A Place Called Home (9 page)

Christine smiled at Julia. “I was rather surprised when Susanne brought me a dress that actually fit. You can't know how much I appreciate it.”

The next hour was spent in dinner preparation and conversation. Christine met Calvin and Charles, Julia's sons. They had their mother's dark hair and their father's expressive brown eyes.

Content with family surrounding her, Grandma Em bustled around finishing the table with a hug here and a word there. Christine was again amazed at how accepted she was. When Susanne and Mark arrived, Emily bounced into the kitchen to hug Christine and inform her of her upcoming fourth birthday. Then she raced off to find Calvin and Charles.

Dinner was wonderful—with only one embarrassing moment. Mark prayed, thanking God for the day, the food, and the addition of Christine to the family. Immediately upon the heels of the “Amen,” Emily wanted to know if Christine was now a member of the family because she was wearing Aunt Julia's dress.

Seeing Christine's flaming cheeks and Mark about to reprimand Emily, Grandma Em broke in kindly and explained that Christine was family because they loved her and wanted her to be.

Readying herself for bed, Christine reflected on the long day. She had read a story to the children and also listened to Julia and Susanne talk about babies and pregnancies. Mark had
stopped her at one point to ask after her shoulder. She assured him everything was fine.

Silas had been quiet until Grandma Em announced that she and Christine were going to paint the porch this week. Everyone save Julia protested. Conversation was frenzied for nearly 20 minutes, when Silas ended with “Luke wouldn't like this, Gram, and I think you know it. I also think you know, if he were here, he'd put a stop to this idea in a hurry.” But the determined look on Grandma Em's face told them they had all wasted their breath.

Reasoning that Luke must be the oldest and the head of the family, Christine wasn't too sure she would like anyone who was at all hard on Grandma Em. But then she realized she was being silly and unfair; Luke probably loved his grandmother very much. She would reserve judgment until she met the man.

Christine now lay in the darkness waiting for sleep to come. Pastor Nolan's words came back to her. “Maybe you aren't sure you even have a home.” Home! The thought brought a fresh pain to Christine's chest. She would finish that letter to Mrs. Hall and get it off soon. The thought helped ease the ache in the region of her heart as she drifted off to sleep.

The next two weeks were joyful and busy. The painting of the porch and shutters went off without a hitch. Grandma Em was thrilled, though her grandsons were still doubtful.

Emily's birthday party was held at Grandma Em's one Saturday afternoon. Emily's special guest that day was Mr. Turley, Grandma Em's neighbor. Emily usually saw Mr. Turley when she was at her great-grandmother's. The man's kindness and lack of a grandfather in her own life made him a special asset.

Julia came one afternoon. Leaving Calvin and Charles with Grandma Em, she whisked Christine back to the farm to go riding. Christine was more than a little surprised when Julia took her upstairs for riding clothes and handed her a pair of men's jeans. Christine looked down at the jeans and then back to Julia's mirth-filled eyes. Both women broke out in uproarious laughter.

The MacDonald land adjoined the Cameron land, and as the women rode over the wide acres with joyous abandon, it occurred to Christine to ask Julia how Mac felt about her in men's pants, thinking back to her grandfather's reaction. But she thought better of it and kept quiet.

Christine mailed her letter to Mrs. Hall, explaining briefly her situation and that she was well. Christine asked many questions in the letter, making it hard to sit and wait for a reply.

One day brought a confrontation between Christine and Mark, when she insisted upon knowing the balance of her medical bill. Mark assured her there was no hurry, but Christine was adamant. Taking nearly every dime of her first wages from Grandma Em, Christine made her first payment. Mark protested right up to the time she left his office, but to no avail. As he saw her out the door and watched her walk up the street, he realized why Grandma Em and Julia liked her so much: They were three of a kind.

After nearly three weeks in Baxter, Christine was settled and content. Much of the time she was too busy to think of Spooner and its troubles.

Three weeks with the Cameron family was bringing changes to Christine's life. She was very aware that they were something special. At first she attributed it to a big family and many friends, something she had never had. But as time went on it was obvious there was something more. Not having heard from Mrs. Hall, Christine could only hope she would be around long enough to find out what that something was. But for now she was at peace and was more than content to stay where she was.

Luke Cameron shifted his weight on the train seat. Why did the last 50 miles to Baxter always feel like the longest? Deliberately taking a night train out of Chicago, it had given him one more day with Paul, and he figured he could sleep on board.

But he had figured wrong. Luke had only dozed, and now he felt achy and irritable. The train was due to arrive in Baxter before breakfast. He realized as he sat there, that it would be hours before he could crawl between the sheets of his own bed. His own bed! The thought brought a smile to his lips. At his height he really missed the length of the specially made bed. It had belonged to his parents, Joseph and Kathrine Cameron, who had both been very tall.

As usual, whenever Luke thought of his parents and the wonderful marriage they had, it brought a painful ache to his chest over his own single state.

He and Mark were both 28 years old. God had seen fit to give Mark a wife. He had also been blessed with Emily, and now another baby was due very soon. Luke felt a bit envious, but had decided long ago that God's will was best. With this acceptance came the desire to live to the fullest, alone or not. This submission, nevertheless, did not deter Luke from praying for the desire of his heart.

At one time he prayed simply for a wife. But the years passed and no feelings of love developed for any of the young women at church. This caused Luke's prayer to change, and he began to pray for preparation. Daily he prayed for growth and wisdom, asking God to help him be ready if ever God chose to give him a wife.

Another thing Luke did over the years was to observe. The two marriages he was closest to were those of his brother and sister. After much time watching Mark with Susanne and Mac with Julia, Luke was sure that God would give him a wife like Susanne. Sue was sweet, gentle, and submissive. Luke loved his sister Julia, but she certainly had a mind of her own. He wondered at times if Mac had any control over her at all.

Luke remembered back to a time when Julia was 12 years old. She had put on a pair of boy's jeans, sneaked out of the house, and gone riding astride. She had gotten in trouble for it, but it had never stopped her. In fact, she was still doing it. Why, just a few days before Luke had left for Chicago, Julia had ridden over, in blue jeans, astride her horse. Luke had stared at her jean-clad legs in tight-lipped disapproval, causing the happy smile on Julia's face to vanish.

That she had come over especially to have a quiet visit with him before he left for his trip only occurred to him after, without dismounting, Julia handed him a basket of his favorite cookies and then with a quiet “I'll miss you, Luke,” pulled her horse around and rode away.

Luke, awash with guilt, knew he had to see her and make things right. So after supper he rode over to the MacDonald farm, only to be told by Mac that Julia had gone to bed early with a headache.

Mac stood watching his brother-in-law run long fingers through dark curly hair in mild frustration. Mac was reasonably sure that Luke was the reason Julia had come home from
her ride with red, swollen eyes. As strong-willed as Julia was, Luke's approval had always been important to her. Luke was also a bit too stern for his own good.

Luke had not been able to see Julia to apologize until the night of her birthday party. Smiling, she told him it didn't matter, but Luke could see the hurt she was trying so hard to hide.

Luke's hand went to the bag on the seat next to him. He hoped Julia would like the book and small glass dish he had found for her in Chicago. He planned on telling her again how sorry he was, and hopefully they could then have the talk they were cheated out of because of his thoughtlessness.

The dish he had bought for Julia brought his thoughts back to Chicago and Caroline. Caroline Chambers. Luke had been staying with Frank and Lily Chambers. Their massive ranch housed more than 200 head of horses. The same day Luke decided which horses he wanted, Caroline, the Chambers' 17-year-old daughter, returned from a visit to her cousins.

Luke had liked her instantly. She was small and blonde, with a bubbly, talkative personality. The two had gone riding and for walks. When Luke was ready to go and stay with Paul, Caroline had talked him into returning for her eighteenth birthday party that weekend.

Luke had had a wonderful time at the party, feeling more drawn to Caroline as the evening progressed. But the next morning, when Luke attended church with the Chambers family, he felt terribly let down. The church was large, but only about half the pews were filled. Luke listened as the minister read a single Bible verse, shut the Book, and never once referred back to it. His monotone voice droned on and on about the sinful state of the city, but not once did he mention the fact that Jesus Christ died for those sinners.

Frank Chambers slept through the entire service. Each time Luke glanced at Caroline she was looking at him, making him wonder how much of the sermon she had heard.

Later Caroline begged Luke to write. Luke had not committed himself and had only smiled at her, even when she grabbed his hand, pressing her address into his palm. Luke wondered a bit at the mixture of relief and regret he felt as he left.

Luke's visit with Paul had been wonderful. Paul's natural speaking ability was popular on campus, and even though he was still in school, he had already been asked to fill the pulpit at several small churches. His enthusiasm was catching, making it even harder for Luke to leave. The men had embraced for long moments, knowing that it would probably be Christmas before Paul got home again.

It was getting light out now, and Luke could see the countryside. He guessed the train to be within 20 miles of Baxter. “It's beautiful up in our neck of the woods,” Luke had told Frank Chambers one evening. Frank decided then and there that he and the Mrs. needed a little time away and that they would deliver the horses together. They would be up in a few weeks; Luke was to wait for a wire.

As the train pulled into Baxter, Luke stood and stretched his cramped muscles. He couldn't keep the smile from his face as his long legs carried him toward Grandma Em's. It felt so good to be home!

“Okay, Caesar, you're all set.” Christine patted the rump of the big horse and moved toward the high-pitched bleat of Chester, wondering as she did why she never fed the goat first just to keep him quiet. As usual, the din came to an instant halt the moment Chester got his food.