Read Online Texas Weddings 3 & 4 by Janice Thompson - Free Book Online

these
days. Would it continue forever? He stifled back a yawn, trying to focus. With
so much to be done, he must remain clearheaded. There were E-mails to be sent,
sermons to be written, phone calls to be made.
    Phone calls. He needed
to go over the visitor’s list from last Sunday and make the usual calls to
thank them for their visit. It was a logical thing to do. Nothing
out of the ordinary there. Yes, there were phone calls to make. And he
suddenly knew which visitor he would call first.
    Kent punched in the number with a bit of anxiety. The phone
rang one, two, three times. On the fourth ring an answering machine kicked in.
“You’ve reached the Alexanders . We’re not here to
take your call right now, but if you leave a message, we’ll get back to you.
Have a blessed day.”
    Kent fumbled for
words, preparing to give his rehearsed speech. Funny, once he started talking,
everything seemed to come out backwards, upside-down. He couldn’t even manage
to speak in a simple sentence. He struggled to get his message across, to ask
that all-important question. When he felt that there was nothing left to say,
he hung up, dejected.
    “Great. She’ll think
I’m nuts.”
    ***
    Shauna listened to the messages, hoping to hear Joey’s
voice. At the very least, he owed her a phone call. Then again, he hadn’t
called once since her arrival in Houston. Most of the messages were for her
mother or father. She was just about to give up entirely when an oddly familiar
voice kicked in. Was that. . .? Nah, it couldn’t be.
    “Shauna, this is Pastor Chapman. I mean, Kent Chapman. First
of all, thank you for coming last Sunday. I hope you enjoyed the service. We
enjoyed having you. I. . .” He seemed to hesitate a
bit here, and she wondered where he might be headed. “I, uh. . .I enjoyed seeing you again. In fact. . .” His voice
broke again. “I was wondering if you were free this Friday night. I thought
maybe dinner and a movie might be nice. I know this is a little, well. . . I know we hardly know each other, but. . .”
    There was a definitive pause in the message. Shauna smiled
as his voice kicked in again. “Okay, this is it. …
I’d love to see you this Friday night. Call me at the church if you’re even
remotely interested. The number is in the bulletin you got on Sunday. Or call
me at home. Unless you think this is completely inappropriate. But. . .” His voice trailed off. “I really prayed before
calling, I promise. I never do things like this. Never.”
    Shauna tried to
imagine the expression on his face as he left the message—the obvious
fear in those beautiful green eyes. Was he worried, nervous? He certainly
sounded like a teenager asking a girl out for the first time.
    And she felt a bit
like a teenager right now, as well. A date? How did she feel about that? Shauna
bit her lip nervously. Should she call him back? Would that be inappropriate?
After only a moment’s pause for reflection, she picked up the phone to return
Kent Chapman’s call.

 
    nine

 
    “How do I look?” Kent asked, turning for inspection.
    “Handsome, as always,”
his mother responded with a smile. “Would you expect me to say anything else?”
    He shrugged then
fumbled to straighten his tie. “Do you think it’s too much? We’re just going
out to dinner.”
    “You look fine,
Kenny,” she insisted.
    “Mom, don’t call me. . .” He hesitated before finishing the sentence. After
so many years on the job, she should be free to call him whatever she liked.
    “I know, Kent,” she
said, emphasizing his name. “But sometimes I forget, that’s all.”
    “Nana!” Charity said,
tugging at her grandmother’s skirt. “Watch TV.”
    “Yes, darling.” She
swept the youngster up into her arms. “As soon as Daddy goes, we’ll watch a
video together. Now give him a good-bye kiss.”
    Kent reached over to
embrace his daughter. Spoiled or not, she remained his jewel. For a brief
moment, he felt sure he saw Faith in her