An Offering of Hope

by Greenwood Muir, Diane

"Are you telling me that I should have that conversation with him?"

  "Not yet," she said with a smile. "I'm not ready for him to be gone. I believe that when he graduates from college, he'll look for his own place. He'll be close, but he won't be in the house."

  "How do you feel about that?"

  "I'm trying my best to accept that changes are coming. He might surprise me, but I doubt it. When Hayden and Cat move out, I'd like to give the apartment to Lexi."

  Henry nodded approvingly. "That sounds good. You've been organizing the whole world."

  "I'm always thinking about something."

  Lights flashed on in the hallway and Beryl's voice called out. "Are you two lovebirds decent in there?"

  "How did you know we were still here?" Polly asked, jumping up and heading for the door. She flipped the light on before Beryl came in.

  "You wouldn't leave us. You feel guilty because you weren't able to help set up. The least you'll do is help tear down."

  "Maybe I'm only here to take my boys home."

  Beryl pointed at Henry. "Why did you bring that big strapping fella, then?"

  "He keeps me safe from the likes of you. How did it go tonight?"

  "Lydia and Andy are checking numbers. Sounds like there were more people than ever."

  "Mom! Are you here?" Elijah raced into Polly's office, pulling to a stop before he ran into Beryl. "Sorry, Ms. Watson. Didn't mean to bump you."

  "You did a fine job tonight, Elijah," Beryl said.

  "What did you think, Dad?"

  "Dead bodies have nothing on you," Henry said. He blew out the candle and stood up. "Let's help these ladies pack things up so we can go home and get some sleep."

  "I'm too excited to sleep."

  "Then I believe we need to wear you out. Where's Noah?"

  "He went to the barn with Jason and Eliseo. They have to take care of the horses before anything else."

  "That's right. Always take care of the horses."

  "Kinda like my piano," Elijah said as he walked out of the office with Henry, whose hand rested on his shoulder.

  "Does it just kill you to hear them call you Mom and Dad?" Beryl asked with a grin. "It really is so sweet my teeth hurt."

  Polly laughed. "We're used to it, but sometimes I want to squeeze them until they squeal."

  ~~~

  "She's so tiny," Noah said.

  When they got home, Lexi came downstairs with Gillian so the kids could meet her. Cat and Hayden had already gotten Cassidy and the youngest boys into their pajamas, but no one was going to bed early on Halloween. There had been much too much excitement.

  Henry snagged Hayden and the two brought one of the leather chairs in from the library for Lexi. Soon she had a small crowd gathered around her.

  Cassidy reached up to touch the baby's hand, checking with Polly over and over to ensure she was doing it right. The boys seemed terrified of Gillian, but didn't want to walk away.

  "Will I ever be able to hold her?" Caleb asked Lexi.

  Polly stepped forward. "When she's a little bigger."

  "There are pictures of me with Lonnie. Mom and Dad parked me on the sofa with pillows all around me, and then they placed Lonnie on my lap," Henry said. "I think it was their Christmas card that year. That reminds me. I should call that girl and find out when she's coming home."

  "Lonnie is Henry's sister," Polly explained to Lexi. "She lives in Michigan. You'll love her."

  Lexi nodded. Then she looked at Cat. "Do you want to hold her?"

  "Not tonight," Cat said with a smile. "Tonight, she's all yours. One of these days you'll be ready to let her go for a few minutes and I'll be there. Has Polly held her yet?" Cat turned on Polly with a wicked grin.

  "Yes," Lexi said with a confused frown. "At the hospital. Why?"

  "See," Polly said. "I'm cool."

  "Polly is notorious for avoiding babies until they start crawling. Her friends make fun of her. How many babies do you have in your life, Polly?"

  "So many," Polly said, shaking her head.

  The back door opened and Rebecca blew in. "What a night. We gave away nearly two hundred pieces of can … Ooh, Lexi's downstairs with Gillian. What do you think about the new baby, Cassidy?"

  "Mine," Cassidy announced.

  "You know what," Rebecca said. "She’ll call you Aunt Cassidy. I'm Aunt Rebecca and the boys are all uncles. How about that?"

  "Aunt Cassidy," the little girl repeated. She beamed up at Lexi and pointed at her own chest. "I'm Aunt Cassidy."

  "Yes, you are," Lexi said. "When you and Gillian get older, you can teach her everything you know. Just like Rebecca teaches you what she knows."

  "Does that mean you're staying with us?" Rebecca asked.

  Lexi looked at Polly and smiled. "I am. I'm going to be in charge of the household." She lifted her eyebrows as she caught each of the boys' eyes. "I will be the person who tells you to clean your rooms and change your beds."

  "Not Cat?" JaRon asked.

  "Well, Cat will too, but she's going to be busy with school and teaching and a new baby, so your Mom and Dad asked if I would like to step in."

  "Are you going to be hard to work for?" Elijah asked.

  "Not if you do the right thing."

  "I don't do the right thing sometimes."

  Lexi laughed and stroked Gillian's chest as the infant stirred in her sleep. "What happens when you don't do the right thing?"

  "I clean bathrooms," he grumped. "I'm really good at bathrooms."

  "Polly told me I don't have to clean bathrooms because you all are good at doing that. Is that true?"

  Noah slouched onto a stool at the island. "Maybe she'll be like Mary Poppins and do magic. Can you take us to magical lands?"

  "I'll read books with you," Lexi said. "There are magical lands in books."

  Rebecca nodded at him. "Noah reads everything there is to read. He's been through most of the fiction in Polly's library."

  "That's a lot." Lexi leaned back. "I can't believe this day."

  "Did you see all that stuff that Grandma Marie brought over for Gillian?" Elijah asked. "We helped carry it upstairs for you."

  "That was very generous. I can't wait to meet her and tell her thank you."

  "Polly makes us write thank you notes," Caleb said.

  "You boys have it so rough," Polly said. "How about you run up to your rooms. It's getting late. One more day of school and then it's the weekend. You'll have plenty of time to complain to Lexi about how badly I treat you."

  "But we want to stay up," Elijah complained.

  "Go," she said, pointing at the steps. "Henry and I will be up to say goodnight. First, hugs." Polly hugged the two youngest boys who scuffed their feet across the floor as they approached her, then scuffed to the back steps. Elijah wasn't happy to be sent to bed this early, but he'd been yawning since they walked in.

  "Go on, Noah," Polly said. "You can read in bed. You know you're tired, too."

  "Okay," he agreed. He gave her a half-hearted hug and then turned to Henry for one. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lexi. I'm glad you're staying. Gillian is a pretty baby."

  "Thank you, Noah."

  Cat took Cassidy's hand. "We're going to turn into pumpkins if we stay downstairs any longer."

  "I'm Aunt Pumpkin," Cassidy said. She reached for Polly, who gave her a strong hug.

  "I love you, Cassidy," Polly said.

  When everyone was gone but Rebecca, Polly sat on the stool Noah had been using. "This holiday is over. Tomorrow is a new month. What happened to the year?"

  "I can hardly believe this is real," Lexi said. "Deputy Hudson came to see me while you were gone this afternoon."

  "Yeah?" Polly knew what Lexi was going to tell her. She had talked to Tab after their conversation, but she hadn't told Rebecca or Henry anything. It was Lexi's story.

  "The Mortens are in jail. Their real name is Levant. The police raided their house and found all sorts of paperwork, so they are tracking down babies and parents. None of the ad
options are legal. What a mess. They've been doing this for five years in Iowa. Can you believe they were never caught?"

  Rebecca looked shocked. "How could they get away with it?"

  "It's amazing what people do and get away with," Henry said. "They just act like they've done nothing wrong, no matter how awful it is. Then everyone around them accepts it. Disgusts those of us who try to do the right thing, but at least they've been caught."

  "The deputy said that those two girls who showed up weren't at the Mortens' house, but they found information on two other houses. One south of Ames and one between Boone and Ogden. That's where I was. Austin's grandparents owned it a long time ago, so he knew the house. He rented it in the Mortens' name and lived there with us. They found my name and the baby's gender on a list dated 2019. Misty and Brady were on there, too. She says they're okay. It sounded like they gave birth in the home of the new parents. At least that's what she thought had happened. Deputy Hudson talked to Misty and she doesn't want her baby. She took the money and went back to her hometown like nothing had happened."

  "Why did Austin bring you to me instead of taking you to the home of that couple who was going to adopt your baby?"

  "Because it happened so fast and the baby was already there." Lexi gave her a grim smile. "I think he kind of liked me. He said I reminded him of someone who hadn't deserved what happened to her either."

  "He did a terrible job of showing you that he cared," Henry said.

  Polly reached over and rubbed his arm. He couldn’t bear to see the women he loved hurt in any way. And Lexi had become part of his family. "Austin brought Lexi to us. That was all he knew to do."

  "He was killed because of me, you know." Lexi looked down, shame on her face.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The Mortens or whoever they are found out that he brought me here and exposed their business. They tracked his phone to the hotel in Bellingwood and then, the husband killed him."

  "I know it’s hard," Henry said. "But at least he got you to safety. And now those people will be in prison for the rest of their lives."

  "No one should have died, though."

  Polly shook her head. This would take the girl time to sort out. The doorbell rang and she frowned at Henry. "Who's that?"

  "I don't know." He shrugged, but got up and headed out of the kitchen with the dogs close on his heels. She heard him laugh and say, "Well, come on in."

  Marie Sturtz came around the corner and tears filled her eyes. "I couldn't wait any longer," she said. "I had to meet you. I'm Henry's mother, Marie. Bill and I talked about waiting until the weekend, but I made him drive over here to see if the lights were on. I hoped you wouldn't be in bed yet. Are the kids upstairs?"

  "They just went up," Polly said. "If you want to say goodnight, they'd love that."

  "In a minute. I want to take a look at this new little baby in our lives." She went over to stand beside Lexi, who was still sitting since Gillian was sound asleep. Putting her hand lightly on Lexi's shoulder, she leaned over. "Oh, look at that sweet little girl. Lexi, I'm so happy that you're here."

  Henry and Bill came in, carrying a well-used rocking chair. Polly recognized it from Marie's living room.

  "You need more rocking chairs here, Polly. We'll start you off with mine. I rocked Henry and Lonnie in this when they were little. I've rocked Molly to sleep a thousand times and I've even had the opportunity to rock your little Cassidy to sleep in it a few times. From what I saw when we brought things to the house yesterday, Lexi, your bedroom doesn't have the space for this one, but I suspect Polly and I could convince the carpenters in our life to make a small rocker for you. You'll appreciate it in the middle of the night. What do you think, boys?"

  "Hello, Lexi," Bill Sturtz said. "Can you tell that Henry is my boy?"

  Lexi nodded. "He's the spitting image."

  Henry laughed. "That one cut me to the core."

  "I can't believe you're giving this to us," Polly said, running her hand along the top of the chair. "Your house won't be the same without this rocking chair."

  "Our house isn't going to be the same next year anyway," Marie said. "We want you to have it. Now that Lexi is here with Gillian, it's the perfect time to give it a new home."

  Lexi held Gillian out to Marie, whose eyes filled with tears again. "You're letting me hold her? Thank you." Marie snuggled the baby into her arms and walked over to Bill. "There's another baby for me to love."

  He shook his head. "I'm never going to get a break, am I?"

  "What do you mean?" Polly asked.

  "As long as there are babies, I'm going to be making furniture for them. Then they grow up and I’ll make more furniture. Then they become adults and I'll still be making furniture."

  "You poor, poor man," Henry said.

  Lexi moved to the rocking chair. "Oh, this is comfortable."

  "Years of my bottom sitting there. I broke it in," Marie said with a chuckle. She bent to return Gillian to her mother. "I hope you make good use of it."

  "She's coming to work for us, Mom," Henry said.

  Marie glanced at Polly. "You did it. Good for you. That's a lot of trust she has in you, Lexi. Polly doesn't ask people to do the things she thinks she should be able to do herself. Now, when you're ready to part with Gillian for a few hours, let me know. There's nothing I love more than spending time with the new babies in my life. Don't be in a hurry, but never fear calling on me. I will make time for you. Bill, come with me. Since we're here, we're going to say goodnight to our grandkids."

  He shook his head as he walked past Rebecca and touched her arm. "We'll say goodnight to you before we leave. The little-uns need their sleep."

  "What just happened here?" Rebecca asked as they listened to the Sturtz's footsteps on the stairs.

  "Mom couldn't wait to meet Lexi," Henry said. "Poor Dad. He knows when he needs to follow along."

  "She's wonderful," Lexi said. "Will you tell me what it was that she gave to us so I can thank her properly?"

  Rebecca looked at Henry. "Do you remember?"

  He glared at her. "We'll figure it out. Now, where shall we put the chair?"

  "It will be perfect over here," Polly said, pointing to the back of the kitchen. "Lexi can hold court."

  Lexi gestured to Rebecca. "Would you take her?"

  Rebecca's eyes grew big. "I didn't want to presume." The two of them made sure that Gillian was comfortable in Rebecca's arms.

  When she stirred again, Lexi cooed and stroked her head. "I'm right here, honey. I'm right here." Then she turned to Polly. "Your family is …" She shook her head. "I don't have words. When I collapsed outside that door, I thought I was dying. I had no hope."

  Polly put out her arms and Lexi sank into them. "My life was over that day. I'd lost everything. All I knew was your name. Then you were there and I'm not kidding when I tell you that you were like a light showing up. I knew that if you stayed, I would live."

  Rebecca walked closer to them. "She did that for all of us."

  Henry picked up the leather chair and left the room as Polly reached out for Rebecca and drew her in.

  "You offered me hope," Lexi said. "I will never forget that moment." She touched her daughter's head. "You offered hope to both of us."

  "To all of us," Rebecca said and leaned her head on Polly's shoulder.

  ~~~

  Be sure to look for the holiday short story

  A Thrill of Hope

  Bellingwood #28.5

  Release Date, January 1, 2020

  ~~~

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  Meet Polly before she arrives in Bellingwood.

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This has been a year! As its end approaches, I find that I'm ready for it to be over. Even so, my
heart is filled with gratitude.

  My mother's mother was a sad and miserable woman who didn't know how to love. Everything she offered was tied up in knots from the strings she attached. Of the three of us kids, I was the only one she tolerated, and that was because I knew how to play her game. She made Mom's life miserable, but we visited her because Mom knew just how much that woman needed us.

  We came across several of her diaries when we moved her from Boston to Iowa to care for her. Those diaries were filled with pages and pages of the worst stuff I've ever read. No one was good enough. No one could ever do enough for her. No one understood her. It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen.

  In a transcript of one of Mom's sermons I found after she died, I read a comparison she made between me and Grammy. Mom had discovered a spiral notebook I filled one year while in high school. Each, I wrote down ten things I was thankful for.

  Her mother and her daughter. Two very different people who marked Mom's lifetime. It makes my heart glad that her last years were filled with three children who knew how to love, to be grateful, and who understood the importance of relationships.

  You see, I will always be grateful because my heart doesn't know another way to act. I've been given so much, and the people who are part of my life are important to me. You are important to me because you are part of my life. I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know you because of these books.

  The team that helps proofread and edit my books is filled with incredible and brilliant people. I am grateful for them. Thank you to: Carol Greenwood, Alice Stewart, Eileen Adickes, Fran Neff, Max Muir, Tracy Simpson, Lisa Burton, Nancy Quist, Rebecca Bauman, and Judy Tew.

  Spend time with us at facebook.com/pollygiller.

  (Still more!)

  Don’t miss any books in Diane Greenwood Muir’s

  Bellingwood Series

  Diane publishes a new book in this series

  on the 25th of March, June, September, and December.

  Short stories are published in between those dates. Vignettes are written and published each month in the newsletter.