North Dakota Weddings
Read North Dakota Weddings Online
Authors: Elizabeth Goddard
Disarming Andi
© 2010 by Elizabeth Goddard
Exposing Amber
© 2010 by Elizabeth Goddard
Praying for Rayne
© 2010 by Elizabeth Goddard
Print ISBN 978-1-62416-255-8
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62416-376-0
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-62416-377-7
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
Scripture taken from the H
OLY
B
IBLE
, N
EW
I
NTERNATIONAL
V
ERSION
®
.
NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission.
All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Kirk DouPonce, DogEared Design
Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses
.
Printed in the United States of America.
Dear Reader,
I’m so glad you could join me in this threebook journey through the state of North Dakota. The state is not only one of the biggest crop producers in the country, it has also been home to most of the country’s nuclear missile sites built during the Cold War. With nothing but stars for miles and miles on a dark night—the wide, lone North Dakota prairie is a stargazer’s dream, as you’ll read in
Disarming Andi
.
The Badlands are rich in history and attract scientists—geologists and paleontologists, to name a few—from around the world. If that’s not enough, Fargo is home to numerous high-tech companies, including a Microsoft Campus, and is in line to possibly become the next Silicon Valley.
With the backdrop of an incredibly diverse state, there’s no end to story possibilities, and as you’ll see, I’ve tried to include a little bit of everything you might find on a drive through this state that’s rich in history and a culture all its own. On the journey, I hope you’ll find yourself in a deeper place with God just as the characters work their way through the challenges life presents only to find God was there with them all along.
I pray many blessings on you.
Elizabeth Goddard
www.elizabethgoddard.com
ANDI
Dedication
Dedicated to my husband, who always encourages me, and my children who understand when Mom has to write. A special dedication goes to the missileers—America’s “Underground Air Force” who guarded our country during the Cold War—and those who continue protecting us today. Thanks to Ed Peden of Twentieth Century Castles and Gina Shipman of Shipman Construction, who shared their expertise and advice. And to Julie Neidlinger whose family owns the Echo-0 launch control facility, thanks for allowing me to draw from your experiences.
Fargo, North Dakota
S
how your face here and you’re dead”
.
The words, though said in jest, came rushing back to Vance Young as he returned to work late that night, plodding through the revolving doors.
Vance ran a hand down his face. He should have left for vacation earlier in the day. He’d been delayed, but it worked in his favor because in the middle of the night, no one would see him at the office, hence he was in total compliance with CEO Peter Lundgren’s wishes. No one would see his face.
Well, except for Tom, who stood tall and intimidating at the granitetopped security counter. Behind him, chrome letters formed the words ANND S
YSTEMS
.
Artificial Neural Network Defense
. Everyone pronounced it Andee.
The name seemed to leap at Vance from the backdrop of azure marble. He inserted his laminated ID card through the thin slot, then pressed his thumb into the fingerprint reader, hating the jump through security hoops every day. Wouldn’t it be nice if Scotty could just beam him up?
Accustomed to seeing Vance working all hours of the night, Tom nodded and offered his usual friendly smile. “Evening, Mr. Young.”
Vance made his way to the elevators, his steps across the marble floors echoing, and stared at his reflection while he waited for the metallic doors to open. He’d be long gone now if he hadn’t forgotten his telescope. Somewhere on the North Dakota prairie was a house his great-uncle had bequeathed him. On a beautiful night in the middle of July, the stars would be easy to see in the country away from light pollution. Vance was looking forward to some quiet time.
“Mr. Young?” Tom blurted from the foyer.
What now?
Tom stood behind him, staring at him in the reflection.
“Mr. Young.”
Vance turned to face the security guard, who’d never followed him before now. “Hey Tom, what’s up?”
“Thought you were leaving for your vacation today.”
“I forgot my telescope.” The elevator doors swooshed open. “Hope it doesn’t take too long. I’m ready to be outta here.”
“I hear you.” Tom nodded.
Vance stepped into the elevator, grateful for the speedy precision with which the doors closed. On most mornings, he cursed their slowness as he struggled to gain access with a score of others shuffling to their jobs in the morning rush.
Alone in the elevator, he allowed himself to lean against the flimsy wall for support as the undersized box rushed to the top floor. The small bead of sweat that usually formed on his temple spread across his forehead.
Finally, the doors slid open and he stepped into the software development department. He took another step forward and began to relax as he strolled past a score of gray, empty cubicles on his way to his office.
Vance passed the dinosaur pen—the glassed-in halo-protected processing room—where the data-crunching mainframe he called Cindy resided. Oddly, the humming sound created by the processing of massive amounts of data soothed him.
Peter preferred using mainframe computers because of the sheer volume of data, approaching petabytes, or one quadrillion bytes. Eh. All they needed was what amounted to a bunch of PlayStation 3s clustered together.
Once in his office, Vance didn’t bother switching on the lights. He took a deep, peaceful breath. Late at night he had a stellar view of the stars.
Over on his desk, Vance noticed something out of place, so he flipped on the lights. A woman stared back at him from a picture frame. It should have been face down, exactly where he thought he’d put it several days ago when Peter had said the only thing better than a computer was a girlfriend. Yeah, well, Vance had a girlfriend once. But then Janice only wanted him for his brains. What a joke. She’d used him to help her through some of her more difficult college classes this past school year. Though he’d graduated five years ago, he knew computer science.
Vance had pulled her picture out of the frame, only to see the photo of a gorgeous blond model that had come with it. With hair cascading a bit past her shoulders and soft, delicate features, she held her chin just so, giving her a feisty air of defiance. Big blue eyes and oh…that smile. Well, no wonder he’d left her photograph in the frame. Over time she’d become his dream girl. She was out there. Somewhere…
Vance began packing up his telescope.
“Mr. Young.” Tom’s voice boomed from behind, startling Vance.
He turned to face the security guard, stifling his irritation. “What’s up?”
“Sorry to bother you again. Just got off the phone with Mr. Lundgren. He said I was to escort you out of the building since, well, you’re
supposed
to be on vacation.”