Longing in Louisiana
Book Eight in At the Altar
by Kirsten Osbourne
Copyright 2016 Kirsten Osbourne
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Michelle Strempel firmly believes that she isn’t worthy of being loved. After her fiancé of almost three years tells her he’s got to break off their engagement, she decides to take matters into her own hands. With all the hours she’s spent planning a wedding, she’s going to have one on the day she’s planned. So she contacts Dr. Lachele Simpson from Matchrimony.
Seth Henderson has no time to find a bride, but when he sees how happy his best friend, Daniel Axford, is with his new wife, he wants the same thing. He asks for a sweet little thing just like his friend received for a bride. When he meets Michelle, he can tell she’s got an inner strength that surprises him. Will he be able to get past her fears that she’s unlovable? Or will they spend the rest of their lives in a loveless marriage?
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Prologue
Michelle Strempel hurried out to her car, smiling when she saw how clean it was. The students at Malloy High School, where she’d been principal for the past five years, loved her. Obviously they’d given her a surprise car wash. She could still see the soapy water trailing down the parking lot. She had never expected to be the popular principal, but she was. She loved her students almost as much as they loved her.
It was her rare night off from going to the sports activities of her students, and she was thankful for that. Four evenings per week, she went to some activity. She thanked God the district had decided Wednesday nights should be free for religious activities. It gave her a much-needed respite from ball games in the middle of the week.
She drove the six blocks through Malloy to the only restaurant in town, a small seafood place. When she arrived, she took a deep breath before getting out of her car. Her fiancé had asked her to join him for dinner, saying they had something serious to talk about when she’d told him she needed an evening at home. She didn’t know what he had to say, but she’d gotten the impression whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it much.
She spotted his car parked two down from hers, so she got out and walked over, knocking on the window. “I’m here.” She was too tired to even smile. Wednesday nights were for catching up on sleep. She preferred to see Bob only on the weekends. He took too much energy.
Bob looked at his watch. “You’re fifteen minutes late.”
She sighed. “I know. One of my students was having some trouble, so I waited with him until his mother arrived.” The boy in question had been beaten during a visit to his father and hadn’t wanted to be alone. She couldn’t tell Bob that, though. Not only because of confidentiality, but also because Bob hated when she talked about work with him.
“Michelle, you can’t let those children run your entire life.”
Michelle shrugged. “I don’t. I do care, though, and I was there for him.”
Bob got out of his car without another word. “Let’s eat then, shall we?” He seemed oddly formal, but Michelle tried not to be too worried about it. They were due to be married in mid-May, so they’d have the whole summer to get used to married life before she had to go back to her break-neck pace at work.
Once they were seated, Michelle pushed the menu away. She knew what she wanted. She’d eaten at this restaurant more times than she could count. A former student came to the table in a server’s uniform. “Miss Strempel! It’s good to see you.”
Michelle smiled. The high school was small enough that she knew the names of every student who had graduated since she’d taken over as principal. “Brandi, how are you doing? How’s the baby?”
Brandi had been pregnant when she’d graduated, and she’d fully expected to be kicked out of school when she started showing, but that was one of the first things Michelle had changed. She didn’t think that girls should be kicked out of school for being pregnant if their equally responsible boyfriends weren’t. How was that fair?
“Oh, she’s great. Thanks for asking. She’s walking now. Do you believe?”
Michelle smiled. “I’m always amazed to hear that children are getting older. Why, it seems to me you’re still a freshman with braces on your teeth!” Brandi had always been a pretty little thing, and Michelle had been sad when the girl had to turn down the scholarships she’d been offered.
Brandi laughed. “I’m all grown up now, Miss Strempel. I’m married with a baby.”
“Oh, I know. That doesn’t mean I have to like it!”
“What do you want to drink? Sweet tea?” Brandi asked, looking at Michelle. She’d been in often enough that all the servers there knew her drink of choice.
Michelle nodded. “That sounds wonderful.”
“And you, Mr. Cooper?” Brandi’s voice was a great deal more formal when she spoke to Bob.
Michelle and Bob had been engaged for three years, so all her students were familiar with him. For a while he’d even attended all of the games with her after school, but that had quickly fallen by the wayside. He’d claimed he had more important things to do than sit and cheer for a second-rate high school team.
“I’ll have tea as well.” Bob set his menu down.
“Sweet or unsweet.”
“Sweet.”
“Are you ready to order as well?” Brandi asked.
Bob nodded. “I’m ready if you are.” At Michelle’s nod, he continued. “I’ll have the fried catfish. I want ranch on the salad and a baked potato loaded.”
When Brandi looked at her, Michelle gave her order. “I want the grilled shrimp with grilled vegetables and no dressing on the salad.” She had to make sure she fit into the wedding dress that was already hanging in her closet.
After Brandi walked away, Michelle gave her attention to Bob. “So what did you want to talk to me about? You’re not adding more people to the guest list again, are you?” They’d been fighting over the guest list for months, and she was tired of trying to get every little detail just right. It was only two months until the wedding, but she was ready for it all to be over.
He unwrapped his silverware before placing the cloth napkin on his lap, his movements deliberate. Bob came from one of the wealthiest families in Baton Rouge, and sometimes he made her a bit crazy with how careful he always was about appearances. “No, it’s not the guest list.”
Michelle frowned when he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “What is it then?”
He sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this. My mistress is pregnant, and since it’s a boy, I’m going to need to marry her and not you.” His eyes were direct as he gave her his news, his voice as casual as if he was announcing that he’d just bought a new car.
“Wait, what?” How could he casually say that he was going to be a father as if she’d known for months about his mistress?
“Angela doesn’t seem to be able to remember to take her birth control pills. The woman makes me absolutely crazy with that. She talked to my parents about the baby, and Mother says I have to marry her, or I’ll be cut off.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry.” His voice was too casual for her to believe his apology.
“How long have you been seeing Angela?” Michelle asked, doing her best to keep her voice down. It wouldn’t be good for the principal to have a big argument with her fiancé in the middle of the only restaurant in town.
“Oh, five years? Something like that.” He took a sip of the tea Brandi placed in front of him. “You didn’t think I was going without just because you felt the need to be a virgin when you walked down the aisle, did you?”
Michelle wanted nothing more than to throw the contents of her tea into his face, but she held on to her temper. “I guess that would be too much to ask, wouldn’t it?” She removed the sparkling diamond ring from her finger, and set it on the table, not willing to touch him as she handed it to him. “I hope you have a wonderful life with Angela.”
“Life? Oh, I’ll only stay married to her long enough to give the boy a name. We’ll get married after that.”
Michelle shook her head. “No, we won’t. If you can’t be faithful while we’re engaged, then you’ll never be faithful during marriage. I’m afraid this is the end of the road for us, Bob.” She thought about storming out of the restaurant right then, but she couldn’t. No, she’d let him pay for one last meal, and then she’d go.
She waited for the pain of her heart breaking, but truthfully, she didn’t care about him enough for that. No, she was done with Bob. Forever.
Chapter One
Michelle sat back in her chair, rubbing her temples. She’d done something even she had never expected. The day after Bob had called off their engagement, she’d called a matchmaker. She had spent a lot of time and money on her wedding, and she was going to have it, gosh darn it! She didn’t care what anyone said.
Dr. Lachele Simpson, the matchmaker, had made the trip to Tangipahoa Parish to interview her, and had promised she’d call by today. It was already past lunchtime, and even later where Dr. Lachele was in Manhattan. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to find anyone for her. Maybe she’d determined that Michelle needed to spend the rest of her life alone.
She sighed. She had a honeymoon already planned, and she wanted to go. Of course, a week at Disney all alone wasn’t something she wanted. Her students laughed at her for wanting to go to Disney World for her honeymoon, but she really didn’t care. There was something about the giant rodent that made her smile, and smiling was something everyone should do on their honeymoon. Right?
She was startled when her cell phone rang. Looking at the display, she saw it was Dr. Lachele. She took a deep breath and swiped her finger across the screen. “Hello?”
“How does a wedding date of May twenty-first sound?”
Michelle smiled. It was going to work. “That’s the date I already have a church booked for.” She’d told Dr. Lachele that was her preference, of course. She had worried she’d have to try to switch everything, but Dr. Lachele had come through.
“Perfect. I’ll be there, and so will your groom.”
“And he’s really willing to move to Louisiana?” Michelle asked.
“He is. He’s self-employed, travels a lot for business, and he can have a home-base anywhere. He’s happy to do it.”
Michelle smiled at that. “What’s his name?”
Dr. Lachele laughed. “You know as well as I do that I’m not going to tell you that.”
Michelle grinned. She knew that one of Dr. Lachele’s stipulations was that she wouldn’t know his name until she met him—at the altar. She was going to meet her future husband in less than two weeks when she was walking down the aisle toward him. Better than being betrayed by a Bob.
“Sounds good. I’ll see you at the church then.”
“Email me the details, and I’ll see you there.”
“I have a honeymoon already planned for the following week. Make sure he doesn’t try to book something for us. It’s paid for.”
“I’ll tell him.” There was a long pause before Dr. Lachele spoke again. “You’re going to be happy, Michelle.”
Michelle felt a tear trickle down her cheek. “I hope so.”
“Trust me.”
Michelle wasn’t sure she’d ever trust anyone again.
Instead of calling off the wedding or telling anyone what had happened, she’d called Dr. Lachele to set up a match. It was ridiculous, and the craziest thing she’d ever done, but she wasn’t about to spend the rest of her life alone. She’d become a teacher because she loved children. She was thirty-two. If she didn’t get on the ball, she wouldn’t have any. No, she was going to marry a stranger at the church where she’d planned to marry Bob. And she was going to be happy.
*****
Michelle paced back and forth in the bride’s room at the back of the little church where she’d attended services since she was a baby. Her mother sat in a chair, looking at her worriedly. “You don’t have to do this, Michelle.”
“I don’t have to, but I’m going to.”
“But why?”
Michelle shook her head. She’d explained her reasoning over and over. She and Bob had started dating while he was in law school and she was in grad school. She immediately began teaching after graduation, and he’d started his career. They’d dated for six years before he’d proposed. She’d wasted nine years on a man who cheated on her. Nine years. She wasn’t wasting another minute on a loser.
Michelle’s sister, Alison, shook her head. “I think you should reconsider. No one marries a stranger. It’s crazy!”
“As crazy as being in a relationship that lasts almost a decade with a man who is cheating over half that time? Is it the same level of crazy as that was?”
Alison sighed. “You didn’t know he was cheating. You know you’re marrying a stranger.”
Michelle shrugged. “A stranger who has been matched to me, who an experienced matchmaker says will make me happy. Good enough.”
“There’s no reasoning with you!” her mother protested.
“Nope. I’ve made my decision, and I’m going to marry him. I don’t care what anyone says.”
The door opened then and Dr. Lachele slipped into the room. She seemed to assess the scene before her. “Michelle, are you ready?”
Michelle grinned at the woman in front of her. Dr. Lachele’s hair was cropped short, and dyed a pretty shade of purple. She wore a suit that had the same shades of purple throughout. She even had purple heels on her feet. “I am. You look wonderful, Dr. Lachele.”
The matchmaker cupped her breasts, pulling them up a little higher. “The girls do look good in this suit, don’t they?”
At her mother’s gasp, Michelle covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her laughter. “I doubt they’ve ever looked better.” She looked at her mom. “Mama, this is Dr. Lachele. She’s the matchmaker I told you about. Dr. Lachele, this is my mother, Margaret Strempel.”
Dr. Lachele crossed the room with her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Strempel. Your daughter has been a joy to work with.”
When her mother simply stared at the hand in front of her, Michelle’s gaze met Alison’s, and she could see the amusement in her younger sister’s eyes. “Do you have the flowers?” she asked.
Alison nodded. “The flowers are ready. Everything’s ready. We have twenty minutes before the wedding.”
Dr. Lachele turned from where her hand was still waiting to be shaken. “Your groom is here, and he’s looking mighty fine today. I do love how a man looks in a tuxedo, don’t you?”
Michelle nodded, not sure what else to say. She had no idea what her future husband would look like.
“Trust me. This man is going to knock your socks off.” Dr. Lachele frowned. “Well, you’re not wearing socks, but he’s going to knock your garter off, for sure. He’s one sexy man.”
Michelle smiled. If he was sexy, it would certainly make her wedding night easier. She’d thought about asking him to wait, but she’d decided against it. She wanted babies as soon as possible, and she wasn’t going to get them by putting off her wedding night. “Sounds good.”
“He’s a good man. In fact, he
’s one of the best men I’ve ever matched. He’s moving here from Boston, and he’s fine with a Disney honeymoon.”
“Is he a Disney fan?”
Dr. Lachele shrugged. “He didn’t say, but he said he’d be thrilled to go on a honeymoon anywhere.”
Michelle blushed, thinking about all the honeymoon entailed. She was about to meet a stranger she’d be going to bed with that night. How on earth did you not blush when you thought about that? “I’m excited to meet him.”
*****
Seth Henderson paced back and forth in the small room he’d been given to wait in until the wedding. His best friend, Daniel, stood watching him, obviously trying not to laugh. “I thought this was what you wanted!”
Seth frowned. “It is what I want. I just wish I knew more about her!”
“You know as much about your bride as I knew about Brenda on my wedding day, and look how that turned out!”
Seth smiled at that. It was Daniel’s wedding to Brenda that had made him decide to contact Dr. Lachele. They were so happy together, and he wanted some of that happiness for himself. Who wouldn’t? “It’s different when it’s me.”
Brenda laughed. “I remember how nerve wracking it was to wait in the bride’s room to marry a man I’d never met. I’m sure your bride is all freaked out right now.”
Seth frowned at that. He didn’t like the idea that his future wife was nervous about marrying him. “Well, how do I make her feel better about it?”
Brenda shrugged. “You don’t. She won’t feel better ‘til she’s seen you and talked to you.”
“I wish I could make her feel good about it right now.”
“But you can’t,” Daniel told him. “Just remember to always communicate. Text messages are fun.”
Brenda blushed when he said that, making Seth wonder about their texting habits. “Text messages? Isn’t it better to talk in person?”
Daniel shrugged. “You can’t always be together in person. We couldn’t at least. So text messages were a good substitute.”
Longing in Louisiana (At the Altar Book 8) Page 1
