Brent nodded. “Really.”
“Oh, son. I’m so happy.” The woman hugged Alan and brushed at her damp eyes.
Jill hugged her brother, meeting Brent’s eyes over Alan’s shoulder. She could see the truth written on Brent’s face. She knew he wouldn’t say such a thing if it wasn’t true. And that’s when she realized she trusted this man. With complete faith, just as she trusted the Lord.
“Well, we better get going. We’re on our way up to Cove Mountain,” Brent said their destination again.
He turned to go, but Mom tugged on the sleeve of his Forest Service shirt. “Thank you, Ranger.”
Brent inclined his head. “You’re most welcome, Mrs. Russell.”
He stepped out onto the front porch with Evie. Jill followed them, hugging her arms around herself. In spite of the waves of hot sunlight, she felt suddenly cold. She didn’t want them to leave. Not when it meant she might never see them again.
“Thank you, Brent. I appreciate you coming over here today.” She spoke the words in a shallow rasp, her heart breaking in two. At least they were parting on a happy note. But it wasn’t enough for Jill. Not anymore.
He turned and studied her face for several heart-pounding moments. Then, he reached up and brushed his fingertips against her cheek. His touch sent a zing of awareness through her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and stay there forever.
“If you ever need me, you know where to find me. All you have to do is call and I’ll be there for you,” he said.
His words sank deep into her soul, but it was too late. After the night of the raid when she’d rebuffed his confession of love, she couldn’t blame him for being hurt. If only Mom could let this go. If only her brother wouldn’t disapprove. Jill’s family meant everything to her. Since she was a little girl, she’d dreamed of bringing her own children here to this house one day, to visit their grandma. And being with Brent would undoubtedly create unwanted contention within the family.
One word from Alan and Mom was all Jill needed. One word that they could be friends with Brent, and Jill would cancel her teaching contract in Boise. She’d stay right here in Bartlett with Brent and Evie forevermore.
But those words didn’t come as Mom and Alan went back inside the house.
Taking Evie’s hand, Brent walked down the sidewalk. Evie broke free, holding back. The girl took Jill’s hand, standing close against her side. Evie’s face puckered in an obstinate grimace. She didn’t want to go.
Brent turned, looking at his daughter with expectancy. When he spoke, his voice sounded gentle but insistent. “Come on, honey. We can’t stay. We’ve got to go now.”
Evie shook her head. “Stay.”
Jill froze. What was that? She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. No, it wasn’t real. She hadn’t heard right. Evie hadn’t spoken. Had she? It’d been too faint. A small whisper. A figment of Jill’s imagination. Maybe it was the wind. Or the sound of a car passing by on the street.
Brent took a faltering step, his face drained of color. He tilted his head to one side, as if struggling with the same confusion. “What did you say?”
“Stay.” Evie spoke again, a little louder this time.
Brent’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He looked stunned. A hoarse, emotional laugh slid from his throat and he came to kneel just in front of his daughter.
“Evie, you spoke,” Jill cried.
The girl pressed her face against Jill’s abdomen, her words muffled but still intelligible. “Stay here with Jill.”
In a stupor of delight, Jill knelt down and pulled the child into her arms for a tight hug. “Say it again, Evie. Say anything.”
“Jill. Stay with you,” the girl spoke against Jill’s neck.
“Evie! Oh, Evie!” Brent enfolded the two of them with his strong arms. His deep laughter mingled with exhales of sobbing joy. A celebration of success.
Jill’s gaze locked with Brent’s. His eyes mirrored her absolute joy. After more than a year of silence, the child that had been lost to him had finally returned.
“Oh, sweetheart. I love you so much,” he murmured over and over again as he spread kisses across her face.
Tears ran down his cheeks. Jill couldn’t stop crying either. This seemed too much like a miracle to them. Something amazing and impossible and wonderful.
Finally, Brent pulled back and the three of them gazed at each other with tremulous smiles.
“You know we’ll always be the best of friends,” Jill told Evie. “Nothing will ever change that. And we’ll see each other again.”
“Promise?” the girl asked.
Jill gave a shuddering laugh. It was so good to hear Evie’s sweet voice. “Oh, yes, darling. I promise.”
Evie gave a sad nod, her eyes filled with a maturity too advanced for her tender years. She knew Jill was going away and that they’d only see each other when Jill came home for visits. None of them could hide the truth of the situation from this intelligent child.
“I love you, Evie.” Jill hugged Evie again, breathing in the child’s warm, fruity shampoo.
“I love you,” Evie whispered back.
The commotion must have brought Mom and Alan to the door, because they stood there and smiled. Sharing in this amazing and joyous occasion.
They each laughed and wept together, but it couldn’t hold back the passage of time. Finally, Brent took Evie’s hand and brushed wisps of blond hair back from her face. “Come on, sweetie. Time for us to go.”
Evie didn’t fight him as he tugged her along, but she stared over her shoulder at Jill.
Tears scalded Jill’s eyes, and she couldn’t keep them from falling. Down her cheeks they plummeted unheeded. But what did her smudged mascara matter when her whole world was walking away from her?
Jill waved goodbye, her heart bursting into a trillion shards of broken glass. She watched in misery as the love of her life and his precious daughter got into the Forest Service truck and drove away.
An arm slid around her trembling shoulders and she thought it was Alan. But no, it was Mom.
“You should go after him,” Arline whispered.
Jill jerked her head to look at her mother with startled wonder. “What?”
“You heard me right. I said you should go after him. He’s a nice man and you don’t want to lose him.” Arline showed a serene smile of acceptance.
Alan stood beside them and nodded. “For sure. I’d take the ranger for my brother-in-law over that rotten ex-husband of yours any day of the week. At least the ranger’s an honest man. We can trust him.”
Jill gave a choking laugh, glancing between the two of them. Her family. And how she loved them. But not in a million years had she expected this turn of events. “Do you both mean that? Really, truly?”
“I do,” Alan said. “You know, there’s no reason for you to go back to Boise. Ed Sallinger has a sweet little daughter with Down’s syndrome. And Terry Bates has a son with autism. And of course, there’s also Evie. I’m sure there are other special-needs kids in the area that we don’t even know about. You can continue your work right here in Bartlett. Why don’t you stay?”
Jill hadn’t thought about that, but Alan was right. She could stay right here where she felt most at home. She didn’t need to live in Boise to perform the work she loved. And then she could be near Brent and Evie, too.
Mom pressed her palms against Jill’s back. “Go after him. He and his daughter make you happy. I can see that. And life’s too short to let love pass you by. I never thought I’d say this, but he’s the first reasonable forest ranger I’ve ever met. And he loves you, too, that’s obvious. If he’s what you want, I won’t stand in your way. And if Evie is any indication of the grandchildren you two might give to me, then I’m fine with that, too.”
“Oh, Mom!” Jill whirled around and
hugged her mother, overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions flittering through her chest. She felt as though she was finally free. As though a leaden weight had slid off her shoulders.
Alan dangled her purse and car keys in front of her nose. “If you’re gonna go chasing after the ranger, you better put on some shoes first.”
He glanced pointedly at her bare feet.
Mom chuckled. “I never could keep shoes on you, even when you were a little girl.”
Jill laughed. “I love you both.”
She grabbed the purse and keys and raced through the house to the backyard. Taking the steps up to her apartment two at a time, she jerked on a pair of socks and tied her tennis shoes. Armed with her family’s approval, she scurried outside to her car. One thought pounded her brain. Brent and Evie. She had to find them. Right now. She had to tell them that she loved them. That she wanted to be with them always. That she never wanted to be parted from them again.
* * *
High on Cove Mountain, Brent viewed the pristine beauty of the alpine meadow and tried to jot memos in his notebook. The cutblock would include ponderosa pine and some Douglas fir. If the loggers got started, they could finish the harvest before the weather got too cold. Then the Forest Service could start a replanting program up here in the spring...
His hand shook, making scribbles of his notes. He had to draw a line through the words and start again. Now, what had he been writing? He couldn’t remember. His thoughts were still back in town with Jill. All he could think about was leaving her. Maybe never seeing her again.
A chilling melancholy overshadowed his heart. He couldn’t work today. If he had to beg on his hands and knees, he was going back to Arline’s house to ask for her daughter’s hand in marriage.
He clicked off the pen and slipped it into his front shirt pocket as he looked up at Evie. Oblivious to the pain and chaos he was harboring, she stood in the middle of the meadow, blissfully picking white and yellow wildflowers.
Humming. Some little tune he’d never heard before. A chorus of angels couldn’t have sounded more heavenly to his ears.
He smiled, his body relaxing. His pulse rate slowed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his child sing. Now she was talking again, it was as if a dam had broken inside of her. She’d chattered nonstop on the ride up here. And if Evie could start speaking again, then surely he could convince Arline Russell to let him marry Jill.
He sent a prayer heavenward, knowing the Lord could make it happen. He just had to have faith. Some way. Somehow. He had to convince Arline and Alan that he was the man for Jill. That he could make her happy...
“Hi, there.”
He whirled around and dropped the notebook in the dirt. Jill stood before him, wearing her calf-length skinny jeans and tennis shoes. Her warm blond hair hung about her shoulders in soft curls. He could imagine the silky texture and longed to bury his face in it and breathe in her delicate fragrance.
He blinked, trying to clear his mind. “Are you a mirage?”
She shook her head and stepped close, a gentle smile curving her perfectly beautiful lips. “No, I’m real.”
Above the meadow, Evie’s voice rose in crescendo. She didn’t know Jill was here yet.
Jill gestured toward the child. “She’s happy again.”
“Yes. But wh...what are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came for you.” She took another step that brought her close enough to touch his chest.
As she lifted a hand and rested her palm directly over his heart, he took a sharp inhale. He didn’t dare speak, for fear she might disappear.
“I had a heart-to-heart talk with my family,” she said.
“You did?” He quirked his brows, his mind filled with hopeful wonder as he reached up and covered her hand with his.
“Yes, and they told me I should come after you. They’ve given me their blessing to be here.”
“They...they did?” Oh, he felt stupid and tongue-tied right now. All rational thought fled his dazed brain.
“Yes, so I’ve come here to tell you that I’m in love with you.”
A hard lump settled in his stomach. “You are?”
She nodded. “Yes, I am.”
His throat felt like dry sandpaper. He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move a muscle. He was completely at her mercy, and he prayed she soon put him out of his misery.
“I love you and Evie so much,” she said. “I want nothing more than for us to be together as a real family.”
And then, she did something that tore his heart in two and sent his spirit rocketing to the sun. She took his hand and knelt on one knee. Looking up at him with adoration gleaming in her eyes, she cleared her throat.
“Brent Knowles, I love you more than anything in this world. Please marry me. Because I want to be happy for the rest of eternity.”
He whisked her up into his arms, swinging her feet clear of the earth. Holding her tight to his chest, his voice rasped against her cheek. “Oh, darling. Don’t you get on your knees. Not before me. Not ever. That’s my job. I love you, too. So very much. And yes, I’ll marry you. As soon as we possibly can.”
“Really?” She laughed, as though she couldn’t believe it was true.
Finally, he set her on her feet. “Yes, really. I never thought this was possible. I thought because I’d threatened Alan and the mill that you’d hate me forever.”
She gazed up at him with adoration. “No, you did your job. You did what was right. Even Mom and Alan realize that. And what you’ve done has made me respect and love you all the more.”
Standing close, he cupped her face with his hand, hardly able to believe his dream was coming true. “That day you rescued Evie, I had no idea you’d also be rescuing me.”
“And I had no idea you’d be rescuing me.” She breathed the words on a sigh. “I think Evie will make the cutest flower girl the world has ever seen.”
“I have no doubt she’ll like knowing you’re about to become her new mommy,” he conceded.
“God has blessed us so generously.” She spoke in awe, as though she still couldn’t believe their happiness was coming true.
“He has indeed.” Pulling her into his arms, Brent kissed her deeply. He breathed her in, knowing they’d found their rose among the thorns. And after all, what more could they ask for?
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from FINDING HIS WAY HOME by Mia Ross.
Dear Reader
Having grown up in small towns throughout the Western United States, I actually worked in a sawmill once. You might find it hard to believe, but there weren’t a lot of jobs available in my town for a kid seeking employment. At the age of fifteen, I spent one summer pulling boards off the green chain, to pay for my school clothes in the fall.
The crime of timber theft is personally a very important one. Timber theft is a billion-dollars-a-year crime. Stealing timber destroys ecological and watershed systems, and takes something precious from future generations of people.
I must point out that the Forest Service would plant seedlings in March, when the ground is nice and damp, not in May and June when the weather is turning hot. Additionally, they never would start planting seedlings in a theft area until after law enforcement had completed their investigation. I have violated a few of these rules in order to make this story work. I hope you’ll forgive any inaccuracies and focus more on the overall message I’m trying to convey. That love can conquer fear and pain. That even when we feel abandoned, God walks with us through every trial of our faith. Just as Evie needed rescuing from the silent world she’d built around herself, so too did Brent and Jill need rescuing from the hurt they’d experienced in their lives. And the atonement of Jesus Christ is the ultimate rescue for each of us.
I hope you enjoy reading The Forest Ranger’s Rescu
e, and I invite you to visit my website at leighbale.com to learn more about my books.
May you find peace in the Lord’s words!
Leigh Bale
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Chapter One
William Henry Barrett. Cherished on earth and in heaven.
Hands folded in front of him, Scott Barrett stared down at the granite headstone that marked his grandfather’s resting place in the Barrett’s Mill Cemetery. Solid and straightforward, in Scott’s mind the stone and its message couldn’t have summed up Granddad any better. A kind, hardworking man all his life, Will had given everything he had to his family and the sleepy Virginia town that bore their name.
And now he was gone.
Out of necessity, over the years Scott had learned to mask his emotions behind a cool facade that gave nothing away. But now, facing up to the consequences of bad choices he’d made long ago, a wave of remorse threatened to overwhelm him. If only he’d taken the high road, he lamented silently, he would’ve been able to get here in time to say goodbye.
Unfortunately, some mistakes took root in your life like weeds and spoiled what might have been a good thing if you’d tended to it properly from the start. That lesson, among many others, had been drummed into his head every day for the past three years. From his childhood through graduation day, his mother had complained to him and his four brothers that Barrett men never learned anything the easy way. And he was Barrett to the core.
Love Inspired March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Wife for JacobThe Forest Ranger's RescueAlaskan Homecoming Page 38