A Bride Worth Waiting For

by Jeanie Smith Cash

  “Yes, it is,” Carla said. I couldn’t wait to get here.”

  After dinner Bethany introduced Carla and Michelle to Cole. When he’d walked in this evening she had been relieved to see that he was back safe. After the introductions were completed they were tired so they all went up to their suite. Just as Bethany and Melanie had guessed, Carla chose the purple room and Michelle the yellow one.

  Sunday morning dawned cold and blustery. Bethany listened to the weather forecast as the other three girls finished getting ready to go to Church. “The weatherman said the roads wouldn’t be bad before evening. We should be able to make it to service and back without too much trouble.” Bethany shut the TV off and grabbed her coat and purse. “I’m ready if you guys are.”

  “Well, Carla and I are. “ Melanie slipped her coat on. “Michelle how much longer before you’re ready, we need to leave?”

  “Here I am. I’m ready.”

  “Okay, let’s go. Bethany opened the door and when everyone was out of the room she closed and locked it. They took the elevator down to the lobby and as the doors opened they saw Cole standing with Bethany’s grandparents. Bethany had a moment of displeasure as her heart reacted to seeing him, but she chided herself. That wasn’t a very Christian response. She should be happy that he was going to church. If she were honest with herself she had to admit she was glad he was going, she just didn’t want to be and that’s what was causing her displeasure. I’m sorry, Lord for my first reaction I am glad that Cole is going to Church, please forgive me.

  They all greeted each other and went out to get into her grandparents Cadillac Escalade which had all wheel drive. It should get them to town and back without any trouble.

  Papa pulled into the parking lot and found a space fairly close to the door. The ground wasn’t icy yet it just had a light cover of snow across it. They made their way carefully to the door in case it was slick. Cole was the first one to reach the door and he held it open for everyone. Bethany waited in the foyer until everyone else was inside and they all went into the auditorium together. The Minister, Brother Adam Chatman, greeted them as they walked in.

  “Good morning Mack, Elizabeth, I see you have company this morning.” The minister smiled.

  “Yes, Brother Adam this is our granddaughter, Bethany Stillman, and her three friends, Carla McKnight, Melanie Stevens and Michelle Carrington, they’ve come to work for us at the lodge for the winter. “Mack introduced them and they shook hands. He then turned and said, “This is Cole Beckman, he’s working for us also as a ski instructor.”

  “It’s nice to meet all of you, I’m glad you’ve come. I hope you’ll continue to join us each week.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Brother Adam,” Bethany said. She waited while the others spoke to the minister and then they all went into the sanctuary and sat down about half way to the front. This was a small old fashioned church but beautifully done with stained glass windows, a balcony with white railing up above them, and white pews with deep red velvet cushions. According to Gram it had been here for over one hundred years. It had been kept up very well over the years by the parishioners that loved it. The pulpit was made of dark wood which matched the organ and piano. It was a quaint little church warm and welcoming. It reminded Bethany of the church on the front of the Christmas card she had received from her parents the day before. It had a White Chapel set out in the snow with pine trees all around and had a white steeple with a bell tower just like this one. The bell had been ringing as they drove into the parking lot this morning, sending a charming greeting to everyone close enough to hear.

  The message that morning touched Bethany it was about counting your blessings, putting your priorities in place and realizing what was most important in your life. It really made her think on the way back to the lodge just how blessed she was.

  Chapter Five

  The following morning Bethany came downstairs to start her new job. She had just walked off of the elevator when her grandmother met her.

  “Bethany I was just going to call you there’s been an accident out on the bunny slopes. One of the children has been injured.”

  “I was just about to go up there and take a look around, I’ll go out right now, Gram.” Bethany grabbed the first aid kit Gram and Papa had packed with her direction for just such an incident and went out the door. She took one of the snowmobiles up to the slopes. When she arrived Cole was there with the injured child, a little boy who appeared to be about eight years old.

  “What happened and how is he, Cole?” Bethany kneeled down beside him in the snow and opened the first aid kit she had brought along. She felt the ice cold wetness soak into her snow pants immediately and realized they needed to take care of this child quickly so they could get him in where it was warm. She could see a cut on the child’s head. Cole was holding a handkerchief against it.

  “It’s not bad enough to need sutures. If you have antiseptic, antibiotic ointment, and butterfly bandages in that kit we’ll be in good shape.”

  “Yes, I have all three in here.” Bethany opened the kit and took out a gauze pad and a bottle of antiseptic while Cole talked to the parents. He soothed their fears and reassured them that little Bradley would be just fine, that his cut wasn’t anything serious. Bethany helped Cole and together they had the little boy cleaned up, bandaged, and him and his parents on their way back to the ski lodge in just a few minutes time. Bethany was touched by the kind way that Cole had dealt with Bradley and his parents. They were scared and he’d put the little boy and his parents at ease with just a few words. She could see why he was a good paramedic; he dealt well with people in emergency situations. Bethany was very impressed with Cole’s compassion. She could see his Christian love in the way he dealt with this situation and it had also been evident on the plane when he’d dealt with the older gentleman there. Her grandparents were fortunate, they’d received two for one in Cole, a Paramedic and a ski instructor.

  The following week Bethany, Carla, Melanie and Michelle spent the days working and the evenings in their suite playing games and putting a puzzle together in front of the fire. During that week as Bethany, and Cole, had helped her grandparents during the day to set up puzzles, and organize games in between Cole’s Ski lessons and Bethany’s doctoring cuts and bruises; Cole had asked her to go snowmobiling, to the show and out to dinner. Each time she had politely refused, she hoped eventually he’d realize that it wasn’t personal; she just wasn’t interested in dating anyone right now.

  On her way to the elevator that evening one of the guests stopped her and asked for some antiseptic and a band aid, she had cut her hand. Bethany went with her to the restroom and helped her clean and bandage it. She thought afterwards on the way up to her room, at least that had taken her mind off of Cole for a little while.

  “Thanksgiving Day dawned overcast with snow falling steadily outside. Bethany rushed downstairs with, Melanie, Carla, and Michelle to help Gram and Papa serve a big turkey dinner to all of their guests so the staff could be home with their families. Bethany was setting tables when she saw Cole come in with her grandfather; they were filling the wood box for the fireplace. Obviously Cole had offered to help as well. He flashed that smile again that caused her heart to beat double time. She tried to ignore him but it was hard to do. He pulled his jacket off and the medium blue sweater he wore brought out the blue in his eyes, as if they needed any enhancement, they were gorgeous. Bethany you’re not even supposed to be noticing Cole Beckman much less how beautiful his eyes are, get your mind back on what you’re supposed to be doing here.

  When dinner was served she and Cole wound up at the same table with him sitting right across from her so she had no choice but to talk to him. It didn’t help that she found after spending an hour at the table eating Thanksgiving dinner with Cole, she really liked him. Once everyone had been fed Bethany and her friends stayed to help clean up.

  Later that evening Bethany sat down at the folding table they had placed in front of t
he fireplace in their room, with Melanie, Carla, and Michelle to help finish the puzzle of Busch Stadium she had bought. She was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and they’d been working on it for the last two nights. When they were finished Bethany planned to glue it to a board, put it in a frame, and hang it on her bedroom wall. She’d just found a puzzle piece to fit in one of the spaces when Melanie said, “okay Bethany why do you keep turning Cole down? From what you’ve told us he’s a good Christian, he’s very nice looking, he has a great personality and he seems to be genuinely interested in you. It’s got to be because of what Roger did, but you have to realize not all guys will cheat on you. You can’t just avoid having another relationship forever because one guy betrays you. He’s an ex-boyfriend for crying out loud, you need to put him in that slot, leave him there and go on with your life.”

  Bethany looked at Melanie. “He was a little more than an ex-boyfriend; we were engaged to be married.” She reached into her pocket for her Peanut M&M’s.

  “We know, Bethany, but Melanie is right. You have too much love to give. You need a good man in your life. You can juggle your job and a relationship, that’s just an excuse and we all know it.” Carla patted her hand gently.

  “Okay, I might as well put in my two cents.” Michelle smiled gently “We love you, Bethany, but you already know that. We just want to see you happy and you haven’t been truly happy since that jerk broke your heart. It’s been two years, Bethany. It’s time you let it go. The Lord has someone out there for you and maybe Cole is your chosen mate. If you don’t give him a chance you might miss the great future the Lord has planned for you.”

  Bethany looked at all three of her friends, she couldn’t bring herself to be upset with them because she knew they meant well. She popped a couple of M&M’s in her mouth chewed and swallowed. “I know, but I’m just not ready yet.”

  “Well, you’d better get ready because that hunk of a guy isn’t going to hang around forever; he’s eventually going to give up figuring it’s a lost cause.” Carla laid it plainly on the line.

  Bethany glanced at her friends knowing they had her best interest at heart. “I can’t promise I’ll change my mind, but I will pray about it.” Bethany found the place for her puzzle piece and fit it into the slot.

  “Well, we can’t ask anymore than that and we’ll continue to pray with you.” Melanie smiled and took a couple of the M&M’s Bethany offered to go with her hot chocolate.

  “Not to change the subject or anything.” Bethany smiled.”But I want to thank you for helping today; the staff wouldn’t have been able to spend the day with their families if we hadn’t helped. My grandparents couldn’t have done it by themselves.”

  “We were glad to help, Carla smiled and Michelle and Melanie nodded.

  “You three are the best.” Bethany hugged each one of them.

  “Yeah well, the feelings mutual. Now put away those M&M’s and let’s go to bed and try to get some rest tonight,” Melanie said.

  Bethany put the M&M’s back into her purse and they went to bed.

  The next evening Carla, Melanie, and Michelle decided to go shopping but Bethany opted to stay at the lodge and go to dinner with her grandparents. She was sitting at the table visiting with them when she noticed Cole was at the table right behind her. He was with three guys about his age and two teenage boys; she became aware of part of their conversation and realized they were discussing Bible verses. She didn’t intend to ease drop but she could clearly hear what they were saying. Cole was giving them the plan of salvation along with scriptures to back it up. One of the teens asked him several questions and he had an answer for each one. Cole knew his Bible well. Bethany noticed that her grandparents had become quiet; they were listening to Cole so she turned her attention completely to what he was saying.

  “Shane, are you ready to accept Jesus as your Savior?” Cole asked softly.

  “I’d like to if you can show me how, Cole?”

  “You just need to ask the Lord to forgive your sins and to be your Savior, Shane. I’ll help you by saying the prayer and you repeat the words after me, okay?”

  “Okay.” Shane bowed his head.

  “Lord, I know I’ve sinned, I ask you to please forgive me and to come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. I want to live for you, please help me and guide me, Lord in all that I do throughout my life. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

  “Wow Cole! I can’t believe how great I feel. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I can’t even begin to explain this feeling.” He grinned and Bethany couldn’t help but be excited for him.

  “I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to eaves drop, but we couldn’t help but hear and we’re so excited for you.” Bethany smiled.

  “Welcome into the family Shane, as Christians we’re all a part of the family of God,” Mack said and shook his hand. They were sitting in the back corner of the room so the other guests didn’t realize what had just taken place. Once again Bethany was impressed with Cole’s Christian witness.

  “Thank you Mr. Langford. Carl and I have been best friends since we were in grade school. He and Cole have been witnessing to me for awhile.”

  “Bethany this is my little brother Carlton, he and his friend, Shane Benson, and three of my best friends here, Chancelor Huntington, Scott Chambers, and Hunter Nelson checked in this afternoon. Your grandparents met them when they signed in earlier. Guys this is Bethany Stillman, Mack and Elizabeth’s granddaughter and our in house RN.” Cole grinned.

  “It’s nice to meet you, and Shane congratulations on your decision, it’s the best one you’ll ever make,” Bethany said.

  “I think I can speak for all of us Bethany, meeting you is our pleasure.” The other men nodded their heads and smiled. “We had to come up and check on this guy here.” Chancelor laid his hand on Cole’s shoulder. ”He’s pretty special to all of us and we had to see for ourselves how he was making it.”

  Mack stood and made an announcement. “To finish off the evening Cole and Carl Beckman have graciously agreed to play a couple of numbers for us.”

  Cole played a Fiddlers Dream and Carl accompanied him on the guitar. Bethany sat back and listened. They were both exceptional musicians.

  When they were through playing, the whole room stood and applauded. They bowed, thanked everyone, and came back to the table.

  “You two are really something, that was wonderful.” Bethany smiled.

  “Yep, you did it again. But that’s no surprise.” Chancelor slapped Cole on the back and brushed his hand through Carl’s hair affectionately. These two along with their family are hands down the best in bluegrass.”

  “That’s for sure!” Scott, Shane, and Hunter said in unison and everyone laughed.

  “Well, Shane and I are going up to our room it’s been a long day, we’ll see ya’ll in the morning.” Carl and Shane stood, pushed their chairs to the table and said goodnight.

  “Good night guys.” Bethany chorused with everyone else and smiled as they walked to the elevator.

  “Well, I think I’ll call it a night too and let you fellows catch up.” Bethany hugged her grandparents.” Thank you for dinner, I’ll see you in the morning. She headed to the elevators as her grandparents went to the kitchen.

  * * * * * *

  “Well, Bud. I can certainly see why you’re attracted to her; she’s a pretty little thing that’s for sure. Obviously you haven’t told her who you are.”

  “No, I haven’t, not yet.”

  “You need to tell her before you get any more involved with her. You’re looking to get hurt, Cole. There’s a lot of animosity where her dad’s concerned and when she realizes you were the driver of the car that night well, it’s not going to be an easy thing to get past. “Chancelor looked directly at Cole.

  “You’re right Buddy, but I’m hoping to get to know her before I drop that bit of news. If she knows who I am I’ll never have a chance with her. I haven’t given up trying to win her over and I’m hoping Lord willin
g, by the time that I do she’ll care enough that when I have to tell her she’ll be able to forgive me for my part in it. ”Cole watched Bethany cross the room as she walked to the elevator.

  “I hope you’re right and I’ll surely be praying about it,” Chancelor said.

  “Thanks. I know I’ve only known her for two weeks, but I felt a connection between us the minute I met her on the plane. I feel the Lord has a future planned for us and I think it started back ten years ago on that cold wintery night. I don’t know how it’ll happen, but one thing I do know is that the Lord is bigger than all of this and if in fact this is His plan for our lives, I believe He’ll work it out in His timing. As frustrating as it is, I feel she’s worth waiting for, so I’ll be patient and pray. “

  “I’ll be praying too, Cole.” Scott drank the rest of his coffee.

  “Well, guys we know the power of prayer, nothing is impossible with the Lord.” Hunter drank the last of his ice tea and sat his glass on the table. “I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m bushed, it’s been a long day.”

  “Yeah, I think it’s time we called it a night and guys, thanks for the prayers and coming out here, it means a lot.” Cole stood and pushed his chair under the table.

  “Hey, that’s what are friends for! Chancelor laid his napkin on the table as he stood up.

  “That’s right,” Scott agreed.

  “You know us, Bud we always stick together. When one has a problem we’re all there. Be careful, Cole. I’m with Chancelor; I don’t want to see you get hurt. I think you’ve been through enough.” Hunter stated.

  “Cole pulled them all into a brief hug together. Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Cole headed upstairs to his room. He was fortunate to have those three for friends. They’d been close since fourth grade. Their friendship seemed to get stronger as time went by and he’d trust his life to any of the three. He knew they’d be praying for him and Bethany. He couldn’t seem to get anywhere with her. She’d talk and cut up with him and she seemed to enjoy his company. But when he’d ask her to spend time with him alone, she’d politely refuse.