by Mary May
Pastor Eddie looked to each one to make sure they were finished; then he turned them to the eagerly awaiting crowd. “By the powers invested to me by God and the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel and Charlotte Jackson. Nate, you may kiss your bride…again!”
Nate looked up from where he already had Charlie bent over his arm. “Way ahead of you, Brother Eddie!”
The angels were once more gathered on the roof as the Charlie and Nate’s reception took place in the barn, which had been transformed into something magical. White tulle was draped from the rafters and embellished with twinkling white lights. Numerous tables were covered with pink tablecloths and vases of flowers. It was really beautiful. Nate and Charlie were locked in each other’s arms, slowly dancing around the makeshift dance floor. They had held on to one another as if afraid they might lose each other again.
Charlotte poked Gideon in the ribs. “What did I tell you? Huh? Huh? Huh?”
He smiled down at her. “It does appear as if your instincts were dead on, Charlotte.”
Shana and Mac grinned at each other. “Well, not to brag, but I may have had a slight hand in getting the groom to the wedding.”
“Oh, yeah, what did you do?” Raphael asked. Mac told them the weeping yowling scenario, which had them all cracking up. “But that’s not what did it, believe it or not. It was when I mentioned Charlie having babies with someone else that lit a fire under his hind end. He was dressed and out the door in less than ten minutes!”
Later than evening Charlie was finishing up her packing when her mom poked her head in.
“Hey…what a day, huh?” Charlie laughed.
“One in a million, that’s for sure. Poor Pastor Eddie, he may never want to perform another wedding ceremony again!” Sabrina smiled when she saw the light that had been missing from her daughter’s eyes for so long. Only Nate had ever been able to put that there. “So are you just about finished packing?”
Charlie nodded as she zipped up the fourth suitcase then placed it on the floor. “Everything else I will come back for later.”
Sabrina shrugged as she picked up the stuffed bear that Charlie had slept with for years. “No hurry…so you’re not taking this?”
“No, I think I will leave him here.” She watched as her mother walked around her room picking up this, straightening up that. “Mama? Are you ok?”
Sabrina shook her head then sat down, holding the stuffed bear. “No…I’m not… but I will be. I know this is the way it’s got to be.” She looked up, sad tears slowly making their way down her face. “I think…I think…tomorrow may be the hardest. But I know that God will get me through it…He understands a mother’s heart.”
Charlie sat down next to her, taking her hand. “I will call you first thing in the morning. You won’t even have a chance to miss me.”
Sabrina kissed the hand that was holding hers so tightly.
“No, baby, don’t call. You go on your honeymoon and you have a wonderful time. I will be ok. I promise. But I will miss you like crazy!” Sabrina stood up then pulled Charlie to her feet.
“You go start your life with that Nate Jackson!”
Charlie laughed at the way she used to say Nate’s name. Sabrina pulled her close and kissed her forehead.
“God bless you and keep you, my baby…now go be happy! That’s an order!”
Wiping her eyes, Charlie picked up the suitcase by the bed. “I will call you when we get back, ok? I love you, Mama…” then she walked out the door.
Sabrina picked the bear up, bringing it to her face and smelling Charlie’s perfume. Tears she had held back fell like rain on the scruffy fur of the old bear that Charlie had begged her to buy so many years ago.
“No, baby…I love you more…”
Nate waited for Charlie in the living room. When he heard her coming down the stairs, he got up and reached for the suitcase before he saw the tears running down her face.
“Baby! What’s wrong? Are you ok?” She nodded then looked at Devon.
“Hey, Dad…Mama really needs you.”
He gave her a look of understanding. “It is bad?” he asked.
Charlie pointed to her own tear-soaked face for an answer.
“Oh, sweet mercy… Lord, help me. I can take just about anything but your mama’s tears.” He gave her a quick hug and told her he loved her then took the stairs two at a time to go to Sabrina. The twins helped carry out the luggage then gave her a quick hug along with her grandparents and friends. Finally they were in the car and headed to the airport.
“So any thoughts on where we are headed?” Charlie asked as she buckled her seatbelt.
“Actually, yes, I was thinking I would love to go back to California.”
Charlie looked over at him, the darkness hiding her expression. “California? Do you mean the hospital?”
He nodded. “I want you to meet some people and I want some people to meet you. My walking talking miracle.”
Charlie laughed. “How on earth am I a miracle?”
Nate reached over and turned her face towards him. “Because you now carry my last name and that is a miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, raising-people-from-the-dead proportions!”
Charlie pulled the marriage license from her purse and smoothed it out on her thigh. “It’s really official…well, as soon as we file it, it will be.”
“Do you know what that is?” Nate asked.
Charlie cocked her head to look at him. “Our marriage license?”
He smiled then shook his head. “That’s our love letter…it says that one Nathaniel Tyler Jackson promises to love always one Charlotte Marie Blakely Lane Jackson.” He then grinned at her. “You have a lot of last names; did you know that?”
Charlie grinned back as she leaned over to whisper in his ear, “But yours is my favorite!”
Gideon and Shana sat in the back seat and smiled as the two newlyweds whispered sweetly to each other and headed off to California…
THE END
Now for a sneak peek at the fifth book in the Saving Gideon series!! Coming 2016…
Faith’s Legacy
Chapter One
Nate pulled Charlie down one hall then another of the massive hospital. The halls all looked the same to her now, although not too long ago she knew them like the back of her hand. He finally stopped at a nurse’s desk that she actually recognized.
“Hey, this was your hall and your room was right over there!” She smiled as she pointed it out to him. Try as she might, she couldn’t quite shake some of the terrible memories that came flooding back.
“Charlie? I’m sorry…I promise I won’t ever hurt you like that again.”
“I know that, Nate…I really do.”
He kissed her forehead then smiled as he saw Dr. Reed coming down the hall.
“Nate! Charlie! It’s wonderful to see you both!” He shook Nate’s hand then hugged Charlie warmly. He smiled down at the golden wedding bands on their hands.
“I see that you accomplished what you set out to do. To win the hand of this lovely lady.”
Nate grinned. “I did. It took some doing and some divine intervention, but I lucked out.”
Charlie poked him in the chest. “You were blessed out, you mean!”
“So how are things around here? Is Hattie around? I would love for her to meet Charlie.”
“Well, I think she may be here somewhere. I haven’t had to assign her to anyone since you left. Everyone else had the good sense to listen.” He picked up a phone and paged the nurse.
Charlie gave a Nate a snarky grin.
“Hey, at least you’re known for something, right?”
“Oh, you’re funny…seriously.”
Mac laughed as he stood next to Gideon and Shana. “I think she is.”
Shana nodded in agreement. “That’s why Charlie is so good for Nate -- she keeps him humble.” They all turned when they heard the quick steps of Hattie coming dow
n the hallway.
“Nathaniel! It’s wonderful to see you!” Her face was all smiles as she wrapped Nate in a big hug. Turning to Charlie, she asked, “Now just who is this pretty thing? This isn’t the Charlie that I heard so much about, is it?”
Nate smiled with pride as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Hattie, I would like for you to meet Charlie Jackson.” The woman’s brows rose into her hairline. “Jackson, is it?”
Nate grinned. “Yup…she is my wife as of three days ago.”
Hattie once more looked shocked. “Three days ago? For the love of Moses! This is where you brought the young lady for her honeymoon? Nathaniel Jackson! That’s shameful!” she scolded. He held up his hand as if to fend her off when she threated to smack him.
“Hold on! I brought her to California for the honeymoon. I brought her here for a visit.”
Hattie’s face brightened. “Oh! Well, that’s different! Congratulations!”
Charlie smiled. “Thank you, I have heard so much about Nurse Hattie that I was dying to meet you. I know you are the reason that Nate gave his heart to Christ. Thank you so much.” She reached out, placing her hand on the nurse’s arm.
“Oh, no thanks is necessary, my dear. The Lord would have found someone to get through that thick blockhead of his…lucky me, I just happened to be handy.”
Mac roared with laughter. “Ok, now, this lady is hilarious!”
Nate shot him a dark look.
“Hey, that’s funny. I don’t care who you are!”
“Why don’t we all go to my office where we can visit?” They were walking down the hall when Dr. Reed’s name was called over the hospital intercom. Throwing them an apologetic glance, he told Hattie to take care of them while he tended to the emergency; then he took off down the hall.
“I hope everything will be alright,” Charlie said to Nate as they walked into Dr. Reed’s office. “What did that mean, Hattie?”
Sitting on the corner of the doctor’s desk she gave them a grave look. “It means a patient has coded. It’s been happening frequently…too frequently, if you ask me.”
Nate frowned. “Like how frequently?”
“Almost daily…sometimes more than once a day. It’s very unsettling. We have patients code from time to time. This is a hospital with severely wounded and ill people, so it’s to be expected to some extent. But lately it’s been really excessive.”
Gideon looked at Shana who looked at Mac who looked at Nate.
“Are the all the codes resulting in deaths?” Charlie asked.
Hattie shook her head.
“No, but a lot of them are. We have an inspector and a committee coming down to look things over. It really doesn’t bode well for this hospital.” When another alert rang out over the intercom, Hattie got quickly to her feet.
“I’m sorry, but I need to go.”
“Don’t worry about us. We know our way out and we will catch up with you later,” Nate assured her, then he turned to Charlie when he spoke. “That really doesn’t sound good, does it? What do you think could be causing all the patients to code like that?”
“I don’t know but I hope they figure it out.”
He nodded his head to Mac who then left to go find out what was going on in the hospital.
Later that night, Mac returned. Shana and Gideon were the only ones still awake. “So did you find out anything?”
The S.A. angel nodded, his usual megawatt smile absent. “Yeah, we have a serious problem. The patients are not coding from natural causes.”
“I didn’t figure they were. My wings were bristling from the moment we stepped in the hospital. It had a different feel to it this time. Were you able to spot the culprit?”
Nodding slowly, Mac looked at Gideon.
“I’m afraid so… you won’t believe who it is.”
Shana looked from one male to the other.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Gideon’s old friend Karau.”
Gideon looked at him blankly. “I don’t know who that is.”
Mac nodded, then he leaned against the wall.
“You probably know him better by what he does, than by what he is actually called. Let me put it to you this way. Does the thought of a vat of boiling iron make you break out in a cold sweat?”
Gideon’s eyes clashed with Mac’s. While the thought of a boiling vat didn’t make him break out into a cold sweat, it did make his wrists ache with the ghastly memory of swinging over one…
