Raven hair tumbling down her back and looking like she wrestled a few dozen cougars, Margaret kept her shoulders back, her spine straight, and rode like a queen. She was the most unkempt woman he’d ever seen. And the most beautiful. Todd met her close to where the Sunshine stove still sat. Coated in ash, it would clean up and be perfect. At least she’d have that. And their cabin. Sliding off Eve and running to his arms, she chanted, “I love you. I love you. Praise Jesus.” She clung to Todd.
He smoothed hair back from her forehead. “I love you, too. We have each other. We do.”
“Yes. You’re okay. You’re really okay. Todd, we have each other. That’s all that matters.”
“But I have to tell you.” He inhaled deeply, his parched throat and aching lungs letting him know he’d survived only by God’s grace. “Margaret,” he rasped, “I did this.”
“I know. John and I saw.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Only the house is left. Everything, even the barn – ”
“You set it afire. ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ You risked your life and laid down our livelihood. My thoughts weren’t of what was to be lost – but of you.” Tear tracks ran down the ashy dust on her face. “My treasures are laid up in heaven, but my heart – ” She pressed her hand to the left side of his chest and patted. “My heart is here. As long as I have you, I don’t care.”
She knew he’d done it – and in her love, she looked past their struggles and saw only triumph. Everything they fought to achieve – he’d laid waste to it all. Todd did what he had to – and when she quoted the Scripture, he knew she understood. They were of one accord. The fire took away things – but it couldn’t touch them.
Jakob Stauffer and John walked up.
Todd extended his hand. They shook, but no words needed to be said. It was finished. But it had stopped on his land because of the backfire he created. His sacrifice meant the others would keep their lives, their homes, their livelihood.
“Ma’s fine. She’s with Velma, and they’ll take care of her for as long as you need.” Linette slid off Wrench. Disturbed by the scent and heat, Wrench danced a little. John grabbed her halter.
Big Tim had ridden alongside her. He thrust a canteen at Todd.
Todd gave Maggie the first sip, then took a swig himself. Finally, he rasped, “Your story, Margaret. This is a story for generations to come.”
His words drew everyone’s attention to her legacy. “God used the rose bed as a firebreak,” Linette said in awe.
“And the sod wall,” John said. “It funneled the wind.”
Linette grabbed Maggie. “You didn’t quit. You replanted, and it saved your home.”
“I replanted because Todd made me want to.” A wealth of emotions swam in Maggie’s eyes.
“You’re not going to give up and leave, are you?” Though Linette asked, Todd knew she’d voiced what everyone wondered.
Studying the horizon, he waited a moment. “It is harvest. I’ll help. Perhaps join a team and follow the harvest north. Whatever it comes to, we’ll trust in God. He never fails.”
The next morning, Todd watched as Maggie made grits. For the first time in his life, he had no chores to do. Grateful the Lord spared their home, they’d wanted to spend the night there in spite of the smoky smell. Knowing Ma was in loving hands, they’d given in to exhaustion and slept hard.
The landscape out the window was a stark study of opposites – ugly black directly against John’s golden stalks. But that couldn’t begin to hold Todd’s attention. They’d gone through utter devastation, yet his wife hummed softly at the stove. He’d lost everything, yet he’d lost nothing. He had his beloved wife.
Wiping ash from a bowl, Maggie smiled. “Did you notice? Last evening John stood there with his arms about Linette.”
“That didn’t surprise me at all. I couldn’t believe she finally let him. She’s been elusive as a doe.”
They shared their very first breakfast alone. Todd picked up the Bible. “Proverbs thirteen.” He reached the seventh verse. “ ‘There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.’ That is me. I have nothing and am rich. I don’t know what’s to become of us, though.”
Maggie didn’t answer. She leaned into him, and they shared the silence.
It wasn’t long before a buggy drove up. Parson and Mrs. Bradle alighted. Others dropped by, too. No one came empty-handed. They came to help. Sweeping the entire interior and the exterior lessened the ever-present smell of smoke. Men shoveled ash off the porch and others cleared around Maggie’s roses. Buckets of water, loaves of bread . . . the most ordinary things were blessed gifts. That was the way Gooding lived – to share in the sorrows as well as the joys.
Several friends and neighbors stood on the porch as the banker’s buggy arrived. He got out, looked long and hard at the blackened remains, and shook his head.
Tucking Maggie against his side, Todd waited.
After collecting a slim stack of papers from the buggy, the banker approached. “I see you had a problem.”
“My wife and I know that in life, there are inconveniences at times. This was nothing permanent.”
“He’s right, you know,” Jakob agreed.
John stepped shoulder to shoulder with Todd. “We’re all in the same circumstance. One . . . inconvenience, and the consequences could be permanent.” He swept his arm in an arc. “And long ranging.”
“That’s why I made this trip.” Squinting at the distance and scanning neighboring farms, the banker mused, “Mortgages are heavy responsibilities. Legal responsibilities. A bank can’t afford to have debtors default.” He drew out a sheet of paper. “It might be an inconvenience for a bank if so many farms had a problem at the same time. In recognition of that fact, I’d like to suggest a one-year deferment on your loan.”
“Praise God!” Todd lifted Maggie and swung her around and around.
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Maggie?” Linette called out, giving a quick hug when she emerged. “I put my Wishes Come True recipe on your table, but I need to get home. I’m borrowing your boxty bread recipe because tomorrow is John’s birthday, and he loves it. I thought I’d surprise him with a picnic lunch.”
Maggie smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for coffee?” She motioned to the big Sunshine stove. While Todd had been away earning what he could as a harvest hand, her uncles had surprised her by showing up with “the other part” of their wedding gift: They built a “kitchen” to hold the stove. It looked so much like the one back home, they kept working – until the house matched her foursquare in the holler.
“Another time . . .” Linette motioned toward the porch and whispered, “Ma’s really grouchy today.”
Maggie gave her an odd look. “I thought this was one of her better days.”
“Heaven help you!”
A big new barn presided over their farmland. Dan Clark had sold them the lumber at cost, and the bank added the sum to their existing loan. People from far and wide arrived as soon as harvest ended, and they’d raised the barn. Others sent love offerings – hay, fertilizer, seed, oats, chicken, and food . . . And God provided for every need. Todd and John even used a few miscut boards to make a chicken coop.
The fire’s ash enriched their soil, and even with the drought plaguing them, God provided sufficient water for the fields, the garden, and Maggie’s beloved roses. Halfway into carrying another set of twins, Wrench slurped water from the tank in her paddock. Eve was in foal, too – but it was early enough that she didn’t have to be separated from other mares. She was fully capable of working, but Todd babied her.
Yet the most beautiful thing Maggie saw was her dear friend, Linette, as she rushed home.
And the most handsome was Todd. He wandered inside and started inspecting the shelves. Maggie knew what he was up to, but she couldn’
t resist letting him get away with his shameless ploy. “Hmm. This jar’s almost empty.” He grabbed the jelly and unlatched the spring wire lid. “Peach.”
“Suppose you might do me the favor of getting rid of that wee dab?” He grabbed a spoon while she continued, “It’s just taking up room on the shelf, you know.”
“I’d do anything for you, Magpie.”
“Mrs. Ludquist sent a letter. She’s back in Boston. I think she’ll probably stay put for a little while because her daughter is getting married. She’s buying soap and lotion and perfume as favors for the houseguests and bridesmaids.”
“Good,” he replied in his usual understated style.
“She found pretty little bottles she wants me to use, so I won’t have that expense.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Todd?” He gave her a guilty smile. “If you stop spooning the jelly from the jar to your mouth, you might want to see the bank draft that came with her order.”
Stubborn as usual, Todd scraped the last glob of peach preserves from the jar as he took a look at the paper on the table. “Well, well. Wishes Come True.”
She snatched it from him. “The other one.”
The spoon clattered to the floor. “That’s – ”
“Half of what she offered.” Maggie slipped her hand in his. That simple touch never ceased to make her heart beat a little faster, but now her heart raced. “The other half will be paid upon delivery.”
He set down the jelly jar. For the first time since she’d known him, he didn’t scowl at the bottom of the empty jar. The amount on the check was, to the dollar, their annual mortgage. “Half?” he repeated in a strangled tone.
“Now, Mr. Valmer!” Maggie struck her serious bargaining pose. “Fine perfumes are exceptionally pricey. The market is very exclusive, but since the Panic, few people are buying. I didn’t think it wise to ask for more.”
“My wife’s roses are legendary. Any bottle filled with their essence is priceless.”
“Peace of mind that we can pay the mortgage this next year is priceless. And just one other thing: Mrs. Ludquist says I’m to give a special name to the scent.”
He lifted her hand and ran his thumb over her wedding ring. “Serendipity. There’s nothing more fitting. It’s how you met Mrs. Ludquist on the train, but even more so, it is how we met.”
“That’s perfect!”
“And so are you, my love.” He gathered her close for a kiss.
Books by
Cathy Marie Hake
FROM BETHANY HOUSE PUBLISHERS
Letter Perfect
Bittersweet
Fancy Pants
Forevermore
Whirlwind
That Certain Spark
Serendipity
Serendipity Page 29
