by Jody Hedlund
“I’m certain,” he said, and his expression turned serious again.
Her heart hitched a little as the humor evaporated from his face. Maybe everything had been too good to be true.
“There is one thing that would make me even happier,” he whispered, and this time he grazed his knuckles along her jaw to her chin. He caressed her bottom lip with his thumb.
A breeze rippled through her, like the wind through a field of flowers. “We can’t have you being an unhappy employee,” she teased. “So tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to rectify the situation.”
“I’d like another kiss.” He traced her upper lip this time. “But only after you agree to marry me.”
She sucked in a breath.
He grew motionless, his eyes fixed on her face, watching her reaction, waiting for her response. “I know I don’t have the right to walk back into your life after all this time and ask you to marry me. Maybe you’ve found someone else . . .”
She started to shake her head, but he cut her off. “All I know is that I’ve wanted to marry you since I met you last fall. I haven’t stopped thinking about you or loving you or praying that you’d wait for me, even though you had no obligation to do so. And I’d be the happiest man on earth if you’d marry me.”
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Yes. To both.”
He smiled, the happiness brimming from his eyes and crinkling his tanned skin. “Both?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” It was her turn to trace his jaw and run a finger across his bottom lip. “And yes, you may kiss me again.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
He bent in, and his nose almost touched hers. “Marry you today? Or kiss you today?”
“Both. Today. Now.” She wound her fingers into his shirt and tugged him against her. “So long as it’s a kiss like the one you gave me before you left.” His good-bye kiss had been filled with such passion and love that even as she stood in his arms, she could feel the memory of it as if he’d kissed her only yesterday.
His lips grazed hers, and her knees nearly buckled at the sweetness of it. “I can give you kisses like that every day.” His voice turned soft. “All day long.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him even closer. “Then what are you waiting for?”
They smiled at each other, and when their lips finally met, they both knew that the wait had been worth all the pain, that their hearts were made whole now, and they would be able to share a lifetime of pleasure. Together.
Author’s Note
With this second book in the BEACONS OF HOPE series, I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about another Michigan lighthouse. Windmill Point really did exist on Lake St. Clair and was in operation for over a century. It served as an important guide for the whole commerce of the Great Lakes near the Detroit River.
Today, however, if you were to visit Windmill Point, the original lighthouse and keeper’s cottage are no longer in existence. Instead you would find only a small and simple unmanned electric tower in bustling metropolitan Grosse Pointe Park, a suburb of Detroit.
Caroline Taylor wasn’t a real woman keeper at Windmill Point Lighthouse, but she was inspired by Caroline Litogot Antaya, a lightkeeper heroine from Michigan’s history. Caroline Antaya lived at the Mamajuda Lighthouse on the Detroit River a short distance away from Windmill Point Lighthouse. Incidentally, the Mamajuda Lighthouse is no longer in existence either.
Caroline Antaya’s husband served with honor in the Union Army during the Civil War, losing several fingers on his hand at Gettysburg. After returning from the war, her husband was named keeper of the Mamajuda Lighthouse, but then he fell ill with tuberculosis and passed away.
Following her husband’s death, the superintendent of Detroit Lighthouses appointed Caroline as acting keeper, most likely because he felt sorry for her loss. However, six months later, Caroline was removed from her position because the superintendent wanted to replace her with a man.
The community near Caroline rose to her defense. They even enlisted the assistance of a Michigan senator to help fight for her reappointment. I quoted the senator’s actual words regarding Caroline when he said, “The vessel men all say that she keeps a very excellent light and I think it very hard to remove this woman, who is faithful and efficient, and throw her upon the world.”
Because of the support of her community, Caroline was reinstated as keeper with full duties. In those days, when women were regularly discriminated against because of gender, Caroline’s story was inspirational and an encouragement to others to persevere in the face of injustice.
Stephen Simmons was also a real rogue from the pages of Michigan history. Though he lived in the early 1800s, in the decades before the Civil War, I used this villain as the basis for Mr. Simmons in the novel. He had a tavern outside of Detroit and was a Goliath of a man. At first he gave the impression of being cultured and educated, but once people got to know him, they realized what a brute he really was.
The community where Simmons lived grew to fear him, because when under the influence of alcohol he searched out his enemies, picked fights, and inflicted painful beatings. He later killed his wife in a drunken rage. Because he was held in such low regard, during his trial the court had a difficult time finding jurors who would be impartial. So it came as no surprise when the jury found Simmons guilty of murdering his wife.
Simmons was sentenced to death by hanging. On the day of his execution, people from as far away as fifty miles lined the streets. The makeshift grandstands and rooftops filled to overflowing with everyone who had come to witness his death.
Simmons was composed as he walked to the gallows. With dignity he delivered a speech on the evils of alcohol, repented of his sins, and pleaded for mercy. But Simmons would find no mercy that day. In front of at least two thousand people, Simmons met eternity.
Many people left the hanging feeling the punishment had been both cruel and vindictive. As a result, public sentiment against the death penalty swelled. Eventually, Michigan became the first state in the nation to abolish the death penalty.
It’s my hope that through this story, like Caroline and Ryan, you will learn to turn to God with every need you have. He’s there waiting for you to come to Him, every day, every hour, every minute. He wants the cry of your heart to be, “Lord, I need you, how I need you. Every hour I need you.”
May you overflow with strength and peace as you turn to Him.
Jody Hedlund is the bestselling author of several novels, including Love Unexpected, Captured by Love, Rebellious Heart, and The Preacher’s Bride. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, both in social work. Jody lives in Michigan with her husband and five children. Learn more at JodyHedlund.com.
Books by Jody Hedlund
The Preacher’s Bride
The Doctor’s Lady
Unending Devotion
A Noble Groom
Rebellious Heart
Captured by Love
BEACONS OF HOPE
Out of the Storm: An ebook novella
Love Unexpected
Hearts Made Whole
Resources: bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook
Website: www.bethanyhouse.com
Facebook: Bethany House
