Aaron sat back smiling, and he noticed how often Emily’s eyes went to Ian. He noticed also that she often could not help reaching out to touch his arm or his hand, and once when a lock of hair fell over his forehead, she reached up and pushed it back. Something in that, Aaron thought. And I can guess what. . . .
Later that evening, when Emily and Wes went to their rooms to unpack and change, Ian came and stood before Emily’s parents and said, “There’s something I must say to you.”
“What is it, Ian?” Gail said. She glanced at Aaron, and a look of understanding passed between them. They had talked about this moment since receiving Emily’s batch of letters just a few days before the travelers themselves returned home, and now they waited until Ian spoke.
“I needed to ask your forgiveness in person. I’m so sorry for having deceived you.”
“That’s all over, Ian. We forgave you long ago,” Aaron said.
Relief washed across Ian’s face, but then he seemed to set his jaw. “I need to say something else.” He had difficulty speaking, but finally he got it out. “I love Emily. I don’t have much to offer her, for I’m a man with nothing. But I wanted you to know how I feel about your daughter, and I wanted to promise you that I won’t take advantage of her or of you.”
Gail went at once to him and reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. “We know you wouldn’t, Ian. It’s obvious to us that you’ve changed, and if Emily loves you, that’s all we need to know.”
Aaron nodded and then asked, “What has she said?”
“We love each other, but I can’t marry her until some things are settled.”
“That’s probably wise,” Aaron said. “But you’re a young man. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
****
Two weeks and one day after the arrival home of the trio, the mail came late. Emily and Ian were sitting on the front porch swinging back and forth. “I never had a swing when I was growing up. I used to pass houses,” Ian said mildly, “and I would see people sitting on the porches swinging. And I’d think to myself, ‘They’ve got everything.’ ”
Emily took his hand and held it. She knew his terrible childhood had left a mark, and she was determined to get it out of his mind as much as possible. “When we have our house, the one thing we’ll have is a swing,” she promised. “We may not have any furniture to sit on, but we’ll have a swing. And we’ll sit on it, and people will walk by, and we’ll wave at them. And they’ll think, ‘My, what a beautiful couple and how happy they are.’ ”
Ian smiled and said, “Do you really think so?”
“Yes, we can do anything we want to, Ian.”
At that moment the postman appeared, walking past the Wilsons’ house, and Emily sighed. “I’ll never hear from National Geographic. If they had wanted the story, they would have written by now.”
“They’re a big firm. Takes time to process these things. It’s not a decision that they could make lightly.”
Emily watched as the postman came up the walk and rose to meet him.
“Why, hello, Emily. How’s it feel to be back out of the jungles?”
“Just fine. You have some mail?”
“Only one. And it’s for you.”
Emily’s hand trembled as she took the envelope. She stared at the face of it and then looked across at Ian. “It’s . . . it’s from National Geographic.”
The postman turned and walked away, but Emily could not move.
“Open it,” Ian urged.
“But what if it’s bad news?” Emily said.
“If they don’t take the story, we’ll take it somewhere else. And then you have your book to write. Go on. Open it.”
With unsteady fingers, Emily opened the envelope. She took out a single sheet of paper and then with despair cried, “I can’t read it. If it’s a rejection, I’ll die!”
Ian smiled. “You won’t die. Now, what does it say?”
“Here. You read it.” Emily handed the single sheet to Ian. He opened it at once and scanned it. Then he looked up, and he was all smiles. “They’ve taken the story. Congratulations!”
Emily grabbed the paper and read it. When she looked at him, her eyes were bright with tears. “I was beginning to think they didn’t want my story.”
He put his arms around her and said, “I never doubted it for a moment.”
Emily grew very still. “I don’t know what I’ll be doing after this, and I don’t know what you’ll be doing—but can we do it together, Ian?”
Ian Marlowe put his arms around Emily and drew her close. To her it was like coming home to harbor after a long voyage, and when he whispered, “Yes, we’ll do it together,” she could do no more than hold him tightly and thank God for the remarkable way He had worked in her life.
GILBERT MORRIS spent ten years as a pastor before becoming Professor of English at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and earning a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. During the summers of 1984 and 1985, he did postgraduate work at the University of London. A prolific writer, he has had over 25 scholarly articles and 200 poems published in various periodicals, and over the past years has had more than 70 novels published. His family includes three grown children, and he and his wife live in Alabama.
The Amazon Quest (House of Winslow Book #25) Page 31