A New Hope

by M. L. Ray

  “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you…and have your children…and tell you about my fears and my failures…and laugh with you…”

  The rest of her words were drowned out when he rose up and covered her lips with his own .He held her neck in the palm of his hand as he showered her lips, her cheeks, and her eyelids with kisses. “I love you so much! Tell me we don’t have to have a long engagement.”

  Michelle smiled through her tears and nodded, “We don’t have to have a long engagement. But you do have to go talk to my father.”

  Tyler grinned at her, “Already been there, and done that. You didn’t really think it would take me three hours to get cleaned up, did you?”

  Michelle started laughing in joy as her heart overflowed with happiness. “I didn’t even think about it. Tyler, I love you and I’m so sorry about the past…”

  “Hey, we agreed to live in the present and the future. Remember? No more apologizing for past mistakes. We’ve both made them. We both forgave each other, so they don’t matter anymore.”

  Tyler pulled Michelle into his side, smiling in contentment when she laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. He was amazed at what a difference a few weeks could make in his life. A week ago he’d been unsure of what lie ahead for his future, but hopeful it would include Michelle in some fashion.

  Now, he was looking forward to a future filled with lots of challenges, but he knew that having Michelle by his side would make the rewards all that more precious. Adam and Lorelei were heading towards Cathedral Hills, and while Adam didn’t have the feeling back in his legs, the doctors were much more positive after his last neurological tests. While he would most likely never walk again without some sort of mechanical assistance, he still had full use of his arms and feeling from the waist up.

  As he sat on the bleachers with his future wife in his arms, he closed his eyes and lifted up a silent prayer of thanksgiving for the many blessings in his life. Michelle’s father had insisted on praying with him for their future, and for the first time in over a year, he felt like they were headed in God’s direction. It was a wonderful feeling that he never wanted to lose.

  Chapter 39

  “Trey, why is everyone watching us?” Jenna asked during a break in the dancing.

  Trey glanced around and realized that indeed, everyone in town was watching them and not even bothering to hide the fact. “I…well, I haven’t exactly been a regular attending at these types of events.”

  “Really? Why? They’re a lot of fun.”

  Yeah, but not if you’re a single eligible bachelor. Then they seem to be more like a meat market. Only very stupid or brave men come here without a date on their arms. “Well, it’s not the same as coming here with a date. I’ve just never seen the value in attending before now.”

  Jenna smiled up at him and then hugged him, “Well, I feel very privileged to have enticed you out of your cave then.”

  “Cave?”

  “Sorry,” she chuckled, “just a euphemism. Don’t all men have a cave they like to hide out from us women in?”

  Trey chuckled and then took her arm and led her toward the exit. “Let’s take a walk.”

  Jenna let him lead her outside, looking up and smiling as she saw a full moon high in the sky. “It’s a beautiful night after the storm earlier in the week.”

  Trey nodded his head, leading her towards the football practice field and then coming to an abrupt stop. It seemed someone else had the same idea. Another couple was sitting on the bleachers, cuddled up together. He looked around and then led her towards the baseball diamond. It was a little further away from the gymnasium, but not so far that they couldn’t easily walk there.

  “Where are we going?” Jenna asked, noticing that Trey seemed to have become strangely quiet since they’d stepped outside.

  “Just over there. I wanted to talk to you, and there was too much noise inside the gym.” And too many eyes watching our every move!

  Jenna hid her smile and quietly walked beside him. At one point during the dancing, he had pulled her in close and she had felt a very strange square-shaped box in his front pocket. She’d thought about asking him about it, but then the band had begun playing a faster number and she had become lost in the joy of dancing. Now she was wondering about it again, and she hoped that Trey was going to finally abandon his stance of taking things slowly.

  Jenna was in love with Trey and given the last seven years of her life, she wasn’t willing to waste a bunch of time following some rules about how long two people needed to date before becoming engaged, or how long that engagement had to last. She knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Trey and she never wanted to leave Cathedral Hills again.

  Trey walked with her hand held in his own, shortening his stride so she didn’t have to run to keep up. “You really do look beautiful tonight,” he told her as he opened the gate leading to the bleachers.

  “Thanks. You dressed down nicely as well.” Jenna giggled at her joke, referring to the black jeans Trey was currently wearing in exchange for the business suits he normally wore during the week.

  “Why thank you, ma’am. I’ll take that as a compliment.” He waited until she was seated before he shuffled his feet and tried to figure out how to begin what he wanted to say. If her father had still been alive, he would have gained his permission for what he was about to do, but Jenna had no one. Except him. And your parents. And her friends.

  “Jenna…,” Trey took a seat on the bleacher row below her and took both of her hands in his own, “I know I said I wanted to take things slowly. But this last week, hearing you plan your future with Michelle, and seeing you blossom…I don’t think I can go slowly anymore.

  “See, I’m in love with you. Having you living in the spare bedroom of my house…well, it’s not where I want you to be living. I want you to be my wife. I want you to share your dreams with me, your triumphs, and everything that comes in between.”

  “Trey…”

  “No. Please let me finish.” He stood up and pulled the box she’d felt earlier from his pocket, handing it to her, “I’ve been carrying that ring around with me for over a week.”

  “A week?” Jenna queried.

  “Yes. A week. A torturous week while I tried to find the right time to tell you how much you’ve come to mean to me. I know it’s not normal to fall in love this fast, but we’re not teenagers and I know my own mind.”

  Jenna reached out and took the box from him, opening it up to reveal a gorgeous ring. It was a mixture of the three different colors of gold, intertwined to form a continuous band, and in the center was a beautiful diamond solitaire.

  “That ring was my grandmother’s. She gave it to me before she died. Her and my grandfather were married for over forty-eight years before she died of cancer. My grandfather died several months later. My mom always said he was only holding on until she was ready to go home. After he made sure she was cared for, there was no longer a reason for him to remain on this earth.”

  “It sounds like they had a wonderful marriage and set a great example for you and your parents.”

  “They did. They were. I want a lasting love like that. I know you’re still struggling to deal with everything that happened to you, but I want to be there to hold your hand when you wake up crying in the night. I want to be there to see our first child born. I want to be there to hold your hand each night as we watch the sun go down, and I want your face to be the first thing I see each morning when the sun rises again.

  “Jenna Baxter, would you please do me the honor of agreeing to become my wife, my helpmate, my better half?”

  Jenna handed the box back to Trey and then extended her hand, “Would you put it on me?”

  Trey tried to keep his hands from shaking as he did as she requested. The ring was a perfect fit, which was just another example of how right Jenna was for him. Thank you God for bringing this miraculous woman back into my life.

  Jenna looked at the ring and then sprung up to her feet, launc
hing herself into Trey’s arms, “I would love to become Mrs. Cottrell!”

  Trey pulled her into his arms, stepping off the bleachers and swinging her around in his arms. When he finally stopped, he let her down until her feet touched the ground and then he kissed her like he hadn’t kissed before. He put all of his feelings into the act, and when she responded and wrapped her arms around his neck, he felt ten feet tall.

  As their kiss ended, he tipped his head back and gave a whoop of joy.

  “Hey! Quiet over there,” came the reply back and he looked to see Tyler and Michelle coming towards them. Tyler had Michelle in his arms once again and Trey had to smile at the content look upon her face. “What are you two celebrating over here?”

  Jenna was beaming and stuck her hand up so that the moonlight glinted off her ring, “We’re getting married!”

  “Get out! Tyler just asked me to marry him as well!”

  Jenna and Michelle hugged each other as they celebrated the changes that were about to take place in both of their lives. Tyler and Trey traded awkward guy hugs and handshakes and then they groaned.

  “We should have a double wedding!”

  “Oh, that would be perfect! We could get married out at the ranch…”

  “Wait a minute!”

  “Whoa! Enough for now, ladies.” Tyler looked at Trey and they traded looks. When Trey nodded at him, he scooped Michelle up in his arms and headed back inside the gym, “You two can discuss wedding plans and all that stuff later.”

  “But…”

  Jenna laughed as she heard her friend continue to try and convince Tyler to bring her back. When Trey scooped her up in his arms and headed towards the parking lot, she grinned up at him, “And just where are you taking me?”

  “Well, first I thought we’d go over to my parents’ house and tell them the good news. Something tells me they already know about Michelle and Tyler.”

  “How would they know…Oh! Tyler asked your dad, didn’t he?”

  “I can’t imagine him not following that age-old tradition.”

  “Well, after we tell them, then what?”

  “Well then, I thought maybe we could go back to the house, light a fire, and find a movie to watch. Tyler and Michelle will be joining us a little later as well.”

  “A movie?” Jenna asked, not sure how romantic that sounded.

  “Did I mention I have marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars?” Trey asked with a grin.

  “S’mores? You bought the stuff to make s’mores? But you don’t like chocolate?” she asked in confusion.

  “But you and Michelle do. And I like marshmallows and graham crackers just fine.”

  Jenna laughed, the joyful sound following them as Trey carried her to his car. She smiled as he settled her into the car, and was still smiling when they arrived at the home of his parents. She was happier than she’d ever hoped to be. The dreams she’d let go as she’d dealt with one disappointment after another had all come back full circle, and were no longer dreams – but reality. She’d found herself in Cathedral Hills. She’d found God again. And she’d found her soul mate.

  Chapter 40

  The movie was just winding down, the s’mores had been consumed, and both Jenna and Michelle were trying to hide their yawns when Tyler’s cell phone rang.

  Glancing at the clock, he saw it was almost midnight and immediately answered it, fearing something had happened to his mother since it was far too late for social calls.

  “Hello? Dad?” Tyler asked anxiously into the phone.

  “Tyler, it’s Peter.”

  “Peter. Man what’s up? Do you know what time it is here?” Tyler looked around the room as Trey turned the overhead lights on and both women were now wide awake and listening in. Seeing that everyone was waiting to hear what had prompted such a late call, he told Peter, “I’m going to put you on speaker phone. I here with Trey, Michelle, and Jenna.”

  “Uh…okay. That’s fine. And yeah, I know what time it is. It’s almost 2 a.m. here.”

  “What’s going on? I’ve tried to call you several times. It keeps going to your voicemail.”

  “Sorry about that. You wouldn’t believe the mess I walked into down here. I don’t have time to go into all the details, but suffice it to say that your sister managed to land herself in a huge mess.”

  “Is she okay?” Tyler asked, rubbing a hand through his hair in his agitation.

  “She will be. I’m going to take care of some paperwork on her behalf tomorrow morning and then I’m bringing her home. We’re going to drive…”

  “Drive? But didn’t you fly out there?” Tyler asked.

  “Yes, and I’ll explain everything when we get back to Colorado. We’re bringing your sister’s car and I figure it will take us three or four days, depending on how long I can drive each day.”

  “Peter, just answer one question for me. Is Brooke okay?”

  There was a pause and then Peter said, “She’s not right now, but she will be. I don’t have time to go into any more details right now, but if you want to do something helpful. Pray for her. She needs all the divine intervention she can get right now. Man…sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I’ll call from the road when I can.”

  Tyler heard the call disconnect and then looked at it before he looked at the others in the room. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be happy Peter found her and is bringing her home, or worried because there’s evidently something bad going down out there.”

  Trey laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and softly said, “I think we should trust that Peter’s got things handled and do what he asked. Pray.”

  Chapter 41

  New York City, two weeks earlier…

  Brooke Jameson hung up the phone, dropped her head into her hands, and gave way to the tears she’d been holding back. Zachary had left over an hour earlier, and he had forgotten to unplug the phone and take it with him. It was the first time in weeks that had happened, and she’d known this might be her only chance at letting someone know she needed help.

  She’d thought about calling the authorities, but Zachary worked for the District Attorney’s office, and she knew he was considered the up and coming golden boy. Who would believe her story? She couldn’t even believe it and she was living it! To make matters worse, she knew she’d done this to herself. Oh, maybe not her current predicament, but her actions in the previous months and years had made her current situation possible!

  Brooke had come to New York two years ago, thinking she’d finally caught her big break. She’d gone to an open audition while still in high school, and a few weeks later had received a modeling contract and plane tickets to California. She has gotten on the plane a little over six years ago, just out of high school, with stars in her eyes and a smile upon her beautiful face. Those first four years, her life had been fast paced and so different from Cathedral Hills that she had readily embraced all it had to offer. The good and the bad.

  As her modeling career had taken off, she’d found herself having more and more trouble relaxing and getting enough sleep. Her schedule had been crazy, and the more successful she became, the worse it got. When her manager had suggested that she see his physician, she’d agreed. The doctor had prescribed her a low dose sleeping pill, which she had reluctantly agreed to take. Months later, she was unable to sleep without their aid.

  And then two years ago, it looked like things had changed for the better. Her California agent had introduced her to an agent who worked exclusively with magazines published in South America. The pay was fantastic, and she’d been assured that this was the next step in cementing her worldwide modeling career. She’d flown to New York City for a photo shoot, and left feeling extremely optimistic about her chances of being chosen. The fact that the garments she’d been asked to wear were more revealing than she usually was comfortable with was swept aside by the promise of fame and fortune.

  When she’d landed an exclusive modeling contract with that same agency a few
weeks later, she’d wasted no time in closing up shop in California and moving to New York City. She had been so excited! The job had included travel to all sorts of exotic places, and she had been so caught up in the adoration she’d been receiving, she hadn’t realized the peril she’d been in.

  Her California agent had been instrumental in helping her secure the job, and when he’d suggested that she continue taking the sleeping pills through the transition, she’d readily agreed. She hadn’t wanted to do anything that might jeopardize her ability to meet the terms of her contract.

  The stress of travelling had been overwhelming, and a few weeks into her first trip abroad, she’d been given what she thought were muscle relaxers by one of the photography assistants. They seemed to have worked, and life went on. She modeled very risqué evening gowns while draped over expensive sports cars, and became a much sought after arm ornament for the rich playboys of the world. Her agent took care of all the details, and she simply went along with everything while her bank balance continued to grow.

  Slowly, the outfits she’d been asked to model had become more risqué, and soon she was modeling swimsuits and lingerie exclusively. She rarely saw the finished photos, trusting her New York agent when he told her they were fabulous. That had been a major mistake.

  A little over a year into her new contract, she had been contacted about her mother’s Alzheimer’s. She’d been planning a trip home to see what help she might offer, and she knew that her parents would be interested in seeing some of her recent photos. She’d gone by the agent’s office intending to ask for copies of some of the more tame photos, but he hadn’t been there. While looking through a pile of papers lying on his desk, she had stumbled across one of the magazines lying on her agent’s desk.

  That had been five months earlier, and she was still embarrassed and appalled at what she’d seen that day. She’d ignored her facial expressions, focusing instead on the bare skin that was so alluringly revealed. She was kneeling in the sand with the ocean waves behind her, and she hadn’t realized that the swimsuit left almost nothing to the imagination! The photographer had done an excellent job of making her look like one of the swimsuit models that graces the more popular sports magazines each year. Unfortunately, the pictures made her feel dirty and embarrassed.