They spoke to many people as they weaved their way through the crowd in the reception area. They finally saw her mom sitting at a table with Glen. They were chatting with others at the table. Holly waited for her mom to notice her and come to where she and Scott were standing near Jack and Dana.

  Glen came with her. They were holding hands again. Again Holly wondered what Glen was like. He seemed nice, polite. But then how else could he be at a wedding? What was he like when no one else was around--like Scott, like her dad, or somewhere in between?

  Holly looped her arm with Scott’s and felt his free hand cover her own. He made her feel stronger.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said. “I’d like you to meet Scott Christiansen. Scott this is my mom, Jana Stevens, and her friend, Glen.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Scott,” her mom said. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you. Is your daughter here?”

  Scott pointed her out. Madeline and Sarah were at a nearby table having some cake.

  “Oh, the other flower girl. That was so sweet how she helped Sarah to keep moving.”

  Holly wasn’t quite sure what to make of her mom’s behavior. She acted sincere and sounded more than pleasant, but it was too soon to know for sure. Holly didn’t let go of Scott’s arm.

  “How long are you staying, Mom?”

  “Just today. We need to get back. But I thought maybe we could go up to the house for awhile after Brian and Tammy leave. Dana invited us. Will you be there?”

  “I suppose,” she said.

  “Good,” her mom replied, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “I have something to tell you. And something to ask you.”

  The afternoon had almost disappeared by the time she and Scott were headed up to the house along with the rest of the family. They had watched the happy couple climb into a white limousine to be taken to their honeymoon destination. Then she and Scott had helped load the gifts and miscellaneous items into the back of the SUV, the other family car Ty was driving, and Scott’s truck.

  Her mom and Glen had hung around the church, and Holly had watched them talking with Sarah. Her mom even picked Sarah up once. Scott kept calming her with gentle touches and loving glances. He prayed again when they pulled into the driveway.

  They all gathered inside, and Holly took her and Sarah’s dresses upstairs to hang in her closet. She used the bathroom and found her mom standing in the hall when she emerged.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute, Holly?”

  Holly didn’t want to be rude, but she didn’t want to give her mom a chance to use her sharp tongue either.

  “I was just going back down,” she said.

  “I’d like us to be alone.”

  Holly took a deep breath and remembered Scott’s prayer. She wasn’t alone. God was with her. Right here. Right now.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Holly went into her room, and her mom followed. Holly sat down on the bed and waited for her mother to speak, bracing herself for the worst. She had come a long way in her healing process during the last six months, but she had no way of protecting herself from being hurt again.

  Her mom came to sit beside her. She was acting much different than Holly had ever seen her. And the first words out of her mouth explained her changed behavior.

  “I want to ask for your forgiveness, Holly,” she said. “I know I don’t deserve it, and I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me for the rest of your life. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me to be. I said some awful things to you. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am, but I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and let me be a part of your life again.”

  No one was here for her mom to be trying to fool. For a moment Holly wondered if she was dreaming and told herself to wake up if she was. She heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up to see Scott in the doorway. His eyes moved from her to her mother and back.

  “Is everything okay, Holly? Do you need me?”

  Holly wanted to say, “Of course I need you!” but not for the reason he meant at the moment. Instead she said, “I’m okay. We’ll be down in a minute.”

  He hesitated but then stepped away. Holly looked back to her mom.

  “He loves you, doesn’t he?”

  Holly nodded. “I love him, Mama. He’s a wonderful man.”

  “I know. Dana says so too. I’m very happy for you, honey. You deserve someone wonderful.”

  Holly blinked back tears. “What has happened to you, Mama?”

  Her mom beamed. “I did what you told me to do. I let God rescue me!”

  Holly let the tears flow and put her arms around her mother. Holding each other tightly, they both wept. Holly felt like her heart was in her throat. She’d longed to have her mom hold her like this for such a long time.

  “I forgive you, Mama,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  Holly wanted to know more. “How did this happen? Did you start going to church again?”

  Her mom nodded. “After I got that story from you, I ripped it up and threw it in the garbage. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I kept wondering, ‘Can I really go back, after all this time? After all the hurt and mistakes and the terrible way I treated you?’ But God got a hold of my heart that day and wouldn’t let go. Two weeks later I went to church, sat in the back row, didn’t speak to anyone, and went home swearing I was never going back.” She laughed.

  Holly smiled. “But you did?”

  “I did. Every Sunday for two months. And then it wasn’t enough, and I started going to two services, listening to the same message twice and singing all the music twice, and hearing the choir sing twice.” She laughed again, like Holly had never heard her laugh before, with joy and peace and real happiness.

  “What about Glen? Aunt Dana told me who he is. How did you meet him again?”

  “One Sunday I decided to go to one of the adult classes. I’d seen it listed in the weekly program. The first person I met when I walked through the door was Glen. I didn’t recognize him at first, but he knew me right away. I was so surprised to see him, to say the least.”

  “Is he divorced?”

  “No. Widowed. His wife died six years ago in a car accident. It’s very sad. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”

  “Does he have children?”

  “Two boys. Jeremy is seventeen and Justin is fifteen.”

  “How long have you been seeing each other?”

  Her mom laughed again. “Since that Sunday. He asked me to lunch, and I met his boys, then we got together later that same week and then two days after that and, well, you get the idea.”

  “Are you pretty serious, or just getting to know each other again?”

  “Both. We have a lot of years to catch up on, so we’re not rushing anything, but things are going really well. I loved him with all my heart once, and I guess he felt the same about me.”

  “Does he know about Daddy? About the way he treated you?”

  She nodded. “He knew your dad. It didn’t come as any big shock to him.”

  “Why did you break up in the first place?”

  “I was stupid. Plain and simple. I was in love with Glen. I wanted to marry him. We dated all of freshman year, and it was nothing but wonderful. Then I went home for the summer, and we were away from each other. When school started again, Glen had to get a job to help with his expenses, and he was taking a full load of classes so we didn’t get much time together.

  “Then your dad came along and showed me a good time. He was exciting. Glen was stable. Your dad did crazy things to get my attention. Glen was busy. I thought I’d just have some fun. Go to parties at his frat house and make out in a parked car overlooking the city.”

  “But why did you marry him?”

  “Because I got pregnant.”

  “You did? But Paul--”

  “I had a miscarriage at three months.”

  “Oh, Mama. I never knew.”

  “No one did, except your dad.”

  “Did he cause--”

  “No. It just happened. The doctor said it could have been a lot of things. But we were already married, so I thought I’d make the best of it.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mama. I’m sorry for all the years of pain and fear and whatever else you went through.”

  Her mom looked pensive, then replied, “You know, one evening Glen and I were talking about it. He wanted to know everything, the worst stuff. I told him about the night you got that scar, and I started bawling. Of all the things I did, letting your dad hurt you was the worst.”

  Her voice wavered and she looked like she might cry again. Holly gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, Mama. I actually don’t remember it.”

  She took a deep breath and wiped some tears away from her eyelids. “Anyway, Glen held me and started wiping away my tears. And I remembered the verse in Revelation where it talks about Jesus wiping away every tear from our eyes, and it made me think about your story and how Jesus wants me for His bride.”

  Her mom couldn’t hold back this time, and Holly took her hand, letting her cry for the way God had touched her heart.

  “The next Sunday I went forward in church to truly receive His love and forgiveness and to ask for His healing, and He’s already wiped away a lot of those tears.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Me too.”

  They hugged again and held each other for a long time.

  “I think we better get downstairs before that boyfriend of yours comes back up here.”

  Holly laughed. “That’s probably a good idea. I don’t want him wearing a hole in Aunt Dana’s carpet.”

  “Will you come see me sometimes?” her mom asked as they stepped into the hall.

  “Of course I will. Maybe Scott and I could come in a few weeks. I’ll have to check with him and see what his schedule is.”

  “Has he asked you to marry him yet?”

  “We’ve talked about it, but he hasn’t made it official. I think he will one of these days. He’s been waiting for me to be ready.”

  “Well, when he does, be sure and let me know so I can help you with planning. I never got to have my own wedding, just five minutes before a Justice of the Peace, so I want to go all out for you.”

  “You might get to have your own one of these days,” Holly said.

  Her mom smiled. “Thanks, baby. I hope so.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  The following Friday Holly arranged for Deb to watch Madeline in the evening and for her aunt to look after Sarah. After spending the day with John Michael, Baby Cody, and her daughter, she went home to change, left Sarah with Aunt Dana, and drove to Scott’s house. Letting herself in and going to the kitchen, she turned on the oven and set the dish she had already prepared last night on the counter.

  Then she went to work decorating the table with a lacy white cloth she had borrowed from Aunt Dana, candles, fancy dishes, and a single lavender-colored rose. Taking her perfume from her purse, she sprayed it around the house, on her wrists, and her neck, then put in a CD and turned on the stereo.

  She went to the hall bath to check her hair and put on a bit of make-up. She had worn the dress that she’d bought for Valentine's Day and the necklace Scott had given to her a few weeks ago “just because.” By the time she heard Scott open the front door, the chicken enchiladas were filling the house with a wonderful aroma, and she had everything ready.

  Going to meet him, Holly enjoyed the look of surprise on his face when he saw the table and the way she was dressed.

  “Where are the girls?” he asked, setting his keys on the counter and looking around.

  “Not here.”

  He gave her a crooked smile. “What is all this?”

  “Just dinner.”

  He stepped toward her and kissed the end of her nose. “That dress tells me it’s more than just dinner.”

  “Okay, it’s a surprise dinner. Now go get that greasy smell off of you so we can enjoy it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Do you want me to dress up too?”

  “No. This is all for you. Wear what makes you comfortable.”

  He disappeared down the hall, and Holly went to check on the enchiladas, then went to the living room to wait. Scott returned with damp hair, wearing nice jeans, a red and black checkered flannel shirt, and a smile. He took her into his arms and kissed her properly.

  “How long have you had this planned?”

  “Since the night before Tamara’s wedding when you and Brian serenaded us. That was your idea, wasn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  “I thought so. This is my way of making you feel as special as you made me feel that night, the way you make me feel all the time.”

  He pulled her into his arms and they danced to the country music. When the timer went off in the kitchen, she took his hand and led him to the table. She took the dish out of the oven and went to get Scott’s plate. He stopped her momentarily, grabbing her wrist and pointing to the rose in the middle of the table.

  “What’s lavender for?”

  She smiled and pulled the smooth stem from the vase. “It’s a thornless rose. Just like you.”

  Kissing him briefly, she returned to her task and laid a full plate before him, then dished up one for herself. While they ate, they talked about their day and other simple things. He complimented her cooking and helped her clean up afterwards even though she told him not to.

  “I don’t want you to get anything on your dress,” he said, taking the dirty plates from her.

  “I brought other clothes. I could go change.”

  “Don’t you dare,” he said. “That is the best part of this whole evening. I love the way you look in that dress.”

  She didn’t argue further.

  “How long do we have?” he asked.

  “Your mom is bringing Madeline at eight.”

  He smiled. “Did you have something else planned for me?”

  “No. Nothing else.”

  “Do you want to go get us a movie while I finish up here? We might not have time to see all of it before Madeline comes, but you can stay later, or do you need to get home?”

  “I told my aunt to put Sarah to bed if I wasn’t back.”

  She went to the movie rental store a few blocks away and found a new release she hadn’t seen before. When she returned she found Scott waiting on the couch for her. She put the movie in and went to join him. Removing her shoes, she tucked her feet under her legs and snuggled up next to him.

  The storyline took off quickly and kept her attention, although Scott distracted her more than once with some stolen kisses. She wasn’t concerned about him trying to take advantage of them being alone together. She never would have planned this night if she didn’t trust him.

  They had about thirty more minutes of the movie to watch after Madeline arrived and Scott put her to bed. Holly called to tell her aunt she would be home in about an hour so they wouldn’t worry she’d gone off into the ditch or something.

  When the movie ended, Scott turned off the television with the remote and turned to face her. She could tell he had something to say, but he didn’t speak right away.

  “Do you remember that day when I cornered you at church and asked if you had any feelings for me?”

  “How could I forget?”

  “You said something to me that day that I’ve thought of often.”

  Holly couldn’t remember the exact words she’d spoken and waited for Scott to go on.

  “You told me that you didn’t know if you had anything to give. At the time I thought that might be true. I didn’t know much about your background, and so I allowed it as an excuse when you later told me you weren’t ready.”

  Holly wondered where he was going with this. Did he think she might not have any love in her heart to offer him? She started to speak, to declare otherwise, but he put his finger to her lips.

  “Do you know that all you do is give, Holly?”

  His words surprised her. “No.”

  “You do. You pour out your heart to everyone around you: Sarah, Madeline, the other children, your family, me. I want you to know how special you are. How blessed I am and others are to have you in our lives.”

  Holly didn’t know what to say. She chose to just believe him and thank God for her giving spirit. Her heart’s desire was to help and nurture and love others. Seeing other people happy made her happy.

  “Thank you,” she said and enjoyed Scott’s kiss that followed.

  When he drew away from her, he took her hand and kissed her fingers. She knew she probably needed to get going but hated for the evening to end. He appeared to be having an equally difficult time letting her go.

  “So, are you going to marry me one of these days?” he asked as if he were inquiring about what kind of ice cream she wanted.

  Was that a proposal? she wondered, feeling a bit disappointed he hadn’t gotten down on one knee or something. How am I supposed to answer that? I can’t say no. Of course I want to marry him, but if I say yes, is that it? Start calling the florist and go down to the boutique tomorrow to pick out a dress?

  “Was that your idea of a proposal?” she asked, hoping her tone didn’t lead to their first fight. She regretted her words and started to take them back. After all, the important thing was that he was asking, right? Not how he did it.

  She saw his mouth twitch and his casual demeanor fade away with a mischievous smile. “No. It wasn’t,” he said, getting up from the couch and pushing the coffee table out of the way. He turned around, looked down at her, and smiled. Getting on one knee, he put his fingers inside the front pocket of his flannel shirt and pulled out a diamond ring. “But this is.”

  Holly gasped and felt her heart thumping wildly in her chest. He got a ring! He’s been holding onto it this whole time!

  He took her hand and held out the ring to her. “Holly Anne Stevens, will you let me love you for the rest of my life?”

  She closed her eyes.

  “Will you marry me?”

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she opened her eyes and blinked back tears. Scott looked confident. She knew he expected her to say yes.