A Whisper of Peace (43 page)

Her fingers tightened, and Clay placed his other hand over hers. She offered a quick, appreciative smile before continuing.

“And then you and Vivian came along. You showed me friendship and affection even when I didn’t know how to reach back. You touched my heart.”

A flutter moved through Clay’s chest—his heart’s reaction to her sweetly spoken words.

Lizzie angled her head, peering at him with a pensive look. One braid framed her cheek, the tip of the other brushed Clay’s knuckles. Her blue eyes shimmered with an emotion that held him in place as effectively as a tether—a tether he had no desire to escape.

“You told me once that these people were your people, all created by the hands of the same Father-God. I didn’t understand, but now I do. I want the villagers”—she bobbed her chin in the direction of the village, one bright tear trailing down her cheek—“to know the peace and joy I now know. I want to be to them what you were to me—a living, breathing example of God’s presence.”

She shifted to face him again. Her tear-damp face glowed with an inner love that heightened her natural beauty. Clay’s breath caught in his throat as he gazed at this woman—this lovely, open, strong-willed Athabascan woman who now shared his passion for changing souls.

“More than anything else, I want to stay here . . . to abide in this village with my people and with you. But—” Her gaze dipped downward, her thick braids falling to swing gently above her lap. “If the council says no, I will honor them and go. God will make a place for me.” She lifted her head, once more looking him full in the face. Peace and confidence shone in her sky-colored eyes. “But I will never stop praying for Grandmother and my tribesmen to discover the love of my Father-God.”

Her answer, even more than Clay had hoped to hear, lifted him to a new height of delight but then plummeted him to fearful despair. Lizzie’s words told him she loved him and wanted a life with him. If he asked her to be his wife, he knew she would accept—he saw the truth in her eyes. But he didn’t yet have the freedom to ask. Not until they knew what the future held.

No matter what the council decided about Lizzie, he would stay in Gwichyaa Saa and minister to the villagers, as he’d been sent to do. They were the people entrusted to him by God, and he wouldn’t fail his Father by turning his back on them.

You sent me here for a purpose, Father, and I discovered more than I expected by falling in love with Lizzie. She loves You, too, and wants to serve You. Will You open the doors so she can serve right here, at my side, as my helpmeet and partner in the ministry to which You’ve entrusted me?

“Clay?” Lizzie’s whisper interrupted.

He looked at her, but she was looking ahead, toward the village. He shifted his attention, and his tongue suddenly seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth. Da’ago and three other elders moved in a solemn procession toward the mission.

Clay squeezed her hand, which still nestled between his. “Whatever they say, we’ll accept it as God’s will.”

Lizzie nodded, her face serene.

Clay rose, giving Lizzie’s hands a gentle pull that brought her up with him. “Come. Let’s go meet them.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

T
WO YEARS LATER

L
izzie sagged in exhaustion—had she ever worked so hard?—but she held out her eager arms. “Let me hold her.”

Vivian set aside the soft cloth she’d used to bathe the squalling baby. “Just as soon as I wrap her up. Maybe she’ll stop complaining if we get her warm.”

Lizzie watched Vivian swaddle the squirming little girl in a caribou hide, her arms itching with impatience.
Hurry, hurry,
her heart begged. She’d hardly been given a glimpse of the newborn before Co’Ozhii handed her to Vivian to be cleansed.

Vivian laughed, the sound nearly swallowed by the baby’s unhappy wails, as she placed the bundle in Lizzie’s waiting arms. “She certainly is a noisy one. She must have quite a bit of her papa in her.”

Lizzie peered into the red, wrinkled face of her firstborn child. A love more all-encompassing than anything she could imagine swelled in her heart. Surely it would burst, so great was her joy. She touched the tiny rosebud mouth, and the hiccupping wail abruptly stopped. The little lips sucked fiercely on Lizzie’s finger for a few seconds and then, with a few shuddering sobs, the baby closed her puffy eyes, and she fell asleep.

Lizzie lifted her head and sought Co’Ozhii, who’d moved to the foot of the bed and stood gazing at the mother and daughter, her lined face creased with a smile. “A girl, Grandmother, just as we wanted.” She shifted her attention again to the baby nestled in the crook of her arm. Tears welled in Lizzie’s eyes. So tiny and innocent, created by the love she and Clay shared. Clay needed to meet this little girl. She flicked a pleading glance at Co’Ozhii. “Bring Clay in now?”

Co’Ozhii had insisted Clay stay away during the birthing. She’d placed Vivian as sentinel on the doorstep to be certain he didn’t try to sneak in. But now that the baby and Lizzie were presentable, it was time for the new father to meet his baby daughter. Co’Ozhii shuffled to the window and threw it wide, allowing in the sweet breeze of early fall. She called, “
Yuxudz xidinuxdal
—you come in!”

Moments later, footsteps pounded and the sleeping room door flew open. Clay, Naibi, Etu, and Vivian’s husband spilled into the room. Co’Ozhii clucked in disapproval and stepped into their pathway, holding back all but Clay. He dashed to the bed and sat gingerly on its edge, his eyes locked on the little face peeking out from the fur blanket. Lizzie experienced a second rush of tears, witnessing Clay’s wonder.

“A girl?” he said on a breathless note.

Lizzie nodded, her gaze flicking from Clay to their daughter and to Clay again. “Our Nayeli is here.” They’d chosen the Kiowa name meaning “I love you.” Lizzie chuckled softly. “But our next baby will be Judson. She’ll need a brother to watch over her.”

“Or maybe” —Vivian inched past Co’Ozhii, drawing her husband, Leonard, by the hand—“she’ll have a strong, brave boy cousin to watch over her instead.”

Clay aimed a startled look at his stepsister and brother-in-law. “You—already?”

Leonard wrapped his arms around Vivian from behind, smiling at Clay and Lizzie over Vivian’s head. “Already. I suppose we don’t wait for anything, do we?” He placed a kiss on Vivian’s temple.

“I suppose you don’t,” Clay said with a laugh. He winked at Lizzie, and Lizzie smiled in reply.

They’d wondered if Vivian was rushing into things when she wrote about falling in love with Leonard Warren, a schoolteacher she’d met at church in Massachusetts. Only two months after meeting, the two exchanged vows at the chapel on the Kiowa reservation with Clay’s father officiating the ceremony and Vivian’s mother standing up beside her daughter.

When Leonard expressed a desire to use his teaching abilities in a mission setting, Clay’s father and stepmother suggested the pair join Clay and Lizzie in Alaska. Lizzie had rejoiced in having her dear friend close by once again, and the newly married couple eased much of the work load, allowing Clay to travel to several other villages to share about Father-God. Lizzie sometimes wondered how she and Clay had managed an entire year without their assistance.

Lizzie caught Vivian’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “Congratulations, Vivian and Leonard.”

Naibi and Etu tried to sneak past Co’Ozhii for a peek at the baby, but the sharp-eyed woman swooped down on them. “Out, out,” she scolded, pointing to the door. “Children out. White Feather and baby must sleep.” She waved her arms, shooing the two crestfallen children out the door. She whirled on Vivian and Leonard, her gnarled fists on her hips. “You go, too. Leave the mother, father, and baby alone.”

Vivian giggled. “We’ll go.” She tipped forward, bestowing kisses on first Lizzie’s cheek and then Clay’s. “She’s beautiful, reflecting the best of both of you.” Then, hand in hand with Leonard, she scurried out the door.

Co’Ozhii followed, pausing in the doorway. She peered back for a moment. Tears winked in her deeply lined eyes. “
Ngp’adist’a
—all of you
.
”

Lizzie touched her lips with her fingers and flicked an imaginary kiss in her grandmother’s direction. “We love you, too, Vitse.”

With a gentle nod, Co’Ozhii closed the door, sealing away Lizzie, Clay, and their little daughter from the rest of the world.

Clay sighed, peering down contentedly at the sleeping baby in his arms. “Vivian was right—I see both of us in Nayeli. She has your beautiful skin, my light brown hair, your heart-shaped face . . .” He slipped his finger beneath the baby’s tiny hand. Perfectly formed, minute fingers gripped him in return. He grinned. “And my long fingers. She’ll be an accordion player. I just know it.”

Lizzie chuckled softly. “Perhaps we should wait a year or two before you begin lessons.”

“No more than two,” Clay teased.

Lizzie watched her husband rock their daughter, his dear eyes glittering with unshed tears. Had her father held her in his arms and smiled at her in this way when she was born? The musing brought no sting of pain. Knowing she was loved unconditionally and forever by Father-God had replaced the hurt of her earthly father’s abandonment.

She reached up and cupped the baby’s head, joining the three of them together. “Clay?”

“Hmm?” He seemed unable to take his eyes off his daughter.

“I’m very sleepy.”

His concerned gaze zinged to meet hers. “Do you want me to go?”

She shook her head. “No. I want you to pray with us before I fall asleep.”

Clay’s tender smile warmed her from the center of her soul. He lay little Nayeli in the crook of her arm and then slipped to his knees beside the bed. She closed her eyes as Clay’s deep voice addressed their Father. He thanked God for the new life He’d entrusted to them and asked for wisdom in guiding Nayeli to a relationship with her Father-God one day. He asked health and strength for the tiny babe growing in Vivian’s womb.

“We praise You, our Father, for the opportunity to serve You here together. We thank You for the precious gift of family. May we abide—ever, always—joyfully and peacefully in the shadow of Your wings. Amen.”

He opened his eyes and leaned forward, his lips meeting hers in a kiss salty from happy tears. He then delivered a kiss on their daughter’s fuzzy head. Very gently he tucked the blanket beneath Lizzie’s chin. “Sleep now, little mother,” he whispered, his voice as soft as the cottonwood seeds that floated on the summer breeze.

Lizzie gave a contented sigh and allowed her eyes to drift closed. She slipped away to sleep, thanking the Father for the gift of Clay’s love and dreaming of the blessings yet to come.

Acknowledgments

Mom, Daddy, and Don—
our time together in Alaska lives on in my heart as one of my most treasured memories. I’m so grateful for the family with which God gifted me.

Judith Miller, Nancy Moser, and Stephanie Whitson
—thank you for your suggestions when brainstorming this story. Thank you also for the sweet time of fellowship.

My amazing critique group
—thanks for taking these mad dashes through manuscripts with me and for being my friends. You are appreciated.

Aunt Vivian
—thank you for letting me borrow your name.

Charlene and the wonderful folks at Bethany House
—thank you for sharing this ministry with me. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Finally, and most importantly,
God
—thank You for gifting me with the desire to put words on paper and opening the door to a writing ministry. I stand in awe of You! May any praise or glory be reflected directly back to You.

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