“With you and the boys.” He sent a lazy grin her way as he filled his roller with paint. “This will be the best Easter ever.”
It would, she decided. God’s plan, his timing, Tanner’s love. No matter what else happened in her life, she’d start counting her blessings more because they were sweet and abundant.
Chapter Fifteen
Vic’s number flashed as Julia hurried the boys out the door on Saturday morning. She longed to let the call go to voice mail. She answered because it was the right thing to do “Vic, hey. We’re on our way to an Easter egg hunt so I only have a minute. Can I call you back midday?”
“Sure, but this will only take a minute.”
“Well, then...go for it.”
“About the boys next week...”
“Yes?”
“I can’t take them the whole week. In fact, I can’t take them the weekend, either, I got this new job as principal of the middle school starting in July and I’ve got to focus my time on that. I’m not sure how to keep the boys happy while I’m working—”
“But you’re off next week, aren’t you?” she wondered. “You have the same spring break we do.”
“Technically yes, but I’ll be expected to know the job when it starts, and I figured I’d spend this week checking out the middle school, the scheduling, the problems. So I’m swamped. Is it a problem for you to keep them?”
A problem? As if. She kept her voice easy. “Of course not. Did you want me to plan on your weekend in April?”
“Let’s wait on that. If I’m basically working two jobs, that might not work, either.”
She bit her tongue and sent up a tiny prayer that someday, somehow he’d see the amazing blessing of his sons, but at least he wasn’t leaving them in suspense about his intentions. “Vic, I really appreciate the heads-up. And you know, you’ll have more time this summer, the weather allows you more things to do outside, and the boys share your love for fast cars and racing. Maybe you could start there? Take them for a few days then, and just go outside and have fun with them.”
“They like racing?” His voice held a note of hope that she hadn’t heard from Vic in a very long time.
“Love it. And with the Glen so close...”
“I’ll check my calendar and plan on it. And, Julia? Thanks.”
She breathed deeply, because even if they weren’t on common ground, at least they’d put the emotional weapons aside. “No problem. Happy Easter, Vic.”
“Oh. Yeah. You, too.”
She hung up the phone and climbed into the car, then faced the boys behind her. She purposely kept it simple. “Your dad has to work next week, so you can’t go there, but he’d like to take you to the racetrack this summer. Sound good?”
Martin looked at Connor. He tried to stifle his grin, but Connor didn’t even make an attempt. He fist pumped the air and shrieked, “We get to stay home with Mom!”
Martin’s grin spread, but then he looked at Julia. “I think I’d like to go to the racetrack this summer, though. I remember that Dad loves fast cars. Just like me.”
“Me, too!” Not to be outdone, Connor let it be known that he was in favor of the racetrack trip. “I love smash-up derbies the best!”
“Well, all right.” Julia backed out of the turnaround and aimed for the road. “But right now, let’s get to this Easter egg hunt, okay?”
“Drive, Mom! Drive fast!”
“I’m on it, kid.” She pulled into the overflow parking lot by the old church hall, and the first person she saw was Tanner. He moved their way, and his smile said she was special. They were special. That he cared for her just the way she was.
“I brought this.” He handed her a to-go cup from Tina’s Corner Café and swept a sweet kiss to her mouth, right there, in front of everyone. “Good morning, beautiful.”
Heat tinged her cheeks, but she met his smile with one of her own and touched her hand to his cheek. “Morning. And thank you.”
“Julia?”
She turned when she heard the reverend’s voice. He moved her way, and by his side was Gracie Jayne’s mother, Eloise Montgomery. “Mrs. Montgomery.” Julia reached out and grasped the other woman’s hand. “Is there something wrong? Is the baby all right?”
“Fine. She’s fine, dear.” She offered her hand to Tanner, but did Tanner simply take her hand? No. He reached out and gave the older woman a big hug. Her face said the unexpected gesture left her surprised, but pleased and when he released her, she righted her hat and turned toward the reverend. “I came to see Reverend Smith this morning. I never thought to make an appointment, but he was gracious enough to talk to me.”
“About?”
Mrs. Montgomery turned her way. “You, actually. I was sitting in the hospital last night, holding that perfectly beautiful baby, and I started thinking. I’m sixty-eight years old, not the age of a typical mother, but certainly the age of a doting grandmother.”
Julia’s heart started beating faster. Stronger.
“Frankly, I did the math. My heart longs to raise that child, but my head said that eighty-six years old is no time to be sending a child off to college. But I want, no, need,” she stressed the word and took Julia’s hands into her own, “to be part of her life. Julia, I’ve heard nothing but glowing things about you, from the people in your life, and I hope you’re not insulted that I checked.”
“When it comes to the welfare of a child? I think checking is the very best thing to do,” Julia replied. “Are you saying you will allow me to raise her?”
“She means ‘us,’ of course,” Tanner interjected, and he put an arm around Julia’s shoulders as he stressed the pronoun. “Mrs. Montgomery, we’d like you to allow us to adopt Gracie Jayne’s baby because nothing would make me happier than being married to this woman and raising these kids. And any others God might see fit to send us,” he added, smiling.
“Yes.” Eloise locked eyes with Julia and took a step forward. “I don’t want Gracie Jayne’s last wish to be disrupted. It would be wrong to do so. And this way, I can relax and be the baby’s grandmother, if that’s all right—”
“All right? It would be wonderful!” Julia embraced the older woman, and when she felt Eloise’s tears, she hung on tight. “She’ll love having a grandma close by, and you’ve just made a beautiful day even more special, Eloise. I think—” she stepped back and looked into the older woman’s eyes “—Gracie Jayne would be proud.”
“This baby needs a name.” Tanner cut right to the chase and he studied both women.
“Well, I hate my first name, so please take that out of the running,” Eloise told them. “I’d always wished people would call me Mary, my middle name, but my mother wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Mary.” Tanner looked down at Julia and she looked right back.
“Mary Jayne,” she offered, and he nodded.
“It’s perfect.”
“It is.” She hugged him, hugged him hard, and when he handed her a wad of tissues from Tina Campbell’s purse, she laughed and wiped her face. “Happy tears are the best.”
His smile said he didn’t disagree. “Can we take the boys to meet her after the egg hunt?”
“The egg hunt! I forgot all about it!” Julia turned and realized the entire congregation had been gathering behind her. “Yes, absolutely, we can take them to meet her. And then...” She lifted her eyes to Tanner’s. “We need to make plans.”
He grinned. “Quick plans, I hope.”
She met his grin with a smile of understanding and love. “Very quick. But first—”
“The Easter egg hunt.”
“Yes. Eloise, would you like to stay?”
“I’d love to.”
Julia took her arm. They stood together on the side of the old church hall gathering yard and watched as children of
all ages went to their designated spots. And when the ringing bell said it was time to hunt, boys and girls scoured the hillside leading to the shaded cemetery, squealing with delight each time they came across a filled plastic egg.
“I’d forgotten how much fun this was,” the older woman whispered, her gaze darting back and forth. “I think somewhere along the way, I forgot to have fun at all.”
Julia hugged her arm gently. “Then we start today, Eloise.”
The boys charged their way, balancing baskets filled with brightly colored eggs. Tanner high-fived them, and Eloise bent low, admiring each and every egg and the sight of them filled Julia with new satisfaction. A family—her family—brought from God’s elements, in His time.
Perfect.
Epilogue
“How’s she doing?” Julia tiptoed across the living room in late May, a half hour before the boys were due home from school.
“Sleeping. Eating. Smiling.” Tanner reached up and tugged Julia down to the recliner. “She’s amazing. Beautiful. And she loves me.”
“Well, who doesn’t?”
He laughed, handed the sleeping baby to Julia and kissed them both. “I need coffee. I dozed off cuddling her so we napped together.”
“The best kind of nap,” Julia whispered. She settled back in the recliner and snuggled the sleeping newborn against her chest. “Tell me again how blessed we are.”
Tanner’s smile said he didn’t need words. “Your dad and Laura are making supper. And Eloise is coming over. The boys want to show her the cows.”
“She’ll love it. Except for the mud and the smell.”
Tanner laughed, brought her coffee to the side table and crouched low. “I think we’re good for her. And she’s good for us. And you, Julia Reddington?”
“Yes?” She smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.
“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world. Thank you.”
“Well, the feeling’s mutual, darling, but it is your turn to get up tonight, so don’t try and sweet-talk your way out of it.”
He laughed, palmed Mary Jayne’s little head and kissed her sweet, soft cheek. “It will be my pleasure. Just make the morning coffee extra strong, okay?”
“Deal.”
The school bus rumbled to a stop outside. Tanner went to run interference at the door, but if two wonderful, rowdy boys managed to wake their baby sister up?
There were plenty of adults around to take care of her, and that was the blessing of family close by.
Marty came in the side door to make supper, but had to peek in at the baby first. Laura followed him with a big tray of lasagna, and Tanner suspected she’d become Grandma Laura before too long.
And when Eloise came in with a box of Popsicles for the whole crew, Tanner knew he was in for the summer of his life.
And it felt wonderful.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from SAFE IN THE FIREMAN’S ARMS by Tina Radcliffe.
Dear Reader,
Julia’s story was inspired about two years ago when I wandered onto Angela Ruth Strong’s blog and saw her tackle the problems of the rejected spouse. Her words made me look at the what-ifs of the situation. How do children handle the breakup? How do family members deal with the philandering and estranged spouse? How does a woman repair the damage to a fragile ego when the person she loves most strays into another woman’s arms?
I brought all of this into Julia’s story, a story of today’s young mother, a professional woman, skilled, beloved and respected...and how she puts the pieces back together over time.
But then, who to pair her with? That had to be Tanner, a man who lost it all in one short day. No one expects to lose a wife to pregnancy complications these days, but when the unthinkable happens, we search for someone to blame. We forget that sometimes things just happen...and life goes on.
I loved giving these two the happy ending they both deserved, in God’s time, and I fell in love with those two little boys! And when Gracie Jayne came walking in the door of that clinic, I knew she’d want Julia to have that baby, because Julia saw her for what she was: a mother doing her best to care for her child.
I love to create stories of family love and rejoicing, but we know parenting and marriage both require faith, hope, love and work. May God bless our families with all four!
I love to hear from readers. You can email me at [email protected], visit me at ruthloganherne.com and pray and chat with me anytime on Facebook! Or snail mail me at Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.
And thank you so much for taking the time to read Julia and Tanner’s story. I’m so grateful!
Ruthy
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.
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Chapter One
Maggie Jones lifted her head from the pages of the technical manual. Fire-alarm horns blared in the distance.
Six long blasts and one short.
Though technology had come to Paradise, Colorado, the old fire horns were still on duty. When Maggie was young and spent all her summers in Paradise, she could pinpoint the location of fires by counting the blasts. Back only a week, she was out of practice.
Through the repair store’s big glass window she noted the clear, baby-blue sky painted with wisps of clouds. At a little past 1:00 p.m. on a Wednesday, it was cool for June, barely seventy degrees. A breeze blew in through the screened front entrance and slid over Maggie before moving out through the rear of the shop.
Maggie sniffed the air and sure enough she did smell smoke. It was awfully close, and had a pungent odor. Almost like...eggs.
Eggs?
The manual flew through the air as she whipped open the door that divided the store and ran into the back room.
Black smoke billowed from a small kettle on a hot plate. With the current wind direction, most of the smoke was being sucked outside through the screen door, right into the alley.
“No. No. No.”
Two hours ago she’d set the eggs to boil.
Two hours since she’d been lost reading about the intricacies of a computerized toaster. Who’d have thought three little eggs could produce so much foul-smelling smoke?
“I am doomed.” As she mumbled the words, the door behind her flew open and bounced on its hinges, then slammed against the wall.
He filled the doorway.
A fireman clad in a heavy, mustard-and-gray jacket, carrying a red ax. His features were obscured by a yellow helmet and face mask. Intense eyes assessed her and the situation.
Although he was a large man, he moved quickly. In two strides he’d crossed the room and reached in front of her to tug the hot-plate cord from the wall. With a gloved hand he grabbed the handle of the blackened aluminum pot and tossed it into the sink.
Before Maggie could blink, he aimed the shop’s fire extinguisher and blasted away. The little kettle rattled against the porcelain sink. Yanking off his gloves, he propped open the back door to further ventilate the room.
“Code 10-35. Under control. Over.” His words, spoken into the field radio, were clipped as he nodded toward the front of the store, indicating Maggie should follow. She did, reading the back of his heavy coat. Chief MacLaughlin, PVFD.
In the front room two more firefighters guarded the store. Chief MacLaughlin waved them outside with the mere flick of his wrist and forefinger.
Outside on the front walk, yet another set of firemen stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of Paradise’s Engine Number One, where the vehicle’s red and blue lights were still flashing.
Maggie grimaced. All this because she craved an egg salad sandwich.
“Don’t move.” The chief’s gaze pinned her. “I’ll be back.”
Pressing herself against the cool metal counter, Maggie obeyed, while whispering a silent plea for heavenly assistance under her breath.
He moved through the crowd gathering on the sidewalk to speak to his men, who shot curious glances through the window at her.
Maggie looked away and hung her head for a moment before attempting to rally. Come on, Maggie. Pull it together. What would Uncle Bob do?
Her favorite uncle would laugh and say this was good for business and probably announce a fire sale. If only Maggie was that confident. A mere twenty-four hours ago she’d sent Uncle Bob on a three-week fishing trip with assurances that she would run the fix-it shop and take care of everything.
She’d taken care of things, all right. Nearly burned down his livelihood.
Though she tried not to, she heard her parents and ex-fiancé whispering accusations in her ear. Maggie Jones has done it again. Gotten lost in her little world, forgetting everything going on around her.
They were right. Only this time she would have to deal with Captain Macho for her sins. Maggie grasped her ponytail and pulled it tight. She slid her glasses to the top of her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
She began to count to ten. She’d give her Aunt Betty that long to show up. As for her cousin Susan, she could probably stop at five.
“Mags. Nice job.”
“Five,” Maggie said aloud as Susan pushed her way through the sidewalk gawkers and firemen groupies and into the store.
Healing the Lawman's Heart Page 18