Made for Each Other

by Irene Brand

  “How is she?”

  “She has a broken arm. The doctor hasn’t been in, but the nurse assured me that she doesn’t have any life-threatening injuries.” Although it felt like leaving a warm room to step into a freezer, she moved out of his arms.

  Jacob encouraged her to sit down, and he knelt on the floor beside her and held her hand. “Want to talk about it?”

  “I failed at being a mother again. Samantha told me she was spending the night with Madison, which was true. What she didn’t tell me was that Madison’s parents were away for the night, and that Jennifer was also at the sleepover.”

  Jacob cupped Aimee’s chin in his fingers and turned her face toward him. “It was not your fault. Believe me, it was not your fault.” Grinning, he said, “Repeat after me, ‘It was not my fault.’”

  She shook her head. “I have to shoulder most of the blame. I should have checked with Mrs. Toney as I usually do.”

  “Samantha lied to you, and I’m sure you’ve never taught her to lie,” he insisted. “She chose to do something she knew you wouldn’t approve.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “But she could have been killed! Madison’s parents were called away unexpectedly, and Madison told her that she would spend the weekend with Samantha. They know that Madison is always welcome at our home, so they didn’t okay the visit with me.”

  “So both girls were telling half truths.”

  “Yes, which, in my opinion, is still lying. Neither the Toneys nor I knew Jennifer would be with them. I don’t know the details, but they decided to take a drive. Jennifer was driving too fast and lost control. Her father is very angry, and I have a feeling he’s going to put a stop to Jennifer’s waywardness.”

  “So, good may come out of the situation, which might be the reason God allowed it to happen.” Grinning widely, Jacob added, “I don’t know the Niberts, but I saw a very angry man bawling out his wife in the waiting room. Apparently he’d relegated his paternal responsibilities to his wife, and she’s been too lenient with Jennifer.”

  “I agree with him, but he should have taken more interest in his daughter before this,” Aimee replied. “Best I can tell from what Jennifer says—he’s hardly ever at home. Maybe this will bring their family closer together.”

  Returning to Aimee’s major concern, Jacob said, “This accident resulted from the actions of many people. Very little of the blame, if any, can be laid at your door. Promise me that you will stop feeling guilty.”

  A moan escaped Samantha’s lips and Aimee hurried to the bed. Samantha’s eyes were still closed but she sat up and started to get out of bed.

  “No, dear,” Aimee said. “You can’t get up.”

  Samantha opened her eyes and pushed Aimee’s hand away. Jacob went to the other side of the gurney.

  “Samantha, lie still,” he said calmly but firmly. “You’re hooked up to several machines, and you’ll injure yourself if you don’t lie still.”

  Samantha’s eyes wavered in his direction, and she quieted under his restraining hand on her arm. Aimee’s worried eyes met Jacob’s, and he said, “Certain medicines have this effect on many people, especially those who aren’t used to taking a lot of medication.”

  Gently, Jacob continued to encourage Samantha to lie still, and she was quiet again when the E.R. doctor came in soon afterward. He checked the computerized report the nurse had left behind, monitored Samantha’s pulse and listened to her heart and lungs. He showed Aimee and Jacob the X-rays of Samantha’s arm, indicating where the break was.

  “She’s okay, but we’ll admit her for the rest of the night to allow time for some of the swelling to go down. The orthopedic surgeon will take care of her early tomorrow. Don’t worry. You can see that it’s a clean break, and she should heal quickly. She’ll be discharged by midmorning.”

  “May I stay with her?” Aimee asked.

  He nodded. “Room 215. I’m sure she’ll want her mother with her when she comes to herself.”

  When the orderly came to wheel Samantha out of the E.R. unit, Aimee walked to the waiting room with Jacob. Erica came to them at once and hugged Aimee.

  “Had a rough time, huh?”

  Aimee smiled. “Do I look that bad?”

  “I’ve seen you look better,” Erica joked. “But if you’re able to smile, Samantha must be all right.”

  Jacob reported what the doctor had said.

  “I’ll stay the rest of the night with her,” Aimee said, “but there isn’t any reason for either of you to stay. I’ll have to take off a few days from school.”

  “Do you want me to call the principal?” Erica said.

  “Please.”

  “I’ll phone early,” Erica promised. “Also, when they discharge her, call me, and I’ll come for you. I don’t have to work tomorrow.”

  “I’ll pick them up, Erica,” Jacob said.

  “It’s my day off, but you have to work,” Erica objected.

  He shook his head. “I’m my own boss, and I don’t have any appointments tomorrow that can’t be postponed,” Jacob insisted. “I’ll bring them home. You know my cell-phone number, Aimee, so let me know when Samantha will be released.”

  He pulled Aimee into a friendly embrace, and over his shoulder, Aimee’s eyes met Erica’s, who smiled, lowered her left eyelid in a wink and gave her thumbs-up. Aimee tried to frown at her friend, but her heart was too full of thankfulness and peace to be annoyed at anyone right now. Not even Samantha.

  Jacob drove away from the hospital knowing that his relationship with Aimee had undergone significant changes tonight. His feelings for her differed greatly from his emotions for Megan. He supposed that had been a case of puppy love, and that he had been hurt because Megan wanted someone else more than she wanted him. Well, he was thirty-four years old now, and it was way past time for him to be concerned about rejection.

  Jesus had been rejected over and over, yet He had persevered and hadn’t closed His heart to other people because His own family and peers wouldn’t accept Him.

  Right from the first, Jacob had been drawn to Aimee. He believed she was interested in him, but did they have too many emotional scars from the past to consider anything beyond friendship? Plus, anyone who married Aimee would always be competing with Samantha for Aimee’s love. He wasn’t sure he wanted to play second fiddle.

  Jacob knew that he’d made a mistake when he hadn’t told her the complete story about his involvement with Megan. He should have told her before she learned the information secondhand. But now he thought they could get past it. With God’s help they could get past anything.

  Samantha woke up when a nurse entered the room to check her vitals. She looked around, dazed, and her eyes focused on Aimee.

  “Mom! Where are we?”

  “In the hospital.”

  “What happened?” Then she closed her eyes. “Oh, I remember. We went around a bend. The car started spinning like a top. There was a big crash. That’s all I remember. I ache all over. Am I hurt bad?”

  “You have a broken arm.”

  “What about Jen and Madison?”

  “Madison had a few cuts, but she didn’t have to stay in the hospital. Her grandmother came and picked her up. Jennifer wasn’t so fortunate. She has a broken leg and possible internal injuries.”

  “Well, it’s her own fault,” Samantha said, frowning. “Madison and I tried to get her to slow down.”

  “She might have been driving too fast, but don’t blame anyone except yourself for your injuries,” Aimee said sharply. “No one made you get in the car with Jennifer. Perhaps this isn’t the time to say I told you so, but I’m very disappointed in you. You know I wouldn’t want you girls to spend the night alone.”

  “It was one of those crazy things that just happened. We thought it would be a blast to spend the night alone. Till Jen got the crazy idea to go driving.”

  “Have you listened to one single word I’ve said?” Aimee asked. “Don’t blame Jennifer for your actions. You got into her ca
r of your own free will.”

  Tears squeezed out of Samantha’s eyes, and Aimee was sorry she had spoken harshly. The only justification for her anger was that she still hadn’t gotten over the shock of possibly losing her daughter. She had to make Samantha more responsible for her actions.

  Fortunately, the orthopedic surgeon came in at that time and forestalled further comment. He examined Samantha and asked the nurse who accompanied her to call for an orderly to take her to surgery. Samantha cast a fearful glance at her mother.

  “Will you stay with me?”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible, love, but the doctor and nurses will take good care of you. I’ll be here in the room when you get back.” She bent over the bed and kissed Samantha. “I love you, Samantha. No matter what.”

  “You’ll have time to go to the cafeteria for breakfast,” the nurse said.

  Aimee walked beside the gurney until they came to the elevator, where she kissed Samantha again. Instead of eating breakfast, she stepped outside the hospital to call Erica and Jacob.

  Samantha had been given an injection so she wouldn’t be aware when the doctor set her arm, and she was still woozy when Jacob helped her into his car. She dozed all the way home, and he stayed at the house until Aimee put her to bed. Samantha either didn’t realize that he was helping, or had decided to ignore him.

  When she was settled, Jacob said to Aimee, “Now it’s your turn to get some rest. I’m leaving, but I’m as close as a phone call. If I don’t hear, I’ll call later.”

  He leaned forward and kissed Aimee’s forehead and caressed her cheek with his gentle hand. “I’m here for you, Aimee. Don’t forget that.”

  Aimee walked to the window and watched him drive away, wondering what he meant by his last statement. She knew the time was fast approaching when she had to admit how important Jacob Mallory was to her future. She only prayed that she wouldn’t have to choose between Jacob and Samantha to find happiness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aimee was still sleeping when Mrs. Toney telephoned.

  “How’s Samantha?” she asked.

  “She was discharged from the hospital this morning, and she’s been sleeping since we got home. The doctor says she’s fine. It was a straight break and should heal quickly.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I want to apologize for Madison’s part in this deception. My sister died quite suddenly. We’ve always been close and, in my grief, I didn’t call to see if it was all right for Madison to stay with you. I had no reason to think she would lie to me.”

  “Madison is always welcome here. And as far as I’m concerned, all the girls are equally at fault. I even blame myself for giving Samantha too much freedom, but it won’t happen again.”

  “That’s why I called. Mr. Nibert and I had a long talk this morning. He says that if Jennifer gets another car, she’s buying it, and we both agreed to put our daughters on a strict schedule. They’re not staying overnight anywhere except at home until school is out, and they’ll be on probation all summer. We hope you’ll agree to these restrictions.”

  “I certainly will. I intend to put Samantha on a short leash, but it will be so much easier if all of the parents agree on their punishment. By the way, how is Jennifer?”

  “She has several broken ribs, a broken leg, a punctured lung and a wound on her arm, as well as a slight concussion. She’ll be in the hospital for several days. Her father said that she’s more upset about a possible scar on her arm than she is anything else.”

  “Sounds like Jennifer,” Aimee agreed. “We were all blessed that it wasn’t worse.”

  “That’s certainly true.”

  “I’m willing to go along with the ground rules you and Mr. Nibert have agreed on,” Aimee assured her.

  Perhaps Samantha also felt that she was fortunate to avoid a more serious injury, for she didn’t argue when she heard about the restrictions.

  When Jacob stopped by Monday evening, Samantha was even amiable, if not friendly. Soon after he arrived, Samantha asked to be excused, told Jacob good-night and went to her room, saying that she needed to catch up on her homework before she started back to school.

  Jacob lifted his eyebrows and winked at Aimee as they listened to Samantha’s footsteps on the stair treads.

  Grinning, Aimee said quietly, “Let’s hope this lasts.”

  When they went into the family room, Jacob took her hand and led her to the couch. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she nestled close to him.

  “Now, it’s time for me to tell you what I should have told you weeks ago,” he said regretfully. “I’m so sorry you had to learn from someone else why I broke up with Megan. I lived through a bad six months in this town when Megan’s pregnancy became obvious, and I’ve never gotten over it. I was naive and hadn’t even realized she was going to have a baby until my friends started kidding me about it.”

  She leaned her head back and peered into his eyes. “Jacob, you don’t have to tell me anything. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

  He shook his head decisively. “I don’t want any secrets between us. I’d dated Megan for almost three years, and I suppose I loved her in a youthful sort of way. I was really hurt when I knew she hadn’t been faithful to me.”

  Aimee could sense the pain in his voice. He paused and swallowed with difficulty before he continued. “We had never been intimate, so there was no way the child was mine. Megan wouldn’t give the name of the father, and I didn’t really want to know, because if the news ever got out who the other man was, I figured I’d be the laughingstock of Benton. I wasn’t mature enough to take that kind of ridicule, so I left Benton to go to college, never intending to live here again.”

  “Why did you come back?” Aimee asked.

  “Well, for one thing, Gran was here, and I felt I needed to take care of her.”

  Aimee giggled slightly, and Jacob said, “I know, it’s ironic. Gran can take care of herself, and even thinks she still has to look after me. But someday, it may be different, and I’ll be here if she ever needs me.”

  “She’s an amazing woman,” Aimee agreed, glad that she’d thought of something to lighten the moment.

  “But it was more than Gran that brought me back,” he said. “I’d never felt right about taking the coward’s way out. So I took my own counseling advice and came home to live down my past reputation.”

  “Did it take very long?” she asked, covering his hand with hers.

  “It was a couple of years before I sensed that some of my acquaintances no longer thought about the situation. And the fact that I’ve been able to build up a good practice in spite of the past has been encouraging.”

  “You’ve never heard from Megan?”

  “No. I stopped seeing her immediately, and after a few weeks when she finally learned that I wouldn’t have anything else to do with her, she stopped calling me.” He paused a moment. “Her betrayal killed any love I ever had for her, but I still feel badly that I abandoned her. She probably needed friends then.”

  “You shouldn’t blame yourself,” Aimee was quick to defend his actions. “Whoever fathered that child should be the one to feel guilty. You don’t have any idea who she could have been seeing?”

  “Not a hint. She wouldn’t tell me anything. Perhaps it was non-Christian for me not to help her. Today, I might make such a sacrifice, but I was too young then to make far-reaching decisions.”

  “Do you know anything about the child?” Aimee asked.

  He shook his head. “Megan left Benton before I did. Gran heard that she went to stay with her grandmother in Tennessee and that the baby was born there. Her parents sold their property and moved away from Benton, too. I haven’t heard anything else, and I hope I never hear from her again.”

  “It seems to me that you did the right thing in moving back to Benton,” Aimee assured him.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Time has proven that, but it was a difficult decision to make.”

  “You accused me of not be
ing completely open with you about my past,” she said, “and you’re right. Although it’s embarrassing I’m going to tell you one of the things that’s bothered me. After meeting with Pam Baker at the conference, I’ve realized that the fear that has shadowed my life was a normal reaction to my pregnancy.”

  Jacob must have noticed her heightened coloring, for he said, “Don’t hesitate to tell me anything. I won’t be judgmental.”

  “I know that,” she said, “and I want you to know, although it’s difficult to talk about. I’ve told you that I got pregnant within two months of our marriage. I was only eighteen years old, had morning sickness and all the discomfort that goes with it. I was miserable, both physically and emotionally, the whole nine months. Consequently, I avoided the intimacies of marriage as much as possible.”

  Aimee could not sit beside Jacob as she discussed the intimate details of her life with Steve, so she walked to the window. The outside lights shone brightly on the little gazebo, and Aimee focused on it as she collected her thoughts in an effort to continue.

  “After Samantha was born, I moved into another bedroom. After Steve died, I felt very guilty that I’d neglected him and hadn’t been the kind of wife I should have been.” She looked away from him, hoping that she had succinctly conveyed the situation to Jacob without adding further details. “I decided I wasn’t the type of person who should be married.”

  Jacob left the couch and put his arm around her, and turned her to face him. “I don’t believe that for a minute,” he said.

  Aimee experienced an unusual tremor of excitement when he lowered his face to hers. She relaxed in his embrace as she raised her face to meet his sweet kiss. When he released her lips, Aimee exhaled a long sigh of contentment and rested her head on his shoulder.

  His hand smoothed her hair as he spoke. “Until I talk to my grandparents and learn more about my father and why he abandoned my mother and me, I can’t say the things I want to say, or discuss a future with you. My family background could change everything, but believe me, you would be a good wife to any man, so don’t worry about that.”