by Jayna Morrow
They all followed him to the sofa.
“Anything I can do for you, big brother?” Garrett asked.
Gabriel’s mischievous grin returned. “I haven’t eaten all day. I’d really love a sandwich.”
It seemed like such a simple request, yet Garrett cocked his head to one side and said dismissively, “Make it yourself.”
Sparrow’s lips parted in stunned silence, but the grins on their faces assured her that there was something more to the situation. After a few moments of laughter, the brothers filled her in on the joke, retelling the story of Garrett’s injured leg. He’d asked Gabriel for a sandwich and been told the same thing.
To her infinite relief, Garrett didn’t repeat the rude action. He fixed his one-armed brother a sandwich…eventually.
~*~
Sitting at her kitchen table after the party, Gabriel seemed determined to keep the good times going. He was still in a humorous mood and having a great time—at Sparrow’s expense. “You should have seen your face when Garrett told me to fix my own sandwich. Classic.”
Busy shuffling cards for their next game of War, she rolled her eyes at this comment.
“You know, it’s easy for me to make jokes and be sarcastic. It’s the serious part I have trouble with. I need to work on it.”
She dealt some cards and placed the rest in a stack in the middle of the table between them.
“I want you to know that it’s because of you I have my son back. Things are really looking up.”
“I really didn’t do anything, just offered advice.”
“More like shoved it down my throat, but who’s keeping track anyway?”
She playfully tossed a card at him. He picked it up and laid it face up on the table. A six. Then he took the top card off his stack and laid it beside hers. Another six.
“War.”
They each turned over three more cards and added the total sum. Twelve points for him. Twenty-four points for her. “I win.” She gathered up all the cards and added them to the bottom of her deck.
Gabriel seemed in no way inclined to drop the subject and continued on his conversational course. “You’re on a winning streak. And not just with cards. You reunited your family too. Your brother and father are back on speaking terms. Phoenix is doing well. You did everything you could to save him and never gave up. You see people differently, Sparrow. You see me differently, too.”
Somewhere in the middle of his speech, she’d laid down her next card, but Gabriel wasn’t taking his turn. She couldn’t do anything but look into his eyes as he spoke. Where was this outpouring of emotion coming from?
“You see me as a person much better than I am. You see me as I should be, and because of that, I’ve done everything I can to be that better person. I only hope you feel I’ve achieved that.”
Sparrow couldn’t bear to listen to him talk about himself in this way any longer. “You are so wrong, Gabriel. I don’t see this better person you should become. You already are that person. And you didn’t have to become anything. All these wonderful traits I see were already there.” She grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “I won’t deny they were trapped inside a pretty hard shell, though. It took some pushy woman to crack that shell open with a hard knock on the head.”
“You’re definitely pushy.”
“Ha. Ha.” She used one of his favorite sayings. “Seriously though, I probably shouldn’t have interfered, but I did because I cared about Slade…” She paused and then decided to be completely honest. “And I felt drawn to you. It was worth every minute of my time.”
“I’m so happy God brought you into my life.” Gabriel’s voice had gone soft.
“You believe God brought us together?”
He nodded.
“Me, too.”
“Being with you has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’ve had to deal with feelings I haven’t dealt with in a long time. Ever.” He gazed out the kitchen window at the driveway that led to his house. A house that had stood in shambles not too long ago, a house they’d worked on together to bring back to life. “I guess what I’m trying to say is...I mean I should’ve told you a long time ago...I just didn’t know how to...excuse me.” He spun and walked out the front door.
Concerned, she followed right behind. “Are you OK?”
“I need some air. Give me a minute.” He stepped down into the yard.
She moved to follow him, but he held out his good hand to stop her. “Don’t come down here in those heels. If you fall flat on your face, you’re on your own. I only have one good arm.”
Sparrow looked down at the shiny black shoes with chunky heels that she often wore with jeans and then kicked them off. When she looked up, over six feet of cowboy stood right in front of her, looking down at her with eyes so blue they could melt steel. Her heart didn’t stand a chance—it dissolved into a puddle.
Gabriel slid his good arm around her waist and drew her in close. “What I need to tell you, and I mean it with all my heart, is that—” He sucked in a deep breath and pressed his forehead against hers. “Sparrow Walker, I love you.”
EPILOGUE
The nurse wrapped their baby girl in a pink blanket and laid her in Sparrow’s welcoming arms.
Gabriel leaned in to touch the infant’s tiny fingers.
“Her eyes are the same shade of blue as yours.” Sparrow smiled at her husband.
“I love her already.” Gabriel managed the words before emotion momentarily stole his voice. When he could speak again, he touched his fingers to Sparrow’s cheek. “And I love you so very much, Sparrow Hearth.” Gabriel had gone from the man who couldn’t say I love you to the man who couldn’t stop saying it.
“I love you too.” She lifted the pink bundle and Gabriel reached out with shaky arms to hold his daughter. “We have a waiting room full of family. Please tell me you finally decided on a name.”
Before he could speak, there was a knock at the door. The nurse peeked into the room. “It’s your family. Are you ready for visitors, Mrs. Hearth?”
She never grew tired of that title. Since the moment she and Gabriel said “I do,” and a flock of sparrows was released as they kissed, she’d become the happiest woman in the world.
“Yes, I’m ready.” She smiled lovingly up at her husband cradling their daughter. The only words that came to mind were words of thanks to her Lord.
The nurse opened the door, and their family pushed in like a herd of goats.
“I heard it’s a girl,” Robin gloated. “I knew it all along.”
“Congratulations, Mr. Walker. You’ve got another granddaughter.” Gabriel placed the wide-eyed infant girl in her grandfather’s arms. The older man immediately teared up. Strong and stern as he was, it seemed he had a soft spot for babies.
“We need to get a picture posted for Wren as soon as possible. Your mother made a little sign with a palm tree that says Aloha, Uncle Wren. He’s gonna love it.”
Gabriel motioned Garrett and Micara over to meet their new niece, who would soon have a cousin to play with, as they were expecting a baby girl too. They had been married shortly after Sparrow and Gabriel and followed suit in immediately creating a little family. The couple seemed happier every day.
“She’s beautiful, big brother. You did good.”
Garrett’s smile matched those of Micara, Sparrow’s parents, Phoenix, and Robin and her family.
“Can I hold my little sister now?” Slade demanded. He tossed his shaggy blond hair and held out his arms. His pink t-shirt read I’m the Big Brother across the front.
Grandpa Walker gently gave the baby a soft kiss on the forehead then handed her over.
Slade’s grin stretched from ear to ear. He held his little sister tenderly and slowly swayed from side to side. “She’s looking at me, Dad.”
“She’s an alert little thing. Maybe if you keep rocking, she’ll go to sleep.”
“Shhh,” Slade whispered. “Go to sleep, baby girl. Big Brother’s gonna take good care of
you.” Then he looked up and quirked a curious brow. “So what are y’all gonna name her? I can’t keep calling her baby girl.”
“We were talking about that just before you walked in,” Sparrow answered. “As you know, we’ve been going back and forth on names the whole nine months. I finally decided last week to turn it over to Gabriel. He’s the pro at naming babies.”
Now everyone looked askance.
“He named Slade,” Sparrow explained.
A chorus of oh’s and ah’s went around the room.
“Very cool name.”
“I agree.”
“Thank you. I happened to think it was the coolest guy name ever when I was seventeen,” Gabriel chimed in. “Wow, look at my babies now. I got one driving and one in diapers. Ain’t that something?”
“The name, man! Tell us the name!” Robin blurted the demand then took a deep breath and let it out dramatically as she recomposed herself.
Sparrow laughed from her position on the hospital bed. “I love you, Gabriel, and I know you love suspense. But really, what is our daughter’s moniker gonna be?”
“OK, OK. For the first name, I decided to keep with the Walker family tradition of naming children after birds—so I decided on Raven. And her middle name is the same as my mother’s—Skye.”
“Raven Skye Hearth.” Sparrow nodded. “I love it, honey. And I love you.”
Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed and bent to kiss her. “Sweet kisses and warm hugs, forever and ever. I love you too.”
Sweet Home, Texas
Don’t miss any of the books in the Sweet Home series
GARRETT’S GIFT | GABRIEL’S GRACE | HOLDEN’S HEART
Discover what life, love, faith and forgiveness mean in the small Texas town of Sweet Home
A Devotional Moment
“START CHILDREN OFF ON THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO, AND EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OLD THEY WILL NOT TURN FROM IT.” PROVERBS 22:6
As Christians, one of our most important tasks is to teach our children to love God. We have a commitment to show them how God guides our paths throughout our lives. Children are integral to God’s plan because the unconditional love show to their parents is a mirror of God’s love for all of us, His children. There are many complexities in the rearing of children—emotions we may never have experienced before, such as fear for their lives, worry for their souls, hope for their future. But God shows us that the relationship between parent and child can be one of the most loving and fulfilling tasks a parent ever accomplishes.
In Gabriel’s Grace, the protagonist has lost sight of his goals. Personal tragedy covers his days, and he cannot function as his life spirals out of control. But it isn’t just his life that needs God’s loving hand. Without a foundation, he stands to lose his child, if he cannot find a way to change the direction in which they are both going.
Have you ever felt so broken that you thought you wouldn’t be able to fulfill your responsibilities? Being a parent is a huge responsibility, and there is no denying that as a parent, you are required to make decisions based on what is best for your child—even if you don’t feel like doing so or even if you’d rather do something for yourself. But this burden is God-given, and He would not have given you the “job” if you couldn’t do it. When you feel depressed, overwhelmed, under-qualified, or just plain scared, remember that you are never alone. God is there to strengthen and guide you. If you try, if you don’t give up, if you choose to guide your children rightly, you will be (or will continue to be) a great parent; and in their old age, your children will be a testament to your love for and commitment to them.
LORD, HELP ME TO BE THE BEST PERSON I CAN BE SO THAT I CAN SHOW MY CHILDREN THE GRACE YOU HAVE SHOWN ME. HELP ME TO GUIDE MY CHILD IN THE WAY HE OR SHE SHOULD GO, SO THAT HE ALSO CAN EXPERIENCE YOUR GRACE AND MERCY. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY. AMEN.
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