“I think you’ll be okay if you wait right here,” he assured her. “Pray, Lorna. Pray.”
The walls and floor were still moving, though a bit slower now. Lorna watched helplessly as Evan half crawled, half slid on his stomach across the hall. When he disappeared behind the door, she sent up a prayer. “Dear God, please keep him safe.”
At that moment, the truth slammed into Lorna with a force stronger than any earthquake. Although she hadn’t known Evan very long, she was falling in love with him. In the few short weeks since they’d met, he had brought joy and laughter into her life. He’d made her feel beautiful and special, something she hadn’t felt since Ron’s untimely death. They had a common bond. Both were Christians and interested in music, and each had a desire to work with children.
Children. The word stuck in Lorna’s brain. She had always wanted a child. When she married Ron, Lorna was sure they would start a family as soon as he finished med school. That never happened because her husband had been snatched away as quickly as fog settles over Puget Sound.
She leaned heavily against the door frame and let this new revelation sink in. Was going back to school and getting her degree really Lorna’s heart’s desire? Or was being married to someone she loved and starting a family what she truly wanted? It doesn’t matter. I can’t have a relationship with Evan because he doesn’t love me. He’s been seeing Vanessa.
“Lorna! Can you come over here?” Evan’s urgent plea broke into her thoughts, and she reeled at the sound of his resonating voice.
The earthquake was over now, but Lorna knew from past experience that a series of smaller tremors would no doubt follow. She made her way carefully across the hall and into the room she’d seen Evan enter only moments ago.
She stopped short inside the door. In the middle of the room lay a young woman. A bookcase had fallen across her legs, pinning her to the floor. Lorna gasped as she realized the woman was holding a crying baby in her arms. The sight brought tears to Lorna’s eyes. Covering her mouth to stifle a sob, she raced to Evan’s side and dropped down beside him. She noticed beads of perspiration glistening on his upper lip. “Is she hurt badly? What about the baby?” Tears rolled down Lorna’s cheeks as she thought about the possibility of a child losing its mother, or the other way around. Please, God, let them be all right.
“The woman’s legs could be broken, so it wouldn’t be good to try to move her. The baby appears to be okay.” He pointed to the sobbing infant. “Could you pick her up, then go down the hall and find a phone? We need to call 911 right away.”
The next few hours went by in a blur. A trip to the hospital Lorna nodded numbly. As soon as she lifted the child into her arms, the baby’s crying abated. She stood and started for the door. Looking back over her shoulder, she whispered, “I love you, Evan, even if you do care for Vanessa Brown.” in Evan’s car, following the ambulance that transported the injured woman … Talking with the paramedics who’d found some identification on the baby’s mother. Calling the woman’s husband on the phone. Pacing the floor of the hospital waiting room. Trying to comfort a fussy child. Waiting patiently until the father arrived. Praying until no more words would come. Lorna did all these things with Evan by her side. They said little to each other as they waited to hear of the mother’s condition. Words seemed unnecessary as Lorna acknowledged a shared sense of oneness with Evan, found only in a crisis situation.
The woman, who’d been identified as Sherry Holmes, had been at the college that morning looking for her husband, an English professor. He’d left for work without his briefcase, and she’d come to deliver the papers he needed. Professor Holmes wasn’t in his class when she arrived. He’d been to an early morning meeting in another building, as had most of the other teachers. Why there weren’t any other students in the hallway, Lorna still did not understand. She thought it must have been divine intervention, since so much structural damage had been done to that particular building. Who knew how many more injuries might have occurred had there been numerous students milling about?
Lorna felt a sense of loss as she handed the baby over to her father a short time later. She was relieved to hear that the child’s mother was in stable condition, despite a broken leg and several bad bruises.
“You look done in,” Evan said, taking Lorna’s hand and leading her to a chair. He pointed to the paper sack lying on the table in the waiting room, where Lorna had placed it when they first arrived. “You never did open your present.”
She nodded and offered him a weak smile. “Guess I’ve been too busy with other things.” She pulled it open and peeked inside. A sweet banana aroma overtook her senses, and she sniffed deeply. “I’m guessing it’s a loaf of banana bread.”
Evan smiled. “It started out to be, but in the end, it turned out to be a kind of blueberry surprise.”
She tipped her head and squinted her eyes. “What?”
Evan chuckled. “It’s a long story.” He motioned to the sack. “Try a hunk. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Lorna opened the bag and withdrew a piece of the bread. She took a tentative bite, remembering the other treats he’d given her that hadn’t turned out so well. To her surprise, the blueberry-banana bread was actually good. It was wonderful, in fact. She grinned at him. “This is great. You should patent the recipe.”
He smiled and reached for her hand. “I don’t know what surprises me the most … the accidental making of a great-tasting bread or your willingness to be here with me now.”
“It’s been a pretty rough morning, and I’m thankful the baby and her mother are going to be okay,” she said, making no reference to her willingness to be with Evan.
“The look of gratitude on Professor Holmes’s face will stay with me a long time.” Evan gazed deeply into Lorna’s eyes. “Nothing is as precious as the life God gives each of us, and I don’t want to waste a single moment of the time I have left on this earth.” He stroked the side of her face tenderly. “You’re the most precious gift He’s ever offered me.”
Lorna blinked back sudden tears. “Me? But I thought you and Vanessa—”
Evan shook his head and leaned over to kiss her. When he pulled away, he smiled. Not his usual silly grin, but an honest “I love you” kind of smile. “I came to the restaurant last night to talk to you,” he said. “I was going to plead my case and beg you to give our relationship a try.”
“But Vanessa—”
“She was not my date.”
“She wasn’t?”
He shook his head.
“You were both at the same table, and I thought—”
“I know what you thought.” He wrapped his arms around Lorna and held her tightly. “She came into Farmen’s on her own, saw me sitting at that table, and decided to join me. The rest you pretty well know.”
She shook her head. “Not really. From the way you two were acting, I thought you were on a date.”
Evan grimaced. “Vanessa Brown is a spoiled, self-centered young woman.” He touched the tip of Lorna’s nose and chuckled. “Besides, she’s too young for someone as mature as me.”
Lorna laughed and tilted her head so she was looking Evan right in the eye. “In this life we don’t always get second chances, but I’m asking for one now, Evan Bailey.” He smiled. “You’ve got it.”
“I think it’s time for you to meet my in-laws.”
“I’d like that.”
“And I don’t care how poor you are either,” she added, giving his hand a squeeze.
“What makes you think I’m poor?” “You mean you’re not?”
He shook his head. “Not filthy rich, but sure no pauper.” He bent his head down to capture her lips in a kiss that evaporated any lingering doubts.
Lorna thought about the verse of scripture Ann had quoted her awhile back. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Her senses reeled with the knowledge that regardless of whether she ever taught music or not, she had truly found her heart�
��s desire in this man with the blueberry surprise.
RECIPE FOR BLUEBERRY SURPRISE
¾ cup butter
2/3 cup honey
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup blueberries
Cream butter and honey until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add bananas and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into 9x5-inch loaf pan lined with waxed paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool, remove from pan, and gently pull away waxed paper. (Makes 1 loaf.)
GRANDMA’S DOLL
DEDICATION
In loving memory of my Aunt Margaret,
who gave me her Bye-Lo baby doll many years ago.
Thank you for the special treasure I will someday
give to one of my granddaughters.
CHAPTER 1
Sheila Nickels shivered as a blast of chilly March air pushed against her body. She slipped the tarnished key into the lock and opened the door. This was Grandma’s house—the place where Sheila had come throughout her childhood for holidays, special occasions, and everything in between. She’d felt warmth, love, and joy whenever she visited this Victorian home on the north side of Casper, Wyoming.
Sheila stepped into the dark entryway and felt for the light switch on the wall closest to the door. “At least the electricity hasn’t been turned off yet,” she murmured.
An eerie sense of aloneness settled over her as she moved to the living room. Everything looked so strange. Much of Grandma’s furniture was missing, and the pieces left had been draped with white sheets, including the upright piano Sheila and her cousins used to plunk on. Several cardboard boxes sat in one corner of the room, waiting to be hauled away. It was a dreary sight.
A sigh stuck in Sheila’s throat, and she swallowed it down. She’d just come from visiting her grandmother at Mountain Springs Retirement Center on the other side of town. Grandma’s one-bedroom apartment looked like a fishbowl compared to this grand home where Grandma and Grandpa Dunmore had lived for over fifty years. Grandpa passed away two years ago, but Grandma had continued to stay here until she finally decided taking care of the house was too much for her. She’d moved to the retirement center a few weeks ago.
Grandma’s old house didn’t look the same without the clutter of her antique furniture. It didn’t sound the same without Grandma’s cheerful voice calling from the kitchen, “Girls, come have some chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk.”
Sheila slipped off her coat and draped it across the arm of an overstuffed chair. She then placed her purse on the oak end table and turned toward the stairs. She was here at her grandmother’s request and needed to follow through with what she’d set out to do.
As a feeling of nostalgia washed over her, Sheila climbed the steps leading to the second floor. Another flight of stairs took her to the attic, filled with so many wonderful treasures. A chain dangled from the light fixture overhead, and Sheila gave it a yank.
“Kimber, Lauren, Jessica, and I used to play here,” she whispered into the dusty, unfinished room. She lowered herself
“Look at me, Sheila. Aren’t I beautiful?”
Sheila giggled as her cousin Lauren pranced in front of her wearing a pair of black patent leather heels that were much too big for her seven-year-old feet. Wrapped in a multicolored crocheted shawl with a crazy-looking green hat on her head, Lauren continued to swagger back and forth.
“You can play dress-up if you want to, but I’m gonna get the Bye-Lo baby and take her for a ride.” Sheila scrambled over to the wicker carriage, where the bisque-headed doll was nestled beneath a tiny patchwork quilt. Grandma had told her she’d made the covering many years ago when she was a little girl.
Of all the treasures in her grandmother’s attic, the Bye-Lo baby was Sheila’s favorite. She could play with it for hours while her three girl cousins found other things to do.
Sheila leaned over and scooped the precious doll into her arms. “Bye-Lo, I wish you could be mine forever.”
Sheila’s eyes snapped open as she returned to the present. Since Grandma had already moved, her house would soon be put up for sale. She’d called Sheila at her home in Fresno, California, and invited her to choose something from the attic that was special to her. Sheila knew right away what that something would be—the Bye-Lo baby doll. Some might think it was silly, but when she was a child, Sheila had prayed she could own the doll someday, and her prayers were finally being answered. Now all she had to do was find her treasure.
Sheila scanned the perimeter of the attic. An old dresser sat near the trunk, and an intricately designed wooden container was a few feet away. Her gaze came to rest on the small wicker doll carriage, which Bye-Lo used to lie in. It was empty.
“How odd. The doll always sat in that baby carriage.” She stood and lifted the lid of the trunk. “Maybe it’s in here.”
Near the bottom she found several pieces of clothing that had belonged to the doll. There was even a photograph of young Sheila holding her favorite attic treasure. The dolls she had owned as a child hadn’t been nearly as special as Bye-Lo. The church her father had pastored then was small and didn’t pay much. Sheila had learned early in life to accept secondhand items and be grateful, but she’d always wished for more.
She grabbed the picture and placed it in the pocket of her blue jeans, then slammed the trunk lid. “That doll has to be in this house someplace, and I’m not leaving until I find it!”
The telephone jingled, and Dwaine Woods picked it up on the second ring. “The Older the Better,” he said into the receiver. “May I help you?”
“Is Bill Summers there?” a woman’s gravelly voice questioned.
“Sorry, but Bill’s not here. He sold his business to me a few months ago.”
“Oh, I see. Well, this is Lydia Dunmore, and I did some business with The Older the Better Antique Shop when Bill owned it.”
“Is there something I can help you with, Ms. Dunmore?” Dwaine asked.
“As a matter of fact, there is. I’d like to see about having my old piano appraised. I’ve recently moved and will need to sell it.”
“Sure. No problem. When would you like to have the appraisal done?”
“How about this afternoon? One of my granddaughters is at the house right now, and she could let you in.”
Dwaine reached for a notepad and pen. “If you’ll give me the address, I’ll run over there and take a look. Would you like me to call you with my estimate, or should I give it to your granddaughter?”
“Just give it to Sheila. She’ll be coming back to the retirement center where I live to return my house key sometime before she leaves Casper.”
With an exasperated groan, Sheila shut the lid on the cedar Dwaine wrote down the particulars, and a few minutes later he hung up the phone. Lydia Dunmore’s house was on the other side of town, but he could be there in ten minutes. He put the CLOSED sign in the store’s front window, grabbed his jacket off the antique coat tree, and headed out the door. Things had been slow at The Older the Better this week, but it looked like business might be picking up.
With an exasperated groan, Sheila shut the lid on the cedar chest—the last place she had searched for Grandma’s old doll. For the past couple of hours, she’d looked through countless boxes and trunks, organizing each one as she went. Except for the room being much cleaner now, her trip to the attic had been fruitless. There was no doll to be found.
“Grandma would probably tell me to choose something else,” Sheila muttered, “but nothing here matters to me except the Bye-Lo baby.”
Once more, Sheila thought about her grandmother’s recent move and consoled herself with the fact that if Grandma hadn’t left this rambling old house,
Sheila and her girl cousins wouldn’t have been asked to choose something special from the attic. The boy cousins had been invited to check out the basement for an item they would like to have.
“Too bad I can’t find what’s special to me,” she grumbled.
Maybe the doll had been removed from the attic and was in one of the boxes downstairs. Sheila decided it was worth the time to take a look. She yanked on the chain to turn off the light and headed for the stairs. If she didn’t find Bye-Lo in the next hour or so, she planned to head back to the retirement center. Maybe Grandma could shed some light on the doll’s disappearance.
Sheila entered the living room and was about to kneel in front of a cardboard box when the doorbell rang. “I wonder who that could be.”
She went to the front door and looked through the peephole. A man stood on the porch—an attractive man with sandy-blond hair and brown eyes. Sheila didn’t recognize him, but then she hadn’t lived in Casper for twelve years and didn’t get back for visits very often. The man could be one of Grandma’s neighbors for all she knew. He could even be a salesman, a Realtor, or …
The bell rang again, and Sheila jumped. Should she open the door? She sent up a quick prayer. Protect me, Lord, if this man’s a criminal.
She slipped the security chain in place and opened the door the few inches it would go. “May I help you?”
“Hi, I’m Dwaine Woods from The Older the Better Antique Shop across town. I got a call to come here and take a look at an old piano.”
Sheila’s gaze darted to the living room. Grandma obviously had left the piano behind because there wasn’t enough room in her apartment at the retirement center. How sad that Grandma felt forced to sell something she’d dearly loved for so many years.
“I have my business card right here if you’d like to see it,” Dwaine said, as if sensing her reservations about opening the door. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a leather wallet, and withdrew a card. “I bought the place from Bill Summers not long ago.” He slipped it through the small opening, and Sheila clasped the card between her thumb and index finger. She studied it a few seconds and decided it looked legitimate.
Love Finds a Way Page 7