Chapter 13
Raven fingered her long hair so the waves would cascade down her back. Satisfied, she turned off her bathroom light and limped over to the couch where she sat down to wait for Drake to arrive. She felt so nervous. Tomorrow they would be married, but tonight he had said he wanted to make it extra special for her. She looked down at her beautiful, soft silky blue gown that had been lying on the bed this morning when she woke up. It felt even better than it looked. As she brushed her hand across it her ring glistened in the lights. Raven smiled, her beautiful ruby and diamond ring that formed a perfect heart with the ruby being the center. It matched all of the flower bunches that he had given her. A tenderness swept over her, she’ll never forget the night he had explained why. White roses signifying the righteousness of God, which is our path with Jesus, and that surrounds the root of all things, the red rose, which is God’s powerful love for us.
Where had the last two weeks gone? Drake was upset when he found out that he couldn’t marry her with a marriage license by that weekend. But Raven was so glad that it had worked out that way because her ribs felt so much better now, and thankfully her doctor had switched her to a walking cast the other day. However, Drake still said that he insisted on carrying her down the aisle. It was supposed to be a small wedding, but she was still unsure about that. His mom seemed to always effectively change the subject each time they made sure she was still only planning to have their small family, along with their protection details there.
Raven took a deep breath, tomorrow she would be a mom. She still couldn’t picture herself being a mom, but it was so touching how Jake and Maddie couldn’t wait for her to be theirs. Her mom had left when she was small, so she didn’t really have any experience in having a mom.
The door opened, and she looked up. Her heart flipped in her chest. He was so handsome, his hair was freshly washed, and his eyes sparkled with love. His cheekbones so strong, he wore a black power suit. And an open silk shirt the exact same color as her dress, and she was sure the exact same fabric, too.
She stood, her hands shaking.
“You look so beautiful.”
She giggled, “That should be my line.”
“Nope. Mine.” He leaned against the wall, “You take my breath away.” He casually stood and strode over to her. His fingers traced her hair, while he looked his fill of her in that beautiful dress. “It makes your eyes bluer.” And it fit her so perfectly. His eyes held hers captive while his hand delicately traced her neck, lifting her chin he moved forward, his lips sealing hers. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Her stomach dropped with excitement.
His lips moved to her ear, “Tonight you are my fiancee. But tomorrow,” he gently nibbled on her lobe. “You will be my wife, Mrs. Drake Hawk.”
“Yep, that sounds pretty good.” Giggling, she kissed him.
“Time to go.” Lifting her, Drake walked out to the waiting agents.
“I can walk, or take the wheelchair like I’ve been doing when you aren’t here.”
“No. I like to carry you. It’s a great workout.”
“Wait until she’s pregnant. That will really be a workout.”
“Zeak!” Drake looked to him in surprise.
Raven blushed and hid her face in his chest.
“Sorry, ma’am. I guess Lawrence rubbed off on me a little.” Laughing, the agents led the way.
“Hey, why do I always get blamed for that?”
“Because you never watch what you say.”
“That’s because I get more pleasure watching the people’s reactions to what I say, instead of the words. Words are boring to watch. For instance...”
“Enough, Lawrence.”
“Yes, Zeak.”
Raven shook her head, “And it begins.”
Drake chuckled, “Yep, wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Me neither.” She smiled and snuggled against him. Whispering, she couldn’t help but add, “I missed you, today.”
“I missed you, too. But I had a lot to get done before tonight, tomorrow and our honeymoon.”
“Were you able to?”
“Yes.”
“Praise Jesus. I was praying you would.”
“Thank you. Your prayers were answered. You are my perfect helpmate because you are always lifting me up in prayer.”
She lifted her head and tilted it, smiling at him so tenderly that his breath caught.
He looked even more masculine, if that was possible, in the candlelight as he watched her finish her chocolate mousse and whipped cream. She blushed.
“I was waiting for that look, so you do remember?”
She endearingly tilted her head, “How could I forget? You didn’t finish yours.”
His eyes glinted, “I’m saving up my appetite.”
“For when?”
“Tomorrow night. The beginning of our honeymoon.”
He pointed to her empty dessert bowl, to her, and then to himself.
Her mouth dropped open, and before she could close it, he rounded the table and took her into his arms. His lips lingered at her ear, “You know I would take you anywhere you would want to go. Are you sure you don’t want to go away?”
She shook her head, “I can’t think of a better place to be then in our special hideaway room.”
“Okay, the plan is all set. I will halt it though if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
While he led her off of the secluded yacht, Raven looked up to him, “Thank you for this wonderful evening. It was so nice eating on the boat, with the water moving.”
“I’m glad, and tonight isn’t over yet. And you better not say boat too loudly, my friend would get pretty mad to hear his yacht being called a mere boat.” Chuckling, Drake carried her down the dock to his waiting limousine. He motioned for his PPD agents to stay outside as he placed her inside to sit across from him. After shutting the door, he leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees, then gingerly held her left hand in both of his.
“Raven. I want to share something with you that is so very dear to me. Before you become my wife, I need you to hear my story.”
Unsure, Raven looked directly at him, “Okay.”
He affectionately smiled, “No, sweetheart. Everything is alright. Nothing will stop you from becoming my wife. I just really need to tell you about something that is so precious to me. And I know, you need to hear this, too.”
Her right hand encouragingly rubbed over both of his as he held hers. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”
He let out his breath. “I have not always been a Christian as I am now. I grew up in the church, and believed, but that is pretty much where it stopped. I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. I was married, as you know and she died. Soon after we were married, I was deployed and gone a lot. After she had Maddie, something really seemed to change in her. I mean there had been rumors, but I just shrugged them off. My wife and I were never really close. We, I don’t know, it was just different. I think we just got married because it seemed like the next logical thing to do at the time. I wasn’t in love with her, and she wasn’t truly in love with me, as I soon found out. Well, I had been in the Special Forces and was gone more and more. Each time I came home she was colder to me, and so likewise I ignored her. Only enjoying my time with my kids. After a while there were rumors, and then one day I showed up at home and she was in bed with someone else while my little girl was asleep in her crib down the hall. That someone had been my boss, who just so happened to be married as well.”
Raven’s chest tightened, and she quickly pulled his face towards hers, “You don’t have to explain.”
Smiling, Drake drew back, “Yes, I have to finish my story. Don’t worry it has a beautiful ending. You.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, I was called up for overseas the next day. Amazingly, and only by the Grace of God, a
s I now see it, I was able to push what had happened out of my mind to deal with the urgency of our mission. Once it was taken care of, my team had to stay there for an extra two weeks. But, during that time, I was notified that my wife had died in a car accident. Thankfully our children had not been with her. My parents had already picked them up and they were staying with them. They flew me home, but I immediately went to her parents, and told them what had happened before I was deployed. I said that they should be the ones to bury her, not me. I explained that I would be there, and would not disclose this information to anyone, but that would be all. So they did, and afterwards, I went to my parents’ house and spent my time trying to help my children heal from losing their mom. I used up the leave I had stored, and a few months went by and duty called me overseas again. This time to an Air Force base in the Middle East. At this point, I guess you could say I was bitter. Well, I was definitely lost, but I sure thought I had it all together. I really didn’t know I was lost. I mean, I went out with the guys, drank, and pretty much was an idiot. Then one day, I walked into the officer’s club for a drink and this man was sitting by the door and he tapped me on the shoulder. He said that he wanted to have a word with me. I shrugged and said sure. I asked him if I could buy him a drink and his response floored me. He said, ‘Are you kidding? What if Jesus came back and I was drunk? Talk about being caught with your pants down. No thank you. Oh, but you go ahead if you have to, I guess.’ Now, how could I take a drink after that comment?” Drake laughed.
“So I just followed him to a table. Little did I realize how far that one small talk would lead me. I owe my presidency to him. You see, he straight out asked me, ‘Well, do you believe in Jesus? I think you do. I’ve been watching you, and I need to tell you something.’ He leaned into me and put his arm around me, ‘Jesus loves you. He hears your pain, He has been trying to heal you and lead you back to Him. It isn’t your fault your wife died, nor should you feel guilty about it. It was just a consequence of a bad free-will decision. Now, stop running from whatever has happened in the past and get over it because once you repent, it is over and washed clean by the precious Blood of the Lamb, Jesus. You can’t find Jesus over there.’ He pointed to the bar. ‘You can only find him in the one place you are afraid to search.’ He pointed his finger right into my gut. ‘Jesus is calling for you to come in unto Him, worship Him, and stop running.’ With that he got up and walked out the door. I sat there for hours contemplating on what he said. I was so shocked, I think I went through every form of emotion one can go through. I finally left and found myself right inside the chapel on my knees. With tears streaming down my face, I left everything about my past at that altar. I got up a new man. The moment I stood up, I turned and there he was again. He hugged me like the lost prodigal son. He whooped and hollered right there in the church. Praising Jesus over me.”
A tender smile crossed Raven’s face. “He would have gotten along with my dad. He was like that, too. So passionate about Christ, he was always so refreshing.”
“Well, that started a friendship that was so very dear to me. That one man led me back on the correct path, the only way to truly live, in Jesus. I was healed spiritually, emotionally, and all around. I started following my Savior, instead of myself and others. I never knew how powerful of a relationship you could have with Jesus until I allowed the Holy Spirit to guide me towards it. You know, there were times when we would be talking, and I just knew he was relaying information from the Holy Spirit. Things started changing really fast for me, the ideas I told you about that were always running through my mind in High School. Well, it was like a dam broke forth and all of a sudden I was refreshed with new ideas. That man encouraged me to go to the top. I’ll never forget a few years later, we were just talking about Jesus and out of nowhere he looked straight at me, then pointed his finger at me and said with conviction, ‘My boy, you will be our President one day. And you will always put Jesus first, what a wonderful sight it will be to see!’”
“You loved him like a father, didn’t you?”
“Yes, indeed. He changed my life, he saved me by putting my life back on Jesus’ path, the only way, truth, and life. I had been so lost.” Drake smiled, “And now, I would like to take you to him.” He knocked on the window three times.
“I would love to meet him.” She let him pull her across to him.
She sat down next to him on the seat, and then he tucked her face into his neck. The agents filtered in, and she closed her eyes as he silently rubbed her neck. After a few minutes they were on the highway, and her eyes absorbed the reflection of the flashing red, blue and white lights against the pavements and walls of the interstate. A fragile smile lifted her mouth. They were no longer just routine working motorcade lights, nor loud sirens annoyingly stopping traffic from entering the freeway upsetting people’s work days, or nights. Her right hand splayed behind his neck and her fingers hid under his hair, their lips silently met. Those lights were protecting her love from danger, and they were so beautiful.
When the sirens stopped, and they slowed down, Raven lifted her head, but Drake stopped her. “Close your eyes. It’s a surprise.”
“Okay.” She continued to listen to the agents communicating their arrival and movement.
“I’ll tell you when to open them.” His hand held her head to his chest.
She could tell the road was curvy and hilly. She kept her eyes closed when she heard the agents on the radio send an all clear, and felt the agents leave the car. Drake’s door opened and he reminded her to keep them closed as he got out. Carefully he helped Raven out and immediately picked her up. “Keep those eyes closed.”
“I am.” She was so tempted to look, so she hid her face in his chest to keep from looking.
A few yards and he stopped, took a deep breath and whispered, “Keep them closed as I set you down.”
“Okay.”
He turned her around, so that she would lean her back against his chest. His hands tenderly revealed her neck and as he kissed her there, his arms went protectively around her waist. “Now, look straight down.”
Her heart dropped. Tears pushed against her eyes, and her hands shook. Her dad’s grave stood so tall and brave, a candle burned right in front of it. She gulped back a sob.
“Your dad was so special to me. I love him and miss him every day. So much.” Guiding her, he helped her to sit down on an already laid blanket, he sat directly behind her. His arms stayed around her. “I used to go visit him, and he would talk about you and his face would light up every time. One day I walked in and before I even sat down, I couldn’t help myself, I walked right over to a freshly framed photograph of you. It was the first time I had ever seen you. You mesmerized me. Your eyes were so full of joy, the Lord’s joy, and you were playfully trying to cover up your face so the picture couldn’t be taken. That sparkle in your eye was my undoing, like it was there for me alone. I finally was able to sit down and talk to Stephen. But, my eyes kept drifting over to your picture. He didn’t say a word, but I knew he knew something happened to me that day regarding you. In fact after my third visit there in three days he turned to me when I was leaving and said, ‘Here you go, son. You need this picture.’” Leaning back, Drake reached into his chest pocket. A small flashlight turned on, and she looked to what he held.
Her picture, the day her dad said he was taking a picture of her for someone special. She could still remember all of the times he spoke of his very special friend. He never told her his name, he just looked at her and smiled. Like he knew something so special, and fascinating that no one else did.
Tears flowed freely down her face, a sob broke forth. “You...you were the one he took the picture for. He...” She took a deep breath, “He said that I looked so beautiful that day. We hadn’t seen each other in over three months, the longest we had ever been away from each other since my training days. I had dressed up fo
r him, and he just kept talking about his special friend.” Raven shook her head, “I had no idea. He would never tell me his name, nor show me a picture. But he would tell me little things about you that I loved to hear. I actually started asking more about you, I was so curious. And the more I heard, the more I needed to hear more. He knew that because he would just laugh on the phone and always say, ‘One day, in the Lord’s timing it will happen. One day. But remember, my little girl, have patience and do not dishonor or cheat on your first Love, Jesus, in the meantime. Wait.’ Well, I told him that there would be no picture for that guy, if I couldn’t even see him, or meet him. And you see how far that got me. Regardless of the fact, the picture was taken, and I never did get to meet him, know his name, or see him. Until now.” She affectionately giggled, turning to see his profile.
“I have carried this picture with me in every one of my chest pockets over my heart ever since he gave it to me. At night it was always beside my bed. Even on missions, your picture was there. It was my secret, no one knew. I was afraid someone would snatch you from me.” He chuckled, “Silly, I know, but it just seemed you stayed safe, waiting on me, as long as I only knew about your picture.” His eyes met hers, “I had no idea I was on your mind when he took that picture. He never told me. But he did tell me that he was going to introduce us, and that I was to wait for you because he knew you were waiting for me. So, I really was on your mind in that picture?”
She reached up, her fingers grazed across his stubbly chin, “Yes, you were.”
“Stephen teased me those first three days.” He laughed, “And that was just like him. All along this picture was for me, anyway. You know when he told me you were a Secret Service agent I couldn’t believe it. I remember thinking, there is no way, no way in the world, I would ever let you protect me.”
“Why?” She looked offended.
“Because how could I? There was no way I would let you take a bullet for me. No way. I would run and jump in front of you first. I remember on my campaign, it was so hard for me not to question someone about you, it was a very delicate situation. And your dad would not tell me where you were assigned, nor would he give me your number. I think he got a kick out of just letting the Lord guide us to each other. I’m sure he would have gotten a lot of laughs over our story. But it was hard because I had to make sure not to draw any attention to you or to myself. Every time I arrived somewhere, I quickly looked around to make sure you weren’t standing there.” Drake laughed, “I don’t know what I would have done if I did see you standing there, probably grab you and hide you. Kiss you, motion for you to leave, or I would leave. I don’t know.”
He slid his beloved picture back into his pocket and turned off his flashlight. “Raven, there’s more. I...tried...I wanted so much to come to you after I had heard about your incident and injuries. I fell to my knees, praising Jesus that He had spared your life for me. You see, I had finally confided in a friend of mine from my Special Forces team about you, he’s a really good friend of mine. He became my eyes, and ears to find you, and believe me he knows how to get information from anyone. Well, he notified me about your incident as soon as I had finished a speech, and I remember gripping my phone so hard. Then the room backstage just started spinning for me. Zeak happened to be there and he caught me, and quickly rushed me to privacy. His guys just took over and made some type of excuse to a few of my administration people while he stayed with me until I could leave on my own. I fell to my knees, praying for you. I cried, and then praised Him again for saving you. All the while Zeak sat in the room with me quietly waiting.”
Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he looked to her, “I came so close to leaving the campaign, even though it was at the very end and I was ahead. At that point, I just wanted to run to you, hold you, and comfort you. My buddy assured me that he would trail you, and be your little protector until you recovered, he ordered me to continue. But I was having such a hard time concentrating. I just kept thinking of you all alone, and possibly lost in your misery. I’ll never forget the very next morning, before the sun even came up, I made it my number one priority to track Zeak down. I knew they were of the CAT team which made it even more peculiar that they had been there backstage like that.” He smiled, “The Lord knew I needed them, and He had planted them there right when I needed them. Well, I confided my whole story to Zeak, and he told me not to worry about it, that he and ‘the boys’ would take care of everything.”
Clearing his throat, Drake looked towards her father’s grave. She reached up and wiped his tears away, but he didn’t move, he continued to stare as if seeing something afar off. “However, before your incident your father called me that morning. I was shocked he called because it was very early in the morning, and I knew from the sound of his voice that he was upset. He said, ‘Son, I don’t have much time and you’ve got to do me a favor. I don’t think I will come back from this last trip. If I do then forget what I am about to tell you, but if I don’t I need you to help my baby girl. I’ve brought her up to love Jesus, and she does, but I think she is still clinging too deeply to me. I have tried to encourage her to cling to Jesus only, because only He can be with her through all things. She’s going to need you.’ He finally gave me your full name, numbers, and your addresses. Then he said, ‘And should I not come back you will probably have to guide her on her path back to Jesus because although she will feel like she is lost, she won’t be because Jesus is always right there with her. Please make sure she knows that. And tell her that I love her so much, she was, is and always will be my little girl.’” Drake held her tightly and together they cried.
His hands grabbed her head and he firmly pulled her away from him, so she could look at him fully in the face, “Your dad made me promise to take care of you.” A sob broke through his chest, “I found out just hours after your incident that he had died. They didn’t release it for days because of the classified nature of the mission. He made me promise with all that I had in me.” He gently shook her head, “I love you, so much. I have loved you since your dad talked of you. I promise you, that I will be there for you, I will always love you, and cherish you. And if I can’t, if something should happen to me...,” his voice broke off, “please, I beg you, know that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. And it will always be alright with Him because only He can provide the comfort you will need. Cling to Him more than you would me. Promise me, now. I couldn’t bear to know that you would be lost again. Promise me.” His voice shook with his sincerity.
She nodded, “I-I promise. You have shown me that, you have led me back to Jesus as my dad wanted you to. You have done for me, exactly what my father had done for you. I will cling first to Jesus, so I can be a better wife to you.”
Crying, Drake pulled her to him in a passionate kiss.
Minutes later, she laughed and tenderly stroked his chin, “I never really had a chance against you, did I?”
He smiled a crooked smile, “No. We were running around the training complex looking for you. Zeak had gotten word that after you checked in you were sent out there for your PT test.” He swiped a tear away from her eye, “Your voice called to me. The moment I heard your screams, I just knew it was you. God’s perfect timing.”
“I needed to release all of my pent up emotions. I have never done that before in my life, at least not since I can remember.”
“I almost just grabbed you up and hugged you right then and there. I can’t believe I was even able to wait another hour before I gave you no choice but to be in my arms. You were so combative and cute!”
Playfully punching him, she laughed.
“Let’s pray together now before we leave here. We need to leave because I need to tuck you into bed for our big day tomorrow.”
As she listened to his beautiful voice, a picture of Jesus smiling, standing over them with a hand on both of them captivated her senses. Her heart sang praises to
her first Love, Her King, Who was personally blessing their marriage, as tears softly rolled down her face.
“Drake. Please don’t go. Please. Don’t leave me tonight.”
Drake stopped at the door and turned. His crooked smile melted her heart, sending her blood rushing through her veins. “Okay.”
“Will you hold me tonight? And tell me more stories of dad? Then when we wake we could pray and read the Bible together, like we have in the past?”
Drake took a deep breath and took off his shirt, “It would be my pleasure.”
Raven immediately reached for him as his weight came down on the bed, her tearful voice pleading, “Drake. Please pray the Lord will give me strength to walk down the aisle tomorrow without dad. That is why I didn’t want a big wedding, I just wanted you and the minister. I-I..”
“Why do you think I am going to carry you? I want to honor him.” He kissed her tears away. “Your dad also gave me his blessing that morning, to take you for my bride.” Tenderly he kissed her, “And finally, it will be tomorrow. I have waited so long for this day.”
“I think I have too.” Shear amazement highlighted her voice, “And you did make up this room just for the two of us.”
“Yes, I did. The Lord helped me. I prayed that it would be a place that you could find peace, and rest. A place that we could both get away to rejuvenate.”
“And it’s perfect. Praise Jesus. I love you so very much, Drake.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. It is also a perfect place for us to enjoy the closing of our dating relationship tonight, and then begin our new life together as man and wife tomorrow night. I’m so looking forward to spending our honeymoon in here. Finally, I will be able to join you in that big tub in there.” He laughed, “I’m sure you’re blushing. So, goodnight sweetheart and fall asleep while I tell you a few funny stories about your dad.”