Advanced Acclaim for Hidden Blessings
“Hidden Blessings is a beautifully written, deeply moving story about a woman going through breast cancer. It reaffirms God’s lifting us up through our darkest times. I highly recommend this book and this author.”
—CARRIE STUART PARKS, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR AND AUTHOR OF A CRY FROM THE DUST
The Color of Hope
“The author has a gift for bringing God’s love and light into even the darkest situation.”
—ROMANTIC TIMES, 4-STAR REVIEW
“In The Color of Hope, Kim Cash Tate weaves a powerful story that will shake you to the core. You will laugh, your heart will break, and, ultimately, you’ll be uplifted by the many colors of hope.”
—STEPHANIE PERRY MOORE, AUTHOR AND COEXECUTIVE EDITOR OF SISTERS IN FAITH
“Tate’s engaging storytelling and eloquent prose journeys us through the challenge of breaking through prejudice and hurt for the sake of love and faith. Tate is definitely a voice of influence in today’s Christian fiction.”
—RACHEL HAUCK, AWARD-WINNING, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF THE WEDDING DRESS AND ONCE UPON A PRINCE
Hope Springs
“Tate expertly crafts an intriguing narrative that explores unrequited love, true faith, and the complicated politics of change in the Christian church.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Tate has penned another meaningful novel about the lives of three distinct women. Themes of faith and trusting God for direction in life and family resonate throughout this novel. The author has a gift for writing characters that are so realistic readers will be able to see all parts of themselves—good and bad—mirrored in them.”
—ROMANTIC TIMES, 4-STAR REVIEW
Cherished
“Tate’s amazing ability to connect with the reader on both personal and spiritual levels elevates this novel far above the rest. Those looking for hope and encouragement will find it on the pages of this superb book.”
—ROMANTIC TIMES, 4 1/2-STAR REVIEW, TOP PICK!
Faithful
“Tate has an amazing ability to put difficult but realistic emotions on paper and show the reader the redeeming love of God in the process.”
—ROMANTIC TIMES, 4 1/2-STAR REVIEW
“Kim Cash Tate’s enjoyable novel is true to both the realities of life and the hope found through faith in Jesus. Romance meets real life with a godly heart. Hooray!”
—STASI ELDREDGE, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF CAPTIVATING
“The author skillfully ties the concept of sexual purity, whether married or single, to the idea of faithfulness on a spiritual level . . . Tate avoids the unrealistic “happily ever after” ending while still offering a message of faith, hope, and love. Readers will not be disappointed . . .”
—CROSSWALK.COM
ALSO BY KIM CASH TATE
Faithful
Cherished
Hope Springs
The Color of Hope
Copyright © 2014 by Kimberly Cash Tate
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Author is represented by the literary agency of The B&B Media Group, Inc., 109 S. Main, Corsicana, Texas 75110. www.tbbmedia.com.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®. © The Lockman Foudnation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-40168-485-3 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tate, Kimberly Cash.
Hidden Blessings / Kim Cash Tate.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-59554-999-0 (paperback)
1. African American women--Fiction. 2. Cancer--Patients--Fiction. 3. Christian fiction. I. Title.
PS3620.A885H53 2014
813’.6--dc23
2014011025
14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
To those who are experiencing affliction . . .
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
READING GROUP GUIDE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER ONE
June
KENDRA WOODS HIGHTAILED IT DOWN THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE of Fleming & Stein to the K Street conference room as fast as her heels and the burden of a hefty legal file would allow. It wasn’t like Grace to go into a client meeting unprepared, or for her legal assistant to let her. And Kendra had no idea why she’d been called upon to rectify the matter, since she wasn’t an attorney on this case. But Buddy from the mailroom had poked his head into her office, said Grace needed the file ASAP, and asked if she could find it. And Grace was head of litigation and her boss of eight years, not to mention a trusted mentor. Whatever she needed, Kendra was happy to oblige.
She strode past offices and cubicles, the sound of printers and copiers still buzzing late on a Friday afternoon. Fleming & Stein was seldom quiet. One of the largest law firms in the world, the Washington, DC, office was its flagship, and business churned evenings and weekends as frantically as it did during “business hours.” Kendra had been told in her first year of law school that she would never work here, to set her sights lower. At the time there was only a handful of black attorneys at the firm, and Grace was the sole black female partner. But the challenge had motivated Kendra all the more. And these halls were now like home.
Rounding a bend, she saw the shades drawn on the internal floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room. She knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Grace called.
Kendra opened the door.
“Surprise!”
Attorneys and staff filled a room teeming with colorful balloons, gifts, and the delicious aroma of hot appetizers.
“What is this?” Kendra said, taking it all in.
“What does it look like, silly? It’s a wedding shower.” Beaming, Grace relieved her of the file. “Thanks, I’ll take that.” She parked it on the floor.
A knock sounded behind her, and Kendra realized the door had been closed again.
Roger, head of government contracts, stepped forward with a Cheshire-cat grin. “Come in,” he said.
Kendra’s fiancé, Derek, entered with a file, too, and the room dissolved into self-congratulatory whoops and applause because they’d pulled the whole thing off.
Kendra joined him, giddy. “Can you believe they put together a shower for us?”
“Men get showers now?” Derek had a cute, confused look. He took Kendra’s hand and leaned in. “Not with games and stuff, right? Because I’m buried with work.”
Grace chuckled. “Yes, it’s the twenty-first century, and men get showers at Fleming & Stein,” she said. “That is, when they’re marrying another attorney in the firm, thus making it a big celebration. They get champagne too.” She put a half-filled glass in his hand, and one in Kendra’s, and quieted the crowd.
“Many of you enterprising souls like Derek need to get back to work shortly,” Grace said, “so Roger and I want to give a quick toast at the start. Maybe a glass of bubbly will give you the kick you need to get that work done.”
“Hear, hear,” one of the attorneys called, lifting his glass.
“Kendra,” Grace said, “I’ve had the unique honor of recruiting you as a summer associate, bringing you on board after you graduated law school, helping you hone your legal skills—and watching you get swept off your feet by this fellow here.” She smiled at Derek. “I have to confess that I always regarded the government contracts group as, well, unexciting.”
“I take offense to that.” Roger frowned in his humorous way.
“But . . .” Grace smiled at Roger and turned back to Derek. “The just-because floral arrangements, the carryout dinners on long work evenings, the elaborate proposal . . . Watching your courtship took my breath away. I can’t wait until the wedding because I’m sure you’ll have something wonderful up your sleeve.” She raised her glass. “To Kendra and Derek, who’ve filled these offices with the beauty of romance and the promise of happy-ever-after and a gaggle of kids. Cheers!”
Derek’s glass went up only partially. “Wait, we promised a gaggle?”
Laughter and a chorus of “Cheers!” filled the room as everyone raised a glass and took a sip.
“I admit,” Derek said, “this is pretty nice.” His arm slid around Kendra’s waist. “And you look nice. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you yet today.”
She felt flutters from his touch. “Your fault,” she said, eyeing his dark and handsome face. “I tried to steal you away for lunch.”
“And I almost went, despite my deadline.” He squeezed a little tighter. “You know my day’s not the same without you. We should share an office after the wedding.”
Kendra laughed in her champagne glass. “I can see it now—totally distracted, no focus, fired by year’s end . . .”
He laughed with her. “True, true.”
Roger stepped forward next. “I’ll be brief since everyone knows I hail from the unexciting government contracts wing.” He winked at Grace. “I knew when I stole”—he cleared his throat—“plucked Derek from one of our rivals a year and a half ago that he had special talent. But oh, the things I learned through that elaborate proposal. Who thinks to get a judge and jury involved? Who’s able to get a judge and jury involved?” He eyed Derek even now, as if questioning. “This man knows what he wants, and he’s got the skills to go after it. In Kendra, I think we’d all agree he got quite a prize.” He raised his glass. “To the soon-to-be husband and wife, Derek and Kendra.”
Loud cheers and champagne sips were followed by cries of “Speech! Speech!”
Kendra and Derek looked at each other, smiling. She nudged him. “You go.”
Derek shrugged as everyone quieted. “I don’t know what to say.” He looked at Kendra. “I just love this woman.”
“Aww,” a few of the women chorused.
“Oh, stop it,” one of the government contracts attorneys said. “You’ve set the bar too high already for the single guys.”
Derek held up his hands in defense. “But how’s that possible in a room full of overachievers?” When the laughter died down, he continued, “Seriously, thank you, everyone. I’m blown away by this show of love and kindness. Coming to Fleming & Stein was one of the best decisions of my life.”
Kendra squeezed his hand, looking around the room. “I’m not an emotional person, but you all know I lost my mother last year to cancer, and my father’s on a sabbatical overseas. I would’ve never thought a big firm could be like family, but in the years I’ve been here, that’s what you’ve become.” She scanned their faces. “I can’t tell you what it means that you would do this for us.” She swiped an eye. “Okay, really? I will not cry,” she declared as another tear came. “Let me stop while I’m ahead, and just say thank you.”
Grace hugged her, then turned to the crowd. “We’ll open gifts soon, but for now, enjoy the food. Or get back to work!”
“Thank you, Grace, really.” Kendra spoke above the rising chatter. “You’re always there for me. I’m sure this whole thing was your idea.”
“No way,” Grace said. “I can’t count the number of people in litigation who came to me about giving you a shower. We all wanted to celebrate with you. You’re getting married, girl!”
“And it’s starting to feel really real,” Kendra said. “I’ve got my final fitting tomorrow.”
“I’m going with you,” Derek said. “Since it’s the twenty-first century, the dress doesn’t have to be a surprise.”
“Uh-huh,” Kendra said. “You’re the one who didn’t want to schedule pictures before the ceremony.”
He conceded with a nod. “Who knew I was a traditional type of guy? I never thought so until we started planning this wedding.” He linked fingers with her, pulling her close. “I can’t wait for you to become Kendra Richards.”
His whisper drew butterflies. “I can’t wait to be Kendra Richards.”
Kendra stood atop the podium in the dressing room, loving every angle of her gown in the mirror. She’d tried it on at least three times before, but now, so close to the date, it woke something new in her.
Her maid of honor, Charlene, circled her. “Classic. Elegant. Exquisite.” She nodded, arms folded. “Killer. That dress was made for you, Ken.”
The strapless silk sheath with a Swarovski-beaded bodice fit her five-foot-six frame like a glove. Kendra felt tingly looking at it. She’d never dreamed about marriage. Even back when she thought her parents had the perfect marriage, marriage itself wasn’t uppermost in her mind. Her dreams had always been career driven. But what did she expect from marriage? What did she long for?
The bridal consultant had been checking every aspect of the fit. “It’s just perfect,” she said,
“but it’s formfitting”—she shook a warning finger—“so no fried foods between now and the wedding.”
“Or rich desserts,” Kendra said. “That’s my weakness.”
“Whatever.” Charlene rolled her eyes. “You never gain a pound.”
“Let me see if those adjustments were made to the veil,” the consultant said, “and I’ll also grab the undergarment you need.” She looked at Charlene. “And I’ll show you how to help Kendra with the dress on her wedding day, as well as how to bustle it.”
“Awesome,” Charlene said. “I’m so excited to be part of this.”
Kendra smiled at her. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
She and Charlene had met the first week of the first year of law school at George Washington University and quickly became best buddies. The grind of working at a large firm kept them from seeing each other as much as they’d like, especially since Charlene worked in Baltimore, so wedding moments like this were a treat.
Kendra smoothed her fingers over the hand-sewn beading. “You think Derek will like it?”
“For him to like it, all that’s required is that you be in it. That man is head over heels.” Charlene sighed. “Why can’t I find a man like that?”
“I told you I think you’ll like his best man,” Kendra said.
“He lives in Philly—several-point deduction,” Charlene said, “but definite points for hotness, from the picture you showed. What does he do?”
“He’s in banking.”
Charlene looked impressed. “Kids?”
“Nope.”
“Married?”
Kendra gave her a look.
“Then what’s wrong with him?”
“I think he’s been focused on his career, like all of us. Now everybody’s feeling the itch to settle down.” Kendra got an idea. “He’ll be in town next week. The four of us can go to dinner.”
“I’m not going on another blind date,” Charlene said.
“How is it a blind date? This is prewedding . . . stuff.” Kendra laughed. “But that other blind date was hilarious.”
“You mean Jared? God’s gift to mankind? I should’ve stopped speaking to you after that.” Charlene laughed with her. “And how is it you always get the nice, fine guys making big money, and I get the sidekicks, who always have a major defect?”
Hidden Blessings Page 1
