by Myra Johnson
Late Tuesday morning, as Christina inventoried supplies in the storeroom, she heard a car drive up. Peeking out the door, she recognized the dark blue SUV belonging to the man who’d come out to see Tango last week. Had Mr. O’Grady returned with further plans for investing in Serenity Hills? Christina sent up a prayer that the news would be good.
Now, where had she left off? Consulting her supply list, she couldn’t remember how many miniature shampoo bottles she’d just counted, so she started over. After finishing with the toiletries, she moved on to coffee packets. Marie would need to place another order with their supplier soon.
As she checked off the last item on the list, voices outside drew her attention. A few seconds later, the Petersons stepped in, followed by their visitor. Seth entered last, Eva perched on his hip.
“Don’t mean to interrupt,” Marie said with a warm smile.
“All done.” Christina hung the clipboard in its spot on one of the cabinet doors. “I’ll get out of your way.”
“No need to rush off. Christina, I’d like you to meet Greg O’Grady.” Marie’s smile broadened. “Looks like we’re about to partner with Greg’s organization.”
Christina offered her hand to the well-dressed gentleman. “Seth told me about your ideas for opening Serenity Hills to disadvantaged children. I think it’s a wonderful plan.”
“Our board is very excited to get things rolling,” Mr. O’Grady replied. “I understand you won’t be staying on, though.”
Christina shot a quick glance at Seth and Eva, concern for the little girl pricking her heart. She lowered her voice. “No, I can’t. I have a job waiting for me back in Little Rock.”
“Really sorry to hear that. Seth mentioned you have a lot of experience with children.”
“Yes, I was—am—a child and family social worker.” When Gracie eased her head beneath Christina’s palm, she checked herself for signs of anxiety. All this talk about leaving Serenity Hills and the fact that she wouldn’t be a part of the changes in store had definitely affected her. But she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t feel some sense of loss over the friendships she’d made here.
Friendships. Right.
When Bryan suggested they continue the tour of the property, Mr. O’Grady wished Christina well and followed the Petersons out. Seth turned to leave as well, but Eva reached out to Christina.
A big, wet tear slipped from the little girl’s eye. “I don’t want you to go away!”
“Oh, honey.” Christina lifted Eva from Seth’s arms and snuggled her close. Fighting tears of her own, she couldn’t even look at Seth. “I have to go because there are other children who need my help. But I promise I will never, ever forget you. You’re more special to me than you can ever know.”
Seth gently extracted his daughter from Christina’s embrace. His cheek tucked against Eva’s golden curls, he cast Christina an apologetic frown. “Hadn’t had a chance to break the news to the kids yet. Guess I was stalling as long as possible.”
She stroked Eva’s back. “I’m sorry, too.”
Marie peeked into the storeroom. “There you are, Seth. Thought you were right behind us.” She glanced at Christina, and her expression filled with sympathy. With an understanding smile, she reached for Eva. “You better come with me, sweet thing. Daddy’ll be along shortly.”
As Marie’s footsteps faded, Christina hugged her arms across her middle and hoped Seth would make a quick exit, as well.
He didn’t. “How many ways do I have to say it, Christina? I’m crazy about you, and so are the kids. Say you’ll stay. Or let us be with you in Little Rock. Whatever it takes—”
“Seth, please—”
In two quick strides he closed the space between them. With one hand at her waist, the other clasping her nape, he kissed her, driving all other thoughts from her mind. Time stopped on a tide of confusing emotions, and when her muscles went limp, she clung to him for fear of falling.
Some distant part of her gave a cynical, mocking laugh, because she’d already fallen way too hard. And if you don’t end this now, you’ll never be able to leave.
Forcing her palms against his chest, she pushed him away. “Seth, stop.” Her words came out in a shaky gasp. “Please. We can’t do this.”
He gripped her shoulders, his breathing ragged. “Why not? Because if you have any feelings at all for me—and I’m convinced you do—I know we can work this out.”
“No, we can’t.” If Seth wouldn’t see things realistically, then Christina would have to take a stand for both their sakes. She edged toward the doorway, giving Seth her back. “I’ll be leaving on Monday as soon as I finish cleaning the cabins. If it’s okay with you, I’d like some time with the children on Sunday evening so I can tell them goodbye.”
When he didn’t answer right away, she dared a glance over her shoulder. Chin down, fists planted against his hips, Seth looked as if he struggled for control. Only then did Christina notice Gracie hadn’t followed her to the door. The dog padded over to Seth, sat down beside him, and leaned hard against his leg until he relaxed his stance and knelt to pet her.
He looked up at Christina, and a bittersweet smile nudged at the corners of his mouth. “Don’t know who I’ll miss more—you or this supersmart dog.”
His remark eased the tension between them, and Christina turned with a soft laugh. “I’ll miss you, too, Seth—you know I will. But please tell me you understand why it has to be this way.”
With another pat to Gracie’s head, he stood. “The logical part of me does. The rest...not so much.” He heaved a weary shrug. “Guess I should catch up with the ranch tour. Life goes on.”
“Yeah,” Christina murmured as he slipped past her and out the door. “Life goes on.”
* * *
Catching up with his grandparents and O’Grady, Seth needed a bucketful of willpower to keep his mind on business when everything in him ached to race back to Christina and find some way to convince her they could be together. Juniper Bluff, Little Rock, Timbuktu—the where didn’t matter anymore.
But something told him he’d pushed hard enough, and the only thing left to do was leave his future—and Christina’s—in God’s hands.
As they strolled through the barn, another car drove up. O’Grady had said three other board members would be meeting him here to see the place and bring their thoughts to the discussion. Two men and a woman, all dressed in business attire—but wearing sensible shoes, at least—stepped from the sedan. O’Grady made the introductions, then chimed in with his observations while Seth’s grandparents continued showing the board members around.
After the tour, Omi invited everyone in for sandwiches. The conversation continued over lunch, then coffee and Omi’s homemade pecan pie. Mrs. Locker, the board chairperson and an affable woman in her midfifties, assured Seth and his grandparents that they wouldn’t have to turn their longtime regulars away.
“Our current vision,” Mrs. Locker explained, “is to bring a different group of children for a weeklong stay every two or three weeks over the summer, then probably one weekend a month during the school year.”
“The schedule would be established well in advance,” O’Grady added. “So you’ll always know which dates are open for other reservations.”
Opi nodded. “Sounds fair.”
The discussion turned to money and staffing. Mrs. Locker stated they already had an attorney drafting various contractual details and suggested Seth and his grandparents engage their own attorney to ensure their interests were protected. By the time Seth excused himself to pick up Joseph from school, he was feeling more and more confident, not only about the future of Serenity Hills but about the positive effect of this arrangement on Opi’s health and Omi’s peace of mind.
His biggest concern now was his kids, because ever since Eva found out Christina would be desert
ing them, she’d latched on to Seth as if he were the one planning to leave.
Okay, maybe deserting was too strong a word. Seth had to keep reminding himself Christina had always implied her employment here was only temporary. The pain he felt now was his own fault for letting himself fall in love with her.
Eva whimpered and sniffled all the way to town. Every time Seth glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his heart tripped. Her button nose had turned a bright shade of pink, and her eyes were puffy from crying. Seth could only pray his little girl’s hard-fought sense of security would survive this blow.
And his son’s as well, he thought as he merged into the line of cars in front of Joseph’s school. Both his kids had come so far in the last few weeks. He couldn’t let either of them suffer a setback. Maybe Omi was right and Seth needed to reconsider getting the children into counseling. Hadn’t the years since Georgia’s death proved his own efforts futile in providing Joseph and Eva the help they needed? And getting to know Christina had certainly shown him not all social workers were cut from the same cloth.
He thumped the steering wheel. Please, God, don’t take Christina out of our lives.
The school bell clanged, and within minutes a horde of children stampeded through the main doors. Seth spotted Joseph in the crowd, the boy’s black-and-silver backpack crammed full and sagging from his shoulders. Most likely a new batch of library books and a lunchbox reeking with the remains of the raw veggies neither Seth nor Omi could convince him to eat.
Waving to some friends, Joseph yanked open the rear passenger door and climbed into the pickup. “Hey, Dad! Hey, Eva—What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Before Seth could intervene, Eva blurted out, “Miss Christina’s going away!”
“Huh?” Joseph shot his father a panicked look. “No way!”
Seth should have instructed Eva not to say anything, but he’d been too distracted by his own jumbled thoughts. “Buckle up, son,” he said as the parent in the car behind him gave an impatient honk. “I’ll explain on the way home.”
He barely made it off school property before Joseph hammered him with questions. “Why, Dad? Where’s she going? Doesn’t she like us anymore?”
Meanwhile, Eva’s sobs grew louder, until Seth thought his chest would explode. “Cool it, both of you!” He slammed on the brakes to keep from running down the school crossing guard who’d just stepped into the street. “Let me get out of traffic, okay? I promise, I’ll tell you everything.”
Now he had to listen to Joseph’s sniffles along with Eva’s hiccupping swallows. He’d like to pull over to the side of the road and let loose his own crying jag, for all the good it would do. On the other hand, pulling off the road until he regained some control seemed like a wise idea. Coincidentally—or not—they were coming up on the very spot where Seth had first met Christina, the day he’d waved her to a stop so he could rescue the turtle.
He steered to the curb, lowered the windows and shut off the engine. Unbuckling his seat belt, he twisted around to face his kids in the back seat. “I know this is hard, and I’m as sad as you are. But there are lots of other families who need Miss Christina, and she’s happiest when she’s helping kids out of bad situations or showing moms and dads how to be better parents.”
Joseph’s chin trembled. “Like she did for us?”
“Exactly.” Seth patted his son’s knee. “So we need to be brave and let her go where she’s most needed, right? Because we love her and want what’s best for her.”
“But what about us?” Eva whined. “We need her, too.”
Oh, boy, did they! Seth pressed his eyes shut while he hauled in a steadying breath. Opening his eyes, he looked sternly at each of his children. “Do you trust Jesus?”
Sharing a glance with each other, both Joseph and Eva nodded solemnly.
“Well, I do, too, and I believe He’s going to work everything out for our very best and for Christina’s. Maybe it means we’ll have to miss her for a while, maybe forever—” His throat closed, and he had to glance away.
“Like Mommy?” Joseph murmured.
Seth swung his head around. “No. Not like Mommy. This is different, son. I’m different.” He gripped Joseph’s hand, then Eva’s. “All of us, we’re stronger now. Wiser. And because God brought Christina to us just when we needed her most, we know how much God loves us, don’t we?”
Both children nodded.
“So we can trust that no matter what the future brings, He’s not letting go of us. We’ll get through this. We’ll be fine.” He spoke to reassure his children, but also to convince himself. Lifting the console cover, he grabbed handfuls of tissues and passed them back to the kids. After giving their chins loving tweaks, he faced forward and buckled up. “Let’s get on home now, and when you see Miss Christina, I want you to give her big smiles and hugs and let her know that no matter how far apart we are, she’ll always be our special friend.”
He nearly choked on the word friend. He’d wanted more, so much more. Lord, if it’s Your will, help us find a way.
Checking on his kids in the rearview mirror several times on the way home, Seth couldn’t be prouder of how they fought to pull themselves together. Joseph clutched Eva’s hand, offering brotherly encouragement with gentle words and tender glances that barely disguised his own dismay.
As they neared the ranch turnoff, Seth peered over his shoulder to offer one more bit of reassurance before the kids had to face Christina. “Now remember—”
“Dad!” Joseph’s terrified gaze fixed on something ahead. “Watch out!”
* * *
After her encounter with Seth in the storeroom that morning, Christina decided to stay close to her cabin and avoid further damage to her shattering heart. A headache had mushroomed in her right temple, and two doses of migraine pills had barely put a dent in it. She could probably blame the emotional tension, which she hoped would ebb as soon as she returned to Little Rock and the work she missed so desperately.
Gracie must have sensed the tension, as well. She’d hardly stopped pacing all afternoon, wearing a trench in the floorboards between the front door and the sofa, where Christina reclined with an ice pack pressed to her throbbing head.
It was both touching and heartrending to recall how Gracie had deserted Christina to comfort Seth earlier. To realize the dog had sensed Seth needed consolation so much more than Christina did in that moment—how could she doubt the depth of his feelings for her?
God, help me! I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt Joseph and—
The blare of horns and a metallic crash, sounds both familiar and frightening, penetrated her headache-induced fog. The ice bag fell to the floor as she sat up with a start. Haley’s shotgun-wielding father. The screech of tires. The sickening crunch as the unseen dump truck slammed into her.
Then Gracie’s frantic whining. A wet tongue sweeping across Christina’s face. Awareness returning, she struggled to her feet. The rational part of her brain registered that Seth usually picked up Joseph from school around this time. “Please, God, no!”
She charged out the door, while her imagination conjured up nightmarish images of Seth’s pickup turned to a mass of twisted metal, his and Joseph’s mangled bodies sprawled amid the wreckage. The distance from her cabin to the lane stretched into eternity, and the faster she ran, the more her feet seemed mired in quicksand.
She reached the Petersons’ back porch at the same moment Marie rushed out. Marie grabbed her shoulders. “Slow down, honey. Everything’s under control. The sheriff and EMS are on their way.”
Christina fought for breath as she struggled to see past the woman to the road beyond. “Is it Seth? Is he hurt?”
Marie took too long to answer, her own gaze swinging toward the road.
Christina broke free and willed her legs into motion once more. Vague
ly aware of Marie’s thudding footfalls behind her, she bolted past the house and pastures. Up ahead, where the ranch drive ended at the main road, she glimpsed a dark SUV resting nose-down in the ditch. Smoke billowed from under the hood. Beyond the SUV, a green pickup pulling a horse trailer sat crossways in the road.
A green pickup. Not maroon.
Not Seth’s.
Halting several feet away, pulse thrumming in her ears, Christina sank to her knees. Gravel bit into the thin skin over her kneecaps, but she hardly felt it. Reaching instinctively for the dog never far from her side, she sank her fingers deep into Gracie’s fur and drew sharp, gasping breaths.
She felt Marie’s hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Bryan striding their way. He held tight to Joseph’s and Eva’s hands. Praise God they appeared physically unscathed, but shock and confusion filled their eyes.
Eva broke free and ran straight for Christina, her little body wrapping around Christina’s like a boa constrictor. “We nearly wrecked. It was so scary!”
Still in shock, Christina couldn’t find her voice. She held Eva close while straining for a glimpse of Seth. If the kids weren’t hurt, he should be okay, too...shouldn’t he?
But where was he?
Then she saw him. Emerging from the horse trailer, he carefully led a limping horse to the side of the road. Another man followed with a second horse, this one with blood streaming down its rear leg.
“Keep an eye on the kids,” Bryan said, speaking to Marie. “I’m gonna fix up a couple of stalls in the barn where the horses can stay until Doc Ingram checks them out.”
As the wail of sirens grew louder, Marie helped Christina to her feet. “Let’s take the kids to the house. They don’t need to be out here for this.” Concern deepened the lines around her eyes. “And neither do you.”
