Decision making\u2019s a bear.<\/p>\n
Well, not all decisions, just ones that had the potential to ruin her life.<\/p>\n
Jami Carlisle tilted her face upward and expelled a frustrated sigh. \u201cOkay, Lord, I need some advice. Robert\u2019s getting tired of waiting, and frankly, I can\u2019t blame him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stepped onto an outcropping of rock that jutted over a small creek. Early morning sunlight filtered through the canopy overhead, painting the flora varying shades of green. Somewhere nearby, a cardinal whistled its cheery song. The McAllister woods were her refuge, her place to gather her thoughts and regroup. It didn\u2019t matter that they weren\u2019t hers. They adjoined her property, and she\u2019d been coming there as long as she could remember.<\/p>\n
She released a sigh. \u201cRobert\u2019s expecting me to say yes.\u201d Actually, everyone was expecting her to say yes. The whole town had the two of them engaged and all but married the moment he\u2019d taken her hand at the harvest party hayride in eighth grade. They\u2019d each dated others through the years, but last summer it had turned more serious, and in the eyes of the people of Murphy, North Carolina, that was enough to cement it\u2014she was marrying Robert.<\/p>\n
With another sigh, Jami dropped to the cool surface of the rock and let her sneakered feet dangle over the edge. Just below, water trickled over a downed limb and around protruding rocks on its lazy path to lower ground. A breeze rustled the trees above, harmonizing with the soothing sound of the creek. But the peace she usually found there eluded her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shouldn\u2019t be so difficult.\u201d She lifted her eyes skyward. \u201cRobert\u2019s a good man. He\u2019s kind and responsible, and he\u2019s a Christian.\u201d There weren\u2019t many people she felt as close to as Robert.<\/p>\n
So what was she waiting for? A sign? She snickered at the image that popped into her head, one of those black billboards with bold white letters:<\/p>\n
JAMI. MARRY THE MAN.<\/p>\n
-GOD<\/p>\n
If only it were that easy. \u201cLord, help me know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
She drew in a long, slow breath, heavy with the musty, organic scent of the woods. For the past eight years, Robert had been there for her, ready to lend support and a shoulder to cry on when another boyfriend bit the dust. There\u2019d been several. Most of those relationships never made it to the serious stage. A couple had. And when their demise came, Robert was there.<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t ask for a better friend. Based on everything she\u2019d read, friendship was important for a happy marriage. But shouldn\u2019t she feel something when Robert kissed her? Was it too much to ask for a man who could make her stomach flip-flop and her pulse race by simply walking into the room? Someone whose kisses left her breathless?<\/p>\n
She released a snort. She\u2019d read one too many fairy tales as a child. Or too many romance novels as an adult. Prince Charming wasn\u2019t going to come in and sweep her off her feet, no matter how long she waited. She needed to quit stalling and take the plunge.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Lord, this is it.\u201d She slapped both hands against the rock, palms down. \u201cI\u2019m going to do it. Tonight I\u2019m going to tell Robert I\u2019m ready and the answer is yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There. Mind made up. Life-altering course straight ahead. She would talk to Robert, then call her two best friends. She could hear Holly\u2019s response already\u2014\u201cHoly cow! Jami\u2019s finally decided to tie the knot. Someone take her temperature. She must be sick!\u201d Holly always was a bit of a drama queen.<\/p>\n
But she couldn\u2019t guess Sam\u2019s reaction. Sam liked Robert. All her friends did. But Sam insisted she wouldn\u2019t be having such a hard time committing if Robert were the one. But Robert was the one. He had to be. It was commitment in general that was so hard. And getting married was the most serious one she would ever make.<\/p>\n
She dropped her gaze to the water, where a small branch had become trapped in the current. It clung to a rock for a brief moment, only to be recaptured and swept away. She picked up a stone and tossed it into the water. She\u2019d finally done it. After almost a year of putting it off, she\u2019d made her decision. And it left her feeling much like that small branch being carried helplessly downstream.<\/p>\n
\u201cLord, please let me know I\u2019m making the right choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a final glance at the creek, she pushed herself to her feet and headed in the direction of home. Today was her last day of freedom before starting her job with the newspaper, and she had a lot to do. The first order of business would be breakfast. Then she had boxes to unload\u2014four years of dorm life crammed into the interior space of a Pontiac Sunbird.<\/p>\n
If she worked fast enough, maybe she would have time for a trip into town to catch up with friends before meeting Robert for dinner. She hadn\u2019t seen anyone yet since her return. It had been early enough when she\u2019d gotten home. But she hadn\u2019t been able to muster up the gumption to go out.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d left Michigan State at four that morning, and six hours later, her AC gave up the ghost. After driving the next seven with both windows down, she\u2019d made it to Murphy at six that evening, exhausted and looking like a redheaded stunt double for the Wicked Witch of the West. A sturdy hairbrush, a long shower and a good night\u2019s sleep had done wonders. Now she felt like a new person. Except for the two-ton elephant sitting on her chest.<\/p>\n
She shook her head. There was no reason to feel that way. She\u2019d made her decision, back there at the creek. She stepped from the trees into her own backyard.<\/p>\n
Yeah, the decision was made. But somehow, she didn\u2019t feel any more settled coming out of the woods than she had going in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Decision making\u2019s a bear. Well, not all decisions, just ones that had the potential to ruin her life. Jami Carlisle tilted her face upward and expelled a frustrated sigh. \u201cOkay, Lord, I need some advice. Robert\u2019s getting tired of waiting, and frankly, I can\u2019t blame him.\u201d She stepped onto an outcropping of rock that jutted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-490","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":492,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/490\/revisions\/492"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caroljpost.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}