Flash Flood (22 page)

She managed a giggle. “I won’t have a job.”

“No problem. This story has a happy ending.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Inside, the church is full of friends and family. On the front pew is Anna, and she’s so happy. At the altar, your pastor is smiling and welcoming you to the celebration. Beside him, I’m standing and grinning so big that it looks like my joy has been painted on. I’m about to marry the most beautiful woman in the world.” He kissed her forehead. “How do you like my plans?”

“Out of the pages of one of my favorite romance novels.”

“Good. I was hoping you’d like the ending. Do we have a date?”

She bit her lip to keep from weeping. “We have a date.”

“We need a ring.”

“I still have the one you gave me six years ago. It’s in my safety deposit box.”

He looked startled. “I assumed you’d pawned it or tossed it somewhere.” He laughed. “Perfect. Now we have more money for the reception and the honeymoon.”

She sighed and allowed herself to dream with him and not think about their circumstances. “I bet Fred and Marta will want to host a reception at their place.”

“Barbecue and potato salad?”

She laughed. “I’m sure of it.”

“Promise me something.” When she nodded, he planted a kiss on her nose. “Tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week, promise me you won’t forget how much I love you. God will meet our needs and help us through whatever the future holds.”

“I promise.”

“I love you, Alina.”

“And I love you.”

He kissed her, his lips warm and inviting. Oh, what she’d missed these past six years.

“Neon has offered me a vice presidency in Columbus,” he said. “I figured it would take us about an hour and a half to visit Anna.”

She gasped. “Have you given the position much thought?”

“Some. Honestly not much until tonight. My parents would be doing cartwheels at the thought of me working in the city. I’m wondering if the offer is a blessing. A married man doesn’t need to be on the road for weeks at a time.”

“Such a delicious prospect. Would you like the work?”

“I’d be a liaison between the smaller cable companies and the executive board. I certainly have the experience, and I’m aware of the needs and challenges existing between the larger and smaller companies.”

“Sounds like you’re the man for the job, as long as you’d be happy doing it.”

“No questions or arguments?”

She wiggled her shoulders. “Nope. Will you need a secretary?”

“Can’t do. Neon has strict policies about married people working in the same office.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find work, and I have a few nibbles on my résumé.”

“You don’t have to work unless you want to.”

“I’ve held a job since I was fourteen.”

“Just think about it.” His shoulders lifted and fell. “What about your friend Frank?”

“Frank?” His concern brought more laughter than she’d experienced in a long time.

Ryan frowned. “What is so funny?”

She squeezed his hand. “Frank is Fred’s uncle. He’s in a nursing home not far from Anna’s home. I often have dinner with him on Saturday evenings on the way back from Anna’s. I bring him homemade cookies, and he sends me flowers. He’s ninety-three.”

“Ninety-three?” Ryan grimaced. “Guess I don’t have any real competition, then.” He planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

Alina studied the concrete step. Water flowed up the third one, extinguishing the remains of the candle. For now the thunder had ceased. Her fears of the water … swimming … electrical storms … all took form in a nasty demon stabbing at her heart. She took a deep breath bathed in a heavy dose of prayer.

“We need to move to the roof, sweetheart.” Ryan released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She could do this. She could do this.

Saturday, 5:35 a.m
.

With the northern wind blowing the rain, Ryan doubted an umbrella would shelter them. The extra articles of clothing did little to keep out the torrents of rain. Within minutes Alina and Ryan were soaked. He took a quick glimpse at the light sticks on opposite ends of the roof. In less than an hour, dawn would sweep across the sky like a banner.

“How long do we have?” Alina asked. “I mean, before the water here rises from below us.”

“Hard to tell.” The truth still ebbed on time and the hope of rescue at sunrise. A deafening waterfall pounded in his ears. He stood in ankle-deep water. In the distance, lightning flashed across the sky. He’d soon have a hysterical Alina on his hands.

“I love you,” she said over the drumming weather. “I love you,” he said. “What are we going to name our firstborn?”

“I’m not playing any more games, Ryan. The water is rising faster than before, and another electrical storm is moving this way. This is it. I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you.”

He wanted to shake her, tell her God hadn’t abandoned them. Instead he wrapped his arms around her trembling body and kissed her soundly. Releasing her, he stepped to the middle of the roof and raised his hands to the dark sky.

“Lord, we need You. I believe You can save us from this water. Send a helicopter to rescue us.”

He glanced back at Alina, and a feeling of warmth surged through his body as though he stood in front of a roaring fire. “We
will
be all right,” he said. “I feel it in my spirit.”

She shook her head. “I give up, Ryan. I’m sorry, but I can’t hope any longer.”

For the next thirty minutes, water swarmed the rooftop like the enemy climbing over a fortress. The water rose just below his knees. He didn’t want to think about the current washing them away. There was nothing left to hold on to. Alina clung to him, and they watched the eastern sky.

“Do you hear it?” she asked.

His ears perked up. He wanted to believe he heard the sound of a helicopter’s rotor blades beating against the wind. “We’re here,” he shouted. “We’re here.” The flapping grew closer. “There it is.” He waved his arms and shouted again.

Within a few minutes the helicopter hovered over them. “Are you all right?” a man called out over a loudspeaker.

Ryan and Alina nodded, and Ryan gave a thumbs-up sign, knowing the rescuers couldn’t hear what was said.

“We’ll drop a ladder and get you out of there. Ryan, this is James.”

James, the foreman who wanted to break my nose?
“Sure glad you found us,” Ryan said once he and Alina had climbed safely inside the helicopter.

James laughed above the whirl of the helicopter blades. “Got a guilty conscience over what I’d said to you. Went to apologize at your hotel and couldn’t find you. Alina wasn’t home either. The more I thought about it, the more I realized you two were still here at Flash. Talked to Fred, and he agreed. Guess you’d say God got my attention.”

Alina shook off the wet coat over her head. “You are the best sight I’ve ever seen.”

Ryan drew Alina into his arms. “Look at the sky.” Just over the horizon, a trace of dawn in orange and yellow inched its way upward.

“Thank You, Jesus,” she sobbed. “Thank You.”

“Soon we’ll be dry,” Ryan said above the roar of the helicopter. “I meant all I said. I love you, and I want us to be married.” He peered into her rain-streaked face. “You are beautiful.”

“Any man who says I’m beautiful
this
morning has to love me. Do we still have a date in June?”

“Rain or shine.”

Saturday, June 11, 12:15 p.m
.

Alina lifted her pen from her journal. Since the rescue from the flood, she’d begun to journal a little each day. Ryan encouraged it, and the whole process of putting her thoughts into words was helping to mend the brokenness in her life. She reread her first two sentences for the day and giggled.
I’d never make it as a professional writer
. No matter, this was her wedding day, and she could be as poetic and silly as she wanted.

“Alina, it’s a quarter past noon, and the photographer wants one more shot before the ceremony,” Deidre said. A crinkle deepened across her forehead.

“Why the frown?” Alina asked. “This is a beautiful day for a wedding, and my matron of honor is somewhere between stressed and full-blown panicked.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that I want everything to be perfect.” Deidre paced the floor, her small frame draped in pale lavender, looking like a miniature model.

“It doesn’t matter if it snows for the wedding. I’m marrying the only man I ever loved, and God has blessed the day.”

“I’m so happy for you.” Deidre’s eyes pooled. “You are breathtaking.”

“Don’t you dare cry.” Alina stiffened and swallowed hard. “Or I will, too.” She listened to the stringed instruments in the sanctuary. “I never thought I’d see my wedding day.”

“God certainly grabbed your and Ryan’s attention,” Deidre said. “Thinking about you two nearly drowning on that roof still gives me the shivers.”

“Me, too. But it forced Ryan and me to see we were meant to be together.” Alina tilted her head. “It also forced us to forgive ourselves for the past.”

A knock at the door seized their attention. “Alina, are you about ready?”

She flung open the door to a thinner and healthier Fred. The transition from Flash Communications to Neon Interchange had gone smoothly despite the flood, and the new management was doing an outstanding job as far as Fred was concerned.

“Wow, Marta had better tie you down. You look rather dashing in a tux, young man.”

Beaming, Fred grasped his lapels and rocked on his heels. “Yep, I still have what it takes.” A grin tugged at his lips. “You
are
gorgeous. Ryan will be too tongue-tied to say his vows.”

“He’d better not. I might have to repeat them for him.”

“She would, too.” Deidre crossed her arms.

Alina took a deep breath and scooped up her bouquet of red and white roses. “Has anyone arrived yet?”

“Well, Ryan and the preacher are here.” Fred chuckled. “Those are the two most important ones. And Miss Anna is sitting on the front pew with a woman from Homeward Hills.”

“Are the groomsmen and ushers here?”

“Of course. James has been giving the other ushers instructions on which side of the church is for the bride and which side is for the groom. He is so proud of little Jenna being your flower girl.”

“I never dreamed James and Ryan would make peace, and now James is directing the ushers.” Alina swallowed against the rising emotion. “Takes a big man to admit he’s wrong. When we climbed up into that helicopter, James couldn’t get his apology out fast enough.”

“I appreciated his help after the water went down, although the insurance company took care of it all,” Fred said.

“Life has a way of working out when we least expect it,” Alina said. “I’m looking forward to chapter two.”

This book is dedicated to my sister Debbie, who always finds the sunshine in the rain.

A note from the Author:

I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:

DiAnn Mills
Author Relations
PO Box 721
Uhrichsville, OH 44683

DIANN MILLS
lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Dean. They have four adult sons. She wrote from the time she could hold a pencil, but not seriously until God made it clear that she should write for Him. After three years of serious writing, her first book,
Rehoboth
, won favorite
Heartsong Presents
historical for 1998. Other publishing credits include magazine articles and short stories, devotionals, poetry, and internal writing for her church. She is an active church choir member, leads a ladies’ Bible study, and is a church librarian.