Simon smiled down at her and gave her another quick hug. “Jake’s lawyer found out,” he said.
“My lawyer was contacted by Matthew asking if he knew a Jake and Simon who were brothers,” Jake explained, his arm still holding Cory close. “After all these years, all it took was a few letters exchanged.”
Cory then looked at Matthew who stood off to one side watching the tableau, smiling.
“You found them?” she asked, stepping away from Jake’s embrace. “How did you do that?”
“A little luck and a few prayers,” Matthew said, his smile bringing out the dimple that hovered beside his mouth.
Cory recognized the phrase from their first momentous meeting over a month ago, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Then their eyes met, and their smiles faded away. Cory felt his gaze as tangibly as a touch. Her heart overflowed with love for him and without realizing it, she had taken a step closer to him.
“I think we better move inside,” Simon said suddenly, breaking the moment between Matthew and Cory. “We’ve got lots to catch up on.”
“Of course. Come in, come in.” Joyce ushered them toward the door and Cory and Matthew trailed in their wake. Just before they stepped into the house, Cory felt Matthew’s hand rest on her shoulder from behind as he bent his head closer.
“I need to talk to you, Cory,” he pleaded, his breath warm against her neck.
She laid her hand on his and quickly glanced back, her heart going triple time as she took the plunge. “I love you,” she said. She couldn’t hold the words back any longer. In what was probably the most extraordinary moment of her life, she could not stop herself from expressing the emotion that filled her to overflowing.
Matthew’s eyes darkened, his hand tightened on her shoulder. He moved closer.
Then Simon caught Cory’s hand, pulling her into the house.
It would have to wait for later, Cory thought.
Chapter Sixteen
Inside the house was an air of celebration. Joyce fluttered back and forth, unable to take it all in.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Cory said quickly.
“I’ll help you,” Matthew volunteered.
As Cory tried to pour grounds into the coffee basket, her hands shook with an odd mixture of excitement at seeing her brothers and Matthew’s nearness.
Matthew was laying out mugs on a tray, easily finding his way around the kitchen. They were both quiet, as if unable to find their way through this new predicament.
Cory finally got the coffeepot going, wiping her hands on a towel.
Then, Matthew came up behind her, slipped his arms around her and pulled her back against him. “I love you, Cory,” he whispered against the side of her neck.
Cory let herself drift back against him, her hands clasping his arms. “I love you, too,” she said softly, turning her head to look up at him.
He dropped a gentle kiss on her mouth, then gave her another one, slower this time.
Then he pulled away with a sigh of regret. “But your brothers are here now.”
“I still can’t believe it,” she said, turning to face him. “And you did it.”
Matthew smiled down at her, his fingers trailing up and down her arm. “With the Lord’s help, Cory. Only with His help.”
They shared the moment, then Cory stepped past him. “We better get this out there,” she said quietly.
The next hour passed in a flurry of noise and laughter and memories. Cory found the photograph album and it was passed around. Simon had pictures of him and his wife, Caitlin. Jake, of his wife, Miriam, and daughter, Taryn.
“God has blessed us so richly,” Simon was saying. “Caitlin is expecting. I can’t believe the baby will have another aunt.” Simon grinned at Cory and impulsively gave her another hug.
“What do you think Taryn will say, Jake?” Simon asked his brother.
“She’ll be over the moon.” Jake showed Cory a picture of his daughter standing in front of Miriam.
Cory took the picture, looking closely at Miriam. “She looks familiar,” she said, trying to catch the memory.
“She’s a model for a well-known cosmetics company,” Jake said. “One more job and she’s done. Thank goodness.”
Cory shook her head in bewilderment. A sister-in-law who was a registered nurse, another who was a model. She couldn’t help but wonder what they would think of someone who waited on tables for a living.
“When I told Miriam about you, she was so excited,” Jake said. “She’s never had a sister so she’s pretty eager to meet you.”
“I’m nothing special,” Cory couldn’t help but say.
Matthew caught her hand and when she looked at him, his expression was dead serious. “You’re exceptional,” he said, a thread of admonition in his voice.
“Miriam will give up that life without a second thought,” Jake added quietly. “She would have traded all the fame in a heartbeat for the relationship you have with Mom.”
Cory felt a surge of warmth toward her brother.
The talk started again, as stories were traded. Cory just listened, her hand still clasped in Matthew’s. All through what her brothers said she felt their underlying pain as they yearned for the completeness of family. They all had their sorrows, she thought, but they also had their prayers and their faith and here they were together.
After a while, Jake said, “We know this is short notice, but we would love to have you come to the farm and spend some time with us. We have so much to catch up on.”
“Of course. I’m not working. I would love to come.” Joyce turned to Cory. “You can probably get time off, can’t you?”
Cory nodded slowly. Once Kelsey got wind of what had just happened, she knew that her friend would move heaven and earth so that Cory could be with her brothers.
But did she want to go?
She glanced sidelong at Matthew. He got up, pulling Cory to her feet.
“If you’ll excuse us a moment,” he said to the group. Then without waiting for any acknowledgment, he led Cory outside.
On the front deck, away from everyone, he pulled her tightly into his arms.
“Oh, Cory, I wanted to do this the moment you opened the door,” he said quietly. “But I couldn’t. Not with your brothers breathing down my neck.”
Cory returned his embrace, clinging to him, her heart overflowing with love and gratitude.
Once again they kissed, but this time with a fervor they couldn’t express in front of everyone else.
“I need you, Cory. I missed you so much. I’m so sorry.” His words rained down on her interspersed with kisses. “I wanted to tell you about the other will, but I was scared you would hate me.”
“Never, Matthew. Never,” she said, holding his face in her hands. “I’m sorry, too. I was wrong to be so angry with you, but it was such a disappointment.”
“I know money isn’t important to you, but I knew that you were making plans.” Matthew sighed, toying with her hair, his fingers trailing down her neck. “I wanted to fix everything for you, make your life better. I want only good things for you, my dear.”
“But you brought me my brothers.” She smiled tremulously, tears threatening, her heart overflowing with happiness. “And you gave me the most beautiful doll in the world.”
“You liked her?”
“I know what you were telling me, Matthew.” She reached up and kissed him quickly again.
“So now your brothers want you to come for a visit.” He sighed lightly in resignation. “You should go.”
Cory nodded, realizing that he was right, yet she felt torn.
“I’d feel terrible if you didn’t take this chance to get to know them, to spend some time at their place,” he continued.
“I could do it later,” she said slowly, considering the possibility.
“Maybe. But right now everything is so new, so exciting. Your mom would be so happy to have her whole family together for a while.” Matthew dropped a light kis
s on her forehead. “I told you I want only what is best for you. That’s all.”
“But to go now….”
“The timing isn’t great. And if I had my way I’d keep you here, with me.”
Cory smiled at that. “Okay. I’m glad that’s settled.”
“But I don’t think it would be a good idea,” he continued.
Cory’s heart fell at that. “Why not?”
“Don’t look at me like that, Cory. Let me explain it to you. I love you. You need to know that. But you also need to know that your needs are going to come first with me. I don’t ever want you to think that I am anything remotely like Zeke Smith. I am not going to put what I want and what I think I need before your needs. And right now, I know you want to be with your brothers and your mother. As a family. You have never had that in your life. I know there might be other times and opportunities, but I feel that you should go with them. Not just for your mother’s sake, not just for your brothers’, but for your sake as well.”
Cory felt the burden of the decision falling off her shoulder as Matthew spoke. And as she thought about what he said, she realized that he was right. She still felt torn between her love for Matthew and the fulfillment of her lifelong dream of reuniting her family, but she felt he was right.
“It won’t be easy,” she whispered. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” he said, his expression serious. Then he kissed her quickly one more time, and led her back into the house.
Her brothers were overjoyed, her mother ecstatic and Cory was pleased that she had decided to go. Until she looked at Matthew.
Why did this all have to happen now? she thought ruefully. God’s blessings were overwhelming her, and she didn’t know which one to choose.
“No, you sit down. Simon and I will do the dishes.”
Tilly, Jake’s foster mother, gently eased Cory away from the sink. “You go sit in the living room and relax for a while. Or sit out on the porch. It’s a lovely evening.”
Cory opened her mouth to protest when Simon flicked a towel at her. “Let me try to make a good impression on Tilly,” he said with a mock frown.
“I’ll help, too,” Caitlin offered.
“That’s silly,” Cory said. “You’re expecting.”
Caitlin rolled her eyes as she gathered up the cutlery from the table. “I’m hardly in a delicate condition. Just go and rest up. You’ll need all the energy you can muster when we start playing Scrabble.”
Cory frowned.
Caitlin grinned. “I know what you’re thinking. Scrabble is hardly a contact sport, but once Simon starts playing a game, it’s no holds barred. He plays to win and he cheats. It takes all our combined forces to keep an eye on him.”
“Hey,” Simon protested, his hand over his heart. “I’m crushed.”
Caitlin pointed a finger at him. “And you’re toast.” Caitlin grinned over her shoulder at Joyce and Cory. “We’ll join you in a couple of minutes. I think you could probably use some time out from this character. I know I sure could.”
With one more negated protest, Cory finally was convinced to leave. Fred, Jake’s foster father, was dozing quietly in his recliner in the living room, so they walked quietly out onto the front porch.
The sun was heading down, its harsh afternoon rays softened by the encroaching evening. They sat together on the swing, Joyce letting out a contented sigh.
“It’s so beautiful here, isn’t it?”
Cory had to agree. It still felt strange to finally see her brother as a grown man. The shadowy figure that was forever young in her mind, was a farmer. That he had been raised by Fred and Tilly Prins who owned all this.
“It’s been so busy the past couple of days, we haven’t really had a chance to talk,” Cory said, knowing that she had to bring up the subject that had been on her mind since this morning.
She missed Matthew. They had already been here a day and a half, and in good conscience she knew that she could go back.
It would just be hard to break it to her mother. Joyce who was a completely different woman since Jake and Simon had come into their lives.
Cory felt an easing of the burden as the brothers took over. As Miriam and Tilly and Caitlin all checked to see how Joyce was doing, made sure she was comfortable. Helped her with her exercises.
“It’s overwhelming. All this family,” Joyce said with a contented sigh. “My sons, back in my life again.” She turned to Cory. “I’m so glad you came along,” Joyce said, stroking her daughter’s cheek. “So glad Matthew didn’t convince you to stay.”
“Matthew was the one who convinced me to go,” Cory said.
Joyce frowned. “What? Then why…?”
“Why what?”
Joyce looked up, taking her daughter’s hands in her own. “Just before you left, he asked me for permission to marry you. I thought he wanted you to stay with him.”
Surprise trickled through Cory. Surprise and at the same time a conviction that she knew that this was the direction she and Matthew were headed.
“I thought it was too sudden,” Joyce continued. “You’ve not been dating that long.”
“But I’ve cared for him for longer than that,” Cory admitted.
Joyce’s hands squeezed Cory’s. “I think I knew that, too,” Joyce said quietly. “When you were younger I used to catch him looking at you. And once in a while, I caught you looking back. It made me nervous. Still does, a bit.”
“Why? I love him. And I know that he loves me.”
Joyce sighed, letting go of Cory’s hands, staring off into the middle distance. Cory sensed her withdrawal into the past.
“What are you thinking of, Mom? That love can be blind, like you told me before Jake and Simon came? That I’m making a big mistake? Because I don’t think I am, Mother.”
“I need to tell you something,” Joyce said, her voice a thin sound. “I’ve wanted to tell you for some time now, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.” She faltered, still looking away, rocking lightly now. “I wanted to tell you about Zeke. How guilty I felt about marrying him.”
“Mother, don’t. It’s over.”
“Maybe. But I need to tell you this.” Joyce took in a slow breath, looking away from Cory, over the front lawn, surrounded by spruce trees. The secluded yard lent an air of intimacy to the front porch.
“I thought I was thinking of you when I said yes to Zeke. When he asked me to marry him. I thought I was giving you a father. But I wasn’t. I was only thinking of myself and how much I loved him. Because I did. But I loved him even though I knew what he was like, Cory, even though I knew he didn’t truly care for you. I thought he would change once we were married. I thought that he could grow to love you. I just didn’t think it would turn out so badly.” Joyce’s voice faltered a moment. “I wish I could make it up to you, but I don’t know how. I just don’t know how.”
Cory could say nothing, feeling her mother’s hurt, surprised at this new revelation.
“I’ve always had to live with that burden,” Joyce continued, picking at a piece of lint on her sweater. “I’ve never been able to make it up to you, Cory. Lord knows I wanted to hundreds of times. Instead I ended up being a burden to you.”
Cory made a murmur of protest, but Joyce shook her head. “It’s true, Cory. It’s been so difficult seeing you work so hard every day. Taking over for me when I couldn’t do the one job I thought would help us out.”
“Mother, you were never a burden,” Cory blurted out.
“Yes, I was. You would have to be a saint not to feel some frustration when I had my really bad days and could barely get out of bed. I know you’re no saint, but you came close, Cory.” Her voice faltered, her hand caught Cory’s in her own. “You came very close.”
Cory didn’t know what to say. She wanted to protest, but instead ended up agreeing. “It was hard and difficult,” Cory replied. “But you know, Mom, everything that happened brought us to this place. Here. Now.” As she spoke the words Cor
y realized the truth of what she was saying. “God used all the mistakes we made, and took all those tangled threads and brought us here. We found the boys because of Matthew. Matthew found us because of Zeke. And I found Matthew because of Zeke. And I love him.”
Joyce smiled at her daughter, a smile of benediction. “I know you do. And in spite of the things I’ve said about him, I think you made a good choice.”
Cory leaned over and carefully held her mother in her arms, unable to say anything. Joyce returned the hug, tears flowing quietly between them.
Joyce pulled away after a while, palming the moisture from her cheek. Her smile was tremulous. “I’ve always been so proud of you, Cory. Always.” She drew in a deep breath and pulled her sweater closer around her. “Matthew has done things for you that Zeke never would have for me.” She sighed lightly and faced her daughter again. “I know you miss him. And I know you feel torn. I’m so thankful that he convinced you to come. But you’re right. You should go to him now.”
“Thanks, Mom,” she said softly. “Thanks for loving me.”
“So I guess this is it for a while,” Jake said, stopping his pickup in front of Matthew’s office. “Do you want me to come in with you to make sure his intentions are honorable?”
Cory smiled at her big brother from the other side of the cab. It still seemed strange to think of this man she barely knew as the shadowy figures that had always been one of the brothers who would rescue her.
“No. He’s already spoken to my mother, and she gave her blessing. Seems kind of old-fashioned, but I appreciate his doing it.”
“From the way you talk about him, he seems like a decent man—” Jake shrugged “—for a lawyer.”
“Don’t start that,” Cory warned.
“Do you know how many times Simon wanted to tell his lawyer jokes and Caitlin stopped him?” Jake said with a laugh.
“I probably know more than he does.” Cory turned to Jake. “So I guess this is goodbye. For a while.”
“It’s been wonderful to see you, Cory. It was such an answer to prayer to connect with you, to spend time with you.” He reached across the cab and caught her by the arm. “Come here so I can give you a brotherly hug.”
A Family At Last Page 19
