Smitten

by Colleen Coble

  His heart had moved to a place it had never been before—at least not in a very long time.

  Tonight, something different definitely stirred deep within him toward Shelby . . . and it wasn’t friendship.

  The following week Shelby was so busy finalizing the details for the tea, she didn’t have time to sort out her feelings about the kiss with Nick and all it entailed. He’d been busy at the tree farm, so they’d merely passed one another from time to time, which was a good thing for right now. Good for both of them to think things through.

  People scurried around the room, setting tables, hanging tulle, placing centerpieces and candlesticks. Shelby could hardly believe the class was over and this was the grand finale.

  The time had passed so quickly.

  Once the final touches were in place, she rushed home to dress for the occasion in a long, elegant black dress. She pulled her hair up into a fashionable twist, fastened pearl earrings and necklace in place, stepped into her fragile heels, and hurried back to Nick’s place.

  The room was fragrant with the scent of tasty desserts.

  Candlelight flickered about, casting shadows in the room.

  “We just lit those,” Rose said proudly as Shelby greeted her.

  Natalie appeared in a beautiful wine-colored floor-length dress and sparkling jewelry. She carried a tray of desserts. “Gluten-free brownies that are guaranteed to be the hit of the tea,” she announced with pride.

  “I wouldn’t doubt it for a moment,” Shelby said, relieving her friend from the load and taking them to the food table.

  There was a hum of car engines and the crunch of tires on gravel, and people spilled out of their automobiles and entered the building. It seemed most of Smitten was present, dressed in elegant evening wear and fine-tailored suits. The students looked the loveliest of all, fine young ladies scrubbed to perfection and glowing with their first dashes of makeup.

  When it was time to start, Shelby took her place at the microphone. Everyone found a seat, and at Rose’s nod the Garner Sisters began to play chamber music. Shelby introduced each student, with her father as her escort, and two by two they filed across the front of the room, glittering, smiling, and delivering postures and entrances above reproach.

  Finally, just as Shelby wondered if Willow and Nick were coming, they walked through the doorway. Her lungs seemed to hold her air captive, and she hesitated long enough for the audience to notice. Nick stood there in a black suit, hair cut in the latest style, and . . . clean-shaven. Not a hair on his face anywhere. Shelby thought she would melt into a puddle at his feet.

  When she paused, he held her gaze, obviously wondering why she was taking so long to introduce them. Somehow she managed to get the girls and their escorts introduced and gave words of praise for the girls’ hard work. Just as she was about to tell everyone the fine music would continue during the meal, Rose walked over and whispered to her to go stand by the door.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Rose said, “Miss Evans didn’t know she too would have an escort this evening, but he has arrived. I would like to introduce you to Miss Shelby Evans and her handsome escort, her father, Mark Evans.”

  Shelby’s breath caught as the door opened and her dad stepped into view, dressed in a suit and tie and looking the handsomest she had ever seen him in her entire life. The audience clapped as he held out his arm and she slipped her gloved hand into it. All her life she had dreamed of her dad showing up for a school play, a ball game, a choir program, but he never came. Finally she had quit dreaming.

  Hot tears stung her eyes. She swallowed hard to keep her emotions in check. This was the girls’ night, and she would not take anything away from them.

  But there was no denying that tonight she felt like a true princess. Her dad stepped up beside Willow, leaving Shelby standing between him and Nick. And at that very moment she realized it; they were the two men she loved most in all the world.

  “Are you sure you’re warm enough?” Nick asked as they sat on a bench in his yard following the tea.

  “I’m sure.”

  “We can go back into the warm building, or my house, if you want.”

  “I’m fine, really.”

  He put his arm around her and held her close. “Do you mind?”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Nick, I love the look.”

  She tickled his chin.

  “I did it for you, you know.”

  Her pulse quickened as his lips met hers once, then again, and again.

  “All this time, how did I not see it?” He grinned. “You, me, us.”

  She laughed. “I didn’t see it either. But you were and are a great friend.”

  “I’ll never be happy with just that anymore.” Like soft whispers, he placed light kisses on the side of her face. He reached up and pulled a pin from her hair. “You looked beautiful tonight, but you never look more beautiful”—he slipped out another pin—“than when”—then another—“your hair is down.” And another.

  Her skin tingled at his touch as her hair fell softly around her shoulders. Her hand reached up to straighten it, and he caught it in his own.

  “Let me,” he said.

  He lifted her hair between his fingers and worked his way through it, tucking here, lingering there.

  Her heart drummed hard against her chest. Nick bent over and kissed her with an intensity that seemed to grow stronger with every second that ticked by. His lips tasted salty, his muscles strong and taut beneath her hands. She reveled in the tingle of his breath against her face, until she finally forced herself to pull away.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” he said.

  She stood. “Let’s walk.”

  He joined her. “Were you surprised when your dad showed up?”

  “That is an understatement.” She worked to relax her breathing, to shove aside the moments they had just shared— moments she knew she would relive a hundred times before sleep would overtake her tonight.

  He laughed. “I could see it on your face.”

  “You don’t know our story. Maybe it’s time I told you.”

  As they walked beneath the starry sky, wandering through the maze of fir trees, she shared her story of the forbidden passion as a teenager, the pregnancy, and the abortion.

  Nick stopped in his tracks. “You had an abortion?”

  “Well, not by choice.” She started to walk again, but Nick didn’t move an inch.

  “Doesn’t everyone have a choice?”

  She turned back around. “I didn’t. Not if I wanted a place to live and eat. Dad would have thrown me out.”

  “I just don’t understand how you could do that.”

  “It wasn’t what I wanted to do, don’t you get that? A piece of me died that day too. Thoughts of my baby haunt me every day. But when I met Jesus—”

  “Shelby, I know that had to be hard for you. I’m sorry for what you endured. But . . . I need time to think this through.

  I thought things were different—you were different. After all this time—”

  “But, Nick, you don’t understand.”

  “No, no, I get it. I do.” He ran his hand through his hair.

  “I just need time to digest it, okay?”

  Tears scalded her eyes. The burning in her heart radiated through her chest, making her feel weak, vulnerable, lonely, unworthy . . . and unfairly judged.

  “You need time to digest it? Who do you think you are, Nick? For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Did you know that? All. You can judge me all you want, but I’ve been forgiven by the One who matters.” Tears ran down her cheeks, and she flipped them away. “How could I have been so wrong about you?”

  The judgment seemed to leave his eyes, but it was too late.

  He’d made his feelings clear.

  With a heavy heart, Shelby turned and walked back to her car.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Shelby eased out of bed the next morning, careful not to jar her aching head.
Inching her way into the bathroom, she pulled out some pain relievers, grabbed a nearby cup, and washed the pills down with water. She had hardly slept all night.

  This was Nick’s fault.

  Pots and pans rattled in the kitchen, alerting her that her dad was already up. She glanced at her alarm clock. Ten o’clock. She couldn’t remember when she had slept in that late before.

  She hurried—as much as her headache would allow— through a shower and got dressed. She shoved thoughts of Nick aside and reveled instead in her dad’s appearance at the tea and how wonderful it had been to have him by her side. His gesture last night gave her hope that maybe one day they could have a real father-daughter relationship.

  Once she was dressed, she paused for prayer. Her heart ached beyond belief, knowing that Nick judged her so harshly without understanding her pain in those days. She wasn’t proud of her past, but there wasn’t anything she could do to change it now. Maybe she should have run away those years ago, defied her father, kept the baby. But where would she have gone? How could she have supported a child with no job, no money, no home? She hadn’t seen a way out. She had been at her father’s mercy.

  Thankfully, she served a merciful heavenly Father who loved her still. If only she had known him back in those days. She wouldn’t have gotten herself into such an awful mess.

  Once she talked it over with the Lord, she got up from her knees, took a deep breath, and walked out to meet her dad.

  There were two plates set on the table, along with platters laden with eggs, bacon, toast, and biscuits and gravy.

  Shelby blinked in disbelief. “Dad, what’s all this?”

  “Where I come from, they call it breakfast,” he said with a smile. “Care to join me?”

  They sat down together. Her dad folded his hands, bowed his head, and prayed over the meal while Shelby sat absolutely dumbfounded. Never in her life had she heard her dad pray.

  When the prayer was over, he looked up at her and winked, flipped his napkin on his lap, and filled his plate.

  They had small talk over their meal, and then her dad reached over and touched her hand. “Shelby, can we go into the living room? I’d like to talk to you.”

  She had no idea what was coming, but one thing was certain: he was full of surprises this morning. When did her dad start praying? Was he a believer now, or was it more of a nice gesture that people did at mealtime?

  They settled onto the sofa, and her father turned to her. Cupping her hand into his, he looked straight into her eyes without a blink.

  “I was wrong. Those many years ago. So wrong. I made you get rid of my only grandchild.” Tears filled his eyes, and he shook his head, breaking eye contact as he squeezed them shut and let the tears spill down his face. “How could I have put you through that?”

  A hairline crack seemed to break through the wall of Shelby’s hardened heart, gaining momentum as the sincerity of her dad’s confession enveloped and healed her brokenness.

  “I’m so, so sorry, Shelby. Please forgive me.” He pulled his hand away and grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his nose. “I’ve been the worst father ever, but I want to change that, if you’ll let me.”

  Shelby hadn’t said a word the entire time. None came to mind. Not a single one.

  “I was so intent on doing what I wanted when you were young, I missed out on everything. And your mother . . .” More tears. “What I put that woman through, moving all the time, my selfishness . . .”

  This time Shelby reached out to him and grabbed his hand. “That’s in the past, Dad. Mom loved you, and she didn’t mind moving. She told me so more than once.”

  “She did?”

  Shelby nodded.

  “I found the Lord, Shelby. He has changed my heart, and if you’ll let me, I want to try again.”

  They hugged one another. “Oh, Dad, I’ve missed you. I’ve always wanted you around.”

  “You know why I stayed away?” he asked.

  She nodded, blotting her own face with a nearby tissue. “I shamed you. I know you couldn’t bear the sight of me.”

  “What? Oh my, no, Shelby. No!” He pulled her into his arms. “I was ashamed of myself. Of what I had made you do with that precious baby. Each time I looked at you, I felt the pain of what I’d done.”

  Shelby lingered in the warmth of her father’s arms, allowing the healing balm of his touch and his words to flow through her.

  Her dad pulled back and looked into her eyes. “When I saw you with those young ladies, how they looked up to you, how you nurtured them, I realized you would have been a wonderful mother. And I believe you will be, someday. God willing.” He hesitated and then said with a raised brow, “Maybe sooner than you think.”

  “Shelby, Willow’s run away.” Nick’s voice cracked over the phone.

  The panic in his voice frightened her. “Where are you?”

  “I’m at home.”

  “I’ll be right there.” They’d had their falling out only last night, but it seemed a lifetime ago. Shelby hung up the phone and ran to the closet to grab her jacket.

  “What’s wrong?” her dad asked.

  “Willow’s gone. Nick doesn’t know where she is.”

  “Uh-oh. What can I do to help?”

  “Maybe ask around if anyone has seen her. I don’t know.

  I’m going to Nick’s right now.”

  She exceeded every speed limit on her way to the tree farm. No sooner had Shelby pulled her car into the driveway than Nick rushed out to meet her. He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve made such a mess of this.”

  “It’ll be all right, Nick. She couldn’t have gone far. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

  He pulled away, and they walked toward the house as he filled her in. “Before we went to bed last night, she said she knew there was something wrong between us. She told me I was stupid if I let you go.”

  Shelby looked down at her hands.

  “I told her she was a little girl and didn’t understand things, and it sort of escalated from there. Angry words about losing her mother, her home, how nothing ever turned out right. All that.”

  “Do you think she could be in the woods?”

  “I don’t think so. She knows how dangerous it can be to get lost in the woods. The police are sending out officers to look for her. Usually they wait for a person to be gone twenty-four hours, but since I know the chief, they agreed to do this for me.” He looked at her. “I really blew it.”

  “No time for regrets,” Shelby said, suddenly finding a strength she didn’t know she possessed. “Let’s make a plan.”

  Before they could decide what to do, two police cars pulled up, followed by other cars belonging to Nick’s friends.

  “Shelby’s dad spread the word around town. We want to help,” Griffen said.

  The woods quickly filled with friends and officers searching for Willow. Shelby stayed at Nick’s house in case she showed up or they received any calls, but the morning melted away without any word.

  The front door opened, and she looked up to see the anguish on Nick’s face when he and some of the others returned without Willow. He sagged onto the sofa and covered his face with his hands.

  The phone rang then, and Shelby answered it.

  “Yes? . . . Uh-huh . . . Okay, we’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Nick. “They found her. She’s at the church.”

  Cheers went up around the room, and everyone quickly dispersed. When Nick and Shelby reached the church, Willow ran into her dad’s embrace.

  Nick stooped down to look her in the eyes. “Where have you been, honey? I’ve been so worried.”

  “I got up this morning and walked to the church.”

  “You walked all the way here?”

  She nodded. “You said some things only God could fix.

  So I came here to talk to him.”

  Nick’s jaw dropped.

  “Pastor told me I could talk to God anywhere. I knew that, but I figure
d I’d really get his attention if I was at his house,”

  Willow said.

  Shelby’s heart squeezed at the faith of Nick’s precious daughter.

  When the pastor took Willow into his office to give her a Bible, her very first one, Nick turned to Shelby. “Can you ever forgive my judgmental, hardheaded, self-righteous, stubborn attitude?”

  His penitent tone touched her more than she wanted to admit. She looked up at him. “I won’t lie to you. Your reaction cut deeply.” The pain in his eyes seemed genuine, but could she trust him?

  “I had no right. I reacted, like you said. I’ve always wanted a boatload of kids, and the thought of—well, as I said, I had no right. You were right, we all sin. That’s where God’s grace comes in. There is nothing he won’t forgive, and I ought to know. I have my own shameful past. Thank God when we ask for forgiveness, he gives us a clean slate. Can you ever forgive me?” His eyes were pleading, his expression sincere and longing, his face—still clean of stubble.

  Forgiveness. She’d extended it to her father. How could she not give it to the man she loved? “Of course I forgive you,” she whispered.

  “I have a clean slate?”

  “A clean slate,” she said.

  Nick’s relief was visible on his face, and he pulled her to him. “I love you so much.”

  Shelby closed her eyes and let the words wash over her as naturally as if they’d said them to one another every day. She opened her eyes and stared into his handsome, clean-shaven face. “I love you too.”

  His heart seemed to smile through his eyes. “I’ve been wanting to hear that for weeks.”

  Shelby nestled against his broad chest and inhaled the clean aroma of a man. Her man.

  The pastor cleared his throat as he and Willow walked into the room.

  Nick and Shelby smiled and pulled apart. Willow’s eyes widened at the sight of them together, and she rushed over between them. They huddled into a group hug. Shelby held Willow tight, and she wondered if this was how it felt to be a real mother. Maybe one day she would know.