Page 54 of Montana Bride By Christmas
She was not what he’d expected. But then he couldn’t say what that was. All he knew for certain was she deserved better than to be trapped in a loveless marriage. And he could offer her nothing else because...
He could no longer remember the reasons and sat forward, pulled his Bible close, and turned to Luke chapter nine, verse sixty-two, the verse he had chosen to follow when he began his ministry. No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. He would not turn back on his decision to put God first and keep Him there above all else. Yes, there was room for his son. Nothing and no one else.
His mind firmly made up, he stared at the verse. Should he use this for the text of his next message? However, no thoughts came to mind, and he opened the book Annie had given him. The words were exactly what he needed: a prayer for God to exclude frivolous, foolish thoughts. Had his mind not gone down the wrong track? It was time to pull it back to what mattered, to the choices and decisions he had purposefully made.
He bowed his head and tried to pray, but the storm raged outside, distracting him. How long would it last? As long as it did, they would be shut up together. He might as well make thebest of it. Perhaps it was God’s way of giving him time to spend with Evan.
And Annie?
No, not Annie, though, of course, she would be present.
He forced himself to remain in the office another hour, then, with the excuse he needed to assure himself that the others were safe, he returned to the kitchen.
Grandfather sat in his soft armchair reading a book. Annie peeled potatoes, and Evan sat on the floor beside Happy. Both of them examined a knot of wood.
It seemed none of them had missed him. Not that he thought they should. Nor was he disappointed. Yet his mother’s voice echoed through his thoughts. I don’t need you. The wrong boy died.
He shook his head, trying to drive away the painful memory.
Annie had stopped peeling potatoes and studied him. She wiped her hands on a towel and came to his side. “Are you okay?” She touched his arm, her soft voice and gentle touch going a long way to erase his mother’s words.
“I’m fine.” He couldn’t smile. Not yet. It always took a few minutes for the pain to subside after he’d remembered how little his mother valued him.
“Come. Sit down and have coffee and cookies.” She led him to the table, and he let her. Welcomed her guiding hand. If only he could trust her kindness to be permanent. But he feared the day she would realize he wasn’t what she wanted or needed that she’d made a mistake in wanting to marry him.
By the time she placed a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies before him, he had his feelings firmly under control.
Evan slipped to the chair kitty-corner from Hugh and eyed the cookies. “You may have two,” Hugh said.
Evan took one, then looked to Hugh for direction.
“One more.”
Evan took it and sat eating carefully. Hugh couldn’t say if it was because he feared incurring wrath if he made a mess or if it was because he was unfamiliar with eating at the table.
Hugh looked at Annie, the questions unspoken but shared.
Evan finished and slipped down. The pup raced into the living room, and Evan followed at a much slower pace.
Annie took Evan’s place. “I sometimes wonder what he’s been through, but then I’m glad I don’t know. It’s easier to deal with what we see than to try and undo the past.”
Grandfather finished his coffee and pushed the cup aside. “God returned him to you. I gotta believe He sent Happy to help the boy heal. Seems to me the best thing you two can do is love him, and you’re doing a fine job of that.” He looked from Annie to Hugh, and Hugh knew he wasn’t mistaking the look of warning in the old man’s eyes. He recalled something Grandfather had said. Sometimes, Annie got a bee in her bonnet, and he stood by and waited for her to get it out of her system. Was that what he hoped would happen here?
Hugh expected it was so. He’d be okay. He knew he would. He had to be. But how would Evan react?
The storm continued unabated the rest of the day and still raged as night fell.
Evan took Hugh’s hand, and the boy went to bed without a fuss. Happy followed them and curled up alongside the boy. Hugh watched them. Then, he realized Annie stood in the doorway.
He took her arm, and they tiptoed down the hall. “God is good to me even when I don’t deserve it.”
She chuckled. “I guess none of us ever deserves it.”
Grandfather had gone to bed, and Hugh and Annie settled on the couch in front of the fire. Hugh wasn’t wanting to go to sleep just yet, and it seemed Annie wasn’t either.
“It’s good to see Evan doing so well,” he said. “I was afraid I’d fail to help him, though I suppose I did so when I let his mother leave.” He hadn’t meant to mention Bernice. What point was there in letting Annie know how badly he’d failed? Except perhaps to make her understand why she should run from marrying him.
She shifted to look directly at him. “You let her go? Why wouldn’t you stop her?”
