{"id":4334,"date":"2010-03-20T21:14:15","date_gmt":"2010-03-21T02:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=4334"},"modified":"2010-03-20T21:23:10","modified_gmt":"2010-03-21T02:23:10","slug":"a-case-for-love-by-kaye-dacus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=4334","title":{"rendered":"A Case for Love by Kaye Dacus"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span> <\/strong> book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

Kaye Dacus<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Case for Love<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Barbour Books (February 1, 2010)<\/p>\n

***Special thanks to Angie Brillhart, Publicist, of\u00a0 Barbour Publishing
\n for sending me a review copy.***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n Author Kaye Dacus enjoyed her visits to a local television station while researching this book. She likes to say she writes \u201cinspirational romance with a sense of humor.\u201d She lives in Nashville and graduated from Seton Hill University\u2019s Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. She is an active member and former Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $10.97
\n Paperback: 320 pages
\n Publisher: Barbour Books (February 1, 2010)
\n Language: English
\n ISBN-10: 1602604568
\n ISBN-13: 978-1602604568<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou did what?\u201d<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Forbes Guidry sank into the tall-backed leather chair, extremities numb, and stared at the couple sitting across the desk from him. As a partner in the largest law firm in Bonneterre, Louisiana, he\u2019d heard a lot of shocking things over the fourteen years he\u2019d been practicing. But nothing had hit him quite like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe eloped.\u201d His sister held up her left hand where a diamond wedding band had been added below the antique engagement ring she\u2019d sported for the past three months. \u201cI know you were looking forward to being Major\u2019s best man, which is why we\u2019re telling you before breaking it to the rest of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hardly spared a glance at his best friend\u2014now his brother-in-law\u2014before pinning his gaze on his sister. \u201cMeredith, this is a joke, right? What about the meeting Monday with Anne\u2014the plans we discussed?\u201d Sure, Meredith had been a little too quiet during that meeting, had voiced concerns about how big the wedding seemed to be growing, but she\u2019d been coming off working a huge event that weekend and had been tired. . .hadn\u2019t she?<\/p>\n

\u201cThings were getting out of hand\u2014had already gone too far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop.\u201d Forbes fought the urge to press his hands over his ears. \u201cWay too much information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major chuckled; Meredith frowned at both of them. \u201cOh, for mercy\u2019s sake. I\u2019m talking about the wedding plans. Neither of us wanted a big wedding, but every time we met with Anne\u2014or you, or anyone in the family\u2014it grew exponentially. Especially once Mom and Dad stuck their oars in and started making lists of all of their business acquaintances that needed to be invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forbes stared at his sister, dumbfounded. He prided himself on knowing exactly what each member of his family was thinking before they ever thought it. How had this blindsided him so completely?<\/p>\n

He finally turned his attention on Major. \u201cWhen you came in Tuesday to talk about the restaurant, did you already have this planned?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Not planned. We\u2019d discussed it, but it wasn\u2019t until that night when we made the decision.\u201d Major had the good grace to look abashed.<\/p>\n

And you didn\u2019t call me? Forbes reined in the childish words with a tight fist of control. He faced his sister again. \u201cWhen and where did you get married?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, when Mom and Dad met us at Beausoleil Pointe Center for lunch with Major\u2019s mom. We\u2019d asked the chaplain to perform the ceremony, and we got married in the pavilion where Major proposed to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forbes turned away from the dewy-eyed look Meredith gave her new husband, feeling ill. That would explain why Meredith hadn\u2019t shown up for dinner with the siblings and cousins last night. He\u2019d just assumed she was working overtime preparing for an event this weekend.<\/p>\n

When the silence stretched, Forbes looked at them again.<\/p>\n

Meredith\u2019s eyes narrowed speculatively at Forbes. \u201cMajor, would you mind if I had a private word with my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure. No problem.\u201d Major stood, smoothing the front of his chinos. \u201cI\u2013I\u2019ll wait for you out in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d Meredith never pulled her gaze away from Forbes\u2014giving him the look that had always been able to make him squirm.<\/p>\n

Forbes watched his friend leave the office, then pressed his lips together and faced his sister again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it that bothers you most? That you aren\u2019t going to be best man, that you don\u2019t get to be involved and have a say in the wedding plans, or that you didn\u2019t see this coming?\u201d Meredith crossed her legs and clasped her hands around her knee, her expression betraying smugness and amusement.<\/p>\n

What bothered him most was that over the past six or eight months, Meredith had slowly been pulling away from the family. Ever since she\u2019d bought that house against his\u2014and their parents\u2019\u2014advice, she\u2019d started keeping secrets, spending less time with them. As the oldest, it was his responsibility to keep his six brothers and sisters in line, to watch out for and protect them, and to guide them in making their decisions. Mom and Dad had laid that burden on him early in life, and he\u2019d gladly carried it. But how could he express that to Meredith without coming across sounding like a little boy who hadn\u2019t gotten his way?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not bothered, just surprised. You\u2019re the last person in the family I\u2019d expect to do something without planning it out well in advance.\u201d He gave her his most charming grin. \u201cIt is what you do for a living, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

She responded with a half smile. \u201cAnd thus the reason for eloping. Between the busiest event-load we\u2019ve ever had, the Warehouse Row project, and Major getting ready for the groundbreaking on the restaurant, we were just tired of schedules and checklists and menus and seating charts. Now Marci won\u2019t feel like her wedding is being overshadowed by her oldest sister\u2019s, since she decided to plan a Christmas wedding and we didn\u2019t want to wait that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could see her point, but. . . \u201cDon\u2019t you feel like you\u2019ve cheated yourself out of the wedding you always wanted? Growing up, you and Anne used to talk about your dream weddings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meredith shrugged. \u201cAnne always had the ideas. I guess that\u2019s why she\u2019s been such a great success as a wedding planner\u2014every week she had bigger and grander ideas. Whenever I really thought about it, I couldn\u2019t imagine myself in the big dress, my hair all done up, standing there in front of that many people. I guess I never dreamed about a wedding\u2014I just dreamed about falling in love and being married.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come to think about it, Forbes couldn\u2019t picture his jeans\u2013and\u2013T-shirt sister in a fluffy white gown, either. He ran his finger along the edge of the desk blotter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd look at the bright side: Now you don\u2019t have to find a date for the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

He released a derisive sound in the back of his throat. \u201cYes, since that worked out so well at Anne\u2019s wedding\u2014for my date, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you always manage to find these women who\u2019re just trying to make their boyfriends jealous?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I know someone I think would be perfect for you, if you\u2019d like me to see if she\u2019d be agreeable to being set up on a blind date with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His insides quivered at the idea. \u201cThank you kindly, but I\u2019ll have to pass and just leave it up to chance. As I told George Laurence a long time ago, when God\u2019s ready for me to fall in love, He\u2019ll throw the right woman into my path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, did you think that maybe your sisters\u2019 and cousins\u2019 attempts to set you up on dates might be God\u2019s way of throwing the right woman in your path?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot unless He\u2019s shared something with you He hasn\u2019t told me.\u201d Forbes rounded the desk and held out his hand to his sister. She rose, and he pulled her into a hug. \u201cCongratulations, Sis. I\u2019m confident that you and Major will be happier together than you can even imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halfway down the stairs, he paused. \u201cWhat about a honeymoon? Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re going to just drop everything and take a two-week vacation that hasn\u2019t been on the schedule for the past six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Since the events next week can be handled by our assistants, we\u2019re leaving next Wednesday for a long weekend in Colorado. Amazing how this managed to coincide with the Aspen Food and Wine Classic that Major\u2019s always wanted to go to, huh?\u201d But from the smile on her face, he could tell she didn\u2019t begrudge indulging Major\u2019s wishes in the least.<\/p>\n

Heading back to his office after seeing his sister and brother-in-law off\u2014would he ever get used to that?\u2014Forbes feigned harriedness to keep anyone from trying to stop him for a chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSamantha, no calls for the next half hour, please,\u201d he told his secretary on his way past her desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mr. Guidry.\u201d<\/p>\n

He leaned against his door after closing it. His office, with its walls of built-in, dark wood cabinets and bookcases, seemed to press in around him.<\/p>\n

What he\u2019d told Meredith was true; he was absolutely certain that she and Major would have a happy marriage. Both of them were easygoing, almost too eager to give up what they wanted to make someone else happy. Forbes had learned a long time ago that he didn\u2019t have the right personality to get married. Every girl he\u2019d dated in high school or college had wanted to go out with him because of his looks. And every one of them had eventually broken up with him for one of two reasons: Either she thought he was selfish and didn\u2019t pay enough attention to her, or she thought he was too controlling and tried to smother her.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d completely given up on dating after his ten-year high school class reunion, at which he\u2019d overheard two of his ex-girlfriends having a laugh about how it was no surprise to them that he wasn\u2019t married yet.<\/p>\n

He crossed to the window behind his desk and leaned against the frame, staring down at the visitor parking lot. His twenty-year reunion was coming up in the fall. And while he\u2019d love to find some ravishing beauty to take to it to shut up all those exes, he didn\u2019t want the hassle of expectations that came from taking someone out on a date.<\/p>\n

When the thirty minutes he\u2019d given himself to brood expired, he opened the office door and asked Samantha to come in to review his schedule for the remainder of the day.<\/p>\n

He made several notes in his PDA while she reviewed the afternoon\u2019s appointments and meetings. When she finished and closed her planner, she hesitated, biting her lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d He leaned back in his chair, curious. She\u2019d never acted in the least intimidated or scared of him before. She\u2019d worked for him a little less than a year, but she was the first secretary he\u2019d had who didn\u2019t seem to mind a boss others had called a micromanager\u2014had even stood up to him a time or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone from Bonneterre Lifestyles called a little while ago. It seems you didn\u2019t RSVP for the dinner tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forbes groaned. Ever since he\u2019d assisted in partner Tess Folse\u2019s run for city council five years ago\u2014during which he\u2019d given many speeches, appeared on all the local channels\u2019 news broadcasts, and had his photo in the paper multiple times\u2014he\u2019d been a fixture on the magazine\u2019s beefcake list, having garnered enough votes to win and get his face on the front cover twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose it\u2019s black tie?\u201d<\/p>\n

Samantha nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s what the gal said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven o\u2019clock?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey offered a car\u2014a limo\u2014for you, if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. The three other partners\u2014all women\u2014were thrilled every year when he told them of his inclusion on the list. The articles enumerating his accomplishments were good exposure for the firm, they\u2019d say. Up until now, he\u2019d found some excuse or another to avoid the dinner. This year, Tess, Sandra, and Esther had strongly suggested he make an appearance at the magazine\u2019s big publicity event at which the magazine\u2019s cover would be revealed and the top five bachelors named and recognized with awards.<\/p>\n

He glanced over Samantha\u2019s head at the three plaques and two glass trophies on a display shelf. Maybe they needed to give him a new award\u2014Bonneterre\u2019s Most Perpetual Bachelor. He hoped this year he wasn\u2019t again the oldest man on the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall them back and tell them I\u2019d be delighted to attend, but I\u2019ll drive myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill do, boss.\u201d Samantha scooped up her planner and the folders Forbes had given her to refile, and crossed to the door. \u201cAnd Mr. Guidry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Samantha?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo try to have fun tonight, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh. As fun as jumping into a pool full of thumbtacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samantha\u2019s laughter followed her out of the room.<\/p>\n

His gaze flickered back to the emblems of his perpetual singleness. He\u2019d heard the magazine always invited the year\u2019s Most Eligible Bachelorettes to the dinner\u2014possibly hoping to set up a relationship and eventual wedding they could report in their pages. Maybe he could find someone there to take to the reunion\u2014so long as she understood there were no strings attached.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

\n


<\/p>\n

Alaine Delacroix scrubbed off her on-air makeup. \u201cMatt, have you seen Pricilla since I went off air? I need to talk to her about the event tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The intern frowned. \u201cI thought you were a guest at the thing, not covering it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho else is going to cover something like that other than me? I\u2019m the only reporter at this station who covers the social scene.\u201d Not that she wanted to anymore. But until the news director actually looked at the hard-news pieces she\u2019d been doing on her own time, she\u2019d be stuck covering the fluff stories as she had for the past decade of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I see her, I\u2019ll tell her you need to talk to her.\u201d The college student waved and left the small prep room.<\/p>\n

Alaine turned to check her appearance in the large mirror to make sure she didn\u2019t have mascara smeared down her cheeks. She made the inspection as quick as possible, hating to see her own reflection with no makeup. Even with her shoulder-length black hair still styled from her noon broadcast, with no makeup on, all she saw in the mirror were flaws\u2014dark circles under her eyes, freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks, and the bumps on her forehead that never seemed to go away.<\/p>\n

She applied concealer under her eyes, powder all over her face, and a touch of eye makeup, blush, and lip gloss before returning to her desk in the newsroom. Once upon a time, Alaine Delacroix would have thought nothing of walking around with no makeup on. But that had been a very long time ago; she\u2019d been a different person then.<\/p>\n

An envelope with the station\u2019s logo and return address in the top left corner sat on her chair when she got back to her cubicle, bearing her name in handwriting she didn\u2019t recognize. She opened it\u2014and smiled. She\u2019d hoped the marketing director would be able to come through for her.<\/p>\n

She picked up her phone and dialed a number from memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoudreaux-Guidry Enterprises, Events and Facilities, this is Meredith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, girl. It\u2019s Alaine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2014hi.\u201d Meredith sounded funny. \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaine laughed. \u201cI can\u2019t believe you\u2019re going to pretend you don\u2019t know why I\u2019m calling you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2014how did you find out?\u201d<\/p>\n

All traces of amusement evaporated, her reporter\u2019s instincts kicking in. Meredith sounded like someone who had a secret. \u201cYou know a journalist can\u2019t reveal her sources. So? Spill it. I want details.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t told most of my family yet. If I give you details, you have to promise you won\u2019t say anything to anyone until after Sunday. We\u2019re telling the family at dinner after church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStrictly off the record.\u201d Alaine picked up a pen and steno pad, but forced herself to put them down again and rotate in her chair so that her back was to the desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the chaplain at Beausoleil Pointe Center marry us yesterday afternoon. We surprised our parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the air in Alaine\u2019s lungs froze solid. Meredith Guidry and Major O\u2019Hara had eloped? \u201cBut I thought you were having your cousin Anne plan a big wedding for you. I was hoping to cover it, since Major has become quite the celebrity, what with his cooking segments on my show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided we were just too busy to try to plan a big wedding. And we\u2019ve already wasted eight years. Why put it off any longer?\u201d<\/p>\n

A flash-fire of jealousy forced the air out of Alaine\u2019s lungs. Meredith had been one of her few friends who was still unmarried\u2014and the only true friend Alaine had had in years. She hated being single; even more than becoming a serious journalist, getting married was the one thing she wanted most in life. Yet at thirty-two years old, she was starting to worry that the chances of either dream coming true were not just slipping, but sprinting, away.<\/p>\n

Alaine had to swallow past the huge lump in her throat to make her voice work. \u201cCongratulations, Mere. I\u2019m really happy for you.\u201d She glanced down at the envelope crumpled in her fist. \u201cOh, I got the passes for the Art without Limits exhibit preview and fundraiser at the Beausoleil Fine Arts Center, if you\u2019re still interested in going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I am. And since Major\u2019s catering it, I won\u2019t have to feel guilty about going off and leaving him home alone. Thanks again for thinking of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anyone else who likes art, and I hate going to those things by myself.\u201d She twisted the spiral cord around her finger tightly, trying to see if the slight pain would help squeeze out her envy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSame here\u2014oh, my other line just lit up. I\u2019ll talk to you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay. Bye.\u201d Alaine turned around to hang up the receiver, then put her head down on her folded arms atop the desk. God, why is everyone I know married or engaged? Am I the last old maid left in Bonneterre?<\/p>\n

She knew the answer to that, of course. Twenty-four other \u201celigible bachelorettes\u201d would be at the Bonneterre Lifestyles dinner along with her, if they all showed up. And who wouldn\u2019t, when they\u2019d have VIP access to the handsomest, wealthiest, highest-profile single men in town for the evening?<\/p>\n

Mother\u2019s constant harping on her to get married\u2014and soon\u2014was starting to make Alaine feel like something was wrong with her for still being single at her age. The facts that Joe and his wife couldn\u2019t have kids and that Tony, at age twenty-six, wasn\u2019t anywhere near ready to settle down put all the pressure of producing grandchildren anytime soon on Alaine. And she wasn\u2019t even sure she wanted kids.<\/p>\n

She sat up and tried to run her fingers through her hair\u2014before remembering it was still shellacked with hair spray.<\/p>\n

Maybe tonight she\u2019d give those bachelors more than just a professional glance. Maybe it was time to get a little arm candy to show her parents\u2014and anyone else who might be looking\u2014that she was at least trying. And she never knew: Mr. Right could be Bachelor Number One, Two, or Twenty-Five.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/strong>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,60,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-contemporary-fiction","category-romance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4334"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4362,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4334\/revisions\/4362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}