Out on a Limb
Page 19
Elise looked back and forth between them, wondering what was going on. She was still quite fuzzy from the anesthesia. They couldn’t possibly mean…
A third head appeared in the doorway. “Are we awake? Time to take your vitals.” A nurse brushed past the McAlister men and popped a thermometer under Elise’s tongue. She squirmed, wanting desperately to ask what question she was supposed to be answering.
“Knock-knock!” Anita McCutcheon appeared in the doorway along with Cutch’s Grandpa Scarth. She held a giant balloon bouquet. “I couldn’t wait at home any longer,” Anita announced. “Old Cutch has been sleeping like a baby since we got home, and I’ve been just about fit to burst waiting to find out what she said.” Anita turned and looked at Elise with interest.
Elise looked at the crowd of people—McCutcheons and McAlisters all squeezed into the doorway together—and suddenly felt overwhelmed. When the nurse finally removed the thermometer from her mouth, she took a deep breath.
“You have too many visitors. The doctor said only one person in the room at a time,” the nurse chirped, strapping a blood pressure cuff on her arm. She addressed Cutch, “You’ve had your turn. Out.” She gestured with her head for him to leave.
“Just a second.” Cutch ducked his head past the cuff and leaned close to Elise’s ear. “Please?” he whispered.
Elise’s heart fluttered as his nose brushed her skin. She wished everyone else would disappear so she could be alone with Cutch. But more than that, she wanted to know what question everyone was talking about. “I—I think I missed something,” she admitted sheepishly.
A smile played across Cutch’s lips. “Will you marry me?” he asked softly, nuzzling her cheek as he spoke.
Elise gave a tiny gasp. “You mean I didn’t dream that part?” She reached her free arm around and cupped his cheek. “I’ve loved you for so long, Cutch. But I didn’t think…” She looked back to the doorway at all the shining faces gazing down at her. All these people who’d kept them apart for so long had been brought together. Long ago she’d naively hoped the strength of her love for Cutch could overcome the feud.
And it finally had.
“Yes,” she answered, her eyes shining. She could envision a happy wedding with both their families present. And her mother, who’d never wanted to leave her, could be a part of the celebration, too. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
As Cutch leaned forward to plant the long-awaited kiss on her lips, the nurse snapped off the blood pressure cuff with a sigh.
“Okay, fine. He can stay, but the rest of you need to leave.”
“I agree. They could use some privacy,” Anita McCutcheon called over her shoulder as she walked back down the hall. “I’m just glad to see it all ended so well.”
“Me, too,” Bill McAlister agreed.
But Elise wasn’t listening. She was finally kissing the man she loved.
Dear Reader,
Cutch and Elise’s story makes me feel homesick for southwest Iowa and all the warmhearted people who live there. The Loess Hills are a real place, as is the Nishnabotna River, though Holyoake, Iowa, is a figment of my imagination, based loosely on my husband’s hometown of Clarinda and its sister city, Shenandoah. Though Holyoake is fictional, it still feels like home.
Likewise, the characters in this story feel very real to me. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings caused a rift between the McCutcheons and the McAlisters—a rift that only God’s love can ultimately overcome. Though the feud between them is a bitter one, it’s rooted in honest, loving feelings, as one generation has tried to protect the next from suffering through the hurts and broken hearts that sometimes go along with life.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Holyoake County, and I pray you’ll join me there again as some of the characters we’ve come to love find happy endings of their own.
God bless you, and thanks for reading this book!
Rachelle McCalla
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
As Elise’s glider is shot down, she prays that God will help her escape from her enemies. Do you believe God answered her prayers? How?
Cutch is particularly distressed to discover someone has been producing meth on his property. Why does he feel so strongly about this issue? Have you ever felt more passionately about an issue because of personal experience or a loved one’s experience?
Elise’s father and Uncle Leroy are very protective of her. What are the advantages and disadvantages of their behavior? Have you ever felt someone was being overprotective toward you? Have you ever been overprotective toward someone else?
Though Cutch wants to investigate the tank he saw from the sky, he chooses to help Elise first, only to discover the tank has been moved while he was helping her. Have you ever felt you’d lost out on something important by helping a friend? How did you deal with your feelings? What did you ultimately gain through your sacrifice?
Cutch is a secretive person by nature and often gives Elise an evasive answer when she asks him a question, especially toward the start of their adventure. How is her ability to trust him influenced by his unwillingness to share? When he begins to open up, how does Elise respond? Have you ever known someone who was secretive? How did their behavior impact your relationship with them?
Though Elise still feels strongly attracted to Cutch, she refuses to let on to him about her true feelings. Why? How is her silence helpful? How is it harmful?
Elise feels abandoned by her mother and thinks she’s unlovable. Because of her mother’s rejection, Elise feels certain Cutch will always reject her as well. Do her feelings make sense to you? Have you ever transferred a feeling—either rejection, criticism or approval from one person to another? How have these transferred emotions hindered your relationships? How can you overcome that?
When Pastor Carmichael preaches about loving enemies, Elise listens to his message while coming up with excuses in her mind for why she shouldn’t do what the Bible says. Have you ever done something similar? Was Elise best served by following her ideas of what was right or by following the Bible’s instructions? What is God calling you to do?
Cutch’s grandfather planted his pecan trees too close together for them to be fruitful. Though Cutch has pruned them to make them more productive, they’ll never yield what they could have if they’d been correctly planted initially. How are our lives like the pecan trees? What decisions have you made that have made your life less fruitful? What have you had to prune? Can you think of any Bible passages that relate our lives to bearing trees?
Cutch reflects on the Bible’s promise that the truth will set a person free. He fears the sheriff’s investigation will do the opposite for him. In what ways are his fears realized? In what ways does the whole truth finally set him free? Have you ever found yourself waiting for the whole truth to set you free? What does that promise from the Bible really mean (see John 8:32; 14.6)?
When Elise revisits the Bible passage from Luke 6:27-31, she realizes God calls her to love, even if she isn’t loved in return. How does this realization change Elise’s attitude toward Cutch? How does it free her from her fears? Is there someone difficult in your life who God is calling you to love?
When Elise’s father explains the history between the feuding families, Elise realizes much of her anger toward Cutch was brought on by things that had happened long ago—in some cases, before she was even born. How do things that happened long ago influence the way you treat others? Can you think of historical or biblical examples of this dynamic? What long-held grudges can you overcome today?
Both the McCutcheons and McAlisters are God-loving people who are active in church, who pray and read their Bibles regularly. Yet they still maintain an ugly feud that generates bitterness and hatred between their families. Do you think this is believable? How does it challenge the assumption that Christians are supposed to lead perfect lives? Is there any ugliness in your heart that you need to confess and be forgiven for today? How does this make you feel more sympathetic toward other “hypocritical�
� Christians?
Given all the evidence that’s stacked against Cutch, Elise feels like she’s going out on a limb to trust him. Do you think her decisions were wise? What might you have done differently?
Throughout the book, Cutch and Elise often note that God has been watching out for them, helping them to escape from the bad guys, no matter how close they’ve come to getting caught. How does this correspond with your own experience of God’s protection? What can you do today to trust Christ more?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6652-4
OUT ON A LIMB
Copyright © 2010 by Rachelle McCalla
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