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

don’t you get it?”
    Just then her father’s
booming voice rang out, “Shauna, your young man is here.”
    She groaned loudly.
“Great. Daddy got to him first.” She knew how intimidating her father could be.
A retired navy captain, he was quite large in stature and had a deep, booming
voice. He was a teddy bear at heart, but people who didn’t know him well often
misunderstood his sense of humor. Shauna was halfway to the living room when
she heard her father’s voice ring out again.
    “Come in here, young fella,” he said sternly. “Nothing to be
afraid of. We won’t bite.”
    Shauna flinched, trying to imagine what Kent must be
thinking. She rounded the corner, nearly bumping into him. “Oh. So sorry,” she
said, glancing up. He looked incredible in his dark gray button-up shirt and
black slacks. She couldn’t help but notice the subtle but intoxicating scent of
cologne.
    “You look really nice,
Shauna,” Kent said, his gaze resting on her hair.
    “Thank you,” she
mumbled, embarrassed. “I, uh, I’d like to introduce you to my mother and
father—Max and Gloria Alexander. Mom, Dad. .
.this is Kent Chapman.”
    Her father extended
his hand, grasping Kent’s tightly. From the pained expression
on Kent’s face, perhaps a bit too tightly.
    “Glad to meet you,
son,” her father said, slapping him on the back. “Any friend of Shauna’s is a
friend of ours.”
    “Shauna tells us
you’re a pastor,” her mother said, looking at him curiously. “If you don’t mind
my asking. . .”
    Shauna grimaced. Oh, please don’t give him the third degree,
Mother.
    “I was just wondering
what prompted you to go into the ministry.”
    Kent quickly shared the story, and she seemed more than
satisfied with his explanation. “Sounds like a big job for someone so young,
but you have a lot of passion.”
    “Thank you. Sometimes
I think I have too much passion—but the need is so great.”
    “You’re sure right
about that,” Shauna’s father threw in. “I’m proud of you, young man. But what’s
the name of your church? Maybe I’ve heard of it.”
    “Grace Community Church. We’re not too far from downtown,
just east of I-45.”
    “Why, Grace
Community!” Shauna’s mother said with a smile. “Isn’t that the church I hear so
much about—the one that’s always doing those big outreaches in the
community—giving away food and all of that?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Probably, anyway. There are so many churches in the Houston
area reaching out to the community. We’re just one of them. But
happy to be serving so near the heart of the city. It’s certainly worth
the drive.”
    Shauna watched him
carefully as he spoke. She couldn’t help but notice the gleam in his eyes as he
talked about the church. Clearly, he loved his job.
    “Well,” she said,
glancing at her watch, “we’re going to have to get going.” She reached up and
gave her mother a peck on the cheek.
    “Don’t stay out too
late, you two,” her father said sternly.
    “He’s kidding,” Shauna
whispered to Kent as they made their way out the door.
    “I know,” he whispered
back. “But I like it. I think he’s great.”
    She smiled, as she
pondered his comments. What a good heart he had. Why couldn’t Joey be more like
this? Why couldn’t he. . .
    No. I won’t think about him tonight. Tonight, Joey doesn’t exist. And
even if he did exist, he couldn’t begin to measure up to what’s standing
directly in front of me.

 
    ten

 
    Shauna smiled at Kent as he pulled the door of the
restaurant open. From inside, the aroma of garlic and spice greeted her.
    “I love Italian food,”
she said with a grin.
    “I know.”
    “How did you know?”
She stared at him curiously.
    “I had your computer,
remember?” he said with a smile. “I learned a few things about you. Macaroni
Grill is your favorite restaurant, right?”
    “Okay, stop right
there,” she said, putting her hand up to squelch any further conversation on
the matter.