A Bride at Last

A Bride at Last by Carolyne Aarsen Page A

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Authors: Carolyne Aarsen
afternoon looking over the résumés of people who had applied for the other reporter’s job. She desperately needed someone to help out. She and Wally were each doing a job and a half to make up for the vacancy, and it was wearing both of them down. Clint helped out where he could, but the workload was still too much.
    The day seemed to fly by. When Nadine finally pushed herself back from her computer, she was surprised to see it was almost five-forty.
    Blinking tiredly, she lifted a hand to rub her eyes. Just in time she remembered her mascara and stopped herself.
    Nadine clicked her mouse to save the file she wasworking on and then shut down her computer. She didn’t want to work anymore. Trace would be coming for her any moment.
    She rolled her neck, looking with satisfaction over her desk, pleased with the empty spaces she could now see. She had another interview to do tomorrow and Saturday a volleyball tournament to cover. Thankfully this one was in town, so she wouldn’t have to travel. Trace wanted to take her out Saturday, as well.
    She went to the bathroom and checked her makeup, brushed her hair and tried to still the butterflies in her stomach.
    A date. After all these years, she was going on a date. She grinned at herself in the mirror. And not a date of Grandma’s doing. A date with someone who wanted to be with her. Nadine tilted her head as she studied her reflection. She wasn’t a vain person, but the fact that someone wanted to be with her made her take a second look at the young woman in the mirror. She winked at her reflection and walked out.
    Half an hour later, Trace still hadn’t come. Nadine had busied herself with odd jobs, cleaning out the coffee room, gathering a few mugs from different places in the office, trying to quell her nervous tension. What if he wasn’t coming?
    She tried not to, but periodically she walked down the hall to the front door to see if Trace was waiting outside. He wasn’t, and Nadine wondered how long she should wait.
    She made a fresh pot of coffee and leaned against the counter, waiting for the machine to finish dripping, an unwelcome feeling of melancholy coming over her. She decided she would give Trace another fifteen minutes and then she would…
    She would what? she thought, her stomach tightening at the thought of facing her grandmother, telling her that she had been stood up.
    The soft hiss of the coffee machine broke the stillness of the room. Nadine used to dread this time of the day. For the past year any free evenings she had were spent at the hospital. The last few months of her mother’s life were fraught with tension and wondering. Each time the phone rang, Nadine and her grandmother wondered if this time it was the hospital. Her sisters came whenever they could, but Nadine knew they didn’t have the time she had. That meant the bulk of the visiting and doctor’s consultations fell on Nadine’s shoulders.
    The memories always brought tears, and tonight was no exception. Nadine felt the nudge of pain and closed her eyes as it drifted over her. She tried to fight it, but couldn’t.
    I miss her, Lord, she prayed, pressing her hand against her mouth, tears sliding down her cheeks as the pain increased. I know she’s better off where she is, but I still miss her so much. She drew in a deep breath, wishing she could stop the tears.
    A noise behind her broke abruptly into her sorrow. She whirled around, her heart pounding.
    “Sorry.” Clint stood in the doorway of the coffeeroom, his tie loosened, his cuffs rolled up. “I didn’t know you were still here.”
    Nadine turned away again, surreptitiously wiping at her cheeks. “That’s fine,” she replied, looking around for a napkin, anything to get rid of the mortifying tears.
    “Nadine.” He came toward her, his deep voice tinged with concern. “Is something wrong?”
    She snatched up some napkins and hurriedly wiped at her eyes. “Do you want some coffee?” she asked, her voice muffled by the

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