Out of the Depths Read online

  “Sounds like you can thank Him for a monetary reward, too. The DEA chief told me your share should provide enough money to pay your staff retroactive wages after all.”

  “Unbelievable!”

  Trudy Lynn had been given an injection to help her temporarily cope with the pain and she was starting to feel its effects. She smiled and sighed.

  Cody took her hand. “Are you feeling any better?”

  “Some. I think my ankle’s throbbing less. Now, I’m freezing.”

  “That’s because they’ve put ice on your leg,” he explained. “Shall I ask a nurse to bring you another blanket?”

  “No. Don’t leave. Stay and talk to me? Please?”

  “Sure. I’ve been wanting to have a talk with you anyway.”

  “Really?” Trudy Lynn’s ears were buzzing and her head felt funny, as if she were floating on a pillow of air instead of lying on a gurney in a hospital emergency room. “Me, too. Talk to you, I mean, not to myself.”

  “I figured as much.” There was humor in his voice. “Maybe we’d better wait. You sound pretty out of it right now.”

  “Nonsense. I’m fine.” She made a face. “I wasn’t stupid. I know it must seem that way to you but I really wasn’t. I mean, all my friends kept insisting Ned was the right man for me but I never bought it. He was too nice. Too perfect. Too…” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t think of the right word. My brain’s getting all fuzzy. Manipulative! That’s it. Ned was always trying to get me to do things his way, only he was so sweet about it he made me sick.”

  “Trudy Lynn…”

  “I should have known. I guess I did know. Like I told him when he was threatening to kill me, I think God was warning me all along. Does that make sense to you?”

  “Yes.” Cody stroked his thumb over the back of her hand as he held it and smiled at her. “I’ve been thinking…”

  “Yeah, me, too. I didn’t see it at first because I was too set in my ways, I guess. It wasn’t that I wanted someone who never disagreed with me. I know I’m not perfect.” She giggled. “Even if I am close to it.”

  Cody laughed softly. “Now, that we agree on.”

  “Oh, good, because I don’t care if you’re not—perfect, I mean. Forget the limp. It doesn’t matter.”

  “I know that now.”

  “Hey! Maybe I’ll limp, too!” She was grinning so widely her cheek muscles cramped. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful!”

  “No, it wouldn’t. I don’t want anything to hurt you. Ever.”

  “Why not? Just think, we could have his and hers canes or something. I could tie a pink bow on mine so we could tell them apart!” That struck her so funny she burst into a fit of giggling.

  “I’m afraid the medicine they gave you is making you loopy, honey.”

  “Who, me?” Trudy Lynn couldn’t stop laughing, even when tears began to stream down her cheeks.

  “Yes, you.” Cody gave her a lopsided smile and shook his head. “You’ve been talking so much I haven’t been able to get a word in.”

  “You did so. You said—something. I heard you.”

  He waited for her laughter to wane. “I’ve been trying to tell you I love you.”

  “Oh, sure, but…” She gasped. “You do?”

  “Uh-huh. I’m crazy about you.”

  “Am I hallucinating?”

  “I sure hope not because I’m asking you to marry me, too.”

  “That’s it. I am hallucinating. I knew it.” She made a quirky face at him, then blinked rapidly as if trying to clear her vision. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Cody. Remember?”

  “Nope. You can’t be.” Her voice was beginning to slur. Her eyelids drooped “You’re being nice. Cody always argues with me.”

  “That’s because you’re so stubborn.” He stood, bent and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Get some rest, honey. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”

  Her fingers tightened on his. “Don’t go,” she mouthed almost soundlessly.

  “I’ll stay as long as you want me. How about fifty or sixty years?”

  Trudy Lynn heard him speaking but couldn’t rouse herself enough to answer. She’d long dreamed of what she’d say when the right man proposed marriage. Being rendered speechless by medication and hearing his profession of undying love while lying in a hospital awaiting treatment was not the romantic scenario she’d pictured.

  Lost in joyful thoughts, she smiled. Cody Keringhoven wasn’t the kind of man she’d envisioned, either. He was better. Much better. And as soon as she could make her voice work again she was going to tell him so.

  Trudy Lynn awoke with a start, surprised to find she’d been moved to a hospital room. Then, the details came flooding back. She could have died. And now she was about to start really living.

  Metal rails on her bed made perfect handholds. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked around the portion of the room that wasn’t curtained off for her roommate’s privacy. Cody was slumped, snoring, in the only visible chair. His light-colored hair was tousled, his chin shadowed by a beard so blond it probably wouldn’t have been noticeable in brighter light. He looked absolutely dear. And so exhausted she hated to wake him.

  Apparently, her intense concentration was enough to break through. He yawned, stretched and began to smile the moment he saw her sitting up. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

  “Wonderful.”

  “Your ankle doesn’t hurt?”

  “It’s killing me.” She grinned. “Say it again.”

  “Your ankle doesn’t hurt?”

  “No, silly. Way before that. Did you or didn’t you ask me to marry you?”

  “I might have.” He grinned and reached for her hand.

  “Well, if you didn’t, I’ve just had the best dream of my entire life.”

  “What was your answer in this dream?”

  “I said yes.”

  “That wasn’t because you were groggy from the medication?”

  “My thinking might have been hazy but yours wasn’t. Did you say you loved me, or not?”

  “I did. I’m glad it registered. You didn’t seem real sure who I even was, let alone what I was trying to say.”

  “My heart knew,” Trudy Lynn said. “I think it always knew everything, even when you were depressed and being so hard on yourself.” She twisted so she could place her opposite hand atop his and watch his expression as she asked, “What about California?”

  “Maybe we’ll go there on our honeymoon before we settle down here, if that’s all right with you.”

  Her heart was filled to bursting. “It sounds wonderful. I love you, Cody. All of you. Just as you are.” She chuckled softly. “I even love your dog.”

  One eyebrow arched. “Uh-oh. Does that mean I have to fall madly in love with Widget, too?”

  “I’m not that picky. As long as you honestly like him that’s good enough for me.”

  “What a relief,” Cody teased, “I was afraid you’d want him to be in the wedding party.”

  “No,” she said, her eyes meeting his with a mischievous twinkle, “I thought we’d let Sailor carry the basket of flowers down the aisle.”

  “You’re joking!”

  Trudy Lynn giggled. “I was. Now that I think about it, that idea doesn’t sound half-bad.”

  “Honey,” Cody said, looking at her with so much love it made her heart and soul sing, “if that’s what you want, it’s okay with me.”

  “I think you mean that.”

  “I do. This time. Just don’t get in the habit of expecting me to do things your way every time.”

  “Perish the thought,” Trudy Lynn quipped. “I wouldn’t respect you if you changed too much. However, we do have other, more pressing decisions to make.”

  “The ring? Your dress? I know those things matter to women. I do want to have Logan perform the ceremony.”

  “Of course. And Becky will be my Matron of Honor. That wasn’t what I was worried about.”

  “Then wh
at? There’s nothing you and I can’t handle if we work it out together.”

  She pointed to the temporary cast on her swollen ankle. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to heal and I don’t want to postpone our wedding for too long. Are you going to push me down the aisle in a wheelchair or shall we wait till I’m well enough to hobble?”

  On the other side of the curtain between the beds, an elderly female patient tittered, then called, “Push her, son, push her. It’ll probably be your last chance to be in charge for a good long time!”

  EPILOGUE

  Becky had decorated Trudy Lynn’s wheelchair with enough flowers and pastel ribbons to keep it from looking utilitarian and was preparing to escort her down the aisle of Serenity Chapel.

  “I told you I could walk,” Trudy Lynn whispered.

  “I know you did. And I’m sure you’d manage. Except the doctor wants you to keep your weight off that leg for another four weeks.”

  “Maybe we should have put things off longer, made it a double wedding with Will and Earlene, now that he’s finally gotten around to officially asking her to marry him.”

  Becky leaned over the bride’s shoulder to whisper, “Not if you expected me to fit into this dress.”

  “I know.” Trudy Lynn suppressed a giggle. “Have you told anybody else?”

  “Besides you and Logan and Cody, no,” Becky said. “The rumors will start to fly soon enough. I imagine it’ll be like the whole church is expecting this baby.”

  “And I’ll be an aunt!”

  “Not till you marry my brother. He’s waiting for you.”

  Trudy Lynn beamed. She’d never seen her beloved Cody look so handsome, so appealing. What a blessing to know that they shared not only their love, but also their faith. Suddenly, all she wanted was to go to him. To be near him.

  She spoke aside to Becky. “I’m ready. Let’s roll.”

  “You’re supposed to wait for the organist to start playing ‘The Wedding March.’”

  “And if I don’t? I’ll still be married, won’t I?”

  “Of course, but…”

  Trudy Lynn was laughing lightly at the astonishment on her friend’s face as she laid her bouquet in her lap and reached for the large side wheels on her beribboned chrome chariot. One strong push forward sent the chair over the edge of the flat section of floor in the rear of the sanctuary and onto the sloping aisle that led to the altar. To Cody. To her future. As the old saying went, it was “downhill all the way.”

  Cody elbowed Logan. “Looks like my bride is in a hurry. Either that or she’s out of control.”

  “Knowing Trudy Lynn she’s probably both,” the pastor said with admiration. “Brace yourself. Here she comes.”

  Cody was laughing as he helped his future wife come to a full stop at the foot of the aisle. “Is that your last trick of the day or should I be ready for more?”

  “I think I’m done.” She was blushing. “I really didn’t mean to go that fast.”

  “I know.” Sobering, he lifted and supported her so she could stand beside him for the ceremony. “Don’t worry. Whatever you do, I’ll always be there to catch you,” he promised quietly.

  Trudy Lynn gazed at him through tears of thankfulness and incredible joy. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Dear Reader,

  In looking at the Scripture I chose for this book’s theme, I was struck by how hard it sometimes is to accept the trials life brings us, whether they are only physical or go deeper as well, like Cody’s did.

  I don’t pretend to have all the answers. Only in the realm of fiction can I make things work out the way I think they should. No one except God has the divine insight necessary to look ahead and see what the future holds for each of us, which is why I’ve decided to place my life in His hands, no matter what. Yes, I still slip and argue that my way is best from time to time, but in my heart I know that the Lord is patiently, lovingly watching over me—in the best and the worst of times.

  If you don’t have the assurance that you’re God’s child, I urge you to seek it. All you have to do is surrender your pride, ask Jesus to forgive and accept you right now, and He will. It’s that easy.

  I love to hear from readers. The quickest replies are by e-mail—[email protected]—or you can write me at P.O. Box 13, Glencoe, AR 72539, and I’ll do my best to answer as soon as I can spare time away from my latest manuscript. My Web site is www.valeriehansen.com.

  Blessings,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Cody was upset to have to ask for help from his family. Has this ever happened to you? Did you delay asking rather than admit a need?

  If you did ask for help, how did you feel afterward? Were you glad you had admitted you needed help?

  Looking back, can you see the Lord’s hand in the situation? How?

  If you were the one giving the assistance instead of the one taking it, were you blessed to have been able to help?

  Have you ever prayed for something the way Cody did, then given up on God when you didn’t get the answer you thought you should?

  Cody had made his previous career the focus of his whole life. Trudy still does. Have you ever known someone who was so caught up in a job or hobby that they became obsessed by it? Was that a good thing? Did it bring them lasting happiness or were they still missing something to fulfill their lives?

  Trudy finds solace and peace in the place she lives. Would she have been as happy somewhere else if she kept her heart and mind focused on God’s will?

  The villain who attacks Trudy in the woods is clearly a menace. Is it always that easy to spot evil? Why or why not?

  Have you ever felt that others have advantages that you don’t, such as skills or talents or even more money? Is that what makes a person valuable to God?

  Trudy prays for Cody’s healing. If he isn’t totally healed, will that mean God has not answered her prayer? Can you see that the answer may be different than she expected, yet better for everyone?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4711-0

  OUT OF THE DEPTHS

  Copyright © 2006 by Valerie Whisenand

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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