Meant-To-Be Marriage

By the time the housekeeper rang to let him know breakfast was ready, the answer came to him with all the pure simple quiet of a beautiful spring morning.

When he arrived in the dining room, a lavish meal awaited him. It appeared the housekeeper had gone all out.

Tom was seated in his usual spot at the head of the table. “How did you sleep, Jarod?”

He sat down at his left side. “As you might imagine, I didn’t get any.”

The older man frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Did you really expect me to?”

“No,” he said after an overly long moment. “That’s what makes you such an exceptional man and priest.”

“I’m not coming back, Tom.”

“When you didn’t knock on my door at five this morning, anxious to talk, I knew your answer. With hindsight I can see it was wrong of me to send for you and tell you about Jeanine.”

Jarod shook his head. “I’m glad you did. During the night I had time to think. Just because I’m not a priest doesn’t mean I can’t go to her bedside as a friend. Before I rejoin Sydney, I’m going to drive to Cannon to see her. It’s the least I can do. I’ll let her husband decide if he thinks it’s a good idea.”

“You have my utmost admiration. I hope you’ll always be my friend, too.”

“You know better than to worry about that, Tom. Next to my father…” He couldn’t get the rest of the words out. Rising from the chair he said, “As delicious as this breakfast looks, I can’t eat. I hope you understand.”

“Of course.” The bishop stood up. “Feel free to take one of the cars. Just ask the secretary for the keys.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll always keep you in my prayers, Jarod.”

CHAPTER NINE

JAROD LEFT THE dining room, fighting the unshed tears smarting his eyes. An hour later Rick met him outside the hospital in Cannon.

“Jeanine’s doing a little better, Jarod. I’m glad the bishop called you. I debated telling you about her bec—”

“I know exactly why you didn’t, but it’s fine,” he broke in. “My greatest concern right now is whether I should tell Brent the truth about myself before I walk in Jeanine’s room.”

His friend shook his head. “They’ll both be so happy to see you, nothing else will be as important.”

“Let’s hope so.”

As they started for the hospital doors, Jarod’s cell phone rang, interrupting them. He checked the caller ID and clicked on.

“Sydney?”

“Jarod?”

The way she said his name sounded as emotional as he felt. “Is something wrong?”

“No. It’s just that I thought you were going to call me this morning before class. When you didn’t, I—I couldn’t wait any longer to find out if you’re all right.”

He sucked in his breath. “I’m fine, but I’m afraid this isn’t a good time to talk. I promise to phone you as soon as I can.”

“Then I won’t hold you up any longer.”

“Sydney? Wait—”

But her line had gone dead before he could explain the precariousness of Jeanine’s situation. With time of the essence…