Waiting For Rachel: A Christian Romance (Those Karlsson Boys)
Read Waiting For Rachel: A Christian Romance (Those Karlsson Boys) Online
Authors: Kimberly Rae Jordan
Waiting For Rachel
Those Karlsson Boys
Book 1
By
Kimberly Rae Jordan
By Kimberly Rae Jordan
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This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
By Kimberly Rae Jordan
(
Christian Romances
)
(Book 1: Home To Collingsworth)
(
Book 1: Those Karlsson Boys
)
(
Book 2: Those Karlsson Boys
)
(
Book 3: Those Karlsson Boys
)
A Collection of Christmas Romance Short Stories
By K.R. Jordan
(
Sweet Romances
)
(
Typecast Christmas Collection
)
Acknowledgements
In addition to my wonderfully supportive family, there is another group of people who I wouldn’t be able to do this writing thing without. I am so very grateful for those who have taken the time to read my stories! The readers who have downloaded my book and read it have been a tremendous blessing to me. As they’ve shared how they’ve enjoyed the stories and even been blessed by them I am reminded that that it is not through anything I could have done on my own. That God has chosen to bless the words He gave me—a struggling, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding Christian—is amazing to me. I hope that always you, as my reader, will see Him in what you read and not me. For the lessons my characters learn are often ones I’m also struggling to learn and not always succeeding at, but God’s grace is there for me as it is for you. I pray this story will touch you as you read it in the same way I was touched as I wrote it.
Table of Contents
The
moisture in her eyes blurred the sweep of bright headlights that illuminated the interior of the store. Rachel Perkins blinked, trying to clear her vision so she could see the vehicle that swung into a parking spot in front of her shop. Once the headlights snapped off, Rachel recognized the big, black pick-up truck parked next to her smaller, silver Kia Spectra. Even as her heart skipped a beat, Rachel groaned. For a second she toyed with the idea of escaping to her office and ignoring the knock that was sure to come, but her feet wouldn’t move.
A part of her watched in anticipation as Damian Karlsson, the assistant pastor from her church, got out of the truck and took long strides towards the store. Heart thumping, Rachel reached out and unlocked the door. She ran trembling fingers over her cheeks, glad to find no dampness there from her tears. After her clerks had left she had turned off the main lights in the store, leaving only dim illumination from the Christmas tree and a couple of pocket lights above the counter. Hopefully the lack of bright light would hide any lingering redness around her eyes.
Rachel opened the door as he approached. Damian paused to stamp the snow from his boots then stepped into the store, a rush of cold air following him.
“Hi Damian,” Rachel said as she closed the door. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”
“Hey, Rachel.” Damian pulled off the thick gloves he wore and ran a hand through his hair. Melting snowflakes dampened and darkened the blond strands. “I told Serena I’d stop by and pick up the books for the church library. She got tied up doing some typing for Reverend Anderson. A secretary’s work is never done. Or so she says.” He laughed as he stuffed his gloves into the pocket of his jacket. “I know you’re closed, but when I saw your car in the parking lot, I thought I’d take a chance and see if you’d give them to me now.” He grinned at her and winked. “I knew you’d be thrilled to see me.”
Rachel shook her head in mock annoyance. “As always, Damian. As always.” She waved her hand at him. “C’mon, the books are over at the counter.”
Conscious of his presence behind her, Rachel willed herself to relax even though her heart pounded at his nearness. She skirted the counter and bent to retrieve the box of books that sat on the floor.
“Here, let me get that,” Damian offered.
She glanced up to find him crouched beside her. Their gazes met. Rachel’s lungs held her breath captive as she looked into Damian’s deep blue eyes. Sparkling humor had been replaced by something more serious and, in her opinion, more threatening.
Hurrying to stand, Rachel caught her heel in the hem of her skirt and brought her upward momentum to an abrupt halt. She tried to maintain her balance, but lost the battle and fell back onto the carpeted floor. Thankfully, the long full skirt she wore allowed her to remain modest even as her dignity lay squashed beneath her.
Rachel’s cheeks burned as she struggled to get her feet under her. She would never live this down. The grace and poise she depended on had fled, leaving behind embarrassment and frustration.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Again Rachel met Damian’s gaze, afraid of what she’d see there. If he was laughing at her, she was e
ither going to smack him or cry.
“Are you okay?” Damian asked, gentle concern showing in his eyes. “Let me help you up.”
Rachel gazed at the hands Damian held out to her. She hesitated before reaching out to him.
His large warm hands grasped hers, and gently Damian pulled her to a standing position, but he didn’t release her right away. “Sure you’re okay?”
Rachel nodded. “Nothing bruised but my ego.”
She gave her hands a slight tug, and Damian let them slide free of his grasp. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you do anything quite so
…clumsy before.”
Rachel cast a sharp look in his direction. Damian still wasn’t laughing, but he had a slightly bemused look on his face. “Thanks so much for pointing that out. As if I wasn’t embarrassed enough.”
Damian held out a hand towards her. “That’s not what I meant. You’re always so graceful. It’s nice to see you’re not completely perfect.”
“You thought I was perfect?” Rachel asked.
If only he knew.
“Well, no, I knew you weren’t perfect. After all, you keep turning down my invitations.” Damian laughed. “No, it’s just your appearance. I’ve never before seen you scuffed or messy or sprawled on the floor.”
“Hopefully this was the first and last time.”
“I don’t know. You looked kinda cute with that stunned look on your face. And it was a great opportunity for me to come to your rescue. I don’t get that chance very often.”
Damian retrieved the box of books that had started the whole thing and hefted it up onto the counter.
“Tell Serena that all but two came in. I’ll invoice her for those once I get them,” Rachel told him, grateful the attention had shifted from her fall.
“Is the bill for these in the box?” Damian lifted the lid to peer inside.
“Yep, it’s right there on top.” Rachel stood, hands folded on the counter, waiting for Damian to pick up the box and leave.
Instead he rested his arms on top of it and pinned her with his gaze. Rachel struggled not to look away. His intense blue eyes seemed to look right into her very heart. She hoped it was only her imagination, because she worked very hard to keep her heart well-guarded.
“Was that all?” Rachel unfolded her hands and began drumming her fingers on the countertop, hoping he would get the hint and leave.
But no, he had to go and grin.
Rachel’s heart skipped a beat. When he smiled, the dimples in his cheeks deepened and his eyes sparkled. Then there was the breadth of his shoulders…Rachel forced her thoughts back to the matter at hand. Her attraction to this man had no future.
“So, are you free Saturday night?” Damian asked, still leaning casually on the box of books.
Rachel shook her head. “No, Damian, I’m not.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“What was I doing last Saturday night?”
“Uh…you were cleaning out your freezer.”
“Okay, I guess that means this week I’m sorting the newspapers for recycling.”
Damian threw back his head and laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. “Rachel, Rachel…what am I going to do about you?”
“Hopefully nothing,” Rachel replied, wishing his laugh hadn’t sent delightful shivers dancing up and down her spine. “Aren’t you ever going to give up, Damian?”
He shook his head. “Nope, I want to take you out on a date.”
“It’s not going to happen.” Rachel sighed. “Move on, Damian. I’m not so special that it’s worth your time waiting around for me.”
Damian reached around the box of books, took her hands in his, and looked straight into her eyes. “That, my dear, is where you’re wrong. Jacob waited seven years for his Rachel, and I can wait that long for mine. Although I’d like to have a family, and neither of us is getting any younger.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin that took her breath away. “Maybe you’ll give me a break and not make me wait the full seven years. One of these days you’ve got to say yes. I’m nothing if not persistent.”
Though she enjoyed the feel of Damian’s hands holding hers, Rachel withdrew them from his grasp for the second time that evening. Shoulders slumping, her gaze dropped to where her hands, still warm from his, rested on the counter. “Please, Damian, just leave me alone.”
Damian didn’t respond right away but then asked, “What’s up, Rachel? You usually have more spunk than this. I count on your witty retorts to take the sting out of another rejection. This one is just way too serious.”
Rachel forced herself to meet Damian’s questioning gaze. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just tired, and this game is getting really old. It’s been over six months already; I’d have thought you’d lose interest by now. How much longer is this going to go on?”
Damian pulled his gloves back on before lifting the box of books off the counter. “I have the patience of Job, Rachel. Just a little warning for you.” He strode towards the door, balancing the box on one hip. He opened the door with his free hand then turned, an intense look on his face. “See you on Sunday.”
Rachel nodded and watched as he walked out into the snowy night towards his truck. How easy it would be to give in to him, to accept his weekly request for a date. But she couldn’t risk her heart. Everything about him sparked a desire for what could never be hers. She couldn’t chance loving him when she knew in the end she would only lose him. And have her heart broken. Again.
She’d watched her mother spend her life loving a man who had betrayed her. And Rachel had already felt the sting of betrayal herself more than once. She wouldn’t…couldn’t, let that happen again. If only Damian would get the picture.
Standing in the store with Christmas music playing in the background, the lights on the tree alternately fading and glowing, Rachel had never felt more alone in her life. The things that had once brought joy held no appeal for her this year. And no matter how hard she tried to get into the Christmas spirit, her heart just wasn’t in it.
She had already bought and wrapped gifts for the few names on her list. They sat under the tree at home waiting to be distributed. All the decorations hung in their usual places, except for the stockings. She couldn’t bring herself to hang one lone stocking on the mantel this year, but hanging the other one would only remind her of what she’d lost.
Sighing, Rachel went into the office and pulled on her thick coat and changed into the boots she’d worn to work that morning. She gathered up her purse and briefcase before shutting off the CD player and the lights. Keys in hand, she set the alarm then exited and locked the front door.
After glancing around to make sure she was alone, Rachel walked through a flurry of big fat snowflakes to her car and slid behind the wheel. She sat for a few minutes, letting the blast of warm air from the vents take the chill off the inside of the vehicle. When she could no longer see the white puffs of her breath in the air, Rachel put the car into gear and headed home…to the house that was too big for just one person.
*****
Light flooded the interior of the truck as Damian opened the door. He caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror and saw the scowl that had most likely been there for the entire trip home from the bookstore. With a grunt, he hefted the box of books from the passenger seat then shoved the door shut with his elbow.
Even though she had denied it, something troubled Rachel. He’d known her long enough to recognize when all was not right in her world. Usually she reacted with more sarcasm when he made his weekly request for a date. Her response earlier had shown flashes of life, but still fell flat compared to their other conversations. She’d seemed almost
…deflated.
Damian set the box of books and his jacket on a chair in the dining room and headed for the kitchen. His stomach growled as he opened the refrigerator and bent to see what looked tempting for his late dinner. Spying the container his mother had given him the day before, Damian grabbed it and dumped the contents on a plate.
He had just punched the numbers of the timer on the microwave when the phone rang. Damian hit the start button before reaching for the cordless phone on the wall by the kitchen door.
“‘Lo,” he said, more curtly than he had intended, his thoughts still on Rachel.
“Is that any way to answer a phone, Damian Lee Karlsson?”
Damian winced at his mother’s use of his full name. “Sorry, Mom. Wanna call back? I’ll answer it properly next time.”
“Hah, or not at all now that you know it’s me,” Sharon Karlsson said with a laugh.
“I’d never do that to you, my mom, my darling, sweet mom.”
“If I hadn’t called
you
, I’d think you were buttering me up for something.”
The timer beeped on the microwave, and Damian pull
ed his plate out.
“Is that the microwave, Damian? Are you just eating dinner now?”
Damian inhaled the wonderful aroma of his mom’s beef noodle casserole. “Yeah, I’m running behind today. Had a late meeting with Reverend Anderson and then stopped by Rachel’s store.”
“How’s the
dear girl doing today?”
“I’m not sure. She didn’t seem like her usual spunky self. No sharp retorts, no witty comments.”
“Maybe you’re finally wearing her down,” Sharon said, a hopeful lilt to her voice.
“I don’t think so. If anything, I got the opposite feeling. Like she’s finally come to the end of her rope where I’m concerned.”
“Oh, I hope not, Son. We’ve been praying for so long now.”
Damian sighed. “I know. Who would have thought that I’d still be trying to get her to go out on a date after six months.”
“We’ll keep praying, Damian. You seem so much more sure that she is the right one for you than you were about Nikki, even though you were engaged.”
Damian winced at the name of his former fiancée. “Yes, this feels different. Not that I didn’t love
Nikki. I did. But what I feel for Rachel is much deeper. I see in her all the qualities I would like in a wife. Well, except for that rejecting me part.”
