Tracie Peterson - [Land of Shining Water 02]

by The Quarryman's Bride

  He opened his eyes to find her watching him still. “You said you had something to ask me,” she reminded him.

  “Aye. I do. I’m wondering about something. I’ve been thinking on this for . . . well, for some time now. What would you say to us adopting Fenella’s boys?”

  She stopped stock-still and turned to face him. “Tavin MacLachlan, I declare, you can read my mind. I was trying to think of a way to ask you the same thing. Do you think your mother would allow for it? She’s awfully partial to them.”

  “That she is. However, she was just saying the other day that they needed to be around other children. To know the love of a mother and father. I think it might have been her way of putting the idea into my head.”

  “Well, it’s a wonderful idea, Tavin. I love those little boys dearly.” She drew her brows together. “I suppose, however, it would be best to ask them how they feel. At least Gunnar. Lethan will only babble at us for cookies and milk.”

  “And the ‘goggie,’” Tavin added with a grin.

  “Oh, to be sure.” Emmalyne linked her arm with his and pulled him toward the house. “Why don’t we talk to your mother first, and then we can speak with Gunnar when he wakes up.”

  Later Tavin and Emmalyne sat in the quiet of the front room with Gunnar. Morna and Robert had taken Lethan for a little walk so that they could speak, uninterrupted, with the boy. Emmalyne smiled, remembering Morna’s delight and comment that she and Tavin were an answer to her prayers—only so long as they didn’t take her grandbabies too far away.

  “Gunnar, Emmy and I have been talking about something,” Tavin began. “We were hoping you might let us share our idea with you.”

  “Is it something fun?” he asked.

  “I think it is,” Emmalyne replied. “I hope you will, too.”

  Tavin motioned him to come sit on his lap, and Gunnar quickly complied. Snuggling into his uncle’s arms, he looked quite content. Tavin could only hope that the boy would be as happy once he heard their idea.

  “I loved your mama, my sister, very much,” Tavin began. “I’m sure I would have loved your father, too. But I never knew him.”

  “I don’t ’member him much,” Gunnar said, shaking his head.

  “Well, that’s all right. I’m sure your folks will always remember you from up in heaven.” Tavin gripped his hands together in front of the boy. “Emmalyne and I were talking about how sometimes when something or someone is taken away from you, God brings something else in its place. Now, with people you can’t really take another person’s place. Every person is special. Your mama was precious to me, and I know you loved her very much. Of course, she was very sick after your father died.”

  “Grandma said she hurt bad, in her head.”

  Emmalyne nodded and reached over to pat the boy’s knee. “She did, Gunnar, and that pain made her do things she really didn’t want to do.”

  “Like fall off the rock and die?” he asked innocently.

  “Like that, yes, and the times she hurt you or Lethan,” Tavin interjected. “She didn’t know what she was doing because the pain and sickness made her not think right. Understand?” Gunnar nodded, and Tavin continued. “Like I was saying, nobody can take your mama’s place. No one even wants to. We want you to remember her and always love her, but sometimes God sends other people to us . . . like a gift, a present to help ease our sadness. Emmalyne and I . . . well . . . we’d like to be a present to you from God.”

  The boy’s eyes got big. “God is giving me a present?”

  Emmalyne reached out to take hold of the boy’s hand. “Yes. He is. You know Tavin and I will soon be married. And after that, we would love very much for you to live with us. You and Lethan.”

  “We want, in fact, to adopt you,” Tavin explained. “That means we would become your new mama and papa. Would you like that?”

  Gunnar frowned, his little brows knit together. “Will you go away like my other mama and papa?”

  Tavin hadn’t anticipated this question. He grew uneasy, wondering exactly how to help the boy understand. But before he could speak, Emmalyne was explaining.

  “Gunnar, we don’t know when or where, but every person on this earth will die one day. It’s not something to worry about or be afraid of, because we love Jesus, and He’s promised us that because we belong to Him, we will live forever with Him. Your mama and papa loved Jesus, and they will live forever. You will see them again someday.”

  “Will they be mad at me?”

  Emmalyne looked at Tavin in confusion.

  “Why would you think that?” Tavin asked. “Why would they be mad at you?”

  “For havin’ a new mama and papa.”

  Tavin shook his head. “No, Gunnar. They wouldn’t be mad. They will be so happy that you have someone to love you—to love Lethan. They want you to be happy, Gunnar. They want you to have a new mama and papa.”

  The child smiled and the worry left his face. “Then I want God’s present. I want you to be my papa, Uncle Tavin, and Emmy, you can be my mama. Lethan’s too.”

  Only a few days remained until the wedding when Tavin’s father appeared at the quarry and asked Tavin to join him back at the office. Since fulfilling the contract and joining the union, Robert had been very busy with a variety of further business deals. Tavin hadn’t concerned himself with the details, since Gillam had always assisted their father.

  “What’s this about?” Tavin asked, matching his stride to his father’s.

  “I cannae say. I want to show you,” he replied.

  Tavin wiped granite dust from his face and rubbed his hands on his pants. “It’s not like you to let a man neglect his work,” he said with a grin. “Must be something mighty important.”

  “’Tis most important,” Robert MacLachlan said, returning Tavin’s smile. “Something that I hope you’re going to like. Of course, I ken you and Emmalyne have been discussing all sorts of plans for after you’re wed. This maynae be something you’ll want, but I think it is.”

  Tavin shook his head. “Sounds kind of mysterious to me, Father.”

  They made their way to the office where Luthias Knox was hard at work. He glanced up when they entered but said nothing. Tavin couldn’t help but note the sly smile on the older man’s face. What were those two up to?

  His father led him down the hall to his own office, Luthias following closely behind. To Tavin’s surprise, Gillam was there, as well.

  “Well, brother,” Gillam said with a second sly smile, “are you ready to inspect your new shop?”

  Tavin looked at his father. “I don’t understand. Have I been fired? What new shop?”

  “We had an agreement. You stayed on to help me with the contract, and I want to hold up my end of the bargain.” Gillam began spreading out a large piece of paper while their father continued. “I had some plans drawn up, and I’m wondering what you think about them. We can make any needed changes.”

  Tavin looked at the paper and shook his head. “I still don’t understand. I thought maybe you figured to add onto the offices here.” What he was seeing on the drawing was a completely separate, free-standing building.

  “I dinnae consider the dust. ’Tis hard enough already. I looked over the land and got to thinkin’ that it would serve you well to be farther from the quarrying and closer to the road where folks could come and order their stones and monuments. We can always make it larger in the years to come.”

  Tavin looked a long time at the paper Gillam was holding open on the desk. “It’s a lot more than I expected,” he finally said. “What will this cost?”

  “’Tis nae your concern. ’Tis our wedding gift to you and Emmalyne. Gillam and I have already discussed it. We only wanted your approval to get started.”

  Tavin thought of how he’d spent most of his adult life staying as far away from this place and its people as he could. Now he was on the threshold of becoming a permanent part of the community. He looked at his father and Gillam, who were both grinning from ear to
ear.

  “Well, seeing how you went to all this trouble,” he said, unable to hide his own smile, “I suppose I’ll need to approve.”

  “Aye,” his father replied sagely. “You must, lest your mither give us both grief. ’Twas partly her idea.”

  Tavin laughed at this. He could well imagine his mother doing what she could to keep him and Emmalyne in the area, close at hand so she could be near her grandchildren. “Very well. You can assure Mother that the plans were well received. I think Emmalyne will be happy with this arrangement, as well, and I know her parents will, also.”

  Behind them Luthias cleared his throat and said, “That they will, ma boy.”

  After their laughter died away, Tavin said, “Now all I need do is find us a home.”

  His brother shook his head. “Didn’t you tell him?” he asked their father.

  “I dinnae. I couldnae find the words.” Robert MacLachlan rubbed his chin. “You see, your guid mither had a hand in that, too. She wants you and Emmy to stay with us until we can build you a wee house close by.”

  Tavin looked at his father and then to his grinning brother. “I suppose Mother is of a mind to accompany us on the wedding trip, as well?”

  Gillam broke into hearty laughter while their father patted Tavin on the back. “I told her we couldnae do that to you.”

  Tavin laughed along with his father and brother. He couldn’t be exactly sure that his father was teasing, but it was good to share the humor of the moment. Life had taken so many unexpected turns. He’d thought so often that God had deserted him, forgotten him—when all the while He was making a way that Tavin couldn’t discern. Now that way was becoming clear, and Tavin very much liked the look of the road ahead.

  Chapter 29

  With only their immediate families to stand witness to their marriage, Tavin and Emmalyne were wed. Reverend Campbell admonished them on the seriousness of the wedding sacrament first, and then added his thoughts on the joys.

  “God has given you to each other,” he told them. “God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone, and I for one can vouch for this being true. Mrs. Campbell has been my mainstay, just as I’m sure Emmalyne will be for you, Tavin. And there will be times when he will serve in that role for you, Emmalyne.

  “Take pleasure in your time together. Find delight in the simple things of life. Enjoy the quiet of morning in each other’s arms. Make time for walks together. Cherish each other, and remember that God gave you back to each other after a very long separation. Rejoice in Him for that gift.”

  He paused and looked past Emmalyne and Tavin to where their families sat side by side. “Don’t forget your part in this marriage, either. You, as godly parents, are charged to pray for your children. Set good examples for them and encourage their hearts when life’s difficulties set in.”

  Emmalyne glanced over her shoulder to see Gunnar nudge his grandmother and whisper something in her ear. Morna MacLachlan smiled and nodded. Whatever it was the boy had said, he looked quite content with her approval.

  Emmalyne wrapped her fingers around Tavin’s. The past was now nothing more than a hazy memory—a trial that had been endured. Emmalyne tried to focus on what Reverend Campbell was saying, but it was difficult. She had never thought this day would come, and the wonder of it was almost more than she could bear. God had changed her father’s heart—a heart so hardened by life’s disappointments and tragedies that Emmalyne had feared it to be an impossible task.

  But nothing is impossible for God or with Him, she reminded herself. She prayed that she would always keep that thought in mind when other problems in life arose.

  “And now you may kiss your bride.”

  Emmalyne heard those words clearly enough. She looked to Tavin, who was grinning from ear to ear. He pulled her close in a secure embrace and pressed his lips to hers. Emmalyne wasn’t sure that Tavin’s kisses had thrilled her this much when she was seventeen, but now they left her breathless and longing for more. She didn’t want the moment to end, but she knew they could hardly remain there at the altar of the church wrapped in each other’s arms, with thoughts only for each other.

  Tavin seemed to understand this, too. He released her but whispered against her ear, “I still have a lot of time to make up for.”

  She didn’t dare look at him for fear of breaking out in laughter. Instead, she turned to her family and smiled. Her mother was the first on her feet. She walked to Emmalyne, her eyes bright with tears.

  “I’m so happy,” she declared, hugging first Emmalyne and then Tavin.

  “But ye cannae tell it,” her father interjected, shaking his head. “She sat here weeping the entire time.”

  “They were tears of joy,” Morna MacLachlan corrected as she embraced the newlywed couple. “Just as mine are.” She reached up to touch Tavin’s face as tenderly as if he were a small child. “I’m so pleased.”

  He drew her hand to his lips, where he pressed a kiss to it. “As am I.”

  “And donnae you look lovely,” Morna said, turning back to Emmalyne. “I’ve ne’er seen you more beautiful.”

  Emmalyne felt her face grow warm. “Thank you.”

  “Where did you get such a beautiful gown on such short notice?” Morna asked.

  “Well, she says it isn’t the latest fashion with its bustle and all—’tis the one she would have been married in eleven years past,” Emmalyne’s mother answered for her. “She tucked it away to dream on all this time.”

  Tavin touched Emmalyne’s shoulders. “I hope they were good dreams.”

  “For so long,” she admitted, “I didn’t even dare to dream. I’m afraid I thought my life was forever altered—that I could never reclaim what was lost. I’m so glad to have been wrong.” She pressed her gloved hand across the lace overlay of the cream-colored bodice. “So glad.”

  Just then Gunnar wrapped himself around Emmalyne’s skirt. He had been greatly amused by the bustle, and even now he couldn’t help but pat at the extra bulk in the back.

  “Gunnar, stop that,” his grandmother ordered. “You’ll get Emmy’s dress dirty.”

  “But it looks funny, Grandma.”

  Emmalyne laughed. “You wouldn’t think it so funny if you had to wear it. It took forever to get into this dress.”

  “Bet it won’t take long to get out of it,” Gillam said, nudging Tavin.

  “Gillam!” their mother declared, looking horrified and just a bit amused.

  Gillam shrugged, Tavin laughed, and to Emmalyne’s surprise, so did her mother and father.

  “Grandma says I can pray for you just like the preacher said.” Gunnar looked to his grandmother in confirmation.

  “’Tis true, Gunnar. We must always remember to pray for one another,” Morna declared.

  “So that’s what you were talking to her about,” Emmalyne said, giving the boy’s head a rub. “And here I thought you might be up to mischief.”

  The reception was held at the nearby home of one of the quarrymen. His wife, a good friend of Morna’s, had quickly offered to host the party since both the Knox and MacLachlan houses were outside of town. Tavin had told her they would leave by train not long after the wedding. It would have taken precious time to come all the way into town to marry, then return home for a wedding party only to drive back to St. Cloud’s train station.

  Mingling among the guests at the reception, Emmalyne found herself face-to-face with Jason Williams. She pushed aside her mild unease and smiled her greeting. “Dr. Williams, I’m so glad you could be here.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it,” he said, returning her warm smile. “You look beautiful.”

  “And maybe a bit outdated, perhaps?” she said, turning slightly to show off the gown’s bustled back.

  “You’re a nice, old-fashioned girl, so it only seems fitting,” he replied. “I’m sure it was a beautiful wedding.”

  “Small and simple, just like we wanted,” she agreed.

  “And very short,” Tavin declared, coming up fro
m behind her. “Just like we wanted. Even being October, the church was quite warm.” He pulled at his stiff collar for emphasis.

  “I wanted to express how happy I am for the two of you,” Dr. Williams said. “Finding true love is hard enough, but finding it a second time is even more unlikely.”

  Tavin put his arm around her waist and nodded. “That’s the marvel of our story. We didn’t have to find love a second time because it was always there. We just had to find each other again. I have to admit, I feared Em had forgotten all about me.”

  “Forget about you?” Emmalyne looked up into Tavin’s face, her eyes wide. “How could I ever forget you? Every thought I had was of you. Every moment of my day was spent longing to see you again. Every breath . . . every heartbeat . . . it was all for you.”

  Tavin bent his head so his forehead touched hers. “I suffered the same fate.”

  “Well . . .” Dr. Williams said, giving a slight cough, “hopefully the suffering is behind you.”

  “Aye.” Emmalyne nodded her agreement.

  “The suffering is certainly behind her,” Tavin said, laughing. He turned Emmalyne around. “Have you seen this bustle?”

  Emmalyne and Tavin were on board the eastbound train and settled into their places. Having changed from her wedding gown into a fashionably styled traveling suit—a store-bought one with a matching hat from the Sears and Roebuck catalog that fit her perfectly—Emmalyne couldn’t help but feel that she had stepped into a dream.

  “I never thought this day would come,” she said, placing her hand in Tavin’s. She shook her head in awe and glanced out the window of the train as it began to move through the evening shadows.

  “Neither did I,” Tavin replied, leaning over to follow her gaze. “What do you see out there?”

  She looked back at him and smiled. “The past. I was just bidding it good-bye.”

  He nodded, and she knew he understood. Suppressing a yawn, Emmalyne unpinned her hat and leaned back wearily as she smoothed down the lines of her hunter green jacket. The black piping and buttons gave it a very elegant look, and she felt like a princess.