When Love Calls (38 page)

 47 

Poking at the rubble of what had been his front porch, Lincoln heaved a sigh. It had been a week since the fire marshal had done a thorough search, but Lincoln needed to examine the area for himself. He needed closure, and the ashes seemed an appropriate place to do so since his life had gone up in smoke.

To his surprise, most of the house was salvageable. There’d be new siding to put on, a new porch to build, and some other damages to fix, but he’d already contacted workmen. They were set to begin next week.

His aunt stood in the yard. “For a busy attorney, this is a strange place to find you.”

“I’m not in the mood, Aunt Sam.”

She marched over, her hands propped on her hips. “Well, it’s time someone told you to stop moping about.”

“I’ve been betrayed by my best friend and the woman I love. I think I have a right to mope.”

“Pete didn’t betray you. I’ve spoken to him, and he had no idea his son would do something like this. He was protecting Elise, and he didn’t want to believe his son could be the arsonist.” She cleared her throat. “Do you blame him?”

In truth, Lincoln did, but her words pricked his hard heart. “I guess I wouldn’t want to think my son was capable of this either.”

“He’s hurting, Lincoln. He feels like he’s lost both of you now.”

Lincoln shrugged. “I don’t know if I can go back to what it was.”

“Then go forward.” She took his arm and pulled him toward the bench in the yard. When she sat down, he joined her. “Lincoln, I can see the guilt in your eyes. Why are blaming yourself for this?”

“Because I knew what Albert had done at Yale. He was asked to leave because he set fire to a lab.”

She touched her chin. “Did you tell Hannah about it?”

“No, I didn’t want her to be scared of Albert. I thought—I hoped—he’d been cured.”

“So you were protecting her?” Aunt Sam’s brows lifted. “And she was protecting you. I’ll never forget the anguish in her voice when she had to tell you she’d overheard Elise and Pete talking about Albert. Didn’t you hear it? Maybe a part of the reason she didn’t tell you was because she tried to handle it alone, but the other part was because she loves you and didn’t want to hurt you.”

Lincoln released a long sigh.

“One more thing.” She stood and faced him. “Knowing you, you’ve been pushing her. I bet you think that she should trust you and that she should turn to you, right?”

“I want her to let me help her!” He raised his hands in exasperation.

“I understand. But Hannah can’t change overnight. She’s independent and strong, and she’s been the responsible one in her family all her life. It’s going to take time to learn how to turn to you, and that kind of trust can’t be demanded, it has to be earned.”

Lincoln stood and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”

“I am on your side, and I’m on mine too. You’re miserable, Pete’s miserable, and Hannah’s miserable. And you’re all making me miserable.”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“Start here.” She covered his heart with her hand. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

With a prayer on her lips, Hannah turned to the book of Ruth. She’d cried an ocean of tears in the last week, but the ache in her heart hadn’t lessened one bit. Now it was time to find some direction. If Ruth’s journey mirrored her own, then it had to have the answer of what to do now.

Her gaze landed on chapter 3, verse 3. “Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.”

Hannah stared at the passage. Was this a prescription for her as well? Like her, Ruth was trying to survive in a difficult time. She needed to start over, and she needed Boaz to cover her. How Hannah had chafed at that thought before, and how she ached for it now.

Taking the verse apart, she started at the beginning. “Wash thyself”? Could she take that as spiritually purifying her heart? As asking for forgiveness?

“Lord,” she prayed aloud, “I’ve been stubborn and prideful. I didn’t turn to Lincoln, but worse, I didn’t turn to you. Please forgive me. Purify my heart. Set me on the path you want for my life.”

She then placed her finger beneath the words “anoint thee.” She recalled the woman who’d anointed Jesus’s feet with costly perfume. Hers was a risky love. Hannah had no intention of drizzling oil over her head or taking a bath in perfume, but could she offer thanksgiving—incense to the Lord?

For the next few hours, she thanked the Lord for his provisions and asked him for mercy. Even when things seemed darkest, he’d held them in the palm of his hand.

“Put thy raiment upon thee”? While she could put on her Sunday dress, she didn’t think that would apply here. She decided to consider it putting on Christ. She’d obeyed the gospel nearly five years ago and put on Christ in baptism. A thrill spread through her as she recalled the day she’d said yes to him. He was her raiment now. He was her life.

Finally, she read that Ruth wasn’t to make herself known. She was to wait.

Hannah took a deep breath and stared at the phone. She’d have to wait for love to call.

The telephone rang, jolting Hannah out of a delightful dream. She scrubbed her face with her hands. Sunlight streamed through the window. She must have dozed off.

She gripped the candlestick phone in her hand, then lifted the earpiece and held it close. “Hello?”

“Hannah?”

Her heart skipped a beat, and tears clogged her throat. “Lincoln, I’m so sorry. I should have—”

“Shhh,” he said softly. “Just listen for a minute. I love you. I don’t want to change you, and I don’t want to run your life, but I do want to share a life with you. I want to be your partner in every way, and that can only happen if you trust me and I trust you.”

“I do trust you.”

“You do?” The connection crackled.

She twirled the cord in her fingers. “A hundred percent. I knew it would hurt you to learn Pete was keeping this secret, but I should have told you anyway. I wanted to handle it on my own. I wanted to handle everything on my own.”

“And now?”

“I want God and you to cover me.” She swallowed and waited until the popping noises on the line cleared. “But can you trust me after all I’ve done?”

“You were trying to protect me, and I was trying to protect you.”

His voice sounded so gentle, Hannah pictured his dove-blue eyes softening.

“I knew about Albert’s history, and I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry too.” His voice warbled, and he cleared his throat. “Hannah, I asked you this before, but I’m asking again. Will you take a risk on me?”

 48 

Standing before the mirror, Hannah stared at her reflection. The soft ivory dress layered with lace fit her waist snugly. The impulsive girl who’d left college to take care of her sisters was gone, only to be replaced by a woman who was learning to rely on the Lord.

“Aren’t you ready yet?” Tessa stuck her head in the door.

“Almost. Will you ask Charlotte to come here a minute?”

Tessa disappeared and returned with Charlotte in tow. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. Can you help me do up the buttons on these gloves?” Hannah held out her hand to Charlotte.

Charlotte slipped the pearl buttons through the holes. “I can’t believe you trust Lincoln with something as important as the location of your wedding.”

“I think it’s very romantic.” Tessa pulled back the curtain. “And the carriage is here to take us there. Are you ready now?”

“As soon as I tell you both how much I love you.” Hannah reached for their hands. “And to thank you. You both have been gracious about our move to Saint Paul, and Lincoln is excited about opening his own practice there.” Hannah’s heart tugged as she recalled Lincoln explaining that Pete was giving up his law practice to spend more time with Elise, now that Albert was being sent to the asylum. The decision meant they’d all be starting over.

“And you’ll be by Lincoln’s side once we get there.” Charlotte beamed at her.

“Yes, after I finish law school.”

Tessa’s eyes twinkled. “You mean
if
you finish.”

Charlotte repinned one of Hannah’s curls. “She’ll finish. We’ll make sure of it.”

The carriage stopped, and Lincoln opened the door. Tessa popped out first, followed by Rosie and then Charlotte. Finally, Hannah appeared, and he took her hand. The blindfold he’d asked her to wear still covered her eyes.

“Easy.” He helped her alight and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. “Trust me. I’ve got you covered.”

“I know you do.”

They came to a stop, and he motioned for everyone to be quiet. “We’re here.”

Had they gone inside and she didn’t realize it? No, Hannah could still hear the trills of birds and the rippling of leaves.

Lincoln tugged off the blindfold.

She blinked, then gasped. Before her stood the heavy wicker basket of a hot air balloon. Her eyes climbed higher, and she felt dwarfed by the huge, multicolored balloon overhead. Brother Molden waited for them inside the basket.

She turned to Lincoln. “We’re getting married in there?”

“It seemed like the appropriate place for my Hello Girl with dreams of flying. Do you like it?”

“Lincoln, it’s perfect.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the basket. After setting her inside, he climbed in, and the balloonist released the tethers.

The balloon began its ascent, and Hannah could scarcely breathe. She waved to her sisters, Rosie, Pete and Elise, Jo, and Aunt Sam. Walt was there with his parents. They’d brought George too. How kind it was for them to take in the boy while his father was incarcerated for the fires he’d set in the Western Union buildings.

They rose above the trees and the fields, and their family and friends below grew smaller, as did the city’s buildings. She glanced at Lincoln. His gaze seemed fixed on her and not the sights. Heat spread over her face and neck.

“Are we ready to begin?” Brother Molden asked.

Hannah nodded, and Lincoln took her hands. “Yes, sir, I’d certainly like to make this lady my bride.”

Brother Molden grinned. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered up here . . .”

She didn’t hear most of what the minister said. She said her “I do” in the right place, repeated the vows, and exchanged the rings, but her mind was focused on the feelings exploding inside her. Like the rising balloon, her heart swelled with love until she feared it might burst.

“Lincoln, you may kiss your bride.”

And there, amid the swooping hawks and the billowing clouds, she felt the fan of his breath on her lips. Then, as if he had all the time in the world, he kissed her with a tenderness that filled her heart.

Love had called, and she’d gladly answer it every day for the rest of her life.