Chapter 20
Beth paced across the living room and tapped her cell phone against the palm of her hand. It was past midnight, and Chase was still missing. How could she have let this happen?
Beth hadn’t been strict enough, or maybe she had been too tough on him. She didn’t even know where she’d gone wrong. She was in way over her head. The football moms had been right about her.
What would Nana tell her to do?
Pray. That’s what she would have said, and she probably meant something more than the prayers Beth started at night before she dozed off without getting past a couple of lines. Nana was a true prayer warrior. Beth felt so busy and overwhelmed with work, there didn’t seem to be time, but right now minutes clicked by like hours.
Beth padded down the hall and put her hand on the cold metal doorknob leading to her grandmother’s room. After she had moved in, she had closed the door to Nana’s bedroom and never opened it.
With a shaky breath, she opened the door. The light from the streetlamp gleamed in through the white mini blinds. Pink lace curtains framed the window. The double bed was centered in the middle of the far wall and dressed with a handmade quilt made by the quilt circle at church. The house was silent except for the creak of the wood floors under the carpet as Beth made her way around the small room.
The wooden rocking chair with the glossy oak finish sat in the corner. A yellow-and-white afghan, crocheted by her grandmother, hung over the back of the chair. A lump formed in her throat. She missed the sight of her grandmother sitting with her Bible open in her lap and her eyes closed. A few times Beth saw her in front of the chair on her knees. Did anyone in her generation pray like that anymore?
Beth didn’t even know what it meant to pray like Nana. Most of her prayers were desperate pleas shot up to the Lord in the car or in the midst of an argument with Chase. She backed up to the rocker, put her hands on the armrests, and lowered herself into it. She pulled the soft wool of the afghan from the back of the chair down around her shoulders.
Nana would have known what to do in this situation. No. Nana would have never let this happen.
Beth tried to blink back the tears, but when the first tear dropped onto the blanket and soaked into the yarn, she couldn’t stop the rest from falling. She turned around and crawled out of the chair to the floor. She rested her elbows on the seat of the chair.
Her back and shoulders were rigid. Beth wasn’t her grandmother. She didn’t have the same kind of relationship with the Lord her grandmother had with Him. Beth remembered Nana quoting a verse to her. “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Beth’s knees melted down into the floor. Thanks poured out of her. Thanks for God giving her such an amazing role model to follow and for His mercy for always accepting her despite her weaknesses. The Lord is near. The Lord is near. She repeated it, and she felt Him near. His peace blanketed her.
Beth opened her eyes, and headlights bounced across the wall. She pulled herself from the floor. Beth ran to the window to see Jimmy’s squad car pull into the driveway.
She searched the car windows for any sign of Chase, but only Jimmy got out of the car. She ran to the living room and threw open the front door.
Jimmy stepped inside and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Beth. I’ve checked every place we talked about, and I haven’t seen him.”
Beth fell back in the rosy pink chair and put her face in her hands. “Where is he?”
Jimmy stood above her. “He’s probably with a friend. I’m sure he’ll show up tomorrow.”
That wasn’t enough. Beth wouldn’t sleep until she found him. She jumped out of the chair and grabbed her keys from the coffee table. “I’m going out to look for him again.”
Jimmy reached out for her. “Beth, wait. I—”
Beth held her hand in front of him. “Shhh.”
The faint sound in the background moved closer. Then the rumble of Brendan’s motorcycle roared down Beth’s block. All the emotion inside of her turned into tears in the corners of her eyes. Brendan had come back to help her.
She walked past Jimmy and out to the front porch.
The motorcycle pulled into the driveway with Chase sitting behind Brendan.
Beth pressed a hand against the brick wall. Her wobbly legs threatened to give out on her as she ran down the steps and grabbed Chase, still wearing the bulky helmet. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
Chase stepped back and removed the helmet. “I’m fine,” he said softly and hugged her back.
She pulled away from him to inspect and make sure he was okay. “Please don’t ever do that to me again.”
He nodded.
Jimmy’s footsteps came down the concrete steps behind Beth.
She turned around to her friend and placed a hand on his arm. “I appreciate your help, Jimmy. I really do. You’ve always been there for me when I needed you.”
He tipped his head at her and walked over to Brendan whose hands were buried deep in his pockets.
Brendan reached a hand out to Jimmy. “Beth is blessed to have a friend like you in her life. I would feel blessed if we could have a friendship, too.”
Jimmy looked at his hand and back to Beth. He clasped his palm in Brendan’s. “I’d like that, too. I hope we can make that work.”
He smiled at Beth and climbed into his squad car.
She turned back to Chase. “I’m sorry I made you feel like the restaurant was more important than you. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.” She touched her knuckle against his arm to get him to look at her. “I need you more than you need me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Chase’s eyes darted up to hers. “I’m sorry, too.”
It wasn’t much of a speech, but Beth knew they’d be okay. She hugged him. “I love you,” she said in his ear.
“I love you, too,” he whispered back.
As Chase walked into the house, Brendan stood in the grass, hands at his sides.
Beth stood across the yard from him, afraid that she was going to have to watch him walk away again. “I don’t know how I can thank you enough. How’d you convince him to come back?”
Brendan’s blue eyes were clearer than she’d ever seen them. He pressed his lips together. “I told him about my regrets.”
Beth swallowed the hope that rose up in her chest and moved closer. “What regrets are those?”
Brendan shook his head. Then his eyes met hers. “I regret that I ever walked away from you.”
Beth froze and searched his face for clues that this time was real.
The breeze rustled the pile of leaves under the elm tree her grandmother had planted. “I’m in love with you, Beth. I always have been, and if you will give me another chance to prove it, I promise that I won’t let anything stand in the way of that again. Not a job offer. Not my past. Not my fears. I know that I belong with you.”
A smile spread across Beth’s face.
The leaves crunched under his feet, and he placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her close. A tingle ran down her spine. His lips pressed against hers, and she wrapped her arms around him.
The sound of someone clearing his throat interrupted their kiss. Brendan pulled back from Beth. They looked to the front porch where Will and Cassie stood smiling.
Beth’s cheeks warmed. “They came to help me search for Chase,” she told Brendan.
“You did good, brother,” Will said. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Brendan nodded his head at Will. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Cassie wrapped her arm around Will’s and pulled him back toward the house. “Let’s give these two a few minutes alone.”
When the front door had closed and Beth and Brendan stood alone in the yard, Brendan took both of Beth’s hands in his. “And I’m glad to be back. Not just back in Wyatt Bend, but I feel like there’s a part of myself returning that I’ve kept buried for a long time.”
Beth
moved closer, and Brendan drew her into his arms. With a kiss, Beth knew the Brendan she’d missed all these years had finally come home.
Epilogue
Beth crossed her arms to block the cold December air and watched as the entire Overman family clustered together for the annual family Christmas photo. Brendan squinted into the viewfinder of the camera set up on the tripod in Will and Cassie’s backyard. “Everyone squeeze together so we can get a view of the canyon behind us,” Brendan shouted.
Sharon beamed. “I can’t believe I have my whole family here, together for Christmas. This is the best Christmas gift I could ever receive.”
Connor pointed to an empty space in front of him. “Beth and Chase, you’ll stand right here in the front row by Brendan.”
Beth’s mouth fell open, and she shook her head. “You don’t need to do this. We’re not officially family. This is your tradition.”
“Come on. Get in the photo,” Connor said, and the rest of the family followed suit, shouting out encouragement and waving their arms.
Will moved out of his spot in line and herded Beth and her little brother toward the group. She looked at Chase who couldn’t conceal his grin. Beth looked back to Brendan with pleading eyes, but he simply kissed her on the cheek and pointed to the spot where Will told her to stand.
In position, Beth wrapped an arm around Chase’s shoulder. She was so proud of how well her little brother was doing in school, and Brendan’s presence in Wyatt Bend and in their lives had been a big influence in Chase’s healing and his growing walk with God. Chase even worked part time at the café for Beth. She couldn’t ask for more than spending Christmas with a family as big and loving as the Overmans.
Beth turned around and smiled at Cassie before smoothing Abby’s red-and-white striped skirt.
“Okay,” Brendan shouted. “The red light will blink ten times, and then we will all say, ‘Cheese.’ ”
When the red light above the lens began flashing, Brendan ran to stand beside Beth. She reached over and squeezed Brendan’s hand. This felt like home, right here with Brendan and Chase and an entire family who loved them.
Beth felt Brendan tug on her hand. She looked down to find him on one knee holding a black velvet ring box. As realization flooded over her, tears formed in her eyes and her shaking hand moved up to her mouth just as the camera flashed.
“Beth,” Brendan said, his light eyes staring up at her. “I’ve searched all over the world to find a place where I belong, but God has shown me that I belong here with you. You would make me the happiest man in the world if you …”—Brendan stopped and looked back at her brother—“and Chase, would be part of our family now. Beth, will you marry me?”
Warm tears streaked down her cold cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Canyon Weddings Page 43
