by Camille Eide
Ian grasped her hands. “Emily, I ...” He cleared his throat. “You believed in me though I’d given up on myself, and you led me back to God, where I found strength to do the impossible. You brought my heart and my faith back to life. Because of you, I can be the husband you need me to be. With God’s help, I’ll be at your side through everything—the good and the bad.”
Smiling, she let the tears fall.
His voice fell quiet. “Every time the sun rises, the first thing I’ll do is thank God for the gift of a new day and another chance to love you. I promise.”
The touch of his hand as he slipped a ring on her finger sent a tingle along her arm.
The reverend turned to her.
Gazing into Ian’s eyes, she said, “Ian, you’ve given me so much, and all I have to offer is my heart, one day at a time. But each new day, I will love you like there’s no tomorrow.”
His eyebrows shot up and he spoke low. “Is that a promise?”
Blushing, Emily nodded.
“What was that last bit?” Maggie shouted. “I couldnae hear.”
Emily’s fingers trembled as she slipped the ring on his hand.
Reverend Brown pronounced them husband and wife.
Heart racing, Emily looked up at her handsome husband.
Ian’s eyes shone. Taking her in his arms, he bent close and met her lips in a sweet kiss.
A warm surge of love and joy swept through her.
As they parted, the guests rose and clapped.
The wood flute played a cheery tune as Ian and Emily crossed the circle to the center to receive their guests.
Aunt Grace’s voice rang out above the music. “Ooh, isn’t she the loveliest bride ye’ve ever seen? She looks so much like her dear mum.”
“Yes, she does,” her dad said.
Emily turned and smiled at them.
The woman who looked vaguely familiar stood beside her dad, smiling, her eyes glistening.
Ian slipped an arm around Emily’s waist. “Emily, I’d like you to meet someone.” He turned to the woman. “This is my good friend from Portland, Janet Anderson.”
“Of course. Hello, Janet.” Emily offered her hand. “I’m so glad you could be here. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“And I’m very happy to meet you.” She smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”
Emily sneaked a glance at Ian, who was gripped in a firm handshake with her dad.
Something seemed to pass between the two men. For a moment, neither of them said a word.
Janet took a step closer and spoke quietly to Emily. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you and Ian together. I’ve prayed for this for a long time.”
A twinge of sorrow tugged at Emily’s chest and her smile fell. She whispered, “Has he told you about my condition?”
With a smile, Janet laid a hand on Emily’s arm. “All any of us really has is today, Emily. You vowed to love him and live each day by the grace of God. I couldn’t ask for anything more for our Ian.”
Emily looked at Ian, but noticed that her dad appeared very interested in what Janet was saying.
“Every day is a gift.” Janet turned to Emily’s dad and smiled. “Don’t you agree, Raymond?”
A flush colored his face. With a nod, he looked Janet in the eye. “I do now.”
Emily stared at Janet, then at her dad. “Have you two already met?”
Dad glanced at Ian. “Maybe you should ask your husband about that.”
Frowning, Emily turned to Ian. “What did you do?”
Ian just shrugged and tugged her close to his side.
Emily looked at Janet.
“Ian introduced me to Raymond by phone a few weeks ago,” Janet said. “We’ve been swapping battle stories. And we had a chance to get better acquainted on the flight over.” She studied Emily’s dad with a trace of a sparkle in her eye. “I’m looking forward to getting to know him better.”
Dad turned a shade redder.
Numbing joy washed over Emily. She turned to Ian. “I don’t know what you did, but thank you. Not only did I gain a new family today, I also got my dad back.”
Feigning an innocent look, Ian shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that. I’m just here for the girl.” But his eyes shone with something else, a glowing mix of pride and pleasure.
She slipped her arms around his neck.
Ian swept her up and hugged her close. “I’d do anything for you, Emily MacLean,” he whispered in her ear.
Emily held on tight, too happy to speak. Thank You, God.
EPILOGUE
A brisk February wind blew through the farm before sunrise, seeping into cracks in the old cottage. This was the coldest morning yet.
Ian bundled up and went to the main house to stoke the fire for Aunt Grace and Maggie. Then, as the sun rose, he hiked over the brae to the cemetery. He stepped over the fence and crouched low near Katy’s stone, his breath coming out in big, white puffs. “If You could, please tell her I don’t hate him anymore. I hope he makes things right with You and everyone else, for his own sake. Tell Katy I’m grateful for the time she and I had together. It taught me to value each day. I suppose You knew I’d need that.”
The sun’s first light broke over the hills to the east—a new day. He reached out to brush frost from the gravestone, but then stopped. He rose instead and left the stone untouched.
On the way back to the cottage, Ian continued to pray. First, thanks for the gift of a new day, then to ask for direction and the strength to follow, for Emily, himself, and their family.
Their growing family.
A slow smile spread across his face. With their foster-parent paperwork approved, and the adoption petition in the works, he and Emily were finally realizing what they had only dreamed of—the day they could bring Hector home.
The lad was crazy for fishing. He and Ian could work on art together. Or anything he liked to do—Ian was ready to try new things. Whatever it took to make the lad feel at home, like part of a real family.
A gust of wind ripped the door from his hand when he entered the cottage, slamming it into the wall.
Emily came out of the bedroom to meet him, a grin lighting her face.
He checked his watch. “Sorry, love, but Hector’s flight doesn’t land for several more hours. We have to wait. But if you insist, I suppose we could go early and pace the runway. I’m sure the airport staff will understand.”
Still grinning, she held something behind her back. “Funny. Guess what came by courier while you were gone?”
He opened the wood burner, stirred the fire, and latched the door. “A warrant for Maggie’s arrest? Ah, I knew it. It was bound to happen.”
“No.” She pulled out what she had hidden.
A book. A shiny, new children’s storybook.
“So it came.” He took Samson, the Super-Warrior and ran his fingers lightly over the bright, glossy cover. Examined the pages. Tried but couldn’t hold back a smile.
“It’s beautiful, inside and out.” Emily beamed. “Look at the cover. Isn’t it gorgeous?”
“Not bad.”
“Not bad?” Emily huffed. “I’m sure the artist-slash-author would be deeply flattered to hear that.”
Ian met her gaze and held it. Love welled up, filling him with gratitude. “Aye,” he said softly. “The artist-slash-author is flattered. And honored.” He reached for Emily’s hands and wove his fingers through hers. “But most of all, he’s thankful.”
She held his gaze for a long moment. “Well, maybe you could tell him—if you see him—that I’m thankful too.”
“I think he’d say ... he couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Emily leaned close and planted a swift kiss.
The telephone rang.
She turned to get it, but Ian grabbed her and tugged her close. She laughed. “We should get that. It could be important.”
Ian shook his head and held her tighter. “That’s what answering machines a
re for. It’s more important to stay right here. Keeping warm.” He kissed her neck.
The phone continued to ring.
She wiggled free. “It could be Hec’s case worker.”
As Emily took the call, Ian waited, listening to her half of the conversation.
“That’s excellent news, doctor ... Of course, you’re very welcome ... Yes, it’s my pleasure to help.” Emily pulled the receiver away from her ear and whispered, “The Freyer’s Syndrome study at Glasgow University received full grant renewal because of my participation!”
Ian moved close to her side.
She tilted the phone toward his ear.
“—extremely indebted to you. I’m also calling to answer your question, Mrs. MacLean. Tests indicate that you are positive as a carrier, which means you run a fifty-percent risk of passing on the gene.”
Emily inhaled sharply and looked up at Ian. They already knew this, but wanted to make sure.
“As you know, your test results have given us reason to pursue new possibilities in our study. Based on our findings, we have been able to reclassify the heritability of this disease. Specifically, we have recently discovered that patients with a variant result such as yours can fully express the disease, or experience partial expression.”
Ian frowned. “Partial?” he whispered. “What does that mean?”
“It’s also possible for the disease to never express at all.”
Emily’s mouth hung open. “Never? Is there a way to know for sure?”
“I’m afraid only time will tell,” the doctor said.
The room spun.
Ian closed his eyes.
The voice on the other end went on. “Mrs. MacLean, you’re very healthy today. We will continue to monitor you and help you stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible.”
“Thank you.” Emily said something about her next visit, ended the call, and turned to Ian.
He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t decide how to process the information.
Emily grasped his biceps. “Ian.”
He could only stare at the telephone. There was a chance that what his wife had wasn’t fatal.
“Listen, Ian, it doesn’t matter. Every day is a gift. Whether it’s one day or twenty days or twenty-thousand days. We only have one day at a time, any of us. If we’re doing everything we can with the gifts we’ve been given—like your beautiful storybook, or making a lonely child feel loved—then I can’t ask for anything more.” Eyes glistening, she caressed his face. “We’re already so blessed, Ian.”
He pulled her close and held her. “You’re right. None of us knows how long we have.” He brushed a lock of her hair from her brow and kissed her forehead.
Emily’s eyes closed and she smiled. “You will be an amazing father.”
He kissed her temple and murmured, “Aye. If I can manage Maggie, it’s a dead cert I can handle one young lad.”
Emily chuckled softly. “You manage Maggie? That’s funny, I thought it was the other way around.”
“Did you now?”
She rested against him. “He’ll know he’s wanted?”
He nodded “Every day.”
“Is that a promise?” She looked up at him.
“Aye.” He kissed her cheek. “Now do you remember what you promised when you married me?”
She feigned a look of strained concentration. “Um, that I’d laugh at all your dorky jokes?”
Ian frowned. “Hey. I thought that was a given.”
“Yes, I remember,” she said. “I promised to treasure every minute with you.”
“And ...?”
“And ...” she said, her expression softening, “to love you like there’s no tomorrow.”
He pulled her closer, held her tight. “Is that a promise?”
Emily nodded. “Aye,” she said in her best Scottish brogue. “That’s a promise.”
Aunt Grace’s Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered Sugar
2 cups white flour
Zest from 1 lemon
Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add lemon zest. Stir in flour and mix until a dough forms. Knead slightly on a floured surface, then roll to a rectangle ½-inch thick. With a long knife, cut into 1" x 3" bars. Poke shallow holes in 2 rows lengthwise (like a twelve-dot domino).
Place 1 ½ inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes until still light in color but golden on the bottom. Remove to cool. Makes about 3 dozen.
Discussion Questions
1. How many times does honeysuckle appear in the story? What does its increasing presence symbolize?
2. God is the Master of irony. How many instances of irony can you find in this story?
3. Ian’s inability to forgive affected his relationship with God. How might praying for an offender or an enemy bring you closer to God?
4. When Ian and Emily met, they felt an instant attraction to each other. But was it truly instant? How did years of correspondence affect Ian and Emily’s ability to fall in love? Is it possible to know a person and their character through letters/email well enough to engage in a relationship? Why or why not?
5. Though Emily’s fears kept her from getting involved in romantic relationships, she hesitated to find out if she had the illness. Why did Emily avoid learning the truth?
6. Emily vowed to save her first kiss for her husband out of a desire to keep her heart from feeling “tied” to someone she might not marry. What harm is there, if any, in engaging in physical intimacy and creating emotional bonds with multiple people?
7. Could you relate to Emily’s fears? Ian’s bitterness? Do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
8. How did getting lost in the woods symbolize Emily’s life? What impact did that realization have on her choices later on?
9. How does Ian’s attitude toward Maggie change? Did she acknowledge this change?
10. How did Grace and Maggie’s physical or mental limitations affect their relationship when they were reunited? How did being together bring out each woman’s strengths?
11. What part did Emily’s faith in God play in her decision to withdraw from her loved ones? How would you respond in Emily’s situation?
12. Ian believed he could be strong for Emily and that she should lean on him, but that belief changed. What caused that change? What affect did it have on Ian’s desire to win Emily?
13. Have you ever been challenged to let go of your greatest desire, or to face your worst fear? How did you handle it? After reading this story, would you do it differently?
14. Did any part of the story make you stop and think about your own life or your faith in God? If so, what part and why? Did this lead to an awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?
Bio
Camille Eide lives near the Oregon Cascades. She blogs about God’s amazing grace at Along the Banks and inspirational fiction, TV, and film at Extreme Keyboarding and writes faith-inspiring love stories with sprinkles of wit. She is also the author of Savanna’s Gift, published by White Rose Publishing, a Christmas romance set in a snowy ski lodge with the sweet promise of cinnamon, spice, and second chances. Stop by her website, www.camilleeide.com
Look for her next novel …
Available 4/30/15
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Like A Love Song Sample
Chapter One
Adoption disrupted … undisclosed behaviors … inability to bond …
Susan Quinn squinted at the new girl’s bio as the words on the page swirled in a taunting blur. She rubbed her eyes and refocused on the document. She was in no frame of mind for processing the information about Juniper Ranch’s newest resident. Not after the unsettling confrontation she’d just had with her handyman. Or rather former handyman.
“Sue?” Bertie padded into Sue’s office, her footsteps mu
ted by her Birkenstocks. In spite of her hunched frame, the old woman got around like a flower-powered ninja. “She’s here.” Bertie peered out the window. “The new girl. But … I think you’d better come take a look.”
Sue dropped the sheet on her desk, adding it to the mounds of paperwork and overdue bills. What limbs she wouldn’t give for this transfer to go smoothly. But experience had taught her to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. With a sigh, she headed for the office’s outer door. “Wish me luck, Bert.”
Bertie offered her a waiver form. “Holler if you need me.”
Sue frowned at the paper. “Why do I need this? We’ll take care of everything in the office.”
“Wouldn’t bet on it.” Bertie nodded toward the window. “Look.”