by Linda Ford
He turned to Thad. “So how are ya?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
It was good to hear the joy in his friend’s voice. He couldn’t risk taking it away.
Thad clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s get these animals taken care of, then you can make me coffee and I’ll tell you all the news.”
“Sounds good.” It wasn’t that he didn’t care to hear about Thad’s family or his trip. But how could Johnny tell his friend he didn’t want to continue with their plans? Oh, they could be partners, but not the way they planned if his visit to town achieved all he hoped. He didn’t want to share his home with Thad. He wanted to share it with Willow and her family.
His insides twisted as he helped with the horses. If only Thad hadn’t come at this moment. Except Thad was his partner no matter what. Sooner or later Johnny would have to deal with this sticking point in his plans. Guess sooner was better.
“Come on in,” he said. “Though it’s more your house than mine. You lived here several years, while I’ve only been living here a few days.” Good days. Memorable days.
Thad paused in front of the house. “I don’t know if it will ever feel like home again.” He stepped inside. “I see you’ve made a few changes.”
“Not much.” Johnny had pushed the furniture from one place to another and added his own books. That was about all.
“What’s this?” Thad plucked a blue baby bonnet off the chair closest to the fireplace. “Looks a little small for you.” He perched it on top of his head.
Johnny’s laughed sounded strained even to his own ears. “Had visitors for a couple of days.”
“That a fact? Seems like you might have some news, too.”
Johnny filled the coffeepot and set it to boil. Willow had left two pieces of raisin cake and he placed them on the table along with two heavy china mugs. By then the coffee was ready and he filled their cups. “Tell me your news first.” It would give him time to decide how to explain about Willow. Though, he sadly admitted, there was little to tell apart from what he hoped to achieve by going to see her.
Thad rubbed his finger around the rim of his cup with some concentration. “I met someone.” His expression seemed sheepish.
“Someone. Like a girl?”
“A very special girl. She’s agreed to marry me.”
“Well, congratulations.” Johnny slapped him on the back. “I’m happy for you.” He truly was, though that gave Thad first rights to the house. “I guess you’ll be wanting this place for you and your girl. That’s okay. I’ll put up a little cabin out of sight.” Maybe he could manage one large enough for a family. But it would take time. And he couldn’t be building here and courting Willow in town at the same time.
“Actually, I’m hoping you will buy my share of our partnership. I know it isn’t what we planned, but me and Annie want to live near her family.”
“Thad, you mean it?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t like to have to choose between you and her, but that’s the way it is.”
Johnny whooped. “I can’t believe it.”
Thad tipped his head to study him. “You don’t sound upset.”
“Nope. Far from it.” He told Thad how he had met Willow and everything that followed.
“So you see, I kind of messed up with her. I was about to go to town and apologize when you rode up.”
“Well, then, get on your way before it’s too late. Maybe you can convince her to say yes before I leave, so I can be your best man.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?”
* * *
Willow smiled even though it hurt. She would not let her disappointments of the past few days steal from the happy home she meant to establish. The roof had been shingled and Mr. Marsh had informed her the owner meant to pay for the repairs. He’d seen the pile of garbage behind the shed and arranged to have it taken away.
Today was Saturday, and recalling some of the things Mama had done to make the day special, Willow had secretly made a batch of their favorite oatmeal cookies and hidden them away. She had thankfully found a source of fresh milk and made chocolate syrup, also secretly, so they could have hot chocolate and cookies after their bath, just as they had at home.
The girls had created a hideaway in the bushes at the corner of the yard and spent hours there reading, often taking Adam with them. Willow was happy to see her sisters together. Of course, they had been together these past two years while she had—
The past was past. She meant to leave it that way.
A knock at the door jerked her from her thoughts and she hurried to open it. “Johnny.” She stared. She hadn’t expected to see him again in a long time.
He clutched his hat to his chest. “Can I talk to you?”
She nodded and stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind her. She couldn’t imagine what more he had to say and surely did not want a repeat of their conversation by the waterfall.
“I’ve come to apologize.”
She gaped at him. “Why?”
“Because I was wrong. I judged you wrongly.” His eyes told her he meant every word. “You don’t need my forgiveness. You have God’s. Only He can forgive. I realize now that what you need is the assurance that I accept you, flaws and all. And I do.”
Her thoughts stalled. She might have wished this, but didn’t expect it. Certainly not less than two days after he’d generously offered to forgive her.
He swallowed loudly. “I’m hoping you will forgive me and give me another chance.”
“Chance for what?” Her heart pressed to her breastbone with hope.
“To show you how much I care.”
“How much do you care?”
A smile creased his eyes. “You don’t know?”
She shook her head. “You’ve never said.”
“But I did. When I kissed you. But even more, with everything I did, I was saying I love you.”
Her heart did several summersaults. “You love me?”
“Yes, I do.” He dropped his hat to the step and opened his arms.
She hesitated, wanting everything to be right. “What about Adam?”
“I love him, too.”
“I have two sisters.”
“Love them, too.”
“You might have cause to be embarrassed about my past.”
“Nope. Never have. Never will.”
She believed him. “Do you trust me?”
He hesitated and she almost regretted her question. “I do,” he said finally. “But I think the bigger question is, do you trust me?”
She didn’t have to think about her answer. “You are the most trustworthy man I’ve ever known.”
“Am I forgiven for being so stupid?”
She chuckled. “Johnny Harding, I forgive you. And I love you.”
He opened his arms again and she gladly went into his embrace. She lifted her face to him and welcomed his kiss.
From the bushes came clapping and Celia called, “We thought you would never see the truth.”
“What truth is that?” Johnny asked, his breath warm against her cheek.
“That you two love each other and we all belong together.”
“Come here.” He opened his arms to welcome Celia, Sarah and Adam into their embrace. “Do you think we can be a family?”
The girls nodded.
“I better ask Willow what she thinks.” He released the girls. Celia held Adam, and they stood nearby, smiling.
Johnny bent to one knee and took Willow’s hand. “Willow, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She cupped his face with her hands and bent over. “Johnny Harding, I will gladly marry you and spend the rest of my life loving you.” She lowered her head and kissed him gently.
<
br /> He rose to both feet and pulled her into his arms, returning her kiss.
They broke apart to look at the children.
The girls cheered and Adam gurgled.
Willow decided this was the special occasion she had prepared for, and they crowded around the wooden table in the kitchen to enjoy cookies and hot chocolate and to make plans. He told them that Thad had arrived with the horses to announce he wished to live elsewhere, so they could live in the cabin if that suited them all. Willow knew her sisters were as pleased as she at the news. They had fallen in love with the place.
Willow smiled at her family. “Maisie is right. God uses unexpected events in our lives to give us more than we ask or dream possible.”
“Amen to that.”
Johnny stayed in the hotel that night and joined them the next day for church.
“It’s just like going to church with Mama and Papa,” Sarah whispered as they sat in the pew.
Willow nodded. “It is.”
That afternoon, Willow and Johnny left Adam with Sarah and Celia, and went for a walk away from prying eyes and listening ears.
For a bit they were content just to be together, the misunderstandings and barriers between them gone.
“Thad is hoping we marry soon so he can be my best man,” Johnny said.
“I see no reason to wait. I don’t want a big wedding, though. After all, I’m a recent widow. Many will judge me for marrying too soon.”
“We don’t need to broadcast the news about your past.”
At those reassuring words, she hugged his arm. “I want to tell you about my marriage to Bertie so there are no more secrets between us.”
Johnny pulled her around to face him. “Willow, I never meant to make you feel like that.”
She ran her fingers along his cheek. “I’m not telling you out of guilt, but because I want you to know everything about me, just as I want to know everything about you. Because I feel safe telling you.”
“Thank you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me since last night, when you told me you loved me.”
She chuckled, then sobered at the thought of Bertie. “He was like his father, using words as weapons. He shamed me daily for having Adam. He never acknowledged Adam’s presence except to complain when he cried.”
Johnny’s jaw muscles bunched and he drew in a deep breath as if forcing himself to relax. “Poor Adam. I will be sure to make it up to him.”
Her throat tightened so she couldn’t speak.
“I will make it up to you, too, if I can. I will do my best to be the most loving, kind husband a woman could ask for.”
She cupped her hands about his face. “You won’t have to try. That’s how you naturally are.”
He kissed her.
As she leaned into his embrace, welcoming his love, Willow raised a prayer of thanks to God for blessing her beyond her wildest dreams.
She’d hoped for a family like she’d known with her parents. Having Johnny as her husband and a father to the children made it possible.
Epilogue
Willow didn’t care where they held the wedding. She didn’t need anything special, but she soon discovered Maisie had no intention of letting the event pass without notice.
“This will be something all of you will look back on with fondness. Especially the girls. Right?” She had turned to Celia and Sarah for their agreement and had, of course, gotten it. At first, they had wanted Johnny and Willow to get married at the waterfall, but Johnny had said no.
“It might be hard for Thad to go there, plus it’s too dangerous for Adam.”
Willow stood in the cabin now, watching the family gather in front of it. The girls had insisted on picking wildflowers and cutting leafy branches to hang on the veranda. The preacher had come from town. Johnny, Thad and Levi crossed the yard, dressed in white shirts, gray vests and dark trousers. My, but Johnny was handsome. Willow’s throat constricted with a love so fierce it stung her eyes. Tanner stood by his wife’s side, their children clustered around them.
Days ago, Maisie had arranged a family picnic so Willow could meet Susanne and Tanner and their children. Sarah was thrilled to find she would be getting cousins to play with, and Celia had happily included herself with the women.
Susanne smiled up at Tanner, her eyes brimming with love.
Willow knew she and Johnny would be just as happy together, and the family they formed with the children would be warm and welcoming to each member.
“Everyone is ready,” Celia said. “Come on, Sarah.” Side by side her sisters went to the veranda.
“Are you ready?” Willow whispered to Adam.
“Man?”
“Yes, the man is going to be your new papa.” It didn’t matter if Adam understood today. In the future, he would appreciate the man who was about to become her husband, Adam’s father and joint guardian to her sisters.
She took one last glance in the mirror to make sure her hair had stayed pinned up properly. Her dress was fancier than anything she’d owned in a long time, a pearl-gray one that Susanne and Maisie had adjusted to fit her. Willow felt quite elegant in it.
Adam looked so grown-up and handsome in a white shirt and tiny bow tie. She wiped his chin. “Try not to drool until we’re done.”
He babbled and patted her cheeks.
She kissed his forehead. “It’s time.” She stepped to the veranda.
Johnny’s eyes flooded with welcome and he reached for her hand.
They had agreed how they would handle the children, and when the preacher declared them man and wife, she passed Adam to him.
The baby gurgled with happiness, patted Johnny’s chin. “Papa.”
Sarah grinned. “We taught him that.”
Johnny’s eyes glistened. “Thank you. It’s the best wedding gift ever.” He hugged each of the girls and the five of them turned to face the assembly.
The preacher cleared his throat. “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Harding and their family.”
Their guests clapped and cheered, but Johnny and Willow had eyes only for each other. Today they would start a life together of truth, trust and love.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from MAIL ORDER MIX-UP by Christine Johnson.
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Dear Reader,
Isn’t it great to know we can always start over again? That we can confront pain and loss, disappointment and defeat and keep going? Our God is sufficient for each day. If you are in such circumstances, I pray you will find comfort and encouragement in this story about facing difficulties and starting over. May your heart be lifted and your soul be refreshed in God’s goodness.
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Mail Order Mix-Up
by Christine Johnson
Chapter One
August 1870
“I do hope Garrett Decker is as handsome as that gentleman over there that you find so fascinating.”
Pearl Lawson started at her friend’s comment and absently adjusted her sleeve while keeping a good grip on the steamship railing. “I can’t imagine who you mean.”
She hadn’t been staring, had she? The striking gentleman standing not twenty feet away on the promenade deck certainly warranted more than a casual glance. He wore an impeccable dark brown suit that matched the color of his hair. The breezes off Lake Michigan ruffled the thick locks that ought to be topped by a hat, but that minor impropriety was not what had drawn Pearl’s attention. No, it was the vigor of his gestures during conversation with an older gentleman. Clearly they were discussing something more interesting than the calm seas and clear blue skies. Pearl longed for spirited discussion. Any topic of current concern would do, as long as it didn’t dwell on the weather or one’s health.
An impish twinkle sparked in Amanda’s eye. “He would make a fine beau.”
“That’s not why we’re here. I have a teaching position, and you are getting married.”
Amanda fiddled with the clasp of her nearly empty bag. “I’m not so certain about that any longer.”
Pearl understood her friend’s jitters. Getting married to a man she’d never met must be terrifying. “I’m sure Garrett Decker will be even more charming and handsome than that man.”