Restoring His Heart

by Lorraine Beatty

  “None of you guys wanted it, and he and your mom are ready to retire and enjoy themselves.”

  “I know, it’s just too much to process at once. Matt and you getting married, Dad selling the store, Adam leaving town.”

  “Call him, Laura. It’s Thanksgiving. You have the perfect excuse.”

  Laura gave her sisterin-law a hug. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

  She stared at her phone again, her courage waning. This is what happened when she lacked faith. Her fear of being hurt again had prevented her from telling Adam she loved him. Now he was gone and she wouldn’t have the chance to.

  She rose and started back toward the kitchen, banishing thoughts of Adam to the far recesses of her mind. Today was all about family. She should focus on that.

  Sounds of a football game on the television carried throughout the house. Laughter from the kitchen bounced off the walls, interspersed with the shouts and giggles of her niece and nephew. The noise and commotion that normally comforted her now left her feeling alone and sad.

  Pulling a large clip from her backpack, she secured her hair on top of her head, then grabbed her jacket from the hall closet. She had time for a walk before dinner was ready. Fresh air and open space might be what she needed to get herself under control.

  *

  Adam stood on the sidewalk outside the Durrant home, gearing up the courage to knock on the door. It was Thanksgiving Day. He hadn’t realized it until he’d boarded the plane this morning. Not only was he intruding into Laura’s life again, but he was doing it on a major family holiday. He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets and stared at the house again, leaning against the tree trunk at the curb.

  He could see them moving around in the dining room at the front of the house. He shouldn’t be staring in their windows like a Peeping Tom, but he was compelled to watch them. What he really was longing for was a glimpse of Laura. He wanted to talk to her alone, not with the entire Durrant clan hovering around.

  Coward. Truth was, he was nervous about seeing her again. He hadn’t called her once since he’d left Dover. Not the way a man trying to win the woman he loved should behave. He’d lost big points there. He knew he’d be welcome in the Durrants’ home, but it wasn’t their welcome he sought. He’d screwed up and he’d prayed all the way from Atlanta that it wasn’t too late, that Laura hadn’t forgotten him and moved on.

  He should have taken her father’s advice. If he would have told Laura how he felt the day he’d given her the deed to the Keller building, they could have worked through the separation together. Instead, he’d chickened out, afraid of not measuring up to the man she idolized—her father. Now he was afraid he might have lost his chance with her forever.

  He prayed he’d made the right choice. He’d made a major life decision on faith, trusting that the Lord would actually work this one out. Something he’d never done before.

  A noise drew his attention to the front door of the Durrants’ two-story colonial. Someone stepped out and hurried down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk along the street. His heart flipped over in his chest a couple of times. Laura. She was a vision in black jeans, heeled boots and a lavender sweater that matched her eyes. He straightened and stepped toward her.

  “Adam!”

  The sweet, lilting tone of her voice washed over him. She looked soft and beautiful, exactly the way he’d remembered her. Even with her silken hair pulled up into that ridiculous bun on the top of her head. The look in her eyes sent his heart pounding. Was she happy to see him?

  “Hi.” He wanted to memorize every inch of her. He might not get another chance. The smile on her face gave him hope.

  “You came back?” She moved to him, resting her hands on his chest. He took her shoulders in his hands.

  “I had to. I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  Suddenly he felt like an awkward, insecure kid. Where did he start? How did he tell her what was in his heart? He saw his own uncertainty reflected in her violet eyes.

  “How’s your father?”

  “Better. It was touch and go for a while, but the doctors think he’ll make a full recovery.” Nerves and anxiety churned in his stomach. He needed to move before he jumped out of his skin. “Let’s walk. We have a lot to talk about.” She fell into step beside him as they strolled down the block, slipping her hand through the crook of his arm.

  “Did you work things out between you?”

  “Let’s just say it’s a work in progress and that I have hope. I’d like to take you to meet him.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I was tied up at the hospital with my dad around the clock in the beginning. When things finally settled down, so much time had passed I wasn’t sure how you’d feel. I sent the picture so you wouldn’t forget me.”

  “I could never forget you. That was a perfect day for me, too.”

  Adam stopped and pulled Laura around to face him. “A very wise man gave me some advice and I didn’t take it. I regret that more than I can say. So I’m taking it now.” He inhaled and gazed into her eyes. “Laura, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  The smile on her face sent his heart soaring.

  “You love me? Oh, Adam, I love you, too. I wanted to tell you that night at the balloon glow, but I was so afraid you didn’t feel the same way. You told me you could never survive in a place like Dover.”

  “I know, but that was before a beautiful lady carpenter stole my heart. I think I fell in love with the you the first time I saw you.” He reached up and pulled the clips from her hair.

  “And I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you standing in my brother’s old room, wearing that tattered tuxedo and that bandage on your chin.”

  Adam laughed and pulled her into his arms. “So will you marry me, Laura?”

  “Yes!”

  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, dispelling any and all doubts. Breathless, he pulled back, cradling her face in his hands. “I thought about bringing a ring with me, but I want you to pick out the exact one you want. I’d like that to be the first thing we do together as a couple.” He searched her eyes for confirmation.

  Laura’s eyes filled with tears, her fingers pressed against her lips. Had he already messed up?

  “Oh, Adam, how did you know? Did you talk to my dad?”

  He shook his head. “No, I never mentioned it.”

  “You’re just like my dad. The first thing he and Mom did when they decided to get married was choose the ring together. I’ve always thought that was so romantic. The perfect way to start a life together.

  She hugged him again. “I told you if I ever found someone as wonderful as my father, I’d marry him.” She smiled into his eyes, her small hand on his cheek.

  They’d reached the end of the block and started back. “Do you think your parents will be happy?”

  “Totally. Mom has been singing your praises since the beginning. You’re not going back to Atlanta now, are you? You’re staying in Dover?”

  “I’m staying.” That earned him another hug.

  “What will you do? You’ll have to find a job. I can put you on as one of my crew or you could run Handy Works.”

  “Actually, I have something else in mind. In fact, it’s already in the works. I was only waiting to see if I was still welcome in your life before completing the details.”

  “What?”

  “I happen to know a man who is very interested in buying your dad’s store. Keeping it in the family, so to speak.” He watched as she processed what he’d said.

  “Who? You? Oh, that’s the perfect solution!”

  Side by side they started up toward her parents’ front porch.

  “So when do you want to make this official?”

  Laura squeezed his arm. “How about Valentine’s Day?”

  He nodded. Not too far off but plenty of time for her to plan the kind of wedding she would want. “You
should be able to have your passport by then.”

  “Why do I need one?”

  “You can’t spend a honeymoon in England without one.”

  “Adam Holbrook, I love you.” They stopped at the foot of the porch steps.

  Adam started to kiss her again when the front door opened and Angie Durrant appeared.

  “Laura? Adam! Oh, how wonderful. Tom! Adam is here.”

  Tom joined his wife at the door. “Hey, Adam. I thought you might turn up today. What are you two doing out there? Dinner is almost ready. It’s Thanksgiving, remember?”

  Laura slipped her arm around Adam. “Dad. Mom. There’s something we need to tell you.”

  Her mother waved her off. “We know. Come on inside.”

  Tom waited for Adam, laying a fatherly arm across his shoulders. “Come on, son. We can’t start Thanksgiving unless the whole family is here.”

  *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Rancher’s Refuge by Linda Goodnight

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Adam and Laura’s story and your second trip to Dover, Mississippi. I’m always amazed and delighted when the Lord gives us detours. At the time, they make us upset and irritated because our plans have been disturbed. We’ve all had them, myself included. But on the other side of the detour, life can hold some surprises and blessings we never imagined. It’s during these times we must hold on and trust the Lord to work it all out for good. Adam had a lot to lose when he landed in jail, but what he found during his journey made it all worthwhile.

  This story was inspired by a song about a man who had experienced every wild adventure on the planet, but he’d never experienced anything like the emotions he felt when he fell in love. I wanted to take Adam from a man who was looking for adventure in outside things to a man who found love and adventure in caring for others and for someone special. As a result, Adam had blessings heaped upon him that he never could have envisioned. A good lesson for all of us to remember. With the Lord’s help, we can all change and become more than we think we are.

  I love to hear from readers. You can visit me at LorraineBeatty.blogspot.com.

  Lorraine Beatty

  Questions for Discussion

  Laura makes a snap judgment about Adam from his reputation. She learns that her perceptions were wrong. What do we lose when we make quick assessments about others without getting to know them first?

  Adam comes to see that the problems between him and his father are partly his fault. Discuss why it is so hard for us to admit being at fault and then seek forgiveness.

  Both Adam and Laura received good advice on how to proceed in their relationship, but neither one followed it. How do you decide if advice you’ve received is worth considering? Talk about what the Bible says about seeking wide counsel.

  Adam has his worldly life reduced to a very small area—the Durrants’ house and the gazebo. What did he learn by looking at things more closely, without the distraction of the next adventure?

  Adam gave his heart to the Lord as a young man, but without someone to guide and teach him, he drifted away from his faith. Have you known someone who drifted or have you drifted because you lacked guidance? How can you make sure you’re connected to your faith?

  Laura loved her job, but she allowed her mistakes from the past to keep her from reaching for love again. What should she have done with her pain instead of holding on to it? Why do you think she didn’t do that?

  Adam is desperate to get home in time to meet his financial deadline, but staying in Dover revealed to him a different path to his future. Has the Lord ever placed you in a difficult spot that in the end proved to be a much better way?

  Forgiveness is one of the hardest things God asks us to do. Adam may never get his father’s forgiveness, but he forgave his father for his neglect. How do you think that changed Adam? What benefit did he get from forgiving his father?

  Adam and Laura had opposite views of life. He liked the unexpected. She liked the predictable. How did they learn to appreciate each other’s differences?

  Adam was uncomfortable and insecure in the Durrants’ family gatherings because he had no experience with it. Did the Durrants’ do enough to make him feel at home or could they have done more?

  It seemed like everything was working against Laura and Adam as they tried to finish the gazebo on time, but the Lord worked it all out in the end. It never feels like it will work out when we are in the middle of difficult time. Talk about some of those times and share how you dealt with it.

  Laura was surprised when Adam performed a selfless act, not realizing that she had been his role model. Discuss how we must be aware of the things we do and say, because they are Christ’s representatives in all we do.

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.

  You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.

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  Chapter One

  Left hand riding lightly on his thigh, Austin Blackwell held the reins with the other and picked his way through the thick woods above Whisper Falls, Arkansas. If one more calf strayed into this no-man’s land between his ranch and the cascading waterfall, he was putting up another fence. A really tall one. Barbed wire. Electrified. Let the folks of the small Ozark town whine and bellow that he was ruining the ambience or whatever they called the pristine beauty of these deep woods. They just didn’t want to lose any tourist money. Well, he didn’t want to lose any cattle money, either. So they were on even playing field. He’d never wanted to open the waterfall to tourism in the first place.

  Now, every yahoo with an itch to climb down the rock wall cliff and duck behind the curtain of silvery water traipsed all over his property just to mutter a prayer or two. Wishful thinking or pure silliness. He’d made the trek a few times himself and he could guarantee prayers whispered there or anywhere else for that matter were a waste of good breath.

  Something moved through the dense trees at his left and Austin pulled the horse to a stop. Cisco flicked his ears toward the movement, alert and ready to break after the maverick at the flinch of his master’s knee.

  “Easy,” Austin murmured, patting the sleek brown neck while he scoped the woods, waiting for a sight or sound. Above him a squirrel chattered, getting ready for winter. Autumn leaves in reds and golds swirled down from the branches. Sunlight dappled between the trees, although the temperature was cool enough that Austin’s jacket felt good.

  He pressed his white Stetson tighter and urged the bay onward in the direction of the falls, the direction from which the movement had come. Might be the maverick.

  “Coyote, probably.” But black bear and cougar weren’t out of the question. He tapped the rifle holster, confident he could handle anything he encountered in the woods. Outside the ranch was a different matter.

  The roar of the falls increased as he rode closer. Something moved again and he twisted in the saddle to see the stray heifer break from the opposite direction. Cisco responded with the training of a good cutting horse. Austin grappled for the lariat rope as the calf split to the right and crashed through the woods to disappear down a draw.

  Cisco wisely put on the brakes and waited for instructions. Austin lowered the rope, mouth twisting in frustration. No use endangering a good horse in this rugged, uneven terrain.

  At least the stray had headed in the right direction, back tow
ard the ranch.

  “Yep, I’m puttin’ up another fence.” He patted Cisco’s neck with a leather-gloved hand. Somewhere along the meager stretch of old barbed wire the calves had found a place to slip through. Maybe in one of the low places or through a washout from one of the many creeks branching from the Blackberry River. Finding the break across three miles of snaggy underbrush would be a challenge.

  But Austin liked it up here on the grassy, leaf-and hickory-lined ridge above Whisper Falls. Always had, especially before the stories started and people came with their noise and tents and plastic water bottles. Before the name changed from Millerville to Whisper Falls—a town council decision to attract tourists. He understood. He really did. Ruggedly beautiful, this area of the Ozarks was isolated. Transportation was poor and there was little opportunity for economic growth, especially since the pumpkin cannery shut down.

  The remoteness was why he’d come here. The economy was why he ranched.

  Those were also the reasons the little town had changed its name and started the ridiculous marketing campaign to attract tourism. Whisper Falls. Austin snorted. No amount of marketing moved God to answer prayers.

  He shifted in the saddle to look toward the ninety-feet-high waterfall.

  Here, the Blackberry River tumbled faster than near the ranch, picking up speed before plummeting over the cliff in a white, foamy, spectacular display of nature’s force and beauty.

  The solitude of the woods soothed him, helped him forget. Nature didn’t judge the way people would. He could be himself. He could relax.

  The air was clean here, too, tinted with the spray of freshness from the bubbling falls. It almost made him feel clean inside again. Almost. He breathed the crispness into his lungs, held the scent. Hickory and river, moist earth and rotting leaves. Good smells to an outdoorsman. Great smells to a man whose past stank like sewage.

  “Better get moving, Cisco. Maybe we can find the fence break before dark.”

  He pulled the bay around and that’s when he saw the woman. A slim figure in dark slacks and bright blue sweater moved quickly from tree to tree in some game of hide-and-seek. Curious, Austin took out his field glasses to look around, expecting a child or lover to join the game. No one did.