by Lois Richer
“I hear Cade will also be leaving.” Hilda leaned forward, peering into her face. “I thought the two of you had something going.”
“I love him,” Abby told her honestly. “And he loves me though he won’t admit it. He feels compelled to get his father additional therapy and since the only place that offers that is the nursing home, Cade intends to sell the ranch to pay for it.”
“Ed Lebret will hate a nursing home,” Hilda said with an inelegant snort of disgust. “He’s always lived for that ranch.”
Abby nodded but said nothing more, unwilling to speak lest she reveal to Hilda that her faith in God’s leading wasn’t as solid as she made it out to be.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before, Abby.” Hilda frowned, her gaze scrutinizing Abby.
“Like me?” Abby stared at Hilda. “What’s so different about me?”
“You’re someone who stands on her faith no matter what. Someone who isn’t afraid to say what they believe and match your actions to it.” Hilda smiled. “Of course, that’s what we’re all supposed to do, but I’m afraid most of us fail. Including me.” She rose suddenly and walked toward the door. “I think I’ve failed God more than anyone,” she murmured, almost in a whisper.
“God always forgives,” Abby reminded, confused by her sudden departure. “Do you have to leave?”
“Yes. It’s time I took a stand, too.” Hilda smiled and fluttered a hand. “Enjoy the car,” she said. “Maybe you should take your babies to see Ed. I’m sure he misses them. Cade, too.” Then with a wink, she left, pulling the door closed behind her and leaving Abby staring after her in confusion.
Just then Eric wailed.
Maybe taking the twins for a drive was just the thing, Abby mused. She would visit Ed. And Cade. Her heart leaped at the thought of seeing him again.
Ten minutes later she was on the road to the ranch.
* * *
Drawn to the house by the sight of a strange vehicle, Cade wondered who had arrived. He found Abby and the twins in the garden with his father. He drank in the sight of her, his heart turning to mush.
“Hi, Cade.” Abby had only to smile at him and his world turned rosy. “Hilda Vermeer gave me the car as a baby gift so we came for a drive to try it out.” Her emerald gaze held his. “How are you?”
“Good.” His gaze slid from her to the twin in his father’s arms and the other in Abby’s. “They’ve grown.” As if drawn by a magnet his eyes moved back to her. “You look well.”
Her smile lit the embers that lay deep in his heart. He knew now that he would never get over Abby. She was part of him. Like breathing.
She watched Ed hand him the baby, then roll his wheelchair inside, giving them privacy.
“I’m feeling much better now that Eric has figured out a sleeping schedule,” she said, struggling to fill in the silence that stretched between them.
“Good.” He couldn’t stop staring at her lovely face.
“Ed tells me that the sale is going ahead,” Abby said with no hint of reproach, though Cade knew she still disagreed with his decision.
“Yes.” It was painfully difficult to watch his dad mourn the loss of his life’s work but even Ed finally agreed that he needed help to achieve the next stage of health. The past was over. Now they’d begun to build a real father-son relationship. And it was Abby who had made that possible.
“I don’t suppose you’ve learned anything more about the adoption agency?” She shook her head almost as soon as she said it. “No, of course not.”
“No.” Cade didn’t know what to say to her now. A thousand things flew through his brain but all of them had to do with his feelings for her. He could hardly tell her he loved her now. What good could come of that?
“If you don’t mind, I’d like us to finish the quilts, though I don’t know what we’ll do with them,” she said, her face downcast. “I guess we’ll have to remove the tags Hilda made, too. I’m so sorry you sold Liberty for nothing, Cade.”
She sounded so sad. It pierced his heart but he couldn’t let her think he wished for his horse back.
“It was worth it. I’d sell her again in order to get your machine back,” he murmured.
“Thank you,” she whispered, tears welling in her emerald eyes. “Oh, Cade—”
“Don’t,” he pleaded. “Please don’t.” Suddenly he couldn’t stand there any longer and not embrace her, hold her, tell her he would make everything all right somehow. But it would only hurt more when he had to let her go. “Sorry,” he apologized as he set Adam in his car seat. “I have to go.”
Abby nodded, but said nothing.
Cade left as quickly as he could, needing to escape the look of love that glowed in her eyes. He saddled a horse and rode away from the house and Abby, out into the open space of the foothills, where he’d always run when he needed to get away. He had no idea how long he rode. It didn’t matter. All that did matter was that he was giving up the one thing he cared about more than his own life and the pain of it was excruciating.
When the horse tired, Cade slowed him to a walk, turning his thoughts upward.
God, please help me.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. The verse he’d memorized kept echoing through his head. He couldn’t ignore it. It was the only way to deal with sense of loss that threatened to drown him. He could not go on like this and he knew it.
I’ll trust You, he finally conceded. Your will be done. Just tell me what to do.
There was no response, no answer that rushed into his mind. All Cade felt was a sense of peace, a calm that said God would take over, that He was in control. He dismounted in a flowery glade near the creek and found a sun-warmed stone to sit on. And there he prayed, allowing the biblical promises he’d memorized to soothe his soul.
The first spatter of rain surprised Cade. He lifted his face, letting the droplets trickle down as he scanned the sky. This was no spring storm. The air was heavy with humidity, the wind dead. Black clouds loomed overhead, blotting the sun that had warmed him such a short time before. Lightning arced across the sky, stabbing the land with its electrical darts. It was as if nature held its breath, waiting.
It was dangerous out here. Cade had to get home.
He grabbed the reins and mounted the horse, wheeling around to head for the ranch. Above him the skies opened and rain fell so heavily he could barely see the path in front of him. Not twenty yards away, lightning ripped through the late afternoon sky and sliced open the ground. He prayed Garnet had finished branding the newborn foals and left them in the barn where their mothers would comfort them through the storm. Those foals were going to be the bonus to the sale of the Double L.
But as he mounted the last hill before home, Cade watched a spear of lightning hit the horse barn.
“Oh, no,” he whispered, urging his horse to move faster as the old wood ignited into a blaze, aided by the mounting wind. He kept riding, praising God when the lightning storm moved on. He spurred his horse on. Maybe he could put out the fire. Maybe...
Suddenly his heart stopped. In the distance he could see Abby standing in front of the barn. She was obviously calling someone. That’s when he saw the empty wheelchair in front of the barn door. His father knew the value of the foals. He would spend his last breath trying to rescue them. If Abby went in after him and they both died—
Dread sucked at Cade. He kicked his spurs in the horse’s sides.
“I can’t lose them, God,” he yelled. “I love them. Both of them. Please help us.”
As he raced through the valley toward the barn, he could see nothing but the billows of smoke soaring upward. Cade fought back terror.
Then the words filled his mouth and spilled out, verse after verse, promises reminding him of God’s great love for His children. And that Cade was one of those He loved.
He repeated them over and over until finally he arrived near the barn. He slid off the horse and screamed for Abby and his father. When there was no answer, he prepared to enter, another promise filling his head.
When I am afraid, I will trust You.
“I trust You, God.” He put his neck scarf over his mouth and reached for the barn door handle.
“Cade!” Abby’s voice. Behind him. He turned and saw her, Mrs. Swanson and Ed sitting in the gazebo, well away from the fire, the foals and their mothers in the paddock behind.
Cade could think of nothing but that his loved ones were safe. He hugged his father who sat grinning, the babies in his arms. Then Cade tugged Abby near, certain he could never let her go again.
“I love you,” he said right before he kissed her, intending to show her without words how much he cared.
Sometime later Abby drew back in his arms, her face rosy, her eyes glowing with joy.
“I’ve never been so afraid in my life. I thought you’d gone inside the barn,” he told her, unable to release her from his embrace.
“I did. I left the babies with Mrs. Swanson because I thought you were in there,” she said, smoothing a finger over his frown line. “No way was I going to let you die. Instead I found your dad. He got the back door open so the horses could get out. We went that way and came over here.” Abby grinned at Ed. “He walked, Cade. Your father walked.”
Cade shared a grin with his father. Thank You, God. Two prayers answered.
“Not for long and not very far, but I did walk,” Ed confirmed. “I’m kinda looking forward to that therapy now.”
“Finally.” Cade threw his head back and let out a roar of laughter. Then he dropped to his knees in front of Abby. “Sweetheart, I don’t have a future to offer you. It’s too late to cancel the sale on this place so we’ll have nowhere to live. I don’t even have a job.”
“Neither do I,” Abby murmured.
“So we’re both going to have to trust God with our future.” Cade took her hands and kissed her palms. “All I have to give you is my love and I offer you that freely, forever. Abby, will you marry me?”
“Cade, you’re my life, my world and my heart,” Abby whispered. “I never understood about true love until I met you. These months here on the ranch, waiting for the babies, God helped me realize that love can be many different things. Sometimes it’s being there for someone, helping them through the night. Sometimes it’s only for a short while. Sometimes it lasts the rest of our lives. But the important thing is that love is from God. It’s a gift He bestows on us and wants us to enjoy.”
“So?” he said, impatient to hear her response.
“Yes, I will marry you. I love you. As long as we trust God, nothing else matters to me.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, offering her commitment.
The sound of sirens drew their attention. They stood arm in arm and watched as seconds later the Buffalo Gap fire department pulled up in front of the barn. Though the men turned their hoses on the blaze, Cade knew the barn was a write-off. And he couldn’t have cared less. His loved ones were safe. That was all that mattered.
“I don’t think Mrs. Swanson would mind watching the babies a little longer. Could you help me make some coffee and lunch for these guys?” Cade asked Abby when the last ember had been doused.
“I’m still the cook,” Mrs. Swanson sputtered.
“Of course you are.” Abby handed Cade Eric and took Adam in her own arms. Two of the firemen helped Ed rise. “But we’re your helpers.” She winked at Cade. “After all, we should celebrate our engagement here on the Double L, don’t you think?
“Sounds like the perfect place,” he agreed.
Half an hour later, Cade’s heart overflowed with thanksgiving. There were tables and chairs scattered all over the patio as the fire department, made up of friends and neighbors in Buffalo Gap, used their lemonade to toast his and Abby’s happiness.
“How great are You, Lord,” he whispered as he manned the barbeque. “I trust in You.”
When his cell phone rang, Cade handed his burger flipper to Jake to take over cooking before answering the call. Several moments later he hung up in disbelief.
“What is it, honey?” Abby murmured. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said and lifted her in his arms to whirl her around. “Everything is absolutely perfect.”
“How?”
“The sale of the ranch is off. The buyer said he specifically chose this ranch because the barn was operational and he could begin his business immediately. He was in town and heard that the barn was totaled. He doesn’t want the ranch now. I agreed he could back out.”
Abby and Ed shared a whoop of delight.
“That’s God for you,” Abby said.
Then Ed asked, “What about my therapy?”
“You know what, Dad,” Cade said to him, his arm around Abby’s waist. “I think we’re going to have to trust God on that one, too.”
“I’m good with that,” Ed said, his grin huge.
“So am I, Dad,” Cade said, hugging Abby. “So am I.”
Chapter Sixteen
Abby held up her August 20 wedding to Cade by insisting on talking to him privately before the ceremony.
“Are you sure, Cade? I’m not sure you know enough about me to marry me,” she said, fiddling with her wildflower bouquet. “I mean, I failed Max—”
Cade cut off her words with a kiss.
“Abby, I know everything about you that I need to. You’re kind and generous and determined to serve God no matter what, and you help me do the same. You always put people first. You use your words to bring comfort and joy and blessing. And with you I’m no longer ‘poor Cade.’ I love you.”
She frowned, uncertainty still lingering. “But you don’t know all the bad stuff about me.”
“Lady, I was there when you were in labor.” Cade chuckled. “I think we can agree that I’ve seen you at your very best and your very worst.” He cupped her chin in his palms. “And I love you more than ever. You and Eric and Adam and me and Dad and Mrs. Swanson. We belong together.”
Abby studied the man she loved more than life. She saw the blue sheen of happiness in his eyes, loved they way they lit up when they landed on the twins in their tiny tuxes. Joy shone there along with peace and satisfaction. Cade looked more contented than she’d ever seen him.
She caught her breath when he kissed her. Yes, this was the man for her.
“By the way, your wedding gift is over there,” she said, wondering if she’d ever get used to being in his arms. “I hope you like it.”
Cade turned and stared at the hanging quilt. She’d made it a picture of a cowboy, of Cade, with a newborn foal. Abby had used the photos she’d taken the night Recitation gave birth as a guide. But for the horse she’d used a photo of Liberty.
“It’s amazing,” he said a long while later. He embraced her again. “So beautiful, just like you.”
“Thank you, darling,” she said sweetly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him back.
“Since I’m here, I might as well ask you something,” Cade murmured, still holding her.
“Anything,” Abby assured him.
“Would it be okay with you if we talk about adopting Ivor when we come back from our honeymoon?” Cade asked. “I mean, he kind of belongs here now, doesn’t he?”
“Yes,” she whispered, hugging him close. How she loved this bighearted man. “You really want to marry us, the twins and me, I mean?” she asked just to reassure herself.
Cade gazed into her eyes, certainty in the depths of his. “Abby, I insist on it.”
“Okay then. What are we waiting for?” she asked, deliriously happy.
Two minutes later, using his walker, Ed escorted Abby down the aisle of the new barn built by the folks of Buffalo Gap as thanks to her and Cade for their work in the community with Family Ties, even though the agency had never opened. Ivor stood at the front, Cade’s best man. Mayor Marsha, clinging to her cane, said the words that united the couple as husband and wife.
“I don’t know how we can thank you enough,” Abby said to Marsha when the reception started to wind down. The party lights had flickered on and the townsfolk were enjoying the summer twilight, good friends and Mrs. Swanson’s delicious treats.
“Ed has made so much progress. Finding government funding to provide a van to take patients to the outpatient therapist in Calgary three times a week was genius,” Abby told her.
“A gift from God,” Mayor Marsha agreed, tapping her cane for emphasis. Abby was pretty sure that’s why she’d hung onto it. “If I hadn’t gone in for knee surgery and rehabilitation, I’d never have found out about it.”
“Timing is everything.” Hilda Vermeer stood behind Abby. “I once said I’d never met anyone like you and I was right.” She held Eric in one arm, balanced on her hip just as Abby had taught her.
“I still don’t know what that means,” Abby said with a chuckle. “I’m just like everyone else.”
“No. You really live out your faith.” Hilda smiled. “I’ve never known anyone like that before. I hope you won’t mind that I’m using you as my example in faith matters.”
“Well, I don’t mind,” Abby murmured as Cade’s arm slid around her waist. She smiled at him, then turned back to Hilda. “But just how are you doing that?”
“I’ve hired an asbestos removal company to begin working on the Family Ties building first thing Monday morning. At my cost as my gift to your business,” she added before Cade could interrupt. “You and Wanda will be partners.”
“That’s—wonderful,” Abby gasped.