Karen Kingsbury - Fifteen Minutes

“Of course.” She placed her hands alongside his face. “I can’t wait.”

He felt the minutes slipping away. He planned to leave at sunup. “I’ll play it tomorrow. Before I go.”

“Okay.” She tilted her head, like she couldn’t say exactly what she was feeling.

“I’ll be home soon.”

She shook her head. “You won’t.”

“Reese.” He wouldn’t argue with her. He was grateful she believed in him. He said the only words that mattered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She took a few steps back, her eyes still lost in his. But then she turned around, climbed into her car and drove off. He watched her go. She was worried over nothing. If his parents were about to lose the farm that had been in the family for over a hundred years, then he needed to find a way to make money. Other than working with horses, singing was all he knew.

That and the saving power and love of Jesus Christ.

God would see him through wherever the ride took him. Of course he had to audition, had to pray for a chance. If by some miracle he made it, he would have a platform to share his faith and the money to pay off the farm. Then he would marry Reese—the way they’d planned all along—and Grandpa Dan could die happy.

As he walked up the stairs to the old farmhouse peace spread from deep inside him. Whatever happened next he would be home soon. Reese would stay in Kentucky and they’d be engaged by Christmas. He was sure.

Before he turned in that night he found his guitar and played her song, the one he’d written for her. He called it “Her Blue Eyes” and the verses talked about a girl who saw beauty in the life of a handicapped child and joy behind the counter of a homeless shelter. As he fell asleep, the chorus stayed with him.

Of all I see through her blue eyes

What gives me my direction

Is always seeing my reflection

There in her blue eyes.

I always want to see me there

Under a Kentucky sky

There in her blue eyes.

Lost in her blue eyes.

Reese Weatherly had pictured many things for her and Zack after college, but she never imagined this. Zack trying his hand at fame. Now the day was here and she needed to handle it with grace. She loved him. He deserved her support, especially this morning when he was on his way over to say good-bye. They’d share a few words, a hug and a kiss as he drove off for the Atlanta audition.

And then what?

She sat in the dark on her parents’ front porch steps and tried not to shiver. The uncertainty of tomorrow was colder than the early morning. She hugged her ribs and stared at the stars blanketing the sky. He’s going to make it, right, God? This is going to change everything.

She waited. Sometimes she could almost hear the voice of God when she talked to Him. But not here, not now.

Maybe because she didn’t need an answer from heaven. If he survived the audition process and made it to the televised show, Zack could win the whole thing. He would win it. He looked like a young James Dean or Elvis, and his smooth voice captivated people. The struggle was this—Zack had never talked about being a singer. Like his dad and grandfather, Zack always planned to take over the horse farm. He’d stay in Danville, bring on a few thoroughbreds, maybe raise a Derby champion like his ancestors. Sure he’d write songs in his spare time, and maybe that would bring in a second income someday. But auditioning for Fifteen Minutes ?

It was the financial crisis that had forced his decision. And that had led to his curiosity that maybe God had created him for the stage.

A shiver ran down Reese’s arms. If he won, he would need to live in L.A. or New York or Nashville, caught up in the madness of whatever that life looked like. And I’ll be here. She blinked back the sting of tears. Teaching special-needs kids to ride horses. Working with Zack’s sister.

Gradually, with the soft steps of sock feet and Sunday mornings, their beginning came back, the first time she met Zack Dylan. As a freshman, she had won a spot on the university dressage team. A week after classes began she was about to compete in her first event. She remembered the way her heart pounded as she walked with the team to the arena, how nervous she was to compete in her first collegiate competition.

As she’d reached the gates, Reese had felt her heart sink. She’d forgotten her gear bag back at the stable. She told the coach and then ran as fast as she could back to the school’s horse center. Darting through the door and down a dimly lit path covered in sawdust, she found the bag at the edge of the covered arena. But before she could turn back for the door, she heard a guy’s voice. Someone singing. Even out of breath and in a hurry to get back, she could do nothing but stop and listen. The voice came from one of the stalls. He was brushing down a horse, with sunlight streaming in from one of the windows.

Slowly she set her gear bag down. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. The fractured sunlight on his handsome tanned face, the silhouette of his muscled arms in the shadows, the sure way he had with the horse. The beautiful voice. Reese had gripped the wooden post. If he worked with the UK horses, how had she missed him?

He must’ve heard her; barely half a minute passed before he stopped and looked up. Their eyes met, and across the stable the connection was immediate. Like they’d known each other all their lives.

“Hey.” He set the brush on a shelf and dusted his hands off on his jeans. Then he walked over to her slowly. Curious. “You on the dressage team?”

His question jolted her from the moment. “I have to go.” She grabbed her gear bag and flung it over her shoulder. “Loved the song.”

“Thanks. Nice to meet you.” He chuckled. “I’m Zack.”

Already she was running toward the door. She was going to be late, and then the coach would bench her or kick her off the team.

“Hey,” he called after her. “What’s your name?”

She didn’t have time to turn around. Instead she raised her hand without looking back. “Later.”

That afternoon Reese had the best ride of her life. Halfway through the competition she caught a glimpse of the stands and there, near the top of the bleachers was the dark-haired boy. Sitting by himself and watching her. He waited for her after the competition and they walked together back to the stable. “You didn’t tell me your name.” He grinned at her.

She could barely think. The combination of the win and the guy beside her. “Reese.”

He nodded, thoughtful. “It fits you.”

“Thanks.” She allowed a light bit of laughter. “I think.”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing.” He narrowed his eyes. “Well, Reese. That was beautiful.”

“What?” She felt his eyes on her, felt the warmth of his gaze all the way to her soul.

“How you ride.” He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’ve been around horses all my life.” He stared at her. “The way you ride . . . that’s how it’s supposed to look.”

“Thank you.” She hoped he couldn’t see the heat in her cheeks. “And you? You’re a singer?”

“Nah.” He laughed and looked up at the sky. “Only for God and my horses.”

They reached the barn and he waited while she changed out of her dressage clothes. Afterward they walked to the far side of the university where the view of the hills was prettiest. They talked the whole time. She learned about his family’s horse farm and she told him about her dream of helping handicapped kids. They both were single. No time to date with the newness of college and the demands of the horses. Zack worked eighteen hours a week grooming, required for his major. She spent about that much time practicing dressage.