Urias laughed out loud, then caught himself. “Honey, I have no interest in hauling hogs over the trail ever again. If I have to, I will, but …”
She’d had doubts about putting that suggestion down on paper, but the thousand dollars they earned the last time seemed like good pay for a couple weeks’ work.
“Honey, I want to raise horses, not hogs,” Urias finished.
“I suppose it wasn’t that great of a suggestion.”
“No, I’m not saying that.” He reached out his hand and lifted her chin with his first finger.
“If we left from here, we could take a wagon,” she pressed. It wasn’t that she really wanted to be on the trail with the hogs again.
“This isn’t about the pigs or making money, is it?” he asked.
“No,” she confessed.
“Time alone?” he asked.
She nodded.
He put the paperwork aside. “Pru, I had in mind to take you away for a couple weeks after we got married. Just you and me. The problem is, it’ll be the height of spring planting, and I’m needed here.”
“I know. I understand.”
He reached out to her. She kept her eyes fixed on his and took the final step that separated them. “What if we ran off to the minister now?” she whispered in his ear.
“What about the house?” He wrapped his arms around her.
She leaned in and placed her arms on his shoulders. She didn’t care about the house, a fancy bed, or anything. She only wanted to be with Urias. They’d been husband and wife for five months, and she didn’t want to wait any longer to be his wife in every way. “I love you, Urias. I—”
He placed his warm fingertip to her lips. “What about the plans everyone has made on our behalf? Hasn’t Mom been working on a gown with you?”
She pushed back from his arms and nodded. “You’re right,” she admitted.
He pulled her back and held her tightly. His warm breath tickled her ear. “I love you, too, and I’d like nothing more than to be married tonight. But one of the things the Lord’s been showing me is we’re both impulsive by nature. We both jump, then look where we’ve fallen. As much as I hate to admit it, I think we were right in setting the wedding date for when we did.”
She wanted to kiss him. She was afraid to kiss him. They were married, but they both agreed they wanted a marriage where God was placed at the center, not themselves. She laid her head on his shoulder. “I think the Lord’s been telling me the same thing during my quiet time,” she admitted.
“Tell you what we can do.” He paused. “We can do our devotionals together. Perhaps not in the morning.” He chuckled. She still struggled getting up as early as the rest of the household did. “But in the evening after dinner, we could spend some time in the Bible and prayer. What do you think?”
“I’d like that.” Although if she was being perfectly honest, it wasn’t what she had in mind for being alone with Urias.
“I think it will be a grand adventure. In some ways, we look at various issues in very different ways, but ultimately we still come to the same conclusions. We could have very spirited discussions from time to time, I would think.” He winked.
“More than likely,” she agreed. “Should we go over those figures some more?”
“Urias,” Katherine called as the kitchen door slammed shut behind her.
“Katherine? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. Pam told Prudence you didn’t want her to come to the house, so she sent me.”
“How is she?”
“She’s fine. If you call nervous fine. How are you?”
“Good.”
“You’ve been working night and day.” Katherine scanned the bedroom. “This is beautiful. She’ll love it.”
A smile rose on his face. He hoped Prudence would like it. If anyone would know her tastes, it would be Katherine. “I’m glad. I wanted to make the room special for her.”
“You really like her, don’t you?”
“She’s a remarkable woman.”
Katherine nodded, then sat down on the bed. “Pru asked me to check on you and to make sure you weren’t too tired. She’s worried about you.”
“I’m fine. Tell her I’m anxiously awaiting the next two days.”
Katherine smiled, then looked down at her lap. She laced her fingers together and released them a couple of times. Urias had learned long ago not to push Katherine—to let her have the time needed to collect her thoughts. He placed a loving hand on her shoulder. She didn’t flinch. He silently praised the Lord.
She glanced up at him, her green eyes pooled with fresh tears. “I’m happy for Prudence. I’m glad you two are going to make a real marriage out of this horrible mess.”
Urias sat down beside his sister. “Katherine, I love Prudence, and I want to be the best possible husband to her. I’m also here for you. I’ll do anything I can to help you. Prudence and I both will.”
“Do you really think God cares for me?”
“Yes. I know you’ve been through a horrible ordeal. I can only imagine what you went through. But God does love you, and He was always there. I know it doesn’t make sense sometimes. We feel so lost and alone, like God has deserted us. And I can’t begin to explain why God lets bad things happen to people. I remember from the Bible about Job and all he went through. I sometimes think about my situations and how horrific they seem at the time. Then I compare it with Job and what he went through and realize I haven’t got it so bad.”
“How could Mother sell me like that?”
“I don’t know. She wasn’t a well woman. We both know the drinking caused her to change. She must have been desperate for money and driven by the need for alcohol. That doesn’t excuse her actions, just explains them. At least that’s how I’ve come to look at it. I was mighty angry at Mother for what she did to you.”
“You were?”
“Yup. I think I took it out on Prudence, which she didn’t deserve.”
“I don’t recall you ever being real angry. I mean, I saw you upset, but you weren’t punching or hitting anything. You never yelled.”
“Katherine, I’ve learned to control my anger. I saw what it did with Mother. And I’ve seen what Mom and Dad have worked through when they were angry. The Bible says ‘be ye angry, and sin not.’ It took awhile, and I’m still working on it, but we can get angry and not sin.”
“I want to believe like you, Prudence, and the MacKenneths, but I can’t forgive God for letting it happen to me.”
Urias’s stomach tightened. He knew Katherine still didn’t recognize that she had her own sins to seek God’s forgiveness for—that it wasn’t God who needed to be forgiven. This was not the time or place to press the point. “I understand. You were a child, an innocent child. Bad things should not happen to innocent children. But you weren’t killed. There are many worse things that could have happened to you that didn’t.”
“I feel so dirty—so worthless,” she confessed.
Urias took in a deep breath. “You were sinned against. God loves you, and He wants you to be free from the bondage of those who sinned against you.”
“I want to be free, Urias. I truly do, but the memories come back to haunt me night after night.”
He gently explained how to ask the Lord into her heart and how to rebuke evil thoughts when they came in. But he saw she wasn’t ready to take that final step. He would continue to pray for Katherine’s freedom from the past, as he knew he’d have to pray to be rid of the renewed anger within himself for the men who had abused his sister—as well as their mother for selling her into bondage.
“I love you, Katherine. I’m sorry those things happened to you.”
“It’s not your fault. I used to think it was. If you’d never left, nothing would have happened to me. But I don’t know. She could have sold both of us, couldn’t she?”
“I never thought about it, but you’re right, she could have.” Urias silently thanked the Lord for His salvation and for His grace
in allowing him to run into the MacKenneths on the trail.
“I’ll think about what you said. Maybe someday I’ll be able to forgive God and accept His grace.”
“I’m always here for you,” he offered. “And so is He.”
She gave a slight nod and left him sitting in the bedroom. Taking a moment to pray, he handed over his renewed anger and his sister, Katherine, to the Lord. Urias didn’t have the answers for her. He couldn’t explain why such awful things had happened to her. He knew precious little of what exactly transpired, but her demeanor and the few comments she’d let slip were enough to know that someone, at least one of the men who had owned her bond, had taken advantage of her. He was ever so grateful that Hiram Greene had purchased her. Urias caught himself at that thought. Yes, he was grateful to Hiram Greene. “Lord, You’re amazing.” Urias jumped to his feet and headed to his parents’ house.
Two more days, Prudence reminded herself. She and Urias would be married, with God’s blessing, in two more days. She couldn’t wait. His news about being thankful for her father struck a chord. She hadn’t forgiven him for how he’d handled Kate’s bondage. Business or not, it wasn’t right. Urias was right. Her father needed to be forgiven. But how do I forgive my own father, who was willing to use his own flesh and blood for his own personal gain?
She walked behind the house and up the small hill. She’d found the secluded place quite by accident one day and ever since had used it as a place to pray and gather her thoughts. The MacKenneth home was a large farmhouse, but with so many people, a place for solitude seemed very needed.
She sat down on a log that provided a perfect place for a moment’s rest, closed her eyes, and began to pray. She never heard the approaching footsteps.
“Hello.” Grandma MacKenneth smiled as she took her seat on the log beside Prudence. “Forgive me for intruding.”
“It’s all right,” Prudence politely answered.
“I’ve seen you come a time or two and thought you might like a listening ear. If not, I’ll be on my way once I catch my breath. How do you like this little spot?”
“It’s wonderful.” She realized she mustn’t have been the only person who thought it was the ideal place for solitude.
“I’ve tried to keep it as natural as possible, but every now and again I’d have Timmon come up and pull some small bushes or trees that insisted on growing in the circle. That was before his accident of course.”
“Do you come up here often?”
“No, not too much anymore. Caring for Timmon requires a lot of my time.”
“I understand.”
“I’m getting on in years, so I’ll just be frank. Do you love Urias?”
“Yes. But he isn’t the reason I came up here.”
“What seems to be troubling you?”
“My father. I’m sure you’ve heard.”
She placed her hand lovingly on Prudence’s knee. “A little. But why don’t you tell me.”
“You know the circumstances of how Urias and I were forced to marry and about Urias paying off my father’s gambling debt.”
“Yes. Go on.”
“Well, the man he paid told Urias that my father had once offered me in exchange for his gambling losses. Had he accepted my father’s offer, I would have become his mistress.”
Prudence saw the compassion in the woman’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. One doesn’t like to learn that a parent or parents didn’t cherish them. I may be wrong, but I think your father is sin sick. He’s lost in the sin of his gambling. I would guess, due to the great expense Urias had to pay, that your father had been gambling for a long time. The thing about sin is, it blinds us. We don’t really see straight. We do things we wouldn’t normally do because we have lost our judgment—our ability to understand right from wrong correctly. We justify to ourselves our sinful acts and go on as if the rest of the world is ignorant, or worse.”
Prudence thought for a moment. “Father can be rather arrogant,” she admitted.
“I imagine your parents love you, and, if you think about it for a bit, you’ll remember times of love and joy in your house.”
“Yes, there were plenty of those moments when I was younger. It’s only been the past two years that they decided I should be married and that my open concern about business matters was not healthy.”
Grandma Mac laughed. “Well, forgive the man for those years. You don’t want to be starting your marriage with Urias being angry with your parents. Give it to God and leave the nonsense of sin behind you. Your father will one day come to terms with what he’s done and is doing.
“Now, enough talk about your father. How are you feeling about getting married in two days?”
“I can’t wait,” Prudence bubbled out with the answer.
“Wonderful. You’ve got a good man in Urias. He’ll make a good husband.”
“He already has been.”
“I keep forgetting you’re already married.”
“In name only. But he’s treated me like a wife. Oh, there was a time when he didn’t appreciate me because he believed I had conspired with Father. But even during that time, he never said anything or did anything to dishonor me. I know he’s a wonderful man. I just hope I can be a good wife to him.”
“You will, dear. Just relax and be yourself. That’s the person he’s fallen in love with.” She tapped Prudence on the knee once again and pushed herself up off the log. “I’ll leave you be for a spell so you can work out the details with the good Lord about your father. Just remember, God thought him worthy enough to die on the cross for, especially for his shortcomings and sinful nature.” Grandma Mac winked.
Prudence watched the old woman take tentative steps down the path toward the smaller house. Prudence thought back on Grandma MacKenneth’s parting words. Was she right? Was it as simple as putting Father’s sin in perspective as to how God views sin and the sacrifice of the cross?
Chapter 19
Urias polished the tops of his boots with the back of his trouser legs for the tenth time in as many minutes. He stopped long enough to pace the back room off the sanctuary. Pastor Cloyse had spoken to Urias about ten minutes ago, assuring him that Prudence would be arriving shortly. The last time he peeked, the church was filled with friends. Of course, weddings were a major social event for the small town of Jamestown. Everyone knew everyone else, and all came out.
He’d stayed up half the night, putting some finishing touches on the house, then tossed the rest of the night in anticipation of today. He knew he was making the right decision, yet he still fought the doubts of the past. Thoughts of questioning Prudence’s involvement in her father’s decisions had poked their ugly heads every fifteen minutes. He countered them with the facts: who Prudence was, how she acted, and how hurt she’d been to learn the truth of her father’s ways. Urias knew in his heart she was innocent. He also knew he’d grown to love her and appreciate her.
“Father, bless our marriage,” he prayed.
“It’s time.” Mac poked his head through the doorway. “Ready, son?”
Urias nodded, unsure of his voice.
His father chuckled and gave him a slap on the back. “The butterflies won’t last long. Once you see your bride coming down the aisle, every doubt will fly away.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I remember it all too well. Seems to me there was a young lad who helped set me straight about how much I loved Pam and that I was a fool if I let her get away.”
Urias chuckled. “Prudence is a good woman.”
“Yes, she is. She’ll make you a mighty fine wife.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Pleasure.”
The piano music began. Urias took the lead and walked across the front of the sanctuary, taking his position to the left of the pastor and watching for Prudence to come down the aisle. First came Katherine, dressed in a light pink linen dress. She was beautiful with her red curls and green eyes. His heart cried out a silent prayer
for his sister. She needed healing, and Urias knew he couldn’t heal her. He could only love her and support her in any way possible.
The tempo of the music changed. Urias looked up, and Prudence, in a white dress with a flowing skirt, stood at the entrance of the church sanctuary. Her long brown hair was spun with lace, and the veil covered her face with the slightest of shadows.
His heart skipped a beat. His palms instantly dampened. He started to brush the tops of his boots once again and caught himself just in time.
A smile brimmed from ear to ear. She was beautiful, and she was a gift from the Lord.
Slowly, Prudence made her way down the aisle.
The people in the church seemed to disappear. The only person he saw was Prudence. His gift from God.
“Dearly beloved …” The minister began the service. Urias kept his gaze fixed on Prudence. She seemed as nervous as he had been a few moments earlier. He held her hand in his. They faced the pastor and said their vows, dedicating themselves to one another and the Lord.
“You may kiss the bride,” the pastor concluded.
Urias lifted the veil and took in her beauty for a moment before closing the gap between them. The kiss was sweet as honey. He pulled back slightly and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Prudence replied.
They were finally one before God and man. Urias looped his arm and waited for Prudence to place her hand in the crook of his elbow, her touch so intimate, so tender, and so natural. They belonged together. Urias was never more certain of anything in his entire life.
Prudence’s cheeks ached from smiling.
“Ready?” Urias whispered.
“Yes,” she replied. The desire to leave the reception and begin her life as Mrs. Urias O’Leary had peaked an hour ago. The reception was nice, with lots of folks wishing them well. Everyone had brought in food, and Pam and Grandma Mac had even made a three-layered wedding cake. Prudence couldn’t ask for a better reception. Apart from wishing her family was here, it was perfect.
Urias flashed his intoxicating green eyes at her and winked. “We’ll say our good-byes now.”
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