“I thought you had drowned in the tidal wave that hit Sri Lanka.”
He shook his head. “I was surprised you looked for me.”
“I always cared what happened to you, Thomas.” Before he could see how she felt, she stepped past him onto the veranda. The rain had stopped, and the sun was spreading wreaths of gold and pink across the blue sky.
Jan wrapped her hands around the bamboo rail that edged the veranda. Thomas had joined her, his muscular shoulder just an inch from hers. How could it be that she had let him leave? Yet how could they ever have survived the tumult of the life that would have awaited them?
Closing her eyes, Jan lifted up a prayer. She wanted God’s presence. She ached for Him. More than anything, in this moment, she needed her Lord.
Might she have just a small measure of the courage and strength He had displayed going to the cross? Might He fill her with His Holy Spirit and grant her the right words to say to this one she had hurt so badly? As she prayed, Jan sensed the shadow of wings falling over her, and a peace flooded her heart.
“Thomas,” she said, turning to the man beside her, “I came to India to tell you how sorry I am. Please forgive me. I let you leave and didn’t say anything about the baby. I made everyone keep Beth a secret from you. It was wrong, and I’m very sorry.”
He leaned forward, his face to the mountains. “Why, Jan? I can’t understand why you did it. You knew I loved you.”
“I was selfish. I was scared. You had said you wanted to go, and no matter how much I begged you to stay in Texas with me, you wouldn’t. I didn’t want to use my pregnancy to keep you. So I hid it. I was angry, and I decided to punish you by keeping our daughter’s existence a secret.”
“I would have married you. I would have taken care of you. And the baby.”
“I know. But you would have stayed in Tyler and grown roses and been miserable. I didn’t want to keep you out of obligation. I wanted you to stay because you loved me. And you wouldn’t do that.”
He pressed his hands down on the railing. “Jan, I’m sorry. If I’d known…if it had ever occurred to me that you were pregnant…Why was I so stupid? So blind?”
“We both were. We were kids.” She sighed. “You can be a stupid adult, too. I’ve learned that.”
“But you had a good marriage, and you raised a beautiful daughter.”
“Yes. Beth is amazing.”
“She reminds me of you.”
Jan looked at him in surprise. “Me? I always thought she was so much like you!”
“She’s the spitting image of you. She talks all the time. She’s full of ideas. She’s creative and has so much energy. And she’s very emotional.”
“But she’s got your brown eyes and hair. And she’s terribly independent. Look how she flew out of my perfect little nest and made a whole new life for herself without me.”
“Is that what I did?”
Jan swallowed. “It felt that way. But you know…now that I’m here…India is very pretty. I’m tired from the trip, Thomas, but I’m not afraid. I was sure I’d be scared.”
“What made you come?”
“The reason I’m not afraid. God. I needed to make some changes…starting with you.”
“Well, then,” he said, “I forgive you. We’ll never know how it might have turned out. But we can trust God with the rest of it.”
“Thank you, Thomas.” Jan reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Thank you for pardoning me.”
He looked at her, his eyes dark. “You make it sound like you were a criminal, sentenced to life in prison. I don’t fault you for your decision. When you let me walk away, Jan, you thought you were doing the right thing. For yourself. And for the baby. I’m the one who took your precious…sweet…” He shook his head. “You didn’t belong to me, and I took you anyway. I’m sorry, Jan. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I do. We loved each other, Thomas. We made mistakes. And now…maybe now we can let go of the past.”
As she stood looking up toward the great, snowcapped Himalayan peaks, Jan felt Thomas’s arm slip around her shoulders. With a shiver, she stepped closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. It was good. It was right.
“Hey there, Mom.” Beth’s low voice beside her startled Jan. The young woman leaned against the rail and smiled. “Hey, Thomas.”
“Hey, Beth,” they said in unison.
“In Texas, do you greet people with hay?” Miles stepped to the edge of the veranda. “Here in India, we do it with tea.”
He held out a green sprig. Two long, thin emerald leaves. A tiny round bud.
“From this small, fragile gift, we build our lives,” he said, his own arm encircling Beth’s shoulders. “The bud is the promise of a new beginning. And the leaves…these are the leaves of hope.”
Don’t miss A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, a Steeple Hill holiday collection featuring novellas by Catherine Palmer and Jillian Hart, on sale in November 2006, and look for Catherine Palmer’s next full-length novel for Steeple Hill, available in May 2007.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think Beth should have opened the cardboard box with her name on it? Why or why not? Is it ever all right to disobey a parent’s wishes?
2. Why do you think Jan kept the tea set Thomas Wood had given her? Why do you think she put the note inside it? Do you believe she told Beth the truth about her reasons for holding on to the gift from Thomas?
3. What do you think of Jan’s relationship with John Lowell? Was she right to have married him? Do you believe she really loved him? Did he really love her? What kind of man do you think he was—and why did he behave as he did? How does Beth feel toward John before and after the discovery of the teapot?
4. Why is Jan so upset to discover that her hair color has been discontinued? What does the dye symbolize to her? How do Jan’s feelings about her age change through the story? Why?
5. Jan has always painted roses. Why was she so determined to put her daughter into a pink bedroom? Why are the sayings on the walls and paintings of the roses so important to Jan? Why does she suddenly start painting children?
6. What do you think of Beth’s attitude and behavior toward her mother? Should she have confronted Jan about her discovery of the note? When she was dealing with the news about her birth father, did her life give evidence of her faith in Christ? She regularly talks about running a race. What does she mean by that?
7. How are Jan and Beth different? Are they alike in any way? How have they affected and changed each other through the years?
8. What part does Jim Blevins play in Jan’s life? Do you think she treats him well? How does Jim play a role in Beth’s life? What do you suppose will happen to Jim?
9. Miles Wilson describes himself as “boorish.” What sort of man is he when Beth meets him? Why does she have such a powerful impact upon him? Why is Malcolm Wilson important in his brother’s life? What kind of man is Miles at the end of the book?
10. Do you believe Jan and Miles were right when they decided their new faith in Christ should bear physical evidence of change? Did they really need to go all the way to India to prove it? What did Jan and Miles mean when they discussed that Beth seemed to “glow”? Paul said that any person who gives his or her life to Christ becomes a new creation. Do you believe that new life in Christ always brings about a dramatic change? How did Beth, Jan, Miles and Thomas live out their faith?
To ask questions or for further information,
please visit the author’s Web site:
www.catherinepalmer.com
STEEPLE HILL BOOKS
ISBN 978-1-55254-463-1
LEAVES OF HOPE
Copyright © 2006 by Catherine Palmer
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval sys
tem, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents and places are the products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real. While the author was inspired in part by actual events, none of the characters in the book is based on an actual person. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.SteepleHill.com
About the Author
Author of over 35 novels with more than one million copies sold, Catherine Palmer is a Christy Award winner for outstanding Christian romance fiction. Her Christian Booksellers Association bestsellers include Sunrise Song,A Dangerous Silence and A Victorian Christmas Tea. Her general fiction title, The Happy Room, ranked among the top five books on the CBA&rsquos hardcover bestseller list. Catherine&rsquos numerous awards include Best Historical Romance, Best Contemporary Romance, Best of Romance from Southwest Writers Workshop and Most Exotic Historical Romance Novel from Romantic Times magazine. She is also a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award nominee.
Catherine grew up in Bangladesh and Kenya. She now lives in Missouri with her husband of over 25 years and their two sons. A graduate of Southwest Baptist University, she also holds a master&rsquos degree from Baylor University.
Coming Next Month
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ON SALE IN JUNE 2006
EVERYTHING’S COMING UP JOSEY by Susan May Warren, Steeple Hill Café
AVAILABLE NOW
LEAVES OF HOPE by Catherine Palmer, Steeple Hill Single Title
AND BABY MAKES FIVE by Debra Clopton, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
A LEAP OF FAITH by Lenora Worth, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
FRONT PORCH PRINCESS by Kathryn Springer, Steeple Hill Cafe
LOVING FEELINGS by Gail Gaymer Martin, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
BLESSED BOUQUETS by Lyn Cote, Lenora Worth and Penny Richards, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
FOR THE TWINS’ SAKE by Jillian Hart, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
NOTE OF PERIL by Hannah Alexander, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
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BLACK HILLS BRIDE by Deb Kastner, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
WINDINGO TWILIGHT by Colleen Rhoads, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
MILLION DOLLAR DILEMMA by Judy Baer, Steeple Hill Café
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HER BROTHER’S KEEPER by Valerie Hansen, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
WEDDING AT WILDWOOD by Lenora Worth, Steeple Hill Love Inspired
EVEN IN THE DARKNESS by Shirlee McCoy, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
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A HANDFUL OF HEAVEN by Jillian Hart, Love Inspired
Leaves of Hope Page 26
