My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,34
her imagination until her mother, Ruth, finally broached the subject.
Standing in an anteroom of Serenity Chapel, awaiting her entrance as a bride, Rachel beamed and clasped Ruth’s slim hands. “I’m so glad you mentioned that, Mom. I’ve thought Dad was acting much better, too.”
“It was enough of a change to impress me,” her mother said, growing teary-eyed. “I was just about at the end of my rope with that man.”
“I know what you mean. Jace is kind of like Dad in some ways, only he values my opinion. That’s the biggest difference I can see.” She giggled. “That, and he’s a whole lot handsomer.”
Ruth’s smile was tender and filled with understanding. “And that’s the way it should be. You should always look at your husband as if he is the most attractive man you’ve ever seen.” She sighed. “There was a time when I looked at your father that way.”
Rachel was concerned. “You don’t now?”
“I hadn’t for years. Not until recently.” She gave her daughter a brief hug and smiled through misty eyes. “Maybe I just needed you and Jace to remind me how it could be. How it should be between a husband and wife.”
“It is scary to think of committing my whole life to him,” Rachel admitted, “but I can’t imagine not having him with me forever.”
“And that is the best sign of all.”
“It still frightens me to know he’s putting himself in harm’s way so often. How did you deal with that when Dad was working and was gone so much?”
“I shut him out,” Ruth admitted, sobering. “I can see now that it was wrong but it was my way of sheltering myself from the loss I was sure I’d eventually experience.” She began to smile again. “But, as you can see, he’s still very much alive and kicking.”
“That’s like something Pastor Logan told Jace and me during counseling. We have to trust God and take one day at a time. If we borrow trouble it’s like saying that we only believe selected parts of the Bible, the ones that fit our preconceived notions.”
The door opened and Becky Malloy, the matron of honor, stuck her head in. “Hey, you two. Let’s get this show on the road. It’s time for everyone else to be seated and Logan doesn’t want the groom to keel over because he had to wait too long.”
Rachel laughed lightly. “Jace? Keel over? I doubt that very much. He’s faced a lot worse trials than getting married.”
That comment was apparently funnier than Rachel thought because it made Becky laugh aloud. She took Ruth’s hand and led her from the room, leaving Rachel to pick up her bouquet of white and pink roses and follow.
If Jace really was nervous then maybe it was okay for her insides to be quaking and her hands to be clammy, Rachel reasoned. They were taking a big step. Together. If she had not been on her way to meet Jace and take her place by his side, she might have turned and run.
The way I fled from my stalker, she added to her thoughts with a shiver. It was good to know that the poor deluded man was institutionalized but there was still an element of fear that occasionally crept into her thoughts and left her unnecessarily breathless.
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind,” she whispered, quoting her favorite verse from II Timothy.
She stepped into place at the head of the center aisle as soon as she got the signal and waited while Becky led the way forward. The sanctuary was packed. Cascades of fresh flowers decorated the altar. The organ music swelled.
For a second, Rachel wished she had not opted to walk alone rather than let her father be her escort. When Jace had suggested that George stand up for him as his best man, she had readily agreed. Anything that brought her father and her future husband together was fine with her.
Now, however, her knees felt weak and she wished she had someone’s strong arm to lean on. She smiled to herself. On the way back, as Mrs. Jace Morgan, she would have.
She raised her eyes. There he was! Jace. More handsome than ever, so captivating she could hardly contain her joy. And, as his gaze met hers, Rachel was no longer alone.
He smiled tenderly, his very presence calling out to her.
Grinning through happy tears, she took one step forward, then another. The