Searching the barn and the yard around the house, he started to suspect she had gone somewhere with Colin. For a minute that reassured him, until he began to wonder if they were even then whispering sweet nothings. Colin had already admitted he admired her cooking and her mothering skills. Now he was talking about settling down. Didn’t he understand that Will wanted to save Abby from the hardships of being a farmer’s wife? If she was going to stay in Nebraska, then it should be by Will’s side—he was the one whose sons needed her. He was the one who knew and appreciated all her wonderful abilities. He was the one who cared for her...more deeply every day, for all that he tried to avoid her.
But because he cared for her, Will was the one who was going to do the right thing. He was going to find a job for Abby in some comfortable city far from the prairie. She’d be happy there, which was what mattered most. And he wasn’t going to let Colin convince her otherwise.
As the trail to the creek twisted around and he could see the two of them standing a few paces apart, relief made his heart leap because she was safe! Then his anger returned because she was out for an evening stroll with his best friend.
When Colin came back to the barn, he had not so much as said a word about their exchange by the creek except to chuckle about how quickly Abby had gotten under Will’s skin. It was the final straw as far as Will was concerned. He’d told Colin to keep his nose out of other people’s business and not follow Abby around in the evening without staying within view of the house. Colin had just laughed and offered to pray before they hit the hay. Now he stood calmly preaching to his congregation and Will wondered, with a sinking sense of dread, if Colin’s sermon was personally motivated. Had Colin decided that the best way for him, personally, to live life to the fullest would be to settle down on a claim in Nebraska...with Abby as his wife? He’d have to talk Colin out of it and make his friend see that Abby didn’t belong in Nebraska—and certainly not as any farmer’s wife. Not even Will’s.
“Here in this very community, we have had our share of heartbreaks and funerals.” Colin continued his sermon, his eyes roaming the congregation and once again settling on Will. “None of the brothers and sisters who have gone before us woke on the morning they were to meet their Savior knowing it was their last day. They went about, living their lives as they always did and then, without God asking them leave, He collected them to Himself.
“While we may have mourned them for a time, and still miss them, I doubt any of us who truly understands where our departed loved ones are today would ask to have them returned from Paradise to the suffering in this fallen world. I have to confess there are days when I grow weary of the drudgery and suffering here and plead with God to take me to my eternal rest, but most mornings I rise with the desire to see another sunset and another sunrise. I hope to someday settle down and find some nearsighted girl who will take pity on my sorry hide and decide to make a family man out of me. There are mornings when I beg God to hurry that day and others I resign myself to the life God has chosen for me to serve Him, even if it means living the rest of my life like a Gypsy, not having a home to call my own or a family waiting for me around the hearth at the end of the day. But while I can’t know what God has planned for me, I can make the choice to embrace His blessings to the fullest of my ability, enjoying every day I’m given and never holding back from all the happiness life offers. No matter how many days the Lord grants every one of us, we need to spend each day full of joy for the wonders of His gifts, and praise for His name.”
Soon Colin brought the service to a close with a prayer of blessing and protection for the families of their church. “Don’t forget, we have a picnic planned for after service. I have been informed by a very reliable source that there’s enough food out there to feed an army. Since we’re all part of the army of the Lord, I hope that’s true. Once the ladies have the food set out, we’ll ask the good Lord to bless the food and our fellowship. This is a special day when we get to welcome Mrs. Hopkins to our community. As you all know she and Mr. Hopkins were married just last month in a ceremony after the service. Today we’ll have the reception.”
In a matter of minutes, the women assembled all manner of tempting dishes on the two long tables made out of sawhorses with flat boards laid across that the men had set up earlier. Once Colin said grace for the food, the serving began. Mothers collected their children and filled their plates before withdrawing to the blankets that had been laid out in the shadow of the church. Then the men surged around the tables like a swarm of bees. Will saw to Willy and Tommy and then stood to the side and watched as Abby graciously greeted everyone and helped serve.
He was just about to get into line when Abby’s eyes found his and she smiled shyly. His pulse tripled and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. A hurt look crossed her face and her smile slipped away as she busied herself with the plates of two more farmers while he edged closer. Had she expected him to smile back? Of course, he reasoned with himself. She was the stranger here and she deserved to know that he was so proud of how well she was getting along with everyone. What a dunce he was to squash what little joy she was getting from the potluck.
Stepping up in line, he stopped in front of her and found that she had already served a heaping plate of all his favorites. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” he stated, hoping to make up for his coolness just seconds before.
“Everyone is so nice and welcoming,” she answered without looking up at him. It bothered him that he had hurt her again.
“Thank you for the food, Abby.”
“You’re welcome.” She started to prepare another plate of food—presumably hers since everyone else had their plates—so he waited until she finished. “Did you need something else?” she asked, clearly surprised to find him still waiting on the other side of the table when she reached for a slice of bread.
“I thought it only proper I escort my lovely wife to our blanket with the boys,” he explained, proud that he had managed to compliment her. Her eyes found his for a second and then she nodded.
“Oh, we need to appear to be together for the Scotts,” she whispered as he led her across the thick grass he and Colin had cut down the day before in preparation for the picnic.
“In part, but I also wanted to say you look lovely and did a wonderful job with the meal. Everything looks delicious.” Her surprise looked turned to pleasure and a slight blush graced her cheeks, but before he could say any more, they arrived at the blanket the boys occupied and the opportunity to talk privately was gone.
He held her plate for her while she twisted and settled all her skirts so she could sit on the blanket and then she held both plates as he flopped down next to her. The boys, their food half gone, crowed around and kept a constant chatter as he and Abby started to eat. Will watched Abby as she patiently answered all of Tommy’s questions and told funny stories to him and Willy. To everyone around them at the picnic they must have appeared to be a real family—especially with both boys calling her Ma.
“Pa!” Tommy plopped down next to Will, his hazel eyes bright and happy. “Did you hear me, Pa?” Tommy’s little hand nudged his arm, pulling his focus back on his little boy.
“Sorry, what did you say, son?”
“I said Ma taught me to count all the way to thirty. Wanna hear? She showed me a cal...can...calendar—it has boxes and numbers. Just like Pastor Colin said today. Ma taught me to be wise ’cuz she taught me to number the days.”
Will cast a questioning look at Abby. The knowing grin she sent him told him that not only had she followed Tommy’s strange logic but she also knew Will didn’t have a clue. She had come to understand his boys better in a few months than he had done in all the years he raised them. If only she could stay.
“Tommy, Pastor Colin was talking about something a little different today, sweetheart. I taught you how to number a calendar to tell us what day of the week it is
or what month of the year. But what Pastor Colin was talking about was that if we really want to be wise, we will learn to live every day for God as if there might not be any more days here for us. I hope you grow up to be very old and have children and grandchildren….”
“Yeah, and you’ll get all wrinkly and your hair’ll fall out like ol’ Mr. Patterson,” Willy added.
Abby took control back of the conversation. Grinning at Willy, she fingered his hair out of his face as she continued. “Sometimes God wants us in heaven before we get to be all old and wrinkly. The Bible says no man knows when he will be called to stand before God and give an account for his life. We can’t wait till we’re old like Mr. Patterson to start living the life God wants us to live.”
“What’s that mean?” Tommy asked.
Will took a deep breath, praying for wisdom and answers, but Abby already started to explain. Nodding his encouragement, he started praying that God would give her the right words to share the message of salvation with Tommy.
“God’s got plans for all of us,” she began.
“Like when you make plans for our lessons?” Tommy asked.
Abby laughed. “Well, a little like that, I guess. God’s plans tell us where we’re supposed to go, and what we’re supposed to do to be good people, and find happiness.”
“Did God tell you to come out here to us?” Willy questioned, leaning against Abby’s side. She wrapped an arm around him in a hug.
“He certainly did.” The words hit Will like a pleasant shock. She still believed that—that God had brought her out here, that their humble home in Nebraska was where she was supposed to be? He pushed down the sense of hope that that gave him, reminding himself that she still didn’t understand just how grim prairie life would be. She’d come to hate it, just as Caroline had. And she’d come to resent him if he tried to keep her there. He needed to remember that.
Will listened as Abby explained God’s ultimate plan—to save mankind with the gift of His son. As she talked about sins and the forgiveness God offered through Jesus’s sacrifice, Will was reminded of his own shortcomings. If he’d been more careful, if he’d paid more attention, then he wouldn’t have led Caroline on, leading to their disastrous marriage. If he’d been more considerate, more aware of her needs, maybe she wouldn’t have wasted away. If he’d been more diligent getting information from Abby before hiring her as his housekeeper, maybe they could have avoided the misunderstandings and complications that led to—
That led to this: sitting on a picnic blanket, surrounded by a happy, healthy, well-fed and well-dressed family while a kind, beautiful woman gently spoke of God’s message to his youngest son. How could he regret this? How could he repent his actions when they led to the gifts Abby had brought to his family?
Was there any chance that his marriage to Abby was truly part of God’s plan? Was this really the life that God wanted him to lead?
“Someday,” Abby concluded, “each one of us will reach the end of God’s plan for us, and it’ll be time to go home to Him in Heaven. If you want to be able to go to Heaven, you have to tell Jesus that you know you are a sinner and you accept the gift of His forgiveness. He promises in the Bible that He will forgive anyone who asks Him to. Would you like to ask Jesus to forgive your sins today?”
Tommy nodded his little head and Abby took him into her arms, snuggling him close. She told him to close his eyes and she led him in a prayer to open his heart to the forgiveness Jesus promises to all who ask.
“I bet Pastor Colin would very much like to hear that you just asked Jesus to be your Savior, Tommy,” Abby suggested. “Would you like me to go with you so you can tell him or do you want to take your pa?”
“I want you both to go with me,” Tommy answered.
“Sure thing, son,” Will managed to choke out. “I’m so glad you let Jesus be your Savior.”
“Did you ask Him to forgive you, too?” Tommy asked innocently.
“I did. I wasn’t much bigger than you are now. I remember my grandpa took me to go fishing and while we were waiting for the first fish to bite, he started to talk to me about how life is too short to wait until we get big to make the most important decision in our lives. He said that I needed to get my life right with God before I could be a good man.”
Tommy stood and threw himself into Will’s arms. The force almost knocked him onto his back, but he managed to keep upright. “I love you, Pa. I’m glad you could be a good man ’cuz then you could be my pa.”
“I love you too,” Will whispered as he hugged Tommy tight. He hooked his other arm around Willy and pulled him into the hug, as well. Seeing Abby watching them, he smiled and mouthed, “Thank you” to her. She smiled back and he felt the force of it all the way to his toes. She had a lovely—powerful—smile.
Both boys pulled away and cuddled with Abby for just a moment before they were ready to run off and tell Colin. Will stood and extended his hand to Abby to help her stand. Her fingers slid into his palm, and their eyes caught for just a second before she looked away. The same burning question from before filled his head. Was she the one God wanted for him—part of a life that followed God’s plan? He wanted to believe it, but he couldn’t be sure. He’d been selfish with his first marriage, forcing his choices onto Caroline, believing he knew what was best for them both. Was he letting his own selfish wishes get in the way again? Until he was certain, he couldn’t open his heart to Abby with all of his feelings for her. But there was still one thing he had to say.
“Thank you. I...I’ll always be beholden to you for taking the time to get to know my boys and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit working in my son’s heart. Today his eternity was determined and I have you to thank for that.”
“No. You have the Lord to thank for that. The time was right and God just chose to use me to explain to him. I’m sure you would have said the same things, or maybe Jake or Colin. But I am glad I was here for it. No matter what happens, I’ll always remember this day.” Her voice cracked at the end and she turned away, following the boys.
Chapter Eleven
“Good morning, Jake. How are you today?” Abby greeted the young man she’d truly come to see as her nephew. In the last five months since she had arrived to Nebraska, they had become as close as she had been with Emma’s boys.
“Great, Abby. Uncle Will is thinking we’ll be done harvesting in a few more days. He thinks maybe I could go into the town with him when he goes to sell the wheat and extra vegetables.”
The news shouldn’t have been surprising, but it still shook her. Will hadn’t said anything to her about it. Despite the rocky beginning, they had managed to return to friendship during their four months of “marriage.” Friendship—but nothing more. Will and Jake continued to sleep out in the barn and even though Jake didn’t ask questions, Abby felt his curiosity at times. Will treated her no differently than he had when she was just his housekeeper. It was a relief to have the odd distance between them from their first month of marriage gone, but she still wished their relationship could be something more. Sometimes she wondered if Will felt the same way. There were times...times when she felt him watching her moving around the kitchen or when she was on the porch and he would sit in the quiet and just wait. It felt as if he were being pulled toward her but was holding himself back.
“That sounds exciting. How long has it been since you’ve gone to town?” Abby asked, forcing herself to sound interested instead of panicked. Would Will expect to take her to the train station then or would he leave her back at the farm with the boys? She would rather stay on the farm for the next ten years and never see the town again if it meant staying with her family.
“We went every fall with my parents. It’s been a few years. Not since they passed,” Jake answered with a shrug, but by now Abby knew the young man too well to be fooled by his pretended nonchalance.
�
�That was almost seven years ago! Why haven’t you gone back?”
“Well...someone had to stay with the livestock.” Jake explained it away but Abby saw something else in his eyes.
“Didn’t you want to go this last time, when the others came to meet me at the train? I’m sure Will could have gotten someone from another farm to come out and check on the livestock or even take them over to someone else’s spread until you got back,” Abby argued.
“I was fine staying here. See, I’m not...” His face turned a bright red and he ducked his head as he tended to when she had first arrived.
“You’re what?” Abby prompted in a quiet voice, waiting for him to raise his eyes and answer.
“I’m not very cultured or educated. I’m just a country bumpkin and I, well, I’m not really fit to go to town.”
“Since when? You are a very well-mannered young man. If you weren’t, I would have let you know by now. You were terribly shy when I first came, but you do really well now, talking with everyone at church.”
“But I don’t have any schooling,” Jake disputed.
“You’ve been taught the basics of reading and writing and I’ve helped you with some of the more advanced math. You’re very smart.”
“No, she said...” Jake turned away and seemed about ready to head back out the kitchen door without breakfast.
“Wait, Jake. Who said what?” Abby pressed, grabbing his hand to keep him from leaving.
“It doesn’t matter. She was right. I’m just a simpleton. I don’t know how to treat a lady or how to act in public.”
“Who said that to you, Jake? Was it someone from church?”
He shook his head and Abby tightened her grip.
“I want to know who lied to you, Jake. You’re a wonderful person. It’s been a pleasure to get to know you. Your own parents and then your uncle raised you very well. I’d be proud to introduce you to my nieces if they were here. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You might find some things in town confusing because you didn’t grow up there, but that doesn’t mean that you’re worth any less than any city boy. You just need to learn.” He stopped fidgeting and listened but he didn’t look her in the eye.
Instant Prairie Family (Love Inspired Historical) Page 16