by Pat Simmons
Nicholas nodded in agreement.
“It’s going to be a great day, Minister Adams!” He closed his eyes with a slight smile on his face. “Tired now.”
Nicholas opened his Bible and read from 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18, then he prayed softly. When he stood to leave, he looked back, wondering how much longer the man would linger.
On his way to the car, he took a series of deep breaths in order to revive himself from the dire moments, then filled his mind with inspiring Scriptures and happy thoughts. He texted Rachel. Still out shopping?
Yep. If you’re finished with God’s work, come join Jacqui and me.
He called her. Upon hearing her voice, happiness instantly filled his being. “I’ll feel like a third wheel.”
“Jacqui knows I’m going to miss you like crazy.”
Nicholas sighed. “Me too.”
“How about I ditch my best friend, and we’ll grab something to eat?”
“Hey, I heard that,” Jacqui said nearby and giggled. “Hi, Nicholas.”
All three laughed before he declined her offer and decided to drive by his brother’s house. Hopefully, his sister-in-law had cooked something good, and he could let his twin nephews wear him out. If not, his mother always had a pot warming on the stove.
Ava opened the door and teased, looking over his shoulder, “Hmm. Where’s your Rachel?”
“Hanging out with her girlfriend.” He walked in and kissed her cheek.
After a couple of hours of visiting, he did stop by his parents’ house but with a full belly. Surprisingly, they were at home and not away at a church-related function.
His mother had the same question as Ava. “Rachel’s not with you?”
“Nope.” He gave her a hug and entered.
“And you look like a lost puppy.” His dad chuckled and stood from his spot in the recliner to shake Nicholas’s hand.
Nicholas took a seat and stretched out his legs. “I know we just met in the spring, but it seems like she’s always been a part of me.”
His mother’s eyes twinkled. “That’s called your other half. You two look so cute together at Bible class, and she seems like she really loves the Lord…and you.”
“I’m going to marry her,” Nicholas said matter-of-factly.
“We both knew that, Son,” his dad said. “But give her time to grow in the Lord and have her own testimonies about His goodness.”
Reading between the lines, Nicholas got his father’s message: Don’t rush it.
Sunday morning, Nicholas picked Rachel up for church. The sermon, Worship Will Take You Places, taken from Matthew 8, stirred the congregation. After service, they headed to a buffet. With their plates overflowing, they dug in after Nicholas gave thanks and asked for blessings over their meal. Their conversation bounced from message to work to her upcoming trip and the funny things their families did. Discussing the sermon and Bible class highlights had become commonplace after church.
“Pastor’s message was so deep,” Rachel said. “When I reflect on my past, it seems like I was always begging God for something—most recently, Aunt Tweet’s health.”
“We’re all guilty of that.” Nicholas nodded. “That leper in the sermon was smart enough to know that if it wasn’t in God’s will, no healing was coming his way.”
Night came too soon, and Nicholas finally took Rachel home. As he escorted her to the door, he whispered, “I’m going to miss you, lady, but I’ll be here by 7:00 a.m. to take you to the airport.”
“Really?” Rachel didn’t hide the surprise in her beautiful brown eyes. “I was going to get an Uber. Plus, you have to work.”
“I am your Uber, so I’ll go in late.”
Rachel reached up and rubbed his thin beard, then exhaled and stepped back. “Pray for me before you leave.”
“Of course.” Taking her hands, he bowed his head. After he whispered, “Amen,” he reluctantly walked away. Once inside the elevator, Nicholas exhaled. Maybe a little distance between them would tame his hormones. Telling a woman he loved her had him thinking about being a husband and father. But his father had reminded him to let Rachel walk with the Lord and give her own testimonies before moving to another phase in their relationship.
The next morning, Nicholas held in his emotions as he walked into the airport with Rachel and checked her luggage. “Call me when you get there, be safe, and I’ll text you Scriptures.”
He couldn’t refrain from engulfing her in a hug, so he indulged ever so briefly, then released her. This work assignment was going to be either torture or a blessing for both of them.
Chapter 18
Once Rachel arrived at the Lexington location of Gersham-Smith & Partners, there was no time to breathe. The $1.7 million project would take a village to pull off on deadline. Her firm was selected to design and implement a multifunction complex that would promote a “share the road” campaign with a downtown greenway where pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists could all travel, creating a business epicenter.
She was only acting in a consulting capacity with the senior transportation engineer, who would lead the project. The first thing she did was review the proposal, which included sketches, then compared it with the related project in Nashville and other projects they had developed in other cities. There were some similarities, but the differences were tricky.
The dilemma was how to incorporate green space that wouldn’t interfere with traffic flow while promoting foot traffic downtown. It turned out to be a day of tweaks.
When she got back to the hotel, she ordered room service and checked in with Jacqui, her sisters, and then Nicholas, who was at the top of her list mentally.
“Hey.” His deep voice seemed to flow smoothly in her ears. “How was your day?”
“Exhausting.” She proceeded to tell him about the project and the challenges the company faced. “Personally, I think the budget is too thin and the timeframe too tight for dealing with antiquated infrastructures.” When she finished, he asked questions to show her he was listening.
“Even though you’re not here physically, your presence is felt everywhere. I saw your company’s name posted at a job site near our Nissan plant at Topre Corporation about an expansion.”
“Yep. We’re everywhere, which is why I love to work here. I consider myself blessed with a capital B.”
“Amen. So I know you just got there, but when are you coming home?”
Rachel smiled and imagined he had a pout that mimicked his nephews’. It felt good to be missed and not only by family. “Sometime Friday, maybe late evening.”
“I’ll check your flight and be there to pick you up.”
Before ending the call, they read some Bible passages and prayed. Everything was all right in her world. She had the right job, man, and God.
* * *
True to his word, Nicholas was waiting with balloons, flowers, and a sign that read: Welcome home. Once his eyes tracked her leaving the terminal, he quickened his steps to meet her.
Rachel’s response was exactly what Nicholas had hoped: happy and seemingly embarrassed from the attention she was getting.
“What a homecoming,” she whispered and giggled as she accepted Nicholas’s brief welcome-home hug and his gifts. “You are seriously making Jacqui look bad. I get a curbside pickup with her and a drop-off in front of the Westchester, and a wave as an afterthought.”
They shared a laugh, then Nicholas told her to tell Jacqui she had been officially relieved of her duties. “I’ll take it from here.”
“I think she’ll be happy to hear that,” Rachel said as a stranger approached them.
“Would you like me to take your picture?” The woman was elderly, but she had a warm sparkle in her eyes.
“Yes,” Nicholas said and showed the woman how to use the camera app on his phone.
“You two make a cute
couple,” the impromptu photographer said. “Where are you coming from?”
“Lexington, Kentucky, for work. I’ve only been gone a week,” Rachel said, blushing and shaking her head.
“Don’t complain, honey.” Another woman, not as old, joined them. “Let that young man love on you.” She gave him and Rachel a knowing nod.
“Exactly.” Nicholas agreed and took his phone, and together all four of them admired the photo. “I’m so glad you’re back.” Linking his fingers through hers, they rode the escalator down to the baggage area.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Yes and tired. It’s been an intense week, but those nightly Scripture readings lulled me to sleep.”
When Rachel spotted her luggage, Nicholas retrieved it, thinking, Lord, I asked You for a woman who loves You more than the notion of going to church. I think I’ve found her. He glanced over his shoulder, and Rachel smiled at him as his reward.
Chapter 19
Nicholas Adams was going to propose to Rachel Knicely. She was the perfect woman for him. He would never be complete without her. Of course, the many women at church had tried to convince him otherwise.
There was no denying Rachel was gorgeous. Her hair alone was a showstopper. Add her curves and facial features, and she was perfect to complement any man.
But all that was secondary to him. One thing he learned when he first met Rachel was that she loved hard. He wanted to be on the receiving end of her love and to give that type of love back.
He decided that a proposal on Rachel’s birthday at the end of September would be memorable. If the world could celebrate the twelve days of Christmas, who could deny him thirty days to show Rachel his love, even if she was out of town?
On the first of September, he called Rachel instead of sending her a text.
“You’re late, Mister,” she fussed jokingly when she answered.
He poured his heart into singing verses from Psalm 103 as if it were a love ballad.
“Wow, that was worth the wait. I thought you had a sexy voice before, but your singing abilities could melt chocolate.”
Somehow, this woman knew how to make him blush with her compliments. “Thank you. I love you, and I wanted you to know.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I know, and I love you more.”
“I doubt that,” he said in a strong voice, chuckling before he said goodbye and disconnected, not giving her a chance to counter his declaration.
Distance didn’t deter Nicholas from doing something every day to remind Rachel how special she was to him. Since he had the hotel’s address in Lexington, he had dinner delivered one evening, a care package another, and an inspirational musical snow globe one morning.
The day of Rachel’s return, Nicholas once again waited at the airport with flowers for her, tracking each passenger until her familiar face came into view. His heart raced, and his palms became sweaty. Everyone around them blurred as they locked eyes. It seemed to take forever until Rachel was within arm’s reach. They shared an ever-so-brief hug. “Welcome home,” he whispered.
She stared into his eyes, and he could see all the love she possessed for him. “Home is where the heart is,” she replied.
A week before her birthday, he presented her with a small gift while they were dining at STK Nashville.
“You’re taking this ‘showering me with gifts’ thing to a whole new level.”
“Is that a complaint, Miss Knicely?” He wiggled his brows, then reached across the table to play with her fingers and complimented her manicure.
“Absolutely not!” She flirted, batting her eyelashes.
“I didn’t think so.” He snickered. “Now, open it.”
She did and tilted her head, studying the narrow box that contained pieces of a puzzle. “What’s this?” Rachel gave him a bewildered look.
“Remember the first time you returned from Lexington?” She nodded. “My heart did somersaults when I saw you. A nearby woman took our picture.” That photo had captured their feelings, and he looked at it constantly, especially when she was away. “I had it made into a puzzle that we can put together,” he explained, offering a slight hint that he wanted to put the pieces of their lives together. He had already picked out her engagement ring, and in one week, he hoped to have it on her finger, where it would sparkle like her eyes when she looked at him.
As September 30 quickly approached, the proposal consumed Nicholas’s thoughts—soon enough, Rachel would be his wife. “And to think my brother will no longer have a default babysitter.” He grinned to himself as he carefully trimmed his beard.
In a few short days, he would propose over a romantic dinner, and come Thanksgiving, Nicholas would be thankful for his fiancée. Maybe by the end of the year, he would have a wife, he mused. Who would have thought back in April responding to a prayer request would have led to love? Then in July, Rachel turned herself over to God, and Nicholas was humbled to be a part of the process.
* * *
“Happy birthday!” Rachel’s sisters shouted on a telephone conference call before they sang a few verses of “Happy Birthday.”
“Finally, we’re all of us in our thirties. ’Bout time you caught up,” Kym teased, six years older than her baby sister.
“Do you and Nicholas have any big plans for today?” Tabitha asked.
“The man has outdone himself the entire month. What more can he do except propose?” Kym joked.
Rachel reflected on all the trinkets and love gifts she had received throughout September; she cherished them all. “I don’t know what he has planned, but I doubt it’s marriage. We’ve only been dating five months—” Her phone chimed. Nicholas’s name came up on the caller ID, and she grinned. “Sorry, Sisters, your time is up. My love is calling me. Bye.”
Before she said hello, he began to sing a melodious “Happy Birthday.”
She closed her eyes and listened. “Thank you. That was beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. Tonight, it’s me and you and dinner to celebrate your big day.”
She tugged on a strand of her hair. “I can’t wait.”
Nicholas blew her a kiss over the phone before rushing off to drive to work.
* * *
At the firm, Rachel received more birthday wishes and shared a cake with other colleagues with September birthdays. Since she would fly back to Lexington next week, she looked forward to enjoying her birthday celebration with the man she loved. The workday sped by, and Rachel left early to get ready.
At her condo, she disrobed and jumped in the shower. She was humming a song she heard from the praise team at church when she froze, then frowned. Something wasn’t right. Uh-oh. Rachel hadn’t felt that before. She performed her routine breast exam again, and sure enough, something was hard like a pebble. She hurried and rinsed off to get out of the shower as her heart raced.
Rachel wiped the steam off the mirror and took a deep breath. She stared at her reflection. “Okay, clear your head and take your time.” She counted to three, lifted her left arm, and performed the same routine self-check she did every month.
Something was definitely there that hadn’t been last month, or was it the month before? She swallowed as her heart raced. “Oh God.” She leaned over the sink. “All right. Probably changes in my body after my period.”
Fear kicked in. “What if it’s cancer? I’m too young to die.” Time seemed to stop. No woman in her family had breast cancer. She grabbed her towel as she started to perspire, then ran cold water over it before applying it to her face. Her hands trembled.
She walked into her bedroom on autopilot, her body shivering from the cool air. Only after she spied the outfit on her bed did she remember her date with Nicholas. Suddenly, she felt faint and nauseous; a headache was creeping up her neck. How could she go out and eat as if she hadn’t discovered anything? Wait a minute. This
was Nicholas. He always helped her find her peace.
She tried to regulate her breathing to pray. “Yes, Lord, please help my mind right now not to worry—please. You are my peace.”
After taking a series of deep breaths, Rachel slipped into her dress and ankle boots. It was Friday night, and Nicholas had planned something special for her birthday. Her birthday. Thirty was too young to be diagnosed with cancer, wasn’t it?
“I’m not going to ruin my birthday with fear,” she resolved and walked back into her bathroom. She dutifully applied makeup that she wasn’t feeling at the moment, a twenty-minute regimen on a given day. “It’s just a bump, not a tumor. Cancer doesn’t run in my family. Probably a little old benign cyst.” Rachel gave herself a pep talk. No need to worry or say anything—just yet.
When her doorbell rang, Rachel ceased her prepping. Opening her door, she saw all the love Nicholas had for her, and her problems drifted away, and she refused to let negative thoughts resurface without visiting her doctor’s office.
Rachel survived dinner as best she could, not wanting to spoil the mood Nicholas had created, doting on her. Tonight’s gift was a spa certificate. She thanked him as she accepted with trembling hands. All his gifts were thoughtful, but the best gifts were Nicholas being a part of her life and God being in her life to comfort her.
As the sun was setting, they were sitting on a bench outside the restaurant. Nicholas turned to her and gathered both her hands in his. “I love you. My soul beats for you each day. I want our lives—”
“I might have cancer,” Rachel blurted out.
“Wh…what did you say?”
The dam broke, and Rachel couldn’t contain it. In her professional world, she and her company would have designed and constructed a structure that would have been foolproof, so water wouldn’t break through. Right now, in her personal world, nothing was strong enough to hold back her storm of tears.
“I found a lump…”
Nicholas didn’t let her finish. He broke protocol and wrapped his strong arms around her. The more Rachel cried against his chest, the tighter he held her. When she was able to inhale without releasing more tears, Nicholas gently released her. Concern was etched across his forehead as he dabbed at the remaining moisture on her face.
