Page 63 of Love Everlasting

Jack offered his wife a patient smile as he recast his line. “Settle down, babe. We still have fifteen minutes in the tournament to put you ladies in your place, so I’d save your celebration if I were you.”

“Yeah, Lace,” Nicki said with a lift of her Dr. Pepper, content to cheer her team on from the sidelines since she was odd woman out and not overly fond of fishing, “we’ll have lots of time to celebrate when the guys have to wait on us, hand, foot, and finger.”

“Hey, woman,” her husband Matt said with a jag of a thick blonde brow, “we’re still newlyweds, so you’re supposed to be supporting and kissing up to me, not the females.”

Cat made a perfect cast. “Uh, I doubt there’ll be much ‘kissing up’ tonight, Cuz, not with you smelling like stink bait, right, Nick?”

“The woman has a point,” Nicki said with a nod of her head, “at least not without a long, long shower.”

“Hey, Chase …” Jack shot a wicked grin over his shoulder. “Make sure you double-check their measurements, will you? Lacey’s been known to fudge.”

Lacey gave Jack the stink-eye as she and Shannon measured her fish, tone indignant. “I beg your pardon—Shannon would never do anything fishy, O’Bryen, unlike my husband whose chances of ‘kissing up’ tonight are looking slim to nil, with or without a shower.”

“Uh-oh, somebody’s in trouble.” Chase ambled over to where Lacey and Shannon were recording the weight and length of the fish. He peered over their shoulders with a crooked smile. “Not sure I can continue to be friends with a girl who outfishes me, Shan,” he said with a shake of his head. “Even pastors have their pride, you know.”

Cat tossed an evil grin his way. “Not when they fish like you, Rev,” she teased. “The only thing I’ve seen you reel in is humility.”

“That’s because I focus more on fishing for souls, Catfish,” he said with a lazy smile, “a fisher of men and cocky women rather than sea life.”

Nicki chuckled. “Well, then this one must keep you pretttttty darn busy,” she said with a sassy nod in Cat’s direction, her prior enmity with Cat years ago long since dissipated, thank God. “The poor kid reminds me of myself before I mended my wild ways, Rev, so keep trolling, buddy, and you’ll reel her in yet.”

“In his dreams.” Smile flat, Cat popped her shrimp cork several more times, squinting at a river shimmering with the fiery fuchsia of dusk.

“And in my prayers,” Shannon whispered, earning an understanding hug from Lacey before her sister-in-law sauntered back to her rod.

“Don’t worry. We’ll hook her yet, Shan,” Chase said quietly.

Shannon expelled a weary sigh as she put her fish on the stringer in the water, grateful that the banter and laughter of the others drowned out Chase’s comment. “I hope so. Believe it or not, her faith in God was as strong as mine at one time.” She reached for a shrimp from the bait bucket and rebaited her line, her tone melancholy. “But Dad’s affair with Lacey’s mother all those years ago pretty much damaged it, just like it did to Jack.”

“Yeah, but God won after all the smoke cleared,” Chase reminded, “and He’ll win with Cat, too. You’ll see. That stubborn sister of yours doesn’t stand a chance with all the family and friends praying for her.” He followed Shannon to the far edge of the dock away from the others, slipping Cat a troubled look out of the corner of his eye. “I just hope it’s before she gets into too much trouble.”

“Me too.” Shannon launched her line across the inky waters in a perfect arc. “But I’ll tell you what, Chase, when He does get His hands on Cat again, I’ll be rejoicing louder than all those angels in heaven.”

“Just like with Sam?” he said quietly, his perceptive gaze warming her cheeks.

“Yes.” Her voice was the softest of whispers, hope swelling in her chest as she offered Chase a gentle smile, reminded once again just how much she missed Sam. She hadn’t seen him in almost two weeks due to a vacation he took with Jasmine’s family the first week, then playing catch-up with his job and volunteer work the second. Not to mention Jasmine’s demands on his time, which Shannon suspected were partially to limit Sam’s time with her. Her rib cage expanded and contracted with a wistful sigh. But the truth was, Shannon didn’t blame Jasmine one bit. If Sam belonged to her, she wouldn’t want him hanging out with any other females either. Shaking off her melancholy, she forced herself to focus on how much Sam had grown in his faith since the night of the Memorial fundraiser, and joy immediately flooded both her heart and her smile. “But he’s close, Chase, I can feel it, and I’m so proud of how much he’s changed over these last few months.”

“Because of you.” There was respect in his tone, along with a strong affection that Shannon sensed was growing between them both.

She popped her cork more quickly than usual, uncomfortable as always with praise. “No, because of God,” she emphasized, quite certain it was God Who’d given her the grace to be Sam’s friend in the first place. And even more grace now to be only a friend.

“When is he planning on proposing to Jasmine?” Chase’s question was casual, but Shannon perceived an underlying concern. True to his word, Chase had become her good friend over the last month, coming over or taking her out at least three times a week, making it clear he was waiting till Shannon was ready for more.

She glanced up at him, wishing Sam wasn’t so embedded in her heart because Chase was everything she’d always wanted. A godly man devoted to his faith.

Not a player devoted to himself.

“Tonight, as a matter of fact,” she said, thinking about the text he’d sent her earlier in the week, asking her to pray that the evening went well. Forcing a smile she hoped didn’t reflect how she truly felt inside, she glanced at her watch, then out at the water where her cork popped too many times to be effective. “By now Jazz should be sporting a hefty-sized diamond.”

The gentle touch of Chase’s hand on her shoulder drew her eyes to his. “I know you’re still in love with him, Shannon, but I promise you—everything will work out.”

She offered a tremulous smile. “I believe that, Chase, I do, with all of my heart. And I truly believe God will get me past these unfortunate feelings” —her throat convulsed against her will— “and hopefully soon. But right now, what I want more than anything is for Sam to be happy.”

“Hey, Shan,” Cat said, squinting toward Bluff Drive in the distance, “what’s Doctor Love doing here?”

Shannon’s heart stopped at the sound of Cat’s question, stomach flipping as always whenever Sam was near. She spun around so fast, Chase had to steady her, her pulse stuttering along with her words. “S-Sam …” she whispered, spotting him getting out of his car parked under a streetlight. Hands in his pockets, he started walking across the lawn to their dock until his somber gaze collided with hers at the front of the ramp, effectively halting him halfway. He offered a half-hearted wave, the solemnity of his pose begging her to come.

“Something’s wrong,” Jack said, shifting his focus from Sam to Shannon, Sam’s unwillingness to approach the group speaking volumes to both her brother and her. He took the fishing pole from her hand. “Go talk to him, sis.”