“Oh, that’s right. Mirror Lake’s one hundred and twenty-fifth birthday celebration.” Amusement flowed below the words now. “How could I have forgotten?”
Grace was reminded of something
she
had forgotten. An email Meredith had sent to her earlier in the week.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner with details about the spring seminar. I took a few days off from work and things have been a little crazy around here.”
“I’m not calling about the seminar, Grace. I’m calling to find out if you’re interested in meeting someone.”
It took a few moments for Grace to recover from her surprise.
Meredith Boothe had done the home study for the adoption agency Grace was working with, but their careers and personalities had blended so well that they’d become good friends over the past few months, spending time together both professionally and socially.
“I don’t think so,” she said politely, wondering how she could decline without hurting Meredith’s feelings. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy and everything, but...” Grace didn’t know quite what to say but it didn’t matter.
A burst of laughter on the other end of the line finished her sentence. “Not a date!”
“Oh.” Grace would have felt silly for jumping to conclusions if she hadn’t been so relieved.
“Yesterday, one of the couples I’ve been working with changed their mind about adoption,” Meredith continued. “And that means a little boy named Michael needs a home.”
Grace’s knees turned to liquid and she slid into the closest chair. “But...you said it could take months.”
Years.
“Well, God’s timing isn’t always the same as ours.” There was a short pause as Meredith let the news sink in. “But that said, you don’t have to make a decision right at this moment,” she added gently. “Take some time to pray about it. You and I can sit down and talk. You can meet Michael and—”
“Yes.”
Meredith chuckled. “Yes to which part?”
Grace swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek.
“All of it.”
Chapter Fifteen
“D
o you have a minute?”
Cole took one look at Matt Wilde’s expression and figured whatever the pastor wanted to say to him was going to take more time than that. He nodded anyway.
“Sure.”
Matt smiled. “Great. I’ll meet you by the dock in five minutes.”
Great.
If Cole’s suspicions proved correct, this would be his second serious conversation of the morning. The first one had taken place ten minutes before he’d left for church.
His mom had called when the ship docked for a few hours to give him an update about a change in the cruise itinerary. To say she’d been shocked to discover he was in Mirror Lake was an understatement.
Cole hadn’t planned on telling his mother about Sloan’s will until she and George returned from their honeymoon, but somehow she’d managed to finagle all the details. Then she’d given the phone to George so Cole could repeat them.
Which was the reason he’d been late for church.
At least seventy-five people had gathered for the outdoor worship service, making it difficult to spot Grace in the crowd. Everyone’s attention was focused on the two women playing a violin duet, so Cole had slipped into one of the empty wooden benches in the back row.
He closed his eyes and tried to let the melody of the worship song sand away the edges of his restless thoughts.
“Can I sit here?”
The words were so quiet, Cole thought he’d imagined them. But when he turned around, Cody Lang was standing behind him.
Cole had slid down to make room. “Have you seen Grace?”
“Zoey needed her help with the little kids,” Cody had said in a low whisper. “They have a special service in the garden.”
Cole had felt the knot in his stomach unravel a bit.
He wasn’t sure why the thought of seeing her again made him nervous.
Maybe because you kissed her?
Yeah, there was that.
But he hadn’t been toying with her emotions. He’d meant what he said. He wanted to get to know her again.
Living so far apart would pose a challenge, but other couples managed to make it work. They could talk on the phone. He could drive up on the weekends....
Cody had nudged his elbow. “We’re supposed to stand up for this part.”
Flushing slightly, Cole followed the boy’s lead and rose to his feet to join Pastor Matt and the rest of the congregation in prayer.
Matt’s message had dovetailed with the mayor’s speech the day before about fellowship. Working together. Bearing each other’s burdens.
Cole hadn’t been very good at the last one. Oh, he’d done everything he could to ease the load on his mother’s shoulders, to make his siblings’ lives easier, but it occurred to Cole that he hadn’t let anyone help him. At least not until Lily had barged into their lives.
It was one of the things that had kept Cole awake during the night. Grace had seemed hurt, not appreciative, that he hadn’t confided in her twelve years ago.
Cole had never thought of it from her perspective. Until Matt had read the verse from Ecclesiastes he’d heard Grace share with Haylie the day before.
Two are better than one, for they have a good return for their work
.
It made Cole uncomfortably aware that at least in one respect, he had taken after his grandfather. No matter how tough things were, he’d never reached out and asked for help.
“Abby made me promise I’d say a blessing over the food but we have some time while they’re setting up the refreshments.”
Cole had been so lost in thought he hadn’t heard the pastor approach.
“I’m glad you decided to join us this morning.” Matt started down the shoreline and Cole automatically fell in step with him.
“The outdoor service was a great idea.”
“I’ll tell Zoey.” Matt grinned. “To be honest, my wife comes up with ninety-nine percent of the great ideas. God knew exactly what I needed and He brought her into my life at just the right time. I’m not sure what she gets out of it, though.”
Cole smiled because he knew it was expected of him. The pastor seemed like a regular kind of guy, down-to-earth and easy to talk to. He just wasn’t sure what Matt wanted to talk
about
.
Had he seen him with Grace at the fireworks?
Oh, who was he kidding?
Everyone
had seen them together at the fireworks. And he’d kissed her...in front of everyone.
If the pastor was as protective of Grace as the rest of her friends were, Cole figured he was about to receive another lecture.
Matt slanted a look at him. “You’re probably wondering what this is about.”
“Grace?”
“Actually, no.” Matt’s lips quirked. “But now that you brought it up, maybe I should add her name to the agenda.”
Cole knew he had had no one to blame but himself for opening that door.
“Let’s sit for a minute.” Matt angled his head toward a freestanding wooden swing near the rustic cabins scattered along the shoreline. Far enough from the bed-and-breakfast, Cole noticed, so no one would overhear their conversation.
The pastor sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him but didn’t comment on the fact that Cole chose to remain standing.
“Sloan told me about his will.”
It was the last thing Cole had expected Matt to say.
“Why?” he asked bluntly.
Matt hesitated, searching Cole’s face with the same intensity he appeared to be searching for the right words.
“Sometimes, when a man gets to the end of his life, he begins to think about the years he’s lived rather than the ones he has left. Sloan admitted that he’d made a lot of mistakes.”
“Mistakes don’t always equal regrets.” Cole’s back teeth ground together so he wouldn’t say something
he
would regret.
“That’s true. But in your grandfather’s case, I believe they did.”
“He regretted the way he treated my parents?”
“And you.”
“Me?” Cole practically choked on the word.
“Sloan talked about you a lot.”
“He didn’t even know me.” Cole winced when he heard the bitterness leach into his voice. He thought he’d forgiven his grandfather. Put the past behind him. “In fact, I have no clue why he left his entire estate to me. Why not give it to my mom? Or split it equally between me and my brothers and sister?”
“You’ve been wondering if it was a deliberate attempt to cause trouble? To divide your family?”
Cole was taken aback by Matt’s insight. And honesty. It challenged him to respond in kind.
“I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“There were things Sloan said that should remain in confidence, even now that he’s gone,” Matt said slowly. “But under the circumstances, I think you should know why he set up his will the way he did.”
“He
told
you?”
Matt nodded. “The last time we spoke.”
Cole’s hands fisted at his sides. He’d tried to convince himself it didn’t matter why his grandfather had left the house and land to him; the only thing he cared about was how much it was worth.
“You know that piece of property has been in your family since the town was settled.”
“Yes.” Thanks to Grace, he’d overheard an abbreviated version of his family history.
“From what I’ve heard, Samuel Merrick had a strong faith and a strong commitment to family. He passed that on to his son, Cade.”
“Well, somehow it skipped a few generations. Sloan disowned my dad when he was eighteen just because he married my mom.” A muscle worked in Cole’s jaw. “He told him to leave. After Dad died, he told us to leave, too.”
“You may not believe me, but Sloan regretted that the most.” A shadow passed through Matt’s eyes. “He didn’t know how to make things right.”
“A phone call would have worked.”
“I tried to encourage him to contact your family, but he was afraid.”
“Of being rejected?” The irony wasn’t lost on Cole. “I wrote him a letter, telling him that I’d forgiven him.”
“Sloan mentioned that. I’m just not sure he ever forgave himself. With the choices he’d made during his life, your grandfather’s memories didn’t bring any comfort as his health began to decline. He said he didn’t want your memory of him to be the one where he stood on the porch and told you to leave.”
“He did the same thing to my dad.”
“Sloan couldn’t forget that, either. He wanted to make it up to you.”
“By not letting anyone contact me about the will?” Cole shook his head.
“He said he wanted to leave this in God’s hands. He believed you would find out about the property at the right time.”
“I did, but that was God’s doing, not my grandfather’s. The money I make from the sale is going into the business I own.”
Matt smiled.
“What?”
“A verse from Proverbs just came to mind, that’s all.
‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.’
Sometimes God has another plan. One we don’t see right away.”
“There are more reasons to sell than there are to hold on to it.”
“All I know is that Sloan wanted you to have the property,” Matt said evenly. “He said it’s part of your legacy.”
“Part of my legacy.” Cole knew he sounded defensive, but he was getting a little tired of that word. “What’s the rest of it?”
Matt clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“That’s up to you.”
* * *
“He’s with Matt.” Emma breezed past with a tray of fresh fruit. “Just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t wondering...much,” Grace muttered.
“Uh-huh.” Laughter kindled in Emma’s blue-gray eyes. “You two looked pretty cozy at the fireworks last night.”
“I think they
started
the fireworks last night.” Kate had entered the kitchen.
“I’m not having this conversation!” Grace howled.
“That’s all right.” Kate gave Grace’s shoulder a quick pat. “We’ll have it for you.”
“I’m taking the vegetable tray outside now.”
“We’re going to set up the buffet table on the deck,” Abby said. “Quinn mentioned there’s a thunderstorm moving in later this afternoon, and we might have to move everything inside.”
“I’m glad it didn’t rain yesterday.” Emma snitched a piece of watermelon from the tray. “Jake and I never would have gotten that fire started.”
“You
didn’t
get your fire started,” Kate teased.
Grace decided there would never be a better time to sneak outside. She hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to Cole, but she’d spotted him walking toward the benches lined up under the canopy of willow trees shortly after the service had started. He had made room for Cody, which had only triggered that funny little catch in her heart again.
The time they’d been apart had shaped Cole’s character in ways Grace hadn’t expected. He was more patient. More responsible than he’d been at seventeen.
It gave her courage to tell him about the phone call she’d received after she’d gotten home the night before.
Grace might have dismissed the entire evening as a dream if she’d been able to fall asleep.
Meredith had insisted they meet to discuss the details in person, so she didn’t know anything more than what her friend had shared on the phone. Grace had checked her calendar and set up a time to meet after work on Tuesday.
She slipped outside and was immediately surrounded by the first graders who attended her Sunday school class.
“Miss Grace! Can you go for a walk with us? Pleeease?” Molly, one of the most adorable little girls Grace had ever taught, had been appointed the official spokesperson for the group. “Tori’s dad showed her a nest with two baby eagles in it, and their mama feeds them
fish.
”
“Is that right?” Grace knelt down so she was eye to eye with Tori. Molly and Jenna’s niece had become inseparable over the course of the school year, another encouraging sign she’d settled into her new life. “And where do these baby eagles live?”
“They’re at the top of the crooked tree.” The girl’s periwinkle blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “We can watch the mama feed her babies if we don’t disturb them.”
Grace didn’t have to ask where the tree was located. In a town surrounded by thousands of acres of national forest, everyone in Mirror Lake knew the “crooked tree.” The hundred-year-old white pine, sprouting from a narrow peninsula not far from the stone chapel on Abby’s property, was practically a local landmark.
“My mom said I can go, too,” Brody chimed in. “If you’re with us. And if I eat one bite of broccoli.”
Sunday school classes had dismissed for the summer several weeks ago, and Grace already missed the children. A hike would give her an opportunity to spend some time with them.
“I’d love to go. We can leave right after lunch.” She winked at Brody. “Broccoli first.”
The children squealed as they ran off to tell their parents.
Grace set the fruit tray down on the buffet table and spotted Matt walking up the hill. Alone. She intercepted him before someone else did.
“Hi, Pastor.”
“Grace.” Matt’s warm smile had a way of lifting a person’s spirits. “Thank you for volunteering to help Zoey with children’s church at the last minute.”
“It’s always fun to work with Zoey. She’s great with the preschoolers.”
“So are you.”
“Do you really think so?” The words slipped out before she could stop them.
“You’re kidding, right? The kids love you.” Matt’s eyes narrowed when she didn’t respond. “You don’t look too sure.”
At the moment, Grace wasn’t sure about a lot of things.
She’d wanted to talk to Matt about Meredith’s phone call, but decided now wasn’t the best time to bring it up. The pastor deserved a day off, too.
“Will you pray for me this week?” Grace had to ask before lost her courage. “I have a...decision to make.”
“There seems to be a lot of that going around.” Matt glanced over his shoulder.
Grace followed his gaze and saw Cole sitting on a weathered cedar swing near the cabins.
A crazy thought suddenly occurred to her.
“You aren’t matchmaking, are you?”
“Grace Eversea.” Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “I can’t believe you even have to ask that.”