“Ready to go?” Charlotte asked from behind her.
Laina wiped a few rogue tears off her cheek and managed a smile at Charlotte, who had turned into just as good of a friend as her younger sister had been. “Yep, I’m ready.”
Austin went back to his trailer that evening still thinking about what his cousin, Noah, had told him about God. Could he really become part of His family, just by simply coming to Him? He searched through his drawers and finally found the Bible that Laina had given him. She had bookmarked and highlighted some passages in the New Testament. Austin knew most of the book of Romans from his father, although he never gave it much thought. However, as he turned to a passage in Galatians 4:5-7, the words really hit close to home.
God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Austin had gotten used to being an outcast as a teenager and later feeling enslaved by his addiction. Now, reading the words in front of him, he realized that he didn’t have to be. He could become a child of God. After so many years of running away from his heavenly father, afraid he wasn’t good enough, now he was finally ready to come home.
Chapter Twenty
Over the next few days, Laina and Charlotte looked at several small houses in Tipton, but Laina came out of the last one with a confused frown. “I don’t know what it is, but none of these houses seem right for me.”
Charlotte offered her a gentle smile. “It’s all right. We’ll keep looking until you find one.”
“Of course we will,” Amy, the real estate agent encouraged. “Is it the house style or location that isn’t working for you?”
Laina shrugged. “I’m sorry. I thought I wanted to live in town, but having all the houses so close together makes me claustrophobic. Do you have any houses with bigger lots or on the outskirts of down?”
Amy frowned, looking deep in thought as she scrolled through a few listings. After a few seconds she stopped and tapped a listing. “Here’s a possibility. It’s a foreclosure out of town on about ten acres. There’s no picture on the listing, but it says here that it’s a small fixer upper farmhouse with three bedrooms and one bath. It also has a large barn on the edge of the property. It’s up for auction next week.”
Laina grinned. “That sounds perfect.”
An hour later the real estate agent had gotten the code for the key box on the house. Then she headed to the property with Laina and Charlotte in the backseat of her car.
The moment they turned onto the correct road, Laina’s heart started to pound. She knew the location like the back of her hand. They were just a few miles from her mother’s old house and even closer to where Austin used to live with his father. Laina couldn’t believe her eyes, but there it was. The realtor pulled right into the driveway with the mailbox that clearly said Gaines on it.
“Wait. Isn’t this…” Charlotte started to ask, but her voice faded away as Laina got out of the car and shut the door behind her.
She swallowed a lump in her throat while taking in the old faded blue farmhouse with a wraparound porch and swing. Laina could almost hear Austin’s heartbeat as they cuddled on the same old swing together. They had spent so many moments there as kids, talking about their hopes, dreams and fears about the future.
“Is something wrong?” the realtor asked, sensing her apprehension.
Laina forced a smile and shook her head. “No. It’s just…I know the family that used to live here.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No,” she said, trying to sound brave. “I just wondered why only ten acres comes with it. I know they used to have about two hundred.”
Amy looked at the papers she’d printed out at her office. “It looks like the bank separated all but ten acres from the house to make it easier to sell. They want to sell the bulk of the land commercially.”
“I see,” Laina said, trying to hide her emotional attachment to the place. “Well, let’s have a look inside the house.”
The realtor agreed and a few minutes later they were touring Austin’s childhood home. It looked the same as when they were kids, just a little more rundown. The paint on the walls had faded and the wood floors needed attention. The roof also appeared to have a small leak. However, Laina could see the potential. Walking into Austin’s old room, Laina saw a place on the door frame where his father had marked his growth every year. Other than that, no signs of him were left in the old structure.
She crossed the window and looked out over the pasture that had once been full of cattle. Now they looked so empty and desolate, Laina could hardly stand it. She couldn’t do much about the land. It was way out of her price range. However, she could try to save the house.
Charlotte came into the room and stood beside her as she continued to gaze out the window. “Are you all right, Laina? I know this must bring back a lot of memories.”
She nodded and then snapped out of her haze enough to look at her friend. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…I think I found my house.”
Chapter Twenty-One
On Saturday morning, Laina struggled to keep her nerves at bay as she stood at the back of the crowd. She held an auction ticket with the number thirty-two on it and Trevor and Charlotte stood with her for moral support. With her nest egg from Bridget, Laina had a one hundred and twenty thousand dollar budget. If the bidding went any higher, she had to let it go.
The bidding started out slow, but once people got warmed up, the price rose above one hundred thousand, then one hundred and ten, and then one hundred and fifteen. As the price continued to inch up, Laina bid one hundred and twenty and held her breath.
“I hear a one twenty…a one twenty…can I get a one twenty one…” the auctioneer rattled on in his unique rhythm.
The crowd fell silent for a moment. Then a man toward the front bid again and Laina’s heart sank, thinking she’d lost the house.
“One twenty five!” a woman’s voice shouted beside her.
Laina stared at Charlotte in disbelief. “What are you doing? I can’t let you do this.”
Charlotte grinned as she battled the man in the front row. “Just think of it as an investment.”
She glanced over at Trevor to gage his reaction, but he just shook his head and chuckled to himself. Meanwhile, Charlotte had increased her bid to one hundred and thirty.
“One thirty…I hear a one thirty…can I get a one thirty one?” The auctioneer rattled on again and when there was silence he continued. “Sold to the pretty lady in the back for one hundred and thirty thousand!”
Laina hugged her friend, “Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Just be happy. Bridget would have never let me hear the end of it if you lost that house. The extra ten thousand from me will be in her name.”
She nodded. “I love that idea.”
When she turned and hugged Trevor, the auctioneer had started taking bids for the rest of the land. Laina let Trevor go and watched the bidding. A man in front had a cell phone glued to his ear as he held up his number. The person on the other line must have been telling the man what to bid. He seemed pretty determined, making Laina wonder what the person had in mind for the property. She prayed it wouldn’t be a fast food restaurant or factory. However, in the end, Laina was happy that she’d saved the house. No matter what happened, at least she’d have pleasant memories to keep her company.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Austin rubbed his finger over the little pendent in his hand representing four years clean. He had made it another year, even with his injury and it was something to be proud of. However, it just didn’t feel right without Laina. He hadn’t had the courage to invite her to the meeting, since their divorce had only been finalized a few days before. He regretted signing th
e papers now, but there was no going back.
Since making the decision to follow Jesus a couple weeks before, Austin felt more at peace with his life, but he still dealt with guilt from the past. He knew talking to Laina about his painful memories would ease his guilt, since his actions had affected both of their lives, but he hadn’t mustered the courage to do that yet.
“Ready?” his cousin asked, clapping him on the shoulder.
Austin looked up at him and managed a nervous smile. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He followed Noah into the room crowded with recovering addicts and their families to wait for his turn. When the time came, he stood on trembling knees and made his way to the stage.
Clinging to his pendant, Austin moved closer to the microphone and prayed for courage. Then peace swept over his soul, knowing he didn’t stand alone. Jesus was there with him. “My name is Austin and I’m an addict. I didn’t grow up aspiring to be this way…no one does. I guess it just kind of snuck up on me. I became hooked on prescription pain pills after a back injury. I healed physically from that injury, but not mentally.” Austin paused and clenched his fist. “You see, I had the championship within my grasp…and I lost it. I was so focused on achieving perfection…that I forgot what was important. The pills numbed the pain but in the end I lost both dreams, but most devastatingly, my dream of building a family with my wife. You see, I promised her that I’d give her all the things I thought she deserved…a big house, money and a fancy car. But what I didn’t realize is she didn’t want all that. She only wanted my heart and ironically, I denied that from her. When she offered to help me, I pushed her away.” Austin paused and took a deep breath. “That could have been the end of my story, but praise the Lord it’s not.” He held up his pendant. “This represents a four year struggle, but also victory.” He waited for the crowd to quiet down before continuing with his head down. “I almost stumbled, but now I no longer have to face this alone. I know Jesus will never let me fall.”
Austin looked up at the crowd as they clapped and caught just a glimpse of a blond head of hair as a woman disappeared through the side door.
Laina had felt like a crazy person lurking at the back of the small town community center. She’d driven two hours just to hear Austin’s speech after his cousin, Noah, called. Now she rushed down the hallway, wiping away unwanted tears. What he said had been beautiful, profound and raw at the same time. She’d thought of how it would be to see him again a thousand times during her trip but now her flight mode had taken over. Austin remembered—he remembered everything. That was why he left Morgan Stables so suddenly. The realization scared her.
She had almost reached the outside door when a familiar voice stopped her.
“Laina?”
She turned slowly and met Austin’s sky blue eyes.
“You came.”
“I did,” she said just above a whisper, studying his face in the sunlight.
His eyes studied her too, still appearing to be in shock. “How did you know about it?”
“Your cousin invited me. I just came to say that I’m proud of you, Austin. I didn’t understand why you had to come out here, but I’m starting to now. You seem to be doing really well.”
He nodded. “It took a while, but I finally found what my soul was searching for.”
Laina looked into his eyes and finally pinpointed the change in him. “I’m glad,” she whispered and hugged him, savoring the sound of his heartbeat in her ear. How she longed to beg him to come with her, but she didn’t want to take him away from his newfound peace. After a few moments she let go and gazed up at him. She wanted to tell him about the house and that she would sign the papers and get the keys that day, but could barely speak through the cloud of emotion rising up inside her. Someday she would, after their divorce wasn’t so fresh, but for now she managed to say, “I better go. I have to be somewhere this afternoon. Can’t be late.”
“I understand,” he said and let her go. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”
“Of course,” she replied. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
That night after a dinner and celebration with Noah’s family, his cousin pulled him aside. They walked out on his back deck into the warm summer night and enjoyed glasses of sweet tea. “I saw you talking with Laina.”
Austin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I don’t know who invited her, do you?”
His cousin let out an amused chuckle. “Nope, I don’t know a thing. Did you have a good talk?”
Austin shrugged. “She didn’t say much. She just came to hear my speech and then left.”
Noah gave a slight nod and turned his attention to the sky again. “You know, just her driving two hours to see you for a few minutes says a lot more than words could have.”
“You think she hasn’t given up on me?”
The other man shrugged. “I won’t attempt to predict what’s in Laina’s heart, but I think it’s a good sign. The question is, do you still want to reconcile with her?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good.” Noah grinned. “Well, that brings me to my next point.”
Austin raised an eyebrow, wondering what his cousin was up to. “What’s that?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“Okay, I’m listening,” Austin said and took a sip of his drink.
Noah looked up at the starry sky, appearing deep in thought. “I’ve been think of expanding my cattle business for a while, but wanted to wait until I found the perfect plot of land and a good person to run it for me. I found both of those recently.”
Austin stared at him for a moment, trying to decipher his meaning. “What are you trying to tell me?”
Noah turned and put his hand on Austin’s shoulder. “I’ve seen all your hard work and how dedicated you are to this business. I’d like you to partner with me in this new venture.”
He frowned, confusion still fogging his mind. “It sounds like a great opportunity, but where is the new site and what does it have to do with Laina and me?”
Noah’s smile grew even bigger. “That’s the best part. You’ll feel right at home at the new location.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Austin could barely contain his excitement as he traveled past the sign for Tipton in his cousin’s truck on a Sunday afternoon. “I can’t believe you bought my father’s land. How did you manage to do it right under my nose without me finding out?”
His cousin shrugged. “I have my connections. A reliable friend lives close to here and bid on it. I’m just sorry I couldn’t buy the house, too. My friend got delayed and missed out on the bidding.”
“That’s all right,” Austin said while swallowing a lump in his throat. The house meant a lot to him, but at least something owned by his family had been preserved. “Thank you for this. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
When they pulled up to the back entrance and saw the old barns and cattle shelters, Austin held his breath. It was more run down than he remembered, but to him it was beautiful. He walked across the pasture to the old bunk house and started making renovation plans in his mind. Since he started visiting his father, his health had been steadily improving. It seemed that Austin’s return home had lifted his spirits enough to work on his recovery. The building seemed like just the right size for the two of them when he was ready to leave the nursing home.
“Looks like the new owner of the house is here, too.” Noah pointed across the pasture to the top of the hill.
Austin followed where his cousin pointed and sure enough, he saw a truck beside the house and workers making a few repairs on the roof. “You’re right.” He brushed some dust off his shirt. “Well, I guess I better go be neighborly and introduce myself. Whoever lives there will be seeing a lot of me.”
Noah smiled and motioned for him to go. “You go on ahead. I’m going to check out the barns and be over in a second.”
As Austin got closer, he noticed a few horses out behind the fence. He guesse
d the new owner must have converted the smaller barn by the house into stables. Walking close to the house, he asked one of the workers where the owner might be. They looked familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“She’s over in the barn,” one of them answered.
She?
Austin rubbed his chin and his heart started to pound, glancing at the truck that now looked very familiar. It couldn’t be.
The closer Austin got to the barn, the harder his heart thumped. Then a beagle ran out to greet him, howling all the way.
“Hey there, boy!” Austin said as he knelt to pet his old friend. “Did you miss me?”
The dog whined and nuzzled against him, full of wiggles. Austin didn’t attempt to stop a tear that dripped down his cheek, which was licked away by the tongue of a very happy dog. He’d missed Copper more than he realized.
A Forgetful Heart (Whispers In Wyoming Book 8) Page 8
