by BJ Hoff
“And what do you think?” she asked softly.
He cracked a ghost of a smile. “Did you ever try to argue with Rufus?”
She returned his smile. He had been so hungry for one of her smiles, Jack realized now. Starved for it.
“Actually, no,” she said. “I don’t believe I would want to match wits with Rufus.”
“Then you take my meaning. Besides, I could no more deny it than explain it. Rufus is right: I was delivered out of that fire. Something—no, Someone—literally picked me up, the boy and myself, and carried us out of that building. That’s what I believe happened, and I’d be the poor fool altogether if I were to try to convince myself that anyone other than the Almighty himself could pull off such a feat.”
She was studying him with such intensity that Jack felt as if his very soul had been laid bare to her scrutiny. But somehow that didn’t bother him now, not as it might have before. He wanted no more secrets in his life, especially where Samantha was concerned.
Samantha couldn’t stop herself from searching those dark, disturbing eyes. But for the first time since she’d known Jack, the gaze she had more often than not found unfathomable—shuttered tightly against her and the rest of the world—now looked back at her with an unwavering directness that stole her breath.
There was a kind of freedom in that look she had never sensed before today. It was almost as if the man behind that gaze had been imprisoned and was now unbound.
Oh, my Lord…it’s what I prayed for, isn’t it? It’s what I’ve begged you for all this time!
She realized she had missed whatever he said. “I’m sorry?”
“I wasn’t burned. There isn’t a mark on me or the boy.” His words came faster now and fired with a kind of passion she could see reflected in his eyes. “I heard him promise me that I wouldn’t be burned. And I wasn’t. It was as if the fire never even touched me. But it did. There was no way it could not have touched me.”
Samantha had all she could do to look at him. She was strangling to keep from bursting into tears.
Thank you, Lord! Oh, my wonderful, all-powerful Lord—thank you!
“Samantha?”
She looked at him, still fighting back her tears.
“Do you believe me?”
“Oh, Jack! Of course, I believe you!” It was all she could do not to close the brief distance that lay between them and take his hand, touch his face. She wanted…needed…to touch him.
She saw him drag in a deep, ragged breath. He closed his eyes for just an instant, then opened them. “Samantha—I promised myself I wouldn’t do this. I have absolutely no right—but now that I see you, I have to ask. Samantha, is there—can there ever be any chance—for us?”
A raw, tearing pain knifed through Samantha’s heart at the thought of walking away from him now. He had changed, she didn’t doubt it for a moment. So strongly could she sense the Lord’s working in his life that she no longer feared she might be in opposition to God’s Word by marrying him.
Jack had changed.
But had she?
“You’re afraid,” he said quietly, never taking his eyes off her. “Of what, Samantha? The past? Because of what happened with Harte? Or are you afraid of me, afraid to trust me?”
The tenderness in his eyes was almost Samantha’s undoing. Only now did she become aware of how close together they were standing.
When had he moved? Or was it she who had moved?
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. Both, I suppose.”
“Do you know what I think, sweetheart?” he said, his voice low and slightly hoarse as he took her by the shoulders.
Samantha refused to meet his eyes.
“It strikes me,” he went on without waiting for her to answer, “that a God who can carry a man and a child through a burning building and bring them out completely untouched can most likely take away any scars the past might have seared upon your spirit.” He stopped, then added, “And in the process, perhaps he might even help you find a way to trust a hardheaded but somewhat wiser Irishman. What do you think?”
His hands tightened on her shoulders as he gently pulled her closer to him. “Samantha?”
He tipped her chin to make her look at him, and when she did, when she drank in the strong features and the depth of feeling in his eyes, she realized with a sudden, startling clarity that he was right. She had to trust the God who had saved Jack from the fire—and saved him from eternal death—to now enable her to trust Jack.
Her throat seemed swollen shut. She could only manage a small nod as he pulled her into his arms. He held her, his chin resting on top of her head for a moment, neither of them saying a word.
“Jack?” she said, finally stirring.
He dipped his head to look into her eyes.
“The last time you asked me to marry you, you told me not to give you an answer just then, to wait.”
Something glinted in his eyes as he watched her, waiting.
“I’d like to give you my answer now, if that’s all right.”
His arms tightened around her, and Samantha lifted her face for his kiss.
“Is that your answer?” he said afterward, smiling into her eyes.
“Well—first I have a request.”
He looked at her.
“I think I understand now what you were trying to do—about Terese’s baby,” Samantha said carefully.
A quick flash of pain and remorse crossed his face. “Samantha—”
She put a finger to his lips to silence him. “No, wait. I know now that you did what you did out of love for me. As wrong as it was, I understand what was behind it. And I forgive you.”
He expelled a long breath. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“But I was wondering—”
His dark brows lifted.
“I never wanted Terese’s baby—”
“Ah, I know that, Samantha. It was foolishness entirely on my part—”
Again she touched his lips. “I want Shona.”
He blinked, and Samantha went on. “If you really want to give me a child, Jack, I would like it very much if Shona could be that child.”
His eyes narrowed a little as he regarded her with just a trace of his old speculative scrutiny—and the hint of a smile. “Shona, is it?”
“Don’t you see? She has no one else but Terese. And with the baby coming, it might be difficult for Terese to give Shona as much attention as she needs.”
He seemed to consider the idea. “That’s true. Of course, the lass would be needing two parents, it seems to me, not just a mother.”
“Yes,” Samantha said softly. “That’s what I had in mind.”
Somewhere across the city, Christmas bells began to ring with the ancient glad tidings and great joy…and the promise of peace for all who believed.
Epilogue
Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the Lord do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
DEUTERONOMY 4:9, NLT
Samantha and Jack were married in May of 1840. Shortly after their wedding trip, they adopted Shona Madden. In the years that followed, they adopted two other children, both Irish immigrants who had been orphaned: Donal, adopted at age four, and Molly, adopted at six months.
Jack rebuilt the Vanguard, which eventually became one of the largest and most influential newspapers in the country. He and Samantha labored throughout their marriage to found several immigrant aid societies. They also established two city orphanages.
Until his death, Jack Kane pioneered a number of reforms for the immigrants flooding America in the 1800s. The questionable reputation that once shadowed him eventually faded into the past, and he became known instead as a man of great faith and compassion, as well as one of true vision for the role of the Irish in America’s future.
To celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary, Jack and Samantha journeyed to Ireland, where he was
reunited with his brother, Brady.
Gabriel and Roweena became man and wife during the summer of 1840. In addition to Eveleen, whom they raised as their own daughter, they became the parents of four children: three sons, Matthew, Brian, and Connor; and one daughter, Aisling. Throughout most of the years of their marriage, they opened their home and their hearts to children who had nowhere else to go.
Terese Sheridan married David Leslie a year after giving birth to her son, Kieran, whom David later adopted. In time they allowed Jack Kane to share in Kieran’s life as his uncle, along with Terese’s brother, Cavan. They also had a daughter named Nessa, after Terese’s mother.
Terese worked alongside David in the mission houses of New York City and continued her efforts even after David went to be with his Lord.
Brady Kane never returned to the United States but spent his life in Ireland. He became an artist of some renown, recognized especially for his landscapes of rural Ireland, Galway in particular. For most of his life, he struggled between a hard-won faith and a tendency toward alcoholism. He never married, nor did he ever meet the son he fathered with Terese Sheridan. He remained friends with Gabriel and Roweena Vaughan until his death at the age of forty-nine.
Cavan Sheridan rose to prominence as a reporter and a journalist, eventually reconciling with his friend and employer, Jack Kane, for whom he established a nationwide news service. In addition to his Wayside Notes, he also published several other books of poetry and essays with the Kane publishing houses. At the age of twenty-nine, he married Selia Ryan, a young Irish immigrant from County Clare, who bore him eight daughters and one son.
The descendants of the Kanes, the Vaughans, and the Leslies carried on the faith of their parents, passing down God’s Word and his love to succeeding generations on both sides of the Atlantic.
About the Author
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BJ Hoff’s bestselling historical novels first appeared in the CBA market more than twenty years ago and include such popular series as An Emerald Ballad, The American Anthem, and her most recent, The Mountain Song Legacy. BJ’s critically acclaimed novels reflect her efforts to make stories set in the past relevant to the present, and continue to cross the boundaries of religion, language, and culture to capture a worldwide reading audience.
A former church music director and music teacher, BJ and her husband make their home in Lancaster, Ohio, where they share a love of music, books, and time spent with their family.
Be sure and visit BJ’s website: www.bjhoff.com
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About the Publisher
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To learn more about books by BJ Hoff or to read sample chapters, log on to our website:
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
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