Jenni felt as if a weight had once again been lifted. She remembered the words that God had given her. Verses that showed her that the children of God would prove themselves just as children of the devil would.
At the sound of a knock on her door, Jenni got quickly to her feet. “Who is it?”
“It’s just me, honey.”
“Daddy!” Jenni ran to unlock and open the door. “Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad you’re here.” Jenni fell into her father’s arms and held him tightly.
“What’s all this about?” Keith’s concerned voice questioned.
“Oh, Daddy, you were so right about everything. Everything you said about Brian, Sonya, the whole works. You had everything pegged. Brian is going to try to ruin you.”
Keith held his daughter at arms’ length. “How do you know all of this?”
“I overheard him talking with Sonya this evening. He planned to marry me and use me to get at you.” Jenni quickly spilled the entire story as her father listened quietly.
“And what do you plan to do about all of this?” her father finally questioned.
“I wrote Brian a goodbye letter and told him that I couldn’t marry him because I love Dan James. I told him that I plan to marry Dan as soon as possible.”
Keith raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is this true?”
Jenni looked up and smiled. “Yes, I do love Dan and I don’t want to lose him. I plan to leave for home in the morning.”
“You used to call this place home.” The sadness in Keith Campbell’s voice was evident.
“This will always be home to me – Daddy, but God’s given me a very real choice and I’m making the right decision.”
“I feel confident about it too. I don’t really know why. I’ve never met this Dan James, but I have a feeling that he’ll make a wonderful son-in-law,” Jenni’s father replied.
“I knew you’d understand. I love you so much,” Jenni declared and quickly added, “You will be careful? I mean, about Brian.”
“Brian is no threat to me, Jenni. I just received the proof I need this morning to have him disbarred. Would you like me to see to it that he gets your letter?”
“Please do. I really appreciate that.” Jenni retrieved the letter and handed it to her father. “Thanks, Daddy.”
Sure thing, Princess.”
TWENTY
Rounding a familiar bend, Jenni was rewarded with the distant view of Estes Park. She took the Highway 34 shortcut across the upper reach of Estes and avoided the downtown area. Within minutes she would pull into her old parking place and soon be sitting in front of her fireplace at O’Reilly’s.
Minutes later, the dream became a reality. Jenni had called Kelly from Loveland, and true to her word, Kelly had a fire and supper waiting for Jenni when she walked in.
“I’ve missed you and this place,” Jenni sighed as she leaned back against the couch.
“I’m so glad to have you back. I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to depend on your friendship until it was gone,” Kelly said, handing Jenni a steaming bowl of chili.
“And here I thought you must liked me because I helped with the cleaning,” Jenni teased. She tasted the chili and sighed again. “This is definitely worth driving six hundred miles for.”
“Let’s drop the pretense. Neither this bowl of chili or our friendship is the real reason you raced across Kansas today,” Kelly said with a sly smile.
“I suppose it’s too late to look for him tonight,” Jenni rationalized.
“I suppose so,” Kelly agreed.
“And I suppose that he hasn’t called or let you know where he moved to.”
“You’re full of supposing tonight,” Kelly said mischievously.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to clear my brain and realize that I’ve loved Dan from the first moment I laid eyes on him. Maybe even before that. I’ve always loved his writing and I feel that I’ve known a part of him forever,” Jenni admitted.
“Sounds like a fairy tale romance if you ask me,” Kelly grinned. She got up and put on her coat and hat. “Now that you’re back, I need to run into town for some things. Can you manage for a few minutes?”
“Oh, sure,” Jenni lamented. “I’ve only been on the road since six this morning.”
Kelly smiled. “Just remember the office is officially closed. If you lock up behind me, you shouldn’t have to deal with any undesirables.”
“Go on and get out of here before I change my mind,” Jenni said with a laugh. She was glad to be home.
“Oh, by the way,” Kelly said, handing Jenni a package wrapped in brown paper, “this came for you today.”
Jenni put her chili on the table and took the package. “For me? Who’s it from?”
“You know I don’t snoop around your mail. Now if you don’t mind, I’d better get to the store or they’ll be closed.” Kelly opened the door and said over her shoulder, “I’ll see you later.”
Jenni looked down at the package. The return address bore no name, but she recognized the handwriting instantly. “Dan!” she cried and tore open the brown wrapping.
Inside, to Jennifer’s surprise was more wrapping. This paper was covered with balloons. Jenni more carefully undid the paper and slid the contents out to reveal yet another layer of wrapping. This was silver with bells on it, and Jenni knew it must be wedding shower paper. Her heart gave a lurch, and she held her breath as she unwrapped this last covering.
She smiled as she realized that she held Dan’s newest novel in her hands. She had opened it with the jacket picture face up, and she smiled, remembering when her Aunt Pam had announced Dan’s intent to stay at O’Reilly’s. She had handed Jenni the book picture-side-up, making it an issue to point out Dan’s good looks.
Jenni lingered over the photograph for a moment longer. It was her Dan all right. Sandy blond hair, parted on the side and combed over. Only Jenni knew how it fell forward when he laughed or how he ran his hand back through it when he was frustrated. Then there were the piercing eyes. Blue eyes so filled with a longing and passion for life that they threatened to engulf anyone close enough with their warmth and love.
Jenni found herself tracing the outline of the picture, as if to touch the man himself. Sighing, she turned the book over and gasped at the sight of the title.
“Marry Me?” she murmured. The title stood in bold red letters against a dark blue background. Below that was his name, “Daniel James” and far below that were two golden wedding bands entwined. Jenni looked for a letter or note that Dan might have added to accompany the book, but nothing revealed itself.
Gingerly, she opened the book, wondering if he had autographed it for her, but she found nothing on the inside of the cover or on the next page. Disappointed, Jenni continued to flip pages, until she came to the inside title page. There again was the large-lettered “Marry Me?”, but underneath it something else caught Jenni’s eye. Two words handwritten in ink stood out against the stark white of the paper. Two words that Dan James had written just for Jennifer Campbell.
Well? Dan.
Jenni gave a shout and jumped off the couch. “Yes! Yes! He still loves me! He still wants me to marry him!” She danced around the room before deciding to drive to the address given on the brown paper wrapper.
Carefully setting the precious book on the table, she dug through the wrapping paper until she came across the piece with the address. Grabbing her purse, Jenni wrestled it over her shoulder and reached for the door while trying to make out the address.
She took a couple of steps out the door and walked straight into Dan’s warm embrace. “Dan!” she cried, but further words were hushed against his lips.
Jenni felt the piece of paper slip from her hand as her arms went around his neck. She returned his kiss with a matched longing that she’d scarcely known existed.
Dan pulled away abruptly, leaving Jenni, her eyes still closed, to fall slightly forward. She opened her eyes to find Dan’s fiery blue eyes branding her very heart. She
no longer doubted that she’d belong to him for the rest of her life. She silently thanked God for sending her a man to love. A man that loved her and loved God.
For a moment they stood in the silence of the softly falling snow. Physically, they were no longer touching, but in the depths of their souls, in the very most intimate part of their hearts, they were silently sharing a pledge that would bind them forever.
Jenni was the first to reach out, but Dan kept her at arms’ length. “Well?” he grinned.
Jenni returned his smile. “Of course I’ll marry you, Daniel James. Was there ever any doubt?”
Dan laughed heartily and pulled Jenni into his arms. “Welcome to our new life, Jennifer James,” he murmured against her ear.
Jenni breathed in the crispness of the cold mountain air. “Jennifer James,” she thought to herself. It did indeed have a nice ring to it.
Dedication
My sister, Karen.
Through thick and thin—sisters to the end.
I’m proud of you and I love you.
About the Author
Tracie Peterson, bestselling, award-winning author of over ninety fiction titles and three non-fiction books, lives and writes in Belgrade, Montana. As a Christian, wife, mother, writer, editor and speaker (in that order), Tracie finds her slate quite full.
Voted favorite author for 1995, 1996, and 1997 by the Heartsong Presents’ readership, and awarded Affaire de Coeur’s Inspirational Romance of the Year 1994, Romantic Times 2007 Career Achievement, American Christian Fiction Writers Lifetime Achievement 2011 and other awards, Tracie enjoys the pleasure of spinning stories for readers and thanks God for the imagination He’s given. She desires that the books would Entertain, Educate, and Encourage—Tracie’s three E’s.
Tracie was the managing editor of Heartsong Presents for Barbour Publishing for over three years and helped with acquisitions prior to that. She co-founded the American Christian Fiction Writer’s organization in 2000 and continues to work with new authors, teaching at a variety of conferences, giving workshops on inspirational romance, historical research, and anything else that offers assistance to fellow writers. She often speaks at women’s retreats and church functions. Her website is www.traciepeterson.com
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