by Irene Brand
“I’ve got wonderful news,” she said as soon as he answered the telephone, and she gave him a detailed version of the visit to her mother. “I wish Daddy could have been there.”
“That’s wonderful, my dear. And don’t worry about your dad. He’s already mellowing toward you. I’d hoped you’d come here tonight, but it was more important to see your mother.”
“I’ll come to see you tomorrow.”
Nathan spent the next morning cleaning out the stall where Beauty had died and disposing of the refuse. He disinfected the stall and everything the horse could have contacted. He put away her halter in the tack room with the cart and harness, wondering if he’d ever need the equipment again. He’d just finished the distasteful task when the Indian Creek Farm truck and stock trailer pulled in and stopped beside the barn. Jeff Smith was driving, with Landon Weaver sitting in the passenger’s seat. This was his first visit to Woodbeck Farm since Nathan had moved in.
Jeff stepped briskly out of the truck, calling, “Hi, Nathan. Brought you something.” He walked to the rear of the trailer. Landon opened the truck door, swung his feet out on the running board and continued to sit in the truck for a few minutes surveying the farm buildings.
“You’ve made a lot of improvements here. The place looks better than it has for years.”
“Yes, sir, but I still have a long way to go before Woodbeck Farm looks like it did when I used to visit here as a boy. Uncle Matt had let the place run down before he died.”
Landon stepped to the ground. “As we get older, we have a tendency to let important things slide. I’m ashamed that Indian Creek Farm doesn’t look the way it once did, but I’ve learned my lesson. There’ll be some changes made.”
There wasn’t much Nathan could say to this comment. His attention drifted to the horse trailer where Jeff had disappeared, wondering what the trainer was doing.
“We heard about your horse dying, Nathan, and I’m sorry,” Landon said. “If you hadn’t come to help Autumn, the same thing might have happened at our farm.”
“Your horses okay now?”
“Doing well, Doc Wheeler says. I’m thankful that my carelessness didn’t cause a catastrophe. I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching the past twenty-four hours. Clara and I want to replace what you’ve lost.” He turned around and said, “Bring her out, Jeff.”
Jeff led a young Belgian filly around the side of the trailer. The animal was skittish of new surroundings and she struggled against the halter rope. Her sleek coat gleamed like burnished gold in the midday sun, and the strip down her face was snow-white. Nathan stared at the filly, and her intelligent eyes seemed to survey him as she walked close to him, bared her teeth and gingerly nibbled his shoulder. Nathan put his arm around her neck and she didn’t budge. It was a case of mutual love at first sight.
“This is Cupid,” Landon said. “Noel’s foal born on Valentine’s Day. She’s yours, Nathan.”
“Oh, no, sir,” Nathan stammered. “I can’t afford a filly like this.”
“There’s no price tag attached, son. She’s yours.”
“No, sir, I won’t accept it. Thanks anyway.” Although his lips refused, Nathan still kept his arm around the Belgian as she nestled against him.
Landon stepped close to Nathan and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Take the filly and make two overly proud people happy. Because of my pride and hot temper, I lost my daughter, and I’ve suffered eight years of torture, guilt and pain. And I’ve treated you badly, not only in the past, but since you returned to Greensboro.” He paused, and his mouth twisted, as though the words were hard to speak. “I’m sorry.”
“You were in the right, Mr. Weaver. I’ve never blamed you.”
“No,” Landon said, and he seemed to speak with an effort. “I was jealous of you, Nathan. Until you came along, Autumn was all mine. She had been from the day she was born. I couldn’t bear to share her love with anyone. I wouldn’t have minded if she married Dr. Lowe because I knew that I’d still be first with her, but when I fired you, and she told us that she intended to leave with you if you’d take her…”
“Did she tell you that?” Nathan interrupted, and the thought of what he’d missed brought a pain to his heart he’d never before experienced.
“That day I ordered you off our place, she came to Woodbeck Farm to go away with you, but you’d already gone.”
“I didn’t think she cared that much about me!”
“Neither did I, but her actions proved we were both wrong. When she ran away, I knew I’d made a big mistake. More than once, I wished I could beg her forgiveness, but when she returned I was still too proud to bring her home. Without Autumn, I didn’t much care what happened to my farm, because she loved it as much as I did. I’m trying to make restitution for my past wrongs, Nathan. Keep the filly.”
Nathan nodded agreement. “But will you go to Autumn, Mr. Weaver? Her love for you has never changed.”
“I intend to make things right with her before this day is over. I’ll confess to her that I’d told you she was going to wed Dr. Lowe. That wasn’t exactly the truth. My wife thought it would be a good match, but Autumn was never interested.”
Landon turned toward the truck, and as Jeff started the engine, he said over his shoulder, “I might add that Noel belongs to Autumn, and the mare will go wherever Autumn chooses to live. Good luck with your Belgian herd.”
Landon’s words astonished Nathan so much he couldn’t speak, and his legs felt weak. He leaned on his new filly and watched the truck and trailer leave the grounds.
“Cupid,” he said, and the filly twitched her ears, “did my ears deceive me, or was he giving me permission to marry his daughter?”
The filly nipped his shoulder and started toward the pasture. Still in shock, Nathan ambled along as Cupid made herself at home.
In late evening Autumn drove in and parked beside the porch, where Nathan sat surveying his farm. She wore a blue blouse, white skirt and sandals. Her brilliant hair was piled on top of her head, held in place with two ornate combs. Her blue eyes glistened, and her face wore the happy expression he hadn’t seen for a long time.
He went down the walk to greet her and took her hand. “If you stopped by for a meal, you’re too late,” he joked.
“Nope. I ate Miss Olive’s food. She’s a better cook than you are.”
“You never did tell me what kind of cook you are.”
“Probably a lousy one. I’ve never had a chance to find out.”
He pulled her close, and she sighed. “Nathan, it’s so good to be with you.”
This lighthearted exchange reminded him that they’d never had many carefree hours together. They hadn’t had the advantage of a normal relationship. When he’d first known her, most of their meetings had been so fraught with tension, unrequited love, anger and disappointment that they didn’t have many precious memories to cherish.
“Then if you’re not hungry, I suppose you came by to see my new filly.”
“As a matter of fact, I did. At least, that’s one reason I came.”
Keeping one arm around her waist, he steered her toward the pasture field where Cupid grazed.
“Daddy came today and apologized for the past, and I had a lot of apologizing to do, too. It’s such a relief to forgive and be forgiven. He told me what he’d done.”
“I didn’t want to take the filly, but I realized I had to be a good receiver, that he had to make some tangible gift to show his change of attitude. Did he tell you she’s Noel’s foal?”
“Yes, which was a good choice, for you’ve helped save Noel’s life twice.”
Although Autumn exclaimed delightedly over the filly, try as she might, the animal would have nothing to do with her. She skittered out of the way when Autumn approached, but Nathan could walk up to her and she leaned contentedly against him. When Autumn finally gave up trying, he said, “She’s definitely a one-man filly. Sorry.”
Cupid would have followed Nathan out of t
he gate, but he pushed her gently aside and whispered in her ear, loud enough for Autumn to hear. “There’s another female who has first dibs on my attention tonight.”
Joining hands, they walked back to the house and sat together on the porch swing, where they faced the hazy sun which was slowly setting behind the trees along Indian Creek. Nathan put his arms around her, and for a long time their warm kisses and caresses chased away the bitterness of the past. They talked of the loneliness and frustration they’d endured because of their unrequited love, marveling that the affection between them that wouldn’t die had slowly erected a bridge they’d finally crossed to happiness.
“Do you have any doubts now that the ‘other’ female in your arms is also a one-man filly?” Autumn murmured when her lips were free.
“I should have realized it before. I’ve been wondering today what our lives might have been if we’d gone away together. We’ll never be able to make up for the years we’ve missed.”
“I’ve wondered, too, if we would have found the happiness we wanted. I was immature, and I believe now that God knew best. I wouldn’t want to repeat the miserable years I endured, but perhaps it was better for us. God has been orchestrating our lives all along.”
Nathan caressed her hair, nuzzled her throat and nibbled on one ear.
“I came to a momentous decision the night my filly died. I thought my dreams of a Belgian herd was dead, but I didn’t intend to let my other dream die. I love you, Autumn, and I have since the first time I saw you in the Weaver barn. Will you stay at Greensboro and marry me? I want to share your life. Will you stay with me? Will you?”
“Yes, Nathan. I love you, too. I don’t think my parents will offer any objections now, but it doesn’t matter. I believe the biblical teaching, ‘A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ You’ll come first with me from now on. I don’t ever want to be separated from you again.”
Before the sun dipped below the horizon, it cast one last golden ray on the area where they sat, touching her hair and turning it into burnished bronze.
Nathan fondled the curly tresses he’d always admired, and whispered, “Let the past go. Tomorrow is a new beginning.”
Epilogue
The three Weaver daughters had been reunited, and the gazebo in the backyard was decorated for a wedding. Resplendent in a black tux, Landon Weaver sat on the driver’s seat of the black barouche pulled by two Belgians and waited for the wedding procession to start. Tulip and Noel looked majestic in their black harness ornamented with silver, but Noel was the most festive. Autumn had braided pink carnations into the manes of both mares, but she’d tied a large pink ribbon around Noel’s neck. After all, if it hadn’t been for Noel, she and Nathan might never have met.
Fluffy white clouds decorated the blue October sky, and the sun shone brightly on the wedding party. Autumn, wearing her mother’s wedding dress, sat on the rear seat of the barouche. When Landon turned to look with pride at his offspring, she blew a kiss in his direction, thankful that her father was once again the strong, vibrant man he’d been in her youth. Spring and Summer looked as radiant as Autumn, and it was little wonder Landon was proud of his daughters today.
Spring and her husband, now on missionary assignment in North Carolina, had come for the wedding, bringing their two children. Summer looked happier than Autumn could remember. She planned to leave the following week for a new job in New York City, where she would also continue her education.
The triumphal fanfare sounded, Landon lifted the reins, and the two Belgians moved forward in regal procession. For a moment, Autumn’s mind flickered over the past few years. She’d traveled a long way physically, emotionally and spiritually since the day she’d met Nathan. It was difficult not to dwell upon what might have been, but the mutual love she and Nathan now shared was worth the wait. Perhaps their love was even deeper because they’d gone through so many years of frustration and denial.
The two months since the strangles epidemic had swept the community had brought many changes. Autumn had agreed to work with Ray at the clinic, expecting to become a full partner within a year. She’d moved back into her room at Indian Creek Farm, and Nathan had been a frequent visitor. Landon had offered Autumn and Nathan an interest in the farm, but Nathan had declined.
“Someday when you’re not able to carry the full load, I might do that,” Nathan said, “but I’d rather spend the next few years improving Woodbeck Farm. I’ll appreciate your advice for that.” With Noel and Cupid both in their possession, Autumn and Nathan intended to start their own herd of Belgians.
Clara waited for them at the gazebo. She sat in her wheelchair behind the assembled guests, but she’d declared that she would not be pushed down the aisle at her daughter’s wedding. For the past two months, she’d been involved in a strict physical regimen until she could walk a short distance. David Brown, who’d come to Greensboro to see his brother Bert, had been pressed into last-minute service as an usher.
David stood beside Clara’s chair, and when Landon brought the barouche to a halt, Clara painfully rose from the chair and clutched David’s arm. When she might have fallen, he put his arm around her waist and carefully guided her to the front row of chairs. David sat beside Clara, and when the wedding party was in place, he lifted her and supported her as she watched Autumn glide down the aisle on Landon’s arm. Autumn stopped to kiss Clara and whisper, “I love you, Mother.”
With a happy heart and glowing face she moved forward to Nathan, who waited for her with Bert Brown standing beside him. When the time arrived for the father to give his youngest daughter away, Landon cleared his throat huskily a time or two before he could speak.
“I’ve never really wanted to give Autumn to anybody,” he admitted, “but I want her to be happy, and so I give her to you, Nathan. She’s wanted you long enough.”
His comment brought a subdued titter from the audience, and Landon enveloped his youngest daughter in a fierce bear hug before he placed her hand in Nathan’s. Autumn’s eyes glowed with happiness as she and Nathan turned toward Pastor Elwood and took their vows.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-2231-1
AUTUMN’S AWAKENING
Copyright © 2001 by Irene Brand
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