Twice in a Lifetime (24 page)
Matt stood waiting, the newspaper he’d apparently been reading dangling from his hand. When he realized he still held it, he tossed it onto the coffee table.
Another breath might help. Breathing was always a good idea.
“I came over to thank you.” She stumbled a little on the words, but she got them out. “If it weren’t for you, I’d never have found the truth about Ned.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome, but you’re the one who did it. And your uncle was right. It’s not the sort of thing you’ll be able to tell the public.”
“My grandmother’s happy. That’s the only thing that really matters. And Amanda and Adam are bubbling with ideas for figuring out where he enlisted and what name he used.”
His eyes grew remote. “It’ll be easier on you now that the family is on board with this. You’ll be heading back to Atlanta any day now, I suppose.”
“I’m driving up tomorrow, but—”
“No!” A wail was followed by the thud of bare feet on the stairs. Lindsay, pajama-clad, rushed down the steps, across the room and threw herself at Georgia.
Georgia knelt to catch the child in her arms. “Hey, what’s this? It’s all right. I—”
“You can’t go! You can’t.” Lindsay got the words out between sobs that were nearly hysterical. “I love you, Georgia. If you go, I won’t have anybody to talk to.”
Georgia cradled her in her arms, afraid to look at Matt for fear of the condemnation she’d see there. She petted the child, murmuring softly. “You have Miz Callie, and you have Daddy. Besides—”
“Daddy doesn’t want to talk about Mommy.” She shook her head so wildly that her braids snapped to and fro. “He doesn’t. He doesn’t love her any more!”
“Lindsay—”
Before she could say more, Matt dropped to his knees next to her. Instead of the anger she expected, his eyes were filled with tears.
“Lindsay, no. That’s not true.” He tried to take her from Georgia, but she clung like a barnacle. “Honey, listen to me. I love you. And I love Mommy. Didn’t we talk about her when we looked at your baby book?”
“You didn’t want to.” She threw the words at him. “I know you didn’t want to.You just did it cause Georgia told you to.”
Georgia winced. What could she do or say that would mend this?
Please, Lord.
But it wasn’t her Lindsay needed to hear from now.
It was Matt.
“Lindsay, listen.” He took her face between his hands, turning it so that she had to look at him, had to see the tears that were running down his face. “When your mommy died, that was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I’ve been afraid to let you see how much it hurts me. I was afraid it would scare you.”
That caught Lindsay’s attention. She looked at him closely. Then she reached out one small hand and wiped at his tears.
“It’s all right, Daddy. I’m not scared. You can cry if you want to.”
For an instant Georgia thought Matt would shatter into a million pieces. Then he pulled his daughter into his arms. He held her close, his shoulders shaking, and their tears mingled.
Georgia struggled to her feet, trying to control her emotions. They were going to be all right. This time, Matt wasn’t holding anything back.
Thank You, Father. Thank You for this.
Struggling to see the way through her own tears, she left them alone.
Georgia kissed her grandmother’s cheek the next morning. Juggling a suitcase and the lunch Miz Callie had insisted on packing her, she started down the front steps to her car.
And stopped. Matt stood next to the car, obviously waiting for her.
“Hi.” She went the rest of the way, busying herself with
putting the bag and lunch in the back so she didn’t have to look at him. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” His smile broke through, erasing the lines of tension in his face. “Lindsay and I are both much better. I think I have you to thank for that.”
She shook her head, looking anywhere but at him, because if she did, she might start to cry. “It wasn’t my doing. Lindsay’s the one who broke through.”
“That’s exactly what it was. Breaking through.” He stood very close, so that she was caught between the car and his body. “I thought if I opened my heart, the grief would shatter me. Instead…” He stopped, and she heard the hitch in his breath. “Instead I found that opening it was the only thing that could heal me.”
“I’m glad,” she murmured. Inadequate. Words were in-adequate.
“Georgia, don’t go.” He spoke in a sudden rush of feeling, grabbing her hand and gripping it tight. “Please, don’t go away.”
“I—”
“Wait, let me explain.” He touched her lips gently with his finger, and she felt his touch run straight to her heart. “I’m sorry. So sorry for the way I acted. You were right all along, and I kept trying to shut you out.” His fingers fanned against her cheek. “I think God sent you here for that reason—because I wouldn’t listen to anyone or anything else, including Him.”
Thank You, Lord,
she said silently.
Thank You.
“I want to give life another chance,” he said, his voice soft and low. “If you’ll help me, I think I can make it.”
She dared to look at him then. Love filled his eyes—love and hope that seemed to grow as he read what was in her face.
“You’ll stay?” he breathed.
“I’ll come back,” she said. “I wasn’t going to Atlanta to stay, just to close things up. My life is here.”
With you. She wouldn’t say the words, not yet. But when his lips claimed hers in a kiss, they both knew the truth.
It would take time—time to finish grieving, time for Lindsay to think of her as a parent. She slid her arms around Matt, feeling the strong, solid worth of him as he held her close.
She’d wait as long as she had to. But it would be worth it, because she knew they’d be a family in the end.
G
eorgia leaned against Matt’s shoulder as they sat in the dunes. The sun had slid below the horizon, and the reds and oranges that had painted the sky faded slowly to deep purple. The waves murmured gently as night drew in.
“Hey, wake up, you two.” Miz Callie stood a few feet away, next to an excited Lindsay. “This is the real thing. The babies are hatching.”
Georgia scrambled to her feet and knelt by the nest. “You’re sure?”
Matt squatted next to her, grasping her hand. “I think she knows.”
The shallow, concave depression in the sand seemed to deepen as they watched.
“They’re coming, they’re coming!” Lindsay danced up and down with excitement. “They’re really hatching after we waited forever!”
“Only a couple of months,” Matt reminded her.
So much had changed in that time that Georgia could hardly get her mind around it. She glanced down at the diamond winking on her finger.
“This one’s for real,” Matt had whispered when he put
it there. “I’m not James. You won’t find it easy to get rid of me.”
“I won’t ever want to,” she’d replied, heart so full of love that it seemed to expand in her chest.
Now she looked across the moving sand at the child who would be her daughter. The love she had for Lindsay was so strong that it continually astonished her.
“Georgia, look, look! The sand is bubbling!”
Lindsay leaned so far over the nest that she nearly fell in. Miz Callie grabbed her.
“That’s what we call a boil, remember? They’ll all pop out in a big bunch.”
“Will they know which way to go?” Lindsay held on to Miz Callie, looking at her with worried eyes.
“’Course they will. All the house lights are off along the beach, and look at the way the moon is shining on the water. They’ll head straight for the ocean, mark my words. And if any of them get lost, we’ll be right here to help them.”
Georgia glanced up, finding Matt’s face very close. “You know, I think she might be more excited about getting Miz Callie as a grandmother than getting me as a mother.”
He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. “We’re both very lucky to get you, and we know it,” he murmured. “God has been very good to us.”
“Yes. He has.” She glanced out at the water moving darkly under the shimmering path of the moon. Sea oats rustled in the breeze. A few faint stars had begun to shine.
Miz Callie’s favorite verse drifted through her mind.
When I think of the heavens that Thou hast established, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained…
“His love is overwhelming.” Matt’s hand tightened on hers. “Look. Here comes one.”
A tiny snout broke through the sand. Then, like a pot
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Twice in a Lifetime
boiling over, the hatchlings burst out into the cool night air, scrambling over one another in their hurry. They began their rush to the sea, following the instinct God had given them.
“Quick, quick!” Lindsay shrieked. “We have to keep them safe while Miz Callie counts them coming out of the nest.”
They fanned out on either side of the moving wave of tiny turtles that scrambled over every obstacle in their fierce need to reach the sea. The moon made a silvery path for them, and Lindsay dashed alongside, face intent as she guarded them.
My place, Georgia thought as she shepherded a tiny turtle toward the waves. My place, my people, my destiny. She looked at Matt, helping his daughter chase off a ghost crab with designs on a hatchling. My love.
Thank You, Father. Thank You.
The first of the babies reached the waves, others following, their swimming reflexes kicking in. They would soon be safe in the ocean, where they belonged.
In thirty years or so, God willing, the females would return to lay their eggs on this beach again. She glanced at her grandmother. Miz Callie would be gone by then, but she had already passed the torch. A new generation of turtle ladies would take her place, safeguarding God’s creation as she had taught them.
*****
Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing to read the first book in my new Love Inspired miniseries about the Bodine family of South Carolina. I hope you’ll enjoy getting acquainted with the big, loving brood as they find love and begin new families. It was a pleasure to set these stories in and around Charleston, one of my very favorite places. Readers familiar with the area will recognize some sites, although others have been created particularly for the story. Sullivan’s Island Elementary School, which Lindsay will attend in the book, actually exists. My granddaughter goes there, and it’s every bit as excellent as my characters say! I hope you’ll let me know how you felt about this story, and I’d love to send you a signed bookmark or my brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. You can write to me at Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York,
NY 10279; e-mail me at
www.martaperry.com. Blessings,
Can you understand the difficulty Georgia experienced in coming home, feeling as if she’d failed? Have you ever struggled to deal with a major life change like this? If so, how did God and other people help you with it?
Georgia’s natural reaction is always to avoid confrontation at any cost. Did you empathize with her?
Georgia finds that everyone in her family has an opinion as to what she should do. Has this ever happened to you? How do you sort out God’s calling from the demands of others?
Matthew struggles with his need to be both father and mother to his daughter. Have you ever experienced doubt about your ability as a parent? Has God helped you to gain insight?
The depth of his grief over his wife’s death caused Matthew to doubt God. Has anything ever caused you to doubt God? What do you do during those times when you can’t seem to feel His guidance?
The Scripture verse for this story has been a favorite of mine since childhood, and it never fails to comfort me to think that the God who created the universe cares for me. Do you have a verse that comforts you in this way? What is it, and why does it have this effect on you?
Georgia finds that she has to confront Matthew, ini-tially over her grandmother, and later over Lindsay, even though she secretly feels she’s a coward about confronting people. What gives her the courage to do so?
How does Lindsay express her grief over her mother’s death in the story? How do you think Matthew should have handled it?
Georgia’s grandmother longs to find out the truth about the past. Do you think it’s always a good idea to do that?
Did you sympathize with Miz Callie about the changes she wanted to make in her life? Did you understand her children’s apprehension about them?
How do you think grown children can balance their need to help elderly relatives with the older generation’s need to remain independent?
Do you understand the difficulty Georgia faces in trying to help Lindsay communicate with her father? Have you ever been put in a buffer situation between two people you love? If so, how did you deal with it?
Which character in the story did you feel was living the most Christlike life? Why?
What did it take to bring Matthew to the point that he could open his heart again?
Some people, like Miz Callie, seem to have a special bond with nature. How does that fit into God’s plans for the world He created?