One True Love

by Lori Copeland

  Sweet relief flooded Copper. All this time he’d carried this burden. “Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me about Susan?”

  “For the same reason you didn’t trust me enough to stick around. For a long time I didn’t trust anyone. Not even myself. It took a long time to work through the misery; until I met you I hadn’t tried. I’d wallowed in guilt and self-pity, maybe even got a little comfortable there.” He gently pulled her head to his shoulder and held her. “Until I met you, my life didn’t make sense anymore. When I came back and found you were gone, I felt like I did the day I shot Susan’s husband. Sick at heart.”

  “You could have told me sooner. I would have understood.”

  He eyed her. “Honey, at the time you thought I was Lucifer. If I’d told you then you’d have strung me up by my heels and let wild animals have at me.”

  Guilt engulfed her. How certain she had been that he wasn’t trustworthy, that he didn’t return her love. “But apparently you were going to let me stay in Ellsworth. You weren’t coming after me?”

  A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “I’ve been to Ellsworth—plus the fact that with Audrey and Eli’s wedding coming up, I knew you’d be back any day now. I knew you wouldn’t stay in that town.”

  She grinned as he pulled her to kiss him. They exchanged a kiss that rocked her to the core.

  With lips still touching, he whispered, “So what’d you think, Miss Wilson? Think a worn-out preacher and a spit-fire can marry and make a good life in Thunder Ridge?”

  “If you’re asking me to marry you, yes.”

  “I’m asking.”

  “I’m accepting.”

  She reached to touch his face, his sweet face, her face now. “Forgive me, Josh. I love you so deeply, but I forgot to trust you.”

  “I love you, Copper. If I admit when that love happened, I’d have to say the day I first laid eyes on you. It seems we’ll have to both work on trust, but it’s a learned skill.” He smiled. “And we’ll have the rest of our lives to acquire it.”

  She turned to look at the house. “You really bought this?”

  He shrugged. “I knew the minute I set eyes on you I’d found the woman I want, and I knew there was no way she was going to be her happiest unless she was with her friends in Thunder Ridge.”

  He kissed her again with pent-up passion, and Copper knew she would never again let her doubts influence her life. If a limp was the worst this world handed her, she was truly blessed.

  Easing back, he smiled. “How do you feel about being a preacher’s wife?”

  “But you said—”

  He lightly stopped her objections with a finger to her lips. “Reverend Cordell wants to slow down. We’ve talked a lot this week, and he’s convinced me that once a preacher, always a preacher. He’s asked me to take his place, and I’d like to, Copper. I’m ready. I think we’re both ready to put the past behind us, and live life fully.”

  Smiling, she lightly traced the outline of his face, the features she loved with all her heart and soul. She didn’t have to pray about the proposal. She had perfect peace with her new future life, and God had already answered all her prayers. She’d be here in Thunder Ridge with Willow and Audrey. And Josh. Wonderful, strong Josh, the man who had shown her the meaning of sacrificial love. The words of the apostle Paul rang in her mind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

  At that moment, Copper couldn’t ask for anything more.

  Dear Reader,

  Thanks so much for following the very hectic lives of Willow, Audrey, and Copper. These particular characters were fun to write and hard to get out of my mind. And a very special thanks to Cynthia DiTiberio for her watchful eye and skillful editing during this series.

  With every book I try to take away a personal lesson for myself. In Belles of Timber Creek the rain held significance to me. Into everyone’s life, “rain” falls. While writing the series, I hit a very rough, rainy spot in my life with personal health issues and the loss of a brother, sister, and dear sister-in-law. But Willow’s, Audrey’s, and Copper’s stories reminded me to keep my eyes up and not forward. A person can be very nearsighted when he concentrates on his efforts and not God’s plans for his life. So I hope you took something lasting away with you in this series, something to hold on to when the rainy days come, because they will. But God reigns, not rains. I love that thought.

  Warmly,

  Lori Copeland

  Discussion Questions

  Copper went back inside a burning building to save two children, even though she had a bad ankle that hindered her from getting around very well. Do you think God gives us extra strength and courage in desperate times? Can you name a time when you received strength to face a troubled period in your life?

  Copper and Josh had trouble trusting each other. How important is trust in a marriage?

  The doctor wasn’t there when his family needed him, but God gave him a second chance. We worship a God of second chances, so shouldn’t we hand out second chances too? How quick are we to give a fallen sinner a second chance?

  At first Copper was willing to leave the Newsomes’ wagons behind. Is it all right to refuse to help someone we don’t like?

  The people in the wagon train were afraid of the Kiowa man who wanted to be with his dying mother. Is it a normal reaction to be nervous around someone who is different? How do we know when to trust? Should we trust everyone without reservation?

  Milly was spoiled, inconsiderate, and arrogant, irritating everyone around her. How are we supposed to treat the people who irritate us?

  Josh and Copper rode off, not knowing if the doctor would follow them. Do you believe there is a limit to what we can do for others? Does there come a time when we have to leave them alone and let them work out things for themselves? Do we sometimes use that as an excuse not to help?

  The people in the wagon train went through some very difficult times. Sometimes as Christians we go through difficult times too, and it’s easy to become discouraged. Does the Bible promise that God’s people won’t have trouble?

  Copper’s injury left her a cripple. For a time she felt no one would love her. In a world that stresses youth and beauty, how important are looks and outward appearances to you? Do you find yourself thinking differently about someone who is handicapped?

  The people who were killed at the fort were victims of hatred and violence. We suffered a similar tragedy in America on September 11. How hard is it to forgive a vicious, unreasonable attack on innocent people? What should be our reaction as Christians?

  Josh Redlin was a man of his word. How important is it that we keep our word? Is it ever all right to lie?

  Willow, Audrey, and Copper all found true love. In a society where divorce is so common, why do you think so many marriages fail?

  Most of us make plans for our lives. Usually those plans don’t work out the way we wanted. When your plans collide with real life, can you accept it and go on, or do you become resentful, blaming God?

  Copper tried to run away from her problems. Is it possible to run away from our troubles? Or do we take them along with us?

  Copper and Josh are strong-willed, stubborn, and quick to say what they think. What kind of marriage do you think they’ll have?

  About the Author

  LORI COPELAND has been writing for twenty-five years and has more than three million copies of her books in print. A finalist for the Christy Award, Lori was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame in 2000, and lives in the beautiful Ozarks with her husband and family.

  www.loricopeland.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Also by Lori Copeland

  Belles of Timber Creek Series

  TWICE LOVED

  THREE TIMES BLESSED

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be cons
trued as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ONE TRUE LOVE. Copyright © 2010 by Copeland, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Copeland, Lori.

  One true love / by Lori Copeland.

  p. cm.—(Belles of Timber Creek)

  ISBN 978-0-06-136494-5 (pbk.)

  1. Women teachers—Fiction. 2. Texas—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3553.O6336O54 2010

  813’.54—dc22

  2009036260

  EPub Edition © January 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-197846-3

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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