” he said in a hushed tone. He was barely able to keep a straight face as he crouched down to comfort the troubled child. “We know you didn’t do anything wrong, Missy. Nobody’s blaming you.”

Reassured, the little girl solemnly whispered, “Okay.”

“Good.” Straightening, Gray slipped his arm around Stacy’s waist then cocked his head toward the door. “Knowing you, I suppose you’d like to find out what the emergency is.”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all.” Raising his hand to get everyone’s attention, Gray announced, “If you’ll all stay right where you are and excuse us for a minute, we’ll be right back and take up where we left off.”

Stacy glanced down. “You, too, Missy. Stay here with Aunt Judy. Okay?” As soon as the child nodded, she said, “Good girl,” gathered a handful of the skirt of her floor-length, satin gown, and lifted it high so she could run without tripping.

Hurrying up the aisle beside Gray, she noticed
that most of their guests looked as though they thought the diversion was charming. To her added delight, even Nathan and Estelle Payne were smiling.
Would wonders never cease!

The newlyweds reached the parking lot just as their paged guests were returning. “No problem,” one man said. “Charlie’s gone to take care of it.” He began to frown and look puzzled. “Hey, what are you two doing out here?”

Laughing gaily, Stacy said, “It beats me. I was just standing there, getting married like any normal bride, and my groom started to run off. I figured if I didn’t want him to get away, I’d better follow him.”

“Now cut that out,” Gray warned, “or I’ll have to teach Missy to call you, Aunt Mommy.”

“That was
so funny, Uncle Daddy.
I hope somebody got it on tape.” Stacy’s laughter heightened until her eyes were watering and she was gasping for breath.

Gray stood by and watched, unsure whether she was just very amused or on the verge of hysteria. “Are you okay?”

“I—I think I may—” she gulped in more air “—be a little more overstressed…than I thought.”

“No kidding.” Gray handed her his handkerchief before he put his arm around her. “Take nice, deep breaths and try to relax. You’ll get through this. We both will.”

Stacy rested her forehead against his chin and dabbed at her eyes. “Look at me. I never wear
mascara. I let Judy talk me into using it today and now it’s all over your hanky. I must look like a raccoon!” She glanced up at him. “What will your parents say?”

“With those two, there’s no telling.” He rolled his eyes. “This morning, my mother blew me away when she told me my natural father has wanted to meet me for years. All I have to do is contact him when I’m ready.”

“Oh, Gray, that’s wonderful!”

“There’s more. She also said I was a lucky guy to have found such a wonderful wife.”

“She didn’t!”

“Oh, yes, she did. And from the look I saw on my father’s face a few minutes ago, I’d say he agrees. Frankly, I can’t believe they’re even here today.”

“I can,” Stacy said. She dried the rest of her happy tears and gazed into her new husband’s eyes, filled with empathy and love for the lonely child he’d once been.

“Why?” His brow knit. “I hope you didn’t beg them to come.”

“Nope,” she said, beaming. “I prayed about it. Can you believe it? I actually took a problem to the Lord
before
I was knee-deep in it.”

Deeply touched, Gray clasped both her hands and drew them to his chest, over his heart. “I’m so thankful for you. For what we’ve found, together.”

Stacy closed her eyes and whispered, “Amen.”

Dear Reader,

The directions our lives take may sometimes seem random or at cross-purposes with what we think should happen. Yet, looking back we can often see that God was in charge of the circumstances all along.

For instance, my father was an immigrant. If he’d stayed in Norway, I wouldn’t be here at all. My family moved from Ohio to California when I was twelve years old. I didn’t want to go, but if they hadn’t moved, I’d never have met and married my wonderful high school sweetheart. His job transferred him to a very small town where we raised our children in a country atmosphere. That prepared us for our eventual move to rural Arkansas and helped us fit in with our capable, hardworking neighbors.

Our married daughter once lived in college housing. In that same building complex, a fiction-writing class was offered. If she hadn’t lived there—at that very time—I wouldn’t have signed up for that class and you wouldn’t be reading this now!

Although I’ve repeatedly prayed about my career as an author and put it in God’s hands, the road hasn’t been smooth. There have been blind alleys and potholes along the way. I’ve taken a few wrong turns of my own making, too. But the Lord is faithful and here I am.

Now that this story is written and I’m beginning another, I leave it up to Him to speak to your heart and point out whatever this book contains that will bless you and direct you down the perfect path He has prepared for all believers. I hope you will “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.” He truly will direct your paths—if you let Him.