by Traci DePree
“I was so worried,” he confessed into her hair.
“I’m sorry.” She inhaled the woodsy scent of him, relishing the warmth of his touch.
They pulled apart, and he kissed her forehead. Tenderly, like a man who cherished his wife.
Just then, the phone rang.
Paul went to answer it. “Hi, Sam.”
Kate heard a succession of “uh-huhs” before Paul hung up and returned, an expression of joy on his face.
“What did Sam have to say?” she asked.
“That I don’t have to worry about the church or the elders. They want me to preach on Sunday, and they aren’t looking for a replacement. They’re behind me one hundred percent.”
“So am I.”
That evening, Kate called Rebecca before bedtime. She sounded out of breath but happier.
“Hey, Mom,” she said. “What’s new?”
Kate thought about pouring out her whole tale, then decided to save it for another day. She just wanted to hear her daughter’s sweet voice.
“How’s your friend Melody?” she asked.
“She’s so much better,” Rebecca said. “She called me last night to tell me that she got a waitressing job at Homer’s Coffee Shop. She sounded good...relieved.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“That’s not all. She auditioned for a part at a little theater outside of Middletown, near the Catskills, and she got the lead!”
“Isn’t that great,” Kate said.
“I’m so proud of her,” Rebecca chirped. There was a long pause. “Thanks, Mom,” she finally said.
“Whatever for?”
“For your good advice, being there to listen when I was so frustrated, praying. If there’s one thing I know my mom will always do for me, it’s pray.” She chuckled.
“That’s just what mothers do.”
When they finally said good-bye, Kate thought about how alike she and her daughter were. Sure, they had different interests, gifts, and temperaments, but at the core, they were more alike than different. Rebecca was becoming a woman of substance, a woman who cared deeply and showed that caring in tangible ways. Like helping a friend find a new start, much as Kate had helped Phillip find his new start. Then it struck her: Rebecca was carrying on the legacy that Kate and Paul and generations before them had begun.
Chapter Thirty-Six
After a long trial, Walter Manuel was convicted for his crimes and sent to jail for at least five years. His grandmother’s home and land outside of Pine Ridge was seized, as well as his great-aunt Suzanne’s. Connie Rae and her husband fled Pine Ridge, as did her younger sister.
During that time, Kate watched firsthand as Phillip and Lila’s love deepened. Lila had come to work at the antiques store and Kate sensed it was a step toward many new and wonderful things for the couple.
One fall day, as a cool northerly wind blew in from the mountains, Kate made her way to the store, at Phillip’s request, for a visit.
The stained-glass window above the front door, in the transom, reflected greens and blues across the room. It was Ginny’s window, the last one she’d ever made. Kate had adapted it to fit the long, narrow space and sold the one she’d created to an antiques dealer from out of town. It was as it should be, she knew.
She gazed at it as she passed, and a tear stung her eyes. She was so glad to see it there, in a place of prominence in the store that Phillip loved. Its presence said so many things, mostly that Phillip was healing, learning to live with his grief and not hide from it.
“Hey, there,” Phillip said with a smile. “Didn’t you see the sign in the window?”
“What?” Kate turned to see what he was talking about.
The sign read Closed. Kate was puzzled. She looked at Phillip, but he had a smirk on his face.
“What’s going on?”
“Loving’s Antiques is closing.”
“What?” Kate couldn’t have been more surprised. “But the store is doing so well. You have a steady stream of customers.”
“I’m not closing it because it’s failing.”
Why was the man being so evasive? “I don’t understand. Why would you—?”
Lila appeared through the door to the back room. She too was smirking, and Kate looked at her for a long moment, trying to guess why they were acting so strangely.
Then Kate noticed the engagement ring on Lila’s left hand. Lila held it under Kate’s nose, and it sparkled in the stained-glass window’s beam.
“You’re engaged!” Kate shrieked. “When did this happen?”
“Last night,” Lila said. Phillip pulled her to his side and kissed her temple.
“I’m thrilled for you,” Kate said. “But what does this have to do with closing the store?”
“We’re moving closer to Eric,” Lila said.
“Then maybe we’ll go exploring,” Phillip added. “The three of us.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Kate said.
“Eli Weston is buying my inventory—at below cost, mind you—so we can be free to leave as soon as we’re married.”
“There’s one other thing,” Phillip said, causing her to pause. “Do you think we could get Paul to marry us?”
Epilogue
The next day, Kate and Paul drove out to Gladys’. The elderly woman had called to say that she had a surprise for them, and she wanted to give it to them in person. Kate wondered what could be so mysterious that she couldn’t tell them what it was over the phone.
Gladys was drying her hands on a dishtowel when she answered their knock.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, her old eyes crinkled in joy as she reached to hug them each in turn. Then she led the way to the living room, taking a seat on the couch.
“So what’s the big mystery?” Paul said, sounding as curious as Kate felt.
They had told her of the events surrounding Paul’s grandfather, and that shortly after the capture of Walter Manuel, Horace had been declared innocent of any wrongdoing, to which the woman had said simply, “Good.” Nothing more.
Gladys got up and moved to the bookcase that flanked the stairway. She pulled a black Bible from the shelf and held it out to Paul. “I found this,” she said, “in the back of that closet upstairs. I think you should have it.”
As she handed it to him, a piece of paper with Horace Hanlon’s handwriting on it fell out.
Kate reached to pick it up and handed it to Paul. He studied it for a long moment, his brow furrowing in disbelief.
“What does it say?” she said, angling her head so she could read along with him.
Paul read out loud, “This Bible is for you, J.L. The words herein are true. They are freedom from the life that binds you. Read them, and you can understand what I’ve been trying to tell you all these years. Yours in Christ, Horace Hanlon.”
Kate’s eyes widened as she turned to her husband. This had been Jack Leonetti’s Bible, given to him by Paul’s grandfather—a man who longed to see even the worst of humanity come into the fullness of God’s forgiveness. Because God had revealed his deep love to Horace Hanlon, and Horace had responded.
And just as promised, God was showing his love to a thousand generations.
About the Author
BEFORE LAUNCHING her writing career, Traci DePree worked as a fiction editor for many of the best Christian authors in the country. While still maintaining her editing career, Traci loves making up new worlds in her novels. Her hope is that, just as in Copper Mill, Tennessee, her readers will see God’s creation and inspiration within the people in their own lives. Traci is the author of the best-selling Lake Emily series, including A Can of Peas, Dandelions in a Jelly Jar and Aprons on a Clothesline. She makes her home in a small Minnesota town with her husband and their five children, the youngest joining the family via adoption.
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