Faith, Hope and Love

Within five minutes, she had made her way to Main Street. Last minute shoppers were scurrying about, rushing in and out of stores as they purchased Christmas presents. Whitewood, South Carolina—population 6,587—had seen its downtown area almost die out when a lot of businesses moved out near the four-lane highway back in the seventies. But in the late eighties, the townspeople had banded together to revitalize the buildings and the square between Main and Cherry Streets.

“Hey there, Faith.” Margaret Tompkins stood in the doorway of her coffee and gift shop. “Off to meet Worth in the square?”

Faith stopped under the green awning over the doorway of Margaret’s Goodies. “I thought you were closing up at seven tonight so you and Mr. Tippins could make it over to the Godfreys for their party.”

“I had so many last-minute customers that I had to call Mr. Tippins to tell him I’d meet him there.” Margaret frowned. “That Moselle Hutton had better not try to make time with my Mr. Tippins. The woman is nothing but a hussy.”

“Well, if that’s the case, you’d better hurry and lock up and get over to the Godfreys.”

“You’re absolutely right about that.” Margaret’s remarkably smooth face wrinkled slightly when she smiled. “Do bring Worth by to see me just as soon as you can.”

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll do just that.”

Faith adored Margaret Tompkins, who’d given Faith her first after-school job when she’d been sixteen. And thanks to Margaret’s kindness of keeping her employed at Margaret’s Goodies, not only after school but in the summers, she’d been able to save enough money to buy an older model car when she was eighteen.

Margaret was what people had once referred to as an old maid; and sometimes Faith thought the sweet old woman—who was now seventy-four—saw a kindred spirit in Faith. But unlike Margaret, who had lost her fiancé during the Korean War, Faith was going to marry and have a family. And nobody was happier for her than Margaret.

The town square had been a part of Whitewood since the town’s conception in the early 1800s. At Christmas the merchants decorated downtown Whitewood so perfectly that it looked like a winter wonderland, and the square was the pièce de résistance, the town’s true showcase. The two gazebos were strung with white lights, green garland and huge frosty white bows. Inside one gazebo was a life-size Santa with a pack of presents on his back and Rudolph at his side. A group of five life-size carolers, song books in their hands, stood inside the second gazebo, and a taped selection of Christmas carols played twenty-four hours a day during the twelve days of Christmas. But the twenty-foot Christmas tree, decorated with thousands of sparkling white lights held the place of honor in the center of the square.

Faith scanned the square for any sign of Worth, thinking perhaps he’d been as eager as she for this night and had shown up early. But maybe Worth wasn’t the type to be early or even on time for that matter. She knew so little about him, had so many things to learn. She didn’t even know if he liked his coffee black or with cream and sugar. But they had the rest of their lives to become acquainted, to get to know each others’ preferences.

Some people—like Jody—might think falling in love at first sight was a ridiculous notion, but Faith knew better. Well, maybe it hadn’t been exactly at first sight, but within the first twenty-four hours. And once they had made love, she’d had no doubts that they were meant to be together forever.

Faith wandered around through the square, following the concrete sidewalk onto the brick walkway that led from one gazebo to the other. The recorded music blasted a cheery rendition of “Let It Snow.” Peeking out beneath the umbrella, Faith saw no sign of snow. She held out her hand and several icy cold raindrops hit her knit glove. Suddenly a teenage couple came racing through the square, called out “Merry Christmas” to Faith, then ran across the street to the boy’s parked Jeep. The kids jumped in, revved the motor and zoomed away.

Only two months ago she had been living on a Mediterranean island working as the nanny to billionaire tycoon Theo Constantine’s seven-year-old daughter, Phila. She had loved her job and adored the Constantines and little Phila. Life had been pleasant and fulfilling. Faith truly believed that no job was as important as the care and nurturing of children. That’s why she’d chosen a career as an au pair. But her idyllic life had ended abruptly when Phila and she had been kidnapped by a rebel terrorist group called the Al’alim, taken to the mountains in Subria and held for ransom.

In the end everything had turned out well, but Phila and she had endured a terrifying ordeal. Theo Constantine had hired his own small army to free them from their abductors and Worth Cordell had been Faith’s personal rescuer. She would never forget his kindness the moment they first met. He had taken off his jacket and wrapped it around her because she’d been wearing nothing but a thin cotton gown. And when she’d cut her foot during their attempt to flee, Worth had swept her into his arms and carried her, keeping her safe.

Faith checked her watch. Five till eight. He’d be here soon. Then she’d take him back to her apartment, fix them cups of steaming hot cocoa and they’d cuddle on the sofa. The north wind picked up, whooshing fine pellets of sleet right into her face. Oh, dear, the rain had changed over to sleet.

But when Worth arrived, he’d take her into his arms and warm her immediately. Her mind recalled the night they’d spent together in the cave in Subria, the two of them, wet and cold. They’d stripped off naked, laid their clothes out to dry and cuddled together under a thin blanket in order to absorb each other’s body heat. She’d been afraid that night might be her last night on earth, that by morning the Subrian rebels would find them and kill them. And one thing she’d known for sure was that she didn’t want to die a virgin.

Suddenly the Methodist church bells rang out the hour. Eight o’clock. Faith listened, then smiled as memories washed over her. She’d never know where the courage had come from that night or how she’d been able to ask Worth to make love to her. Maybe it had been a courage born of fear. And Worth had been so sweet, so reluctant at first to take her. But in the end he had made sweet, passionate love to her and her life had changed forever.

Faith decided that she would stay warmer if she kept moving, so she walked around the square twice, then came back through it again. She checked her watch. Eight-twenty. Worth was late. Perhaps he’d run into bad weather on his trip from Atlanta. Or he could have gotten a late start, or taken a wrong turn.

Faith glanced across the street to see if Margaret had closed up shop. She had. All the stores on Main and on Cherry were closed. And there was no one on the streets. Occasionally a car passed, but there was no other sign of life. People were either home with their families, at holiday parties, or congregated in local churches for Christmas Eve services.

Her feet were cold, despite the thick socks she wore. And her hands were like ice under the knit gloves. Where are you, Worth…Where are you?

They had said goodbye in Subria six weeks ago, but they had agreed to meet here in the Whitewood town square at eight o’clock on Christmas Eve. If Worth loved her, he would be here. He’d promised. And she believed with all her heart and soul that Worth loved her as she did him. He’s just running a little late, that’s all. He’ll be here soon.

For over a week she had suspected she might be pregnant. They hadn’t used any protection when they’d made love. And Faith’s monthly period was usually as regular as clockwork. This morning she had driven over to Greenville to a drugstore and bought a home pregnancy kit. She thought it best not to let the entire town of Whitewood find out about her condition—not until after she and Worth were married. She’d been excited at the thought of carrying Worth’s child, but then she’d wondered how he’d feel about having a baby so soon. After all, even she had planned for them to actually date a few months before they got married. Originally she’d thought a June wedding was ideal, but now they’d have to push up the date. Maybe a New Year’s wedding. Something simple at the church with only Jody and Margaret and perhaps the Dawsons.

The Methodist church bells chimed the hour. Nine o’clock. How was it possible that she’d been here for a whole hour? Of course, she was so cold that her hands and feet felt numb. What had happened to Worth? Why was he an hour late? She knew that if he’d been detained, he would have contacted her. After all, it wouldn’t be that much trouble to get her home phone number. She was the only Faith Sheridan living in Whitewood. Oh, God, what if he’d had a wreck? No, she refused to consider the possibility. Worth was on his way here and would show up any minute now.

Suddenly Faith looked through her moist eyes and noticed it was snowing. She sighed deeply and hugged herself, settling down on a bench to wait. When Worth arrived, their reunion would take place with snowflakes falling all around them. It would be like a scene from an old movie. Lovers reuniting in the town square on a snowy Christmas Eve.

Time passed, but Faith wasn’t sure how much time. And when she heard Jody’s voice calling her, she tried to open her eyes, but couldn’t. Was she asleep? No, she couldn’t be asleep. She was in the square waiting for Worth. He would be here any minute now.

Jody began shaking Faith as she repeated her name and said, “Wake up, Faithie, wake up. My God, how long have you been lying here on this bench, out in the snow? Come on, honey, let’s get you up on your feet. I’m taking you to the hospital right now.”

“The hospital?” Faith managed to speak, but even to her own ears her voice sounded weak. “Why do I need to go to the hospital?”

“Oh, honey, you’ve been sitting out here in the snow, waiting for that damn man for over four hours.”

She felt Jody lifting her to her feet, then putting an arm around her and urging her to walk.

“What—what time is it?” Faith asked.

Before Jody could reply, the church bells rang out twelve times. Midnight. And Worth hadn’t shown up yet.

“I can’t leave,” Faith said. “Worth might—”

“Damn it, Faithie, he’s not coming. The guy’s a no-show.”

As Jody led Faith to her car, she heard her friend grumbling, “Men! They love you until they’ve had you, then it’s on to the next woman. But don’t you worry, honey, we’ll be all right. You don’t need him. You’ll get by just fine without him.”

“Worth,” Faith whispered. “Worth, where are you?”

Worth Cordell woke from a drug-induced sleep in the ICU of an Atlanta hospital…or he assumed he was in Atlanta. He glanced around the meticulously sterile room. Pale-green walls. No windows. An array of tubes and wires hooking him to various machines. The quiet hum of nurses as they went about their duties within the intensive care facility.

What the hell am I doing here? he asked himself.

His brain was fuzzy. His body ached, but it was a medicated ache that told him his true pain was being masked by some high-powered medicine. Worth felt as if his right leg had been run over by an army tank.

His right leg! Now he remembered. He’d been shot. He tried to raise himself up enough to look at his leg, to make sure it was still there. During his time in the Rangers he’d seen guys get their legs blown off and later in the hospital say they could feel their missing limb.

A strong, feminine hand came down over Worth’s chest and gently eased his head down on the pillow. “Lie still, Mr. Cordell. Don’t try to move around. Not yet.”

“Tell me something.” Worth looked squarely at the brown-eyed, middle-aged nurse.

She glanced down at him and smiled. “What would you like to know?”

“Is my leg still there?” he asked.

“Your leg?” Her smiled widened. “Your leg is very much there and it’s healing nicely. We should be able to transfer you to a private room by this time tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I’m not sure. I’m a bit crazy-headed right now.”

“Your mind will clear up once we reduce your medication. Now take it easy and—” she pointed to a series of buttons attached to the railing on his hospital bed “—if you need anything, just punch right here and one of us will check on you.”

Worth nodded.