“So, what was the purpose for this little gathering?” she asked everyone at the table once they were seated.
Jenna spoke up first, “We’re supposed to be picking dates to get married.”
“Oh yeah. I thought there was a specific reason we’re all piled into this booth like sardines in a can,” Trey told her.
“We all used to fit just fine, but then you boys went and developed muscles and stuff,” Michelle told him.
Tyler leaned over and tickled her, “You happen to like my muscles and stuff.”
Michelle kissed him on the lips briefly and then laughed, “Yes I do!” The air was light and carefree and Brooke couldn’t believe she’d given this up, once upon a time.
“Happy?” Peter asked her, seeing the light in her eyes that had been missing these last few days.
“Yes! I didn’t realize how much I missed this camaraderie.”
Peter wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and when she didn’t pull away, but instead leaned her head back against his shoulder, he knew he was never going to make it a month before asking her to become his wife. No way would he be able to hold out that long!
His free hand drifted down to his jeans pocket and he touched the small jeweler’s box he’d tucked there that morning before leaving the ranch. He’d had that ring since the night of the senior prom; the same night Brooke had announced she was moving to California right after graduation.
He’d kept the ring out of sight then, but he’d already believed that God would one day bring her home and back into his life. Thanks!
“So, I know it’s like only ten degrees outside, but I would love to see the old bridge after we eat.”
All of the girls eagerly nodded their heads, and started chattering away about the times they’d spent on that bridge. The men looked at each other, and realized they would be taking a walk right after eating. The trail to the bridge was most likely covered with fresh snow, which would make it slick. None of them were willing to let their women make the trek alone and without a big strong man to hold onto.
“I would love to join y’all, but this baby might be having other plans,” Missy announced from the corner of the booth where she sat.
Everyone looked in her direction and then spurred into action, “Thanksgiving, huh? That’s still a few weeks away,” Jenna told her with a smile.
“Well, either this baby’s wanting to come today, or something isn’t agreeing with...,” she broke off as another contraction stole her breath away. When it was over, she breathed deeply, and then looked towards the kitchen window. “Who wants to tell my dad?”
That spurred everyone back into action. Tyler went to get his vehicle and pull it around by the back delivery door. Trey and Peter took care of telling George that he was about to become a grandfather, carefully turning off the kitchen appliances and the gas that fed the large cooktop.
“I guess dinner’s going to be at the hospital in Montrose,” Trey commented as he and Peter made the other diners aware that the restaurant was closing for the day. Immediately.
“Guess so.”
Jenna came back into the dining part of the restaurant a moment later, “Tyler is driving George, Michelle, and Missy to Montrose. I told him we would be right behind them.”
“We can do that. Hey Peter, do you and Brooke want to ride with us?”
Peter shook his head, “No. We’ll be along in a little while. I’ll stay here and double check that everything got shut down correctly.”
“Good enough. Let’s roll,” he told Jenna with a smile.
Chapter 14
Peter watched them leave, and then he locked the front door and turned to see Brooke standing in front of a picture on the back wall of the restaurant. It was a picture of the girls, sitting inside the covered bridge, taken several years before Jenna had left them the first time.
“Remembering good times?” he asked, coming up behind her.
Brooke nodded her head, “Those days were so easy. Who knew how messed up life could get from there?”
“You all have had some bumps along the road. Jenna lost her mom. Brooke and Peter just about didn’t find each other because she was afraid of getting hurt. You had a few trials of your own.” He was prevented from saying anything more when the sound of loud pounding echoed on the front door. “Let me see who that is.”
Peter opened the door and saw a very athletic man sitting in a wheelchair with a smiling woman standing right behind him, “Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” the man said. “My name is Adam, and this is my wife Lorelei. We’re looking for directions to Tyler Jameson’s place.”
Peter immediately smiled and shook both of their hands, “Wow! Tyler was expecting you last week sometime but said you’d had some vehicle trouble.”
“Just a bit, but everything’s fine now.”
“Good to hear it. Well, Tyler is currently on his way to Montrose so that Missy can have her baby…”
“Tyler’s gonna have a kid?” Adam asked in shock.
Peter shook his head, “No. That came out wrong. Tyler is engaged to Michelle and they are transporting a mutual friend to the hospital to have her baby. We were getting ready to head that direction ourselves, but I’d be happy to let you follow me up to Tyler’s place. Stephanie’s dad, another member of the community, finished the repairs and remodel, so it should be all ready for your arrival.”
Adam nodded his head, “I still can’t believe we’re here.”
“You’re going to learn to love it, just like we do.” Peter felt Brooke come up behind him and smiled when she wrapped an arm around his waist. “Brooke, these are the friends Tyler was talking about. This is Adam and his wife Lorelei.”
“I’m so happy to meet you. I’m Tyler’s sister, Brooke.”
“The fashion model,” Adam added.
“Not anymore.” Brooke smiled and then looked at Peter, “I’ve retired.”
Lorelei laughed, “Well, you’re gorgeous, so don’t be surprised if that doesn’t last long.”
Brooke liked these people, and she and Peter led them back up to the ranch and showed them the smaller foreman’s house where they were going to be living. Adam Landry had been injured while bull riding, and while the doctors hadn’t been highly optimistic for a complete recovery, he’d recently started to gain some feeling back in his feet and legs. A good sign that his spinal cord was finally starting to heal.
“We don’t want to keep you two away from the hospital. We’ll be fine now,” Adam told them a few minutes later after Peter had helped bring their luggage inside.
“Good. You have Tyler’s cell phone. Don’t hesitate to use it if you have any questions,” Brooke told them both.
“We won’t. We’ll be praying for momma and the baby, that both will be safe this day.”
“Thanks,” Peter offered as they left the small ranch house and headed out of town. He took a detour, and parked in the small lot that led towards the bridge.
“What are we doing here?” Brooke asked in wonder as she looked at the snow covered landscape, mostly untouched by human hands or feet.
“You said you wanted to see the bridge. Here we are. Come on, let’s take a walk.” He got out of the vehicle and came around to help her out. Together, they slipped and slided their way to the covered, snow-free deck of the bridge.
“I used to love this place,” Brooke said. Turning a full circle, she held her arms open wide and smiled, “I still do. It feels like home. So many memories were made here.”
“And plans for the future. Tyler and Trey remembered quite a few conversations they eavesdropped on when you girls would sit here for hours and talk.”
“You weren’t part of that equation?”
“Sometimes.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small jeweler’s box, “Brooke, I was going to wait to do this. I know I said I’d give you a month, but I don’t want to waste a month when I know my mind isn’t going to change.”
Dropping to one knee
, he held the box up to her, opening it so she could see the ring inside, “I’ve had this since the night of our senior prom, and I kept it because I always believed God was going to bring you home again. I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. Brooke Jameson, would you accept this ring as a token of my undying love for you, and do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Brooke looked down at where Peter held out his hand, and felt tears fill her eyes, clouding her vision. “Peter…I don’t know what to say.”
“Of course you do, darlin’. I already helped you out, remember?”
Brooke nodded her head, wiping the tears from her eyes before she looked down into his solemn face and whispered, “Yes.” Her voice got a little louder, “Yes! Peter Nash I would love to become your wife. You saved me, in more ways than one, and I know I don’t deserve your love, but I’m going to be a little greedy and hang onto it.”
Peter stood to his feet, slipping the ring onto her finger and then sealing their commitment with a tender kiss. “You will never regret placing your trust in me. I will never take advantage of you, or mistreat you in any way.”
Brooke clasped his jaw and nodded her head, “I know you won’t. I love you, Peter Nash.”
“I love you too, Brooke. How about we go celebrate a new baby, and tell everyone our news.”
Brooke nodded, and then stood on tiptoe to kiss him one more time. As they made the drive into Montrose, she couldn’t help but have a private conversation with God about the day so far.
God, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m sorry for losing sight of what was important in my life and letting it get so out of control. I’m sorry for the hurt my actions caused others, and I want to do better.
Thank you for giving me Peter again. He is such a blessing to me, and I pray that you would help me become the woman he needs and that You want me to be.
Please be with Missy right now, and help her deliver a healthy baby. Be with Adam and his wife as they adjust to their new surroundings, and please continue the healing process you’ve already begun in his life.
Lastly, I ask that you would show me what I’m supposed to do now. I can’t go back to modeling again, and I’m okay with that. Show me what path you would have me take, and then give me the tools and the courage to pursue it. Amen.
*****
Six hours later…
“The baby is beautiful,” Jenna said, running her finger down his soft cheek.
Trey watched her interact with the baby and then said softly, “You’re going to make a wonderful mother some day.”
Jenna smiled at him and said, “You know, several months ago, that thought would have terrified me, but not anymore. I will make a great mom, and our kids will know what it means to be loved and cared for.”
Trey nodded his head as Tyler and Michelle came back into the room, “Yes, they will. Is Missy doing okay?”
“She’s fine. George is going to stay with her for a while. I told them we’d go see what was happening here in the nursery.”
“They were just getting ready to take him down to her room,” Jenna said to everyone in general.
“Good, she’s really wanting to hold him,” Michelle said. Missy’s delivery had been several weeks early, and her baby hadn’t been in the proper position for a normal delivery. The doctor had felt it was safer for both mother and child to perform an emergency C-section, and both mommy and baby seemed to be doing fine.
Peter and Brooke walked in a few minutes later, and Tyler waved them to the door of the nursery, “That’s him, right there in Jenna’s arms.”
Brooke smiled and Peter couldn’t contain his grin of happiness. Tyler looked at them both and then asked, “What happened?”
Peter tried to keep a straight face, “Your buddy Adam and his wife showed up right after everyone left. Brooke and I took them up to the ranch house and let them in to get settled.”
Tyler nodded his head, but still wasn’t satisfied, “That’s not why you’re both smiling like cat’s who got into the cream. What am I missing?”
Brooke raised her hand up, showing everyone her engagement ring at the same time. The women all cooed, although softly in deference to the sleeping infants, and then the men all exchanged various signals with Peter, indicating they were on board and happy for them.
Brooke accepted a hug from her brother, and then the nurse was shooing them all out of the nursery to go celebrate elsewhere. They ended up in the waiting room of the delivery unit, everyone in their own way giving thanks for their many blessings. Brooke was no exception, and she bowed her head and thanked God for letting her once again be part of these people’s lives. Cathedral Hills had been her home once before, and now it would be again. A blessing and a miracle all rolled into one!
Epilogue
Four weeks later…
Terrence Cottrell looked at the three couples standing before him and couldn’t contain his pride in them. Trey and Jenna stood directly in front of him, having just exchanged their wedding vows and now sealing their commitment to each other with a kiss.
When they drew apart, they stepped to the side, and Tyler and Michelle took their place.
“If it’s all right with everyone present, I’m going to skip right to the good part. That is, unless anyone here would like to object to this marriage?” When no one said a word, Terrence nodded his head and began.
“Tyler and Michelle, you have presented yourself before me and this congregation today to make known your commitment to one another and exchange wedding vows. May I have the rings?”
Adam leaned forward from his wheelchair, and handed the rings to Pastor Cottrell with a smile.
Terrence raised the rings up, and then closed his eyes, offering a brief prayer for their marriage and then inviting first Michelle, and then Tyler to state their own personal vows. By the time they were both finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the small chapel, and there was still another ceremony to take place!
Tyler didn’t waste any time after Pastor Cottrell pronounced them man and wife, sweeping Michelle into a deep bow, and kissing her until they were both out of breath, “Finally!”
Michelle heard his heartfelt statement and echoed it, “Forever.”
“Move aside you two, and let’s get this show on the road,” Peter said from behind them.
He and Brooke took their place in front of the pastor, and exchanged their vows and rings as quickly as possible. A triple wedding was a first for the small town, but with the Christmas holidays looming, and none of the couples wishing to start the New Year still single, a joint wedding seemed like the best solution.
“Do you, Peter Nash, take Brooke Jameson to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?”
Peter looked down into the deep blue eyes he loved and nodded his head, “I do.”
He held Brooke’s gaze as she was asked the same question, smiling when she nodded her head and repeated his vow, “I do.”
“Then, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Peter, you may kiss your bride.”
Peter kissed Brooke and then heard laughter as the other two couples joined them in another kiss of commitment. When Pastor Cottrell cleared his voice a few moments later, Peter lifted his head and grinned, “Sorry, Pastor.”
Terrence just laughed at the three smiling couples, “May I present to you – Mr. and Mrs. Trey Cottrell, Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Jameson, and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Nash.”
The congregation, which included everyone in the small town and a great number of people from neighboring places, erupted in applause as all three men swept their new wives up into their arms and carried them down the carpeted aisle.
They went directly to a large room that was used for weekly dinners and get-togethers, knowing that their friends would be descending upon them soon.
“That was amazing!” Michelle said with a laugh, as Tyler set her down on her feet.
Brooke smiled at him, and then at everyone else, “I can’t believe we all just got married!”
Peter grabbed her around the waist, and turned her in a circle, “Believe it!”
Brooke laughed and then looked at her friends, “Did you ever believe we’d end up like this?”
Michelle and Jenna both shook their heads. Jenna spoke up, “I know Trey and I have talked about this, but do you remember when we were twelve years old?”
“Wow, that’s a while ago.”
“Remember how we used to hang out on top of the bridge and talk about stuff?” she asked.
Michelle and Brooke both nodded their heads, “Yeah.”
“Did you know the guys were sometimes listening in? They would hide underneath the support beams, and listen to our conversations.”
Brooke smiled, knowing where this conversation was headed, “I remember a discussion about whom we all wanted to kiss.”
Jenna nodded her head, “That’s the one I’m talking about. You were the only one of our group we didn’t ask that day.”
Michelle nodded, “That’s because she was already head over heels in love with Peter, and we all knew they would end up married. I have to tell you girlfriend, I don’t think any of us figured it would take you this long to come to your senses, but I do think you got it right.”
Brooke nodded her head, “I agree. Now, let me see if I remember how the answers to those questions went. Michelle said she would kiss Tyler, and I was suitably disgusted.” She looked over at Tyler and told him, “We were only twelve, and hearing that one of your best friends wanted to swap spit with your older brother was really gross!”
Tyler laughed, “I was listening in, and heard the whole thing.”
“You weren’t?!” Brooke exclaimed, shaking a scolding finger at him when Jenna and Trey both nodded their heads. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at her brother, “Just how many times did you guys sneak around and listen to us?”
Romance: Brooke and Peter - A Christian Romance as a Love Story: (Romance, Christian Romance, Romance Novel, Romance Book) (Cathedral Hills Book 3) Page 9
