by Lois Richer
“There’s nothing that a new coat of paint wouldn’t fix,” her mother stated calmly, glancing around.
“Mother, get real! This ceiling’s about to fall down from being waterlogged. And why? Because the toilet upstairs keeps plugging. There are trees growing into the sewer lines or something, and it’ll cost hundreds to fix. The washer conked out again last night. It needs a new motor.” She got up and walked to the living room.
“Why is it so dark in here?” Kayleen peered through the gloomy room and found the light switch. She clicked it several times. “The power’s off.”
“On purpose. Last night I woke up to the sound of voices. I thought it was a burglar but it turns out it was just the TV going on and off. Grady says there’s some kind of short in the line and he turned off the breaker. Not before it burnt out the inside of the VCR though.” She yanked the back off the black box and showed her mother the mass of melted wire inside. “I can’t afford to get another one.”
“Thank the Lord that it didn’t start a fire before Grady found it, Maggie!” Her mother breathed a prayer of relief and tripped on the edge of protruding carpet. There was a tearing sound as Kayleen sought for a hold on something that might stop her fall. “Darling, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tear it up but my heel caught.” She would have said more but Maggie held up her hand.
“Forget it, Mom. It was old when we were kids. It should have been replaced long ago. I’ll get Grady to cut it off and tack it back down.” Maggie walked slowly back into the kitchen and sank into her chair. “Do you see what I mean? And that’s only in the house.”
“Perhaps your father and I could get you a new carpet. Something not too expensive but sturdy.”
“No. Mom, you and Dad cannot keep spending your savings to get me out of a hole I dug myself into.”
“If you can get the crops sold, you should be better off.”
“If. If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all,” Maggie scoffed bitterly.
“Why, Margaret McCarthy! We do not rely on luck to get us through this life. We rely on our heavenly Father.” She patted Maggie’s hand kindly. “Are you doubting Him?”
“I’m doubting everything,” Maggie confessed. “I feel as if I’m dying here, Mom. Dying slowly, but surely.”
“We’re all dying, dear. From the day we were born.”
“But don’t you see?” Maggie explained tearfully. “I feel like I’ve never really lived.” She swiped her hand across her cheeks. “I know you and Dad tried to tell me to get an education before I married Roger. You thought I should see something of the world before I decided on the rest of my life. You were right, Mom. You were right!”
“No, honey,” her mother answered thoughtfully. “I don’t think I was.”
Maggie stopped midsob and stared. “What?”
“God has a plan, Maggie. We can’t know it or understand it, but it’s still there. I believe He wanted you to marry Roger and have those two darling girls. And hard as it may seem, I believe Roger’s dying was part of His plan also. Now Grady’s here. Is that coincidence? I don’t think so. It’s just another piece of the puzzle that He’s so wonderfully fitting together.”
“And what about me? What about this need I have to be free and young before I get much older?” Maggie made no attempt to hide her anger. “I want a place where I can be comfortable, not constantly looking ahead to the next chore.”
“Well, darling, pardon me for saying so, but I think you’re fighting against the plan. It reminds me a bit of Job.”
“Job? You mean I’ve got boils and pestilence to look forward to?” Maggie rolled her eyes.
“Maybe.” Kayleen smiled at the disgusted look on her daughter’s face.
“Gee, thanks so much, Mother. Boils, huh? I feel much better now.”
Kayleen continued, unperturbed. “Job had everything and he lost it. All of it. It wasn’t because he was sinful or even that he did something wrong. He knew that. What he didn’t know was ‘why’?”
“Exactly. Why?” Maggie glared at her mother balefully. “Why me? Why now? Why here? Why?”
“Maggie, you cannot know the mind of God. You simply cannot because you are not God. The majesty and sovereignty of God isn’t understandable to the human mind.”
“In other words, there is no answer.” Maggie frowned, trying to wrap her mind around the words.
“Yes, darling. There is an answer. But you may never know what it is. Then again, you may, some day, understand. But that doesn’t matter.”
“Well, then, what does?” Maggie looked at her mother.
“Handling each day that God gives you the best way you can. Problems will always come up, Maggie. You take them one at a time, do what you can and plan for the future to the best of your ability. There’s only one sure thing in this life.” She smiled. “The promise that whatever happens, God is still there, waiting and watching, ready to help us take the next step. He promised.”
“You mean, why worry?” Maggie shrugged. “That’s a pretty tall order.”
“Yes, but you’ve got help.” Kayleen thought for a moment. “Sweetie, if you spent your life worrying about Mount Vesuvius, would that stop it from blowing up when the time came? Of course not. Worrying is only beneficial if it helps you change something. If you’re worried that the electricity might cause a fire in your living room and burn you and the children, then, yes, you do something about it. But to fret and stew about things that may or may not happen is pointless.”
Maggie felt her mother’s hand on her head and leaned into that caress as if she were still a young girl, needing reassurance.
“Honey, God is all-powerful. Beside Him, we are nothing. But He promises that if we pray to Him, He will hear us. We can’t even understand the miracles of nature and how He created them. But we do know that God is sovereign, in control and knows things we can only dream about. Our job is to follow where He leads us, one day at a time. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try, Mom.” She shuffled to her feet and moved toward the stack of pots in the sink. “I guess I’ve become a real whiner lately. It’s a wonder anyone still speaks to me.” She leaned backward into her mother’s hug. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Don’t give up, darling. ‘Trust and see that the Lord is good.’ I’ve proven it over and over in my own life.” She picked up a tea towel and dried the pots one by one. “What’s next on the agenda?”
“I’ve got to do something with that zucchini,” Maggie muttered, staring out the window at the offending plants.
“I’ll take some,” Kayleen offered. “I thought it would be so wonderful to have only a flower garden after spending so many years planting that great huge plot out here. But you know, I really miss the first taste of those fresh vegetables. Next year I may plant some beets and potatoes in town. Just a few,” she cautioned Maggie with a wink.
“Don’t be silly! There’s more than enough for you out here,” Maggie chided. “Come on, let’s go see what you’d like. We’ve been eating new potatoes for a while now.”
“Your father loves those.” Kayleen grinned as they walked along Maggie’s garden. “I’ll take a few. By the way, do you want to go blueberry picking tomorrow? I thought I’d get a few since Herman is champing at the bit to get out into the wilderness, as he calls it.”
“Ha!” Maggie grinned, remembering this ploy from the past. “You just want someone to visit with while Dad disappears into the underbrush, searching for bigger and better berries.” She watched her mother flush prettily.
“There are a lot of bears about, you know,” Kayleen murmured. “It’s dangerous to be alone in the woods.”
“Oh, right!” Maggie giggled, digging another hill of potatoes. “If you take ten zucchini, I promise I’ll come,” she compromised and watched amazed as her mother picked out the largest specimens. “But not tomorrow. I promised I’d take the girls to get their school supplies. Can you believe school starts next week?”
“I
can believe it,” Kayleen said, nodding at the lush golden field across the road. “That wheat looks almost ready.”
“It is. Grady says it could come off number one. Which would be wonderful since the price has jumped. Grady says it’s gone up because a lot of people didn’t plant wheat this year. I guess they remember last year’s disaster.”
“Does Grady know a lot about farming?” Kayleen studied her daughter curiously.
“Seems to. But he knows even more about the markets. He had a company in Calgary that did a lot of business in that area. He studies the papers for hours. He’s even got next year’s crops figured out.”
“Had a company?” Kayleen repeated frowning. “What happened to it?”
“He sold it or something. It had to do with his ex-wife.” Maggie set several beets into her pail and moved on to the carrots. “He hasn’t said an awful lot about it.”
“Does he have children from this marriage?” Kayleen’s face was serious as she watched the object of their conversation emerge from the toolshed.
“No. I asked him that once and he got all cold and withdrawn as if he was hurting. I don’t know what it’s all about but I suppose he’ll tell me when he’s ready.”
“Probably,” Kayleen agreed. “The girls seem to adore him.” They both watched as Grady hunched down to show Keeley something on her new bike. Katy moved to slide her arm around his shoulders and he drew her into his free arm.
“Yes, they do. And he really cares for them, Mom. I always wondered if Brian merely tolerated them for my sake.”
“I never liked Brian,” Kayleen said firmly. “He was too full of himself.”
“Mother! You never said a word.”
“Of course not.” Kayleen carried her zucchini to the trunk of her car. “That was your decision, dear. I will always support you whatever you decide.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’ve always been there for me.” Maggie hugged the woman’s narrow shoulders.
“That’s what mothers do. You’ll learn that sooner or later. By the way—” she helped Maggie store the other vegetables in a corner of the trunk “—your sisters are coming down for the long weekend. Beth can only come for Saturday, she’s on duty after that.”
“What about Cathryn and Dorothy?”
“The whole weekend. Kids and all.”
“Put away your good china, then,” Maggie ordered, her voice droll. “And make sure your insurance is up-to-date.”
“Maggie, that isn’t nice,” Kayleen reprimanded, frowning.
“Nice, no. Truthful, yes.” Maggie slammed the car door shut and watched as her mother put the car into gear. “Bye, Mom,” she called. “And thanks. For everything.”
“Patience,” her mother reminded. “And trust in the promises.”
“I’ll try.” She eyed the grain fields with a practiced look and reviewed this morning’s grain quotes in her mind. “Although it would sure help my faith if we could get sixty bushels to the acre and haul it to the elevator without any problems.”
Chapter Eleven
Grady winced at the noise emanating from the old farmhouse and grinned to himself. So this was what it was like to be part of a big family. The only child of only children, he’d never known the joy cousins found in each other’s company.
“Bradley Richards, you are a bully! Leave that kitten alone.” That was Katy, as vocal as ever when it came to her pets.
Here in the yard a group of children stood waiting their turn on the trampoline Maggie’s sister had brought with her from Calgary.
“Until we get a fence up with strong sturdy locks, there’s just no way I’m having that thing in my yard,” she’d insisted. “The entire neighborhood comes over whenever they feel like it and we’re liable if anyone gets hurt. Your girls might as well use it till then.”
“If I had my way, I’d leave that thing here permanently,” Dorothy’s husband, Ron, muttered, grinning at Grady. “The thought of the lawsuits it could engender scares me to death.”
“It’s a crazy world when everybody starts suing everyone else,” Matt agreed. He studied Grady. “Grady O’Toole. Aren’t you the guy who owns Shaughnessy’s?”
“I did,” Grady told him. “Before it was closed down.”
“We heard about that.” Ron nodded. Both men were lawyers and Grady knew the news had probably spread through the legal community like wildfire. “Are you going to start it up again?”
“No,” Grady murmured, searching but not finding anything but compassion in the men’s faces. “The pleasure in Shaughnessy’s has been lost for me. I’m thinking of staying on here.”
“As what? Hired help?” Matt scoffed. “You’re not a farmer.”
“I could be. But I was thinking more in terms as a member of the family. Maggie’s family.” Grady watched as surprise lifted the men’s eyebrows. “I’d like to take this place on and make a go of it.”
“You do have a reputation of revitalizing broken-down companies,” Steven Richards mused, glancing around the yard. “But farms?”
“He’s going to need every bit of that reputation to revitalize this place.” Matt frowned. “I thought Cathryn said Maggie wanted to move.”
“That was the whole point of Brian, wasn’t it?” Ron glanced from one to the other. “Can’t say I miss him much. Grady’s a much better asset.”
“That depends.” Matt grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Know any football?” he asked with a laugh.
“Used to play on the all-star team,” Grady told him. “Why?”
“Because we haven’t had a decent game of football in years, that’s why,” Ron said, tugging off his dress shirt so there was only a T-shirt covering his chest. “It’s about time we brought back that tradition.” The others agreed and within seconds they were searching for a ball.
He was in, Grady marveled. Just like that. No embarrassing questions. His connection with Maggie made him part of the family. It was a situation he wasn’t about to question.
“You city guys think you can run in those fancy pants,” he called out, noticing that they all stood waiting at the edge of the lawn. “Wanna borrow some jeans or something?”
“City guys? Buddy, all three of us were born and raised in the country. Cut our teeth on prime rib and T-bones. You’d better watch it.” Steven was a different man without his horn-rimmed glasses, and Grady had to marvel at the speed with which he’d organized everyone into teams.
It was a hilarious afternoon. Grady caught as many passes as the next guy, but he wasn’t used to running in his cowboy boots. After hitting the ground solidly for the sixth time, he sank to the grass and pulled them off, leaving his feet bare in the thick springy grass. It was a strategy that worked for he made two touchdowns in the next five minutes.
“Aha! The man’s been holding back,” Matt called, take a swig from his wife’s full glass of lemonade. “You’d better give me a kiss for energy, darlin’, or I’m liable to pass out here and now.” Cathryn flushed a bit self-consciously and tried to turn away but he kissed her anyway, in full view of the crowd, and then went jogging back into the fray.
“Dad,” Maggie’s nephew, Bradley called. “You’d better get some energy from Mom, too.”
Steven obediently walked over to his wife and took her in his arms, tipping her dramatically over one arm as he kissed her.
“Ooh!” the children cried from the sidelines.
“Hey, my dad’s gonna make the next one. Aren’t you, Dad?”
“Not unless your mother can outdo her sisters.” Ron smirked, standing in front of his wife. “What say, Doc?” Beth never said a word, but Grady figured the kiss she planted on him should turn him into a Hercules.
That left him and there was no way Grady was kissing Maggie in front of this rowdy crowd. Unfortunately, the twins had other ideas.
“Come on, Mom! You gotta kiss Grady so he’ll win!” Katy was hopping up and down in her excitement. “Come on.”
“No, Katy. It’s all right. I can beat these guys
with my feet tied up.” He didn’t even glance at Maggie, but suddenly she was standing there in front of him, head tipped to one side with her ponytail dancing in the wind.
“What’s the matter, Grady?” she demanded, hands on her hips. “You never minded kissing me before.”
Everyone was staring at him and Grady had never felt more embarrassed in his life.
Grady kissed her the way he’d wanted to all day. He kissed her so completely, that it was some time before he heard the voices.
“So what is this?” Bradley the referee demanded. “Halftime?”
“I dunno. Maybe their lips are stuck together.” Katy stood staring at her mother in Grady’s arms. But she didn’t appear to be the least bit worried.
Grady moved back slightly and stared into Maggie’s wide blue eyes. She seemed as bemused as he as she pressed one hand against her mouth. The other hand lay against his chest, right over his thudding heart.
“I love you, Maggie McCarthy. And I don’t care who knows it.” But he said the words for her ears alone and was gratified to see the tiny flicker of a grin at the corners of her mouth.
“Nobody ever said I was shy, either,” she whispered, and stood on tiptoe to reach his mouth. “I love you, Grady.”
“We’ve got a game going here, folks. If you want to keep that up, I suggest you move off the field.” Matt’s tone was smug. “Maybe you should set a date.”
“I, uh, think we should continue this later, Grady,” Maggie mumbled, pressing away from him a second time.
“Yeah,” he agreed. He let her go, but his eyes followed her figure and long legs to the edge of the grass.
“You okay?” Steven asked, clapping him on one shoulder. “I can get Beth’s smelling salts if you want.”
“Nah, leave him alone,” Ron chided. “Maybe this’ll slow him down a little and give us an edge. Us old married guys need an advantage.”
“You should have slowed down a little,” Maggie muttered as she stood many hours later dabbing liniment on his chest, reminding him of his childishness. She clicked her tongue at the bruise that stretched over one shoulder and down his torso. “Matt plays racquetball every day, you know. He’s tougher than nails. And Ron lifts weights like a pro.” She sniffed as he winced. “It’s a ridiculous game anyway.”