Faith (25 page)

Jeremiah removed his hat. "Afternoon, Liza."

Liza lifted her arm, shielding her eyes against the glare.
Her eyes skimmed Jeremiah, and she grumbled, "What's
so good about it?"

"Why, everything!"

"Too hot," Liza snapped. "What do you want?"

"Nothing more than the pleasure of your company."

Faith strained to hear the conversation. The idea of
Jeremiah trying to win favor with Liza-she didn't know
whether to laugh or cry.

"May I sit with you a spell?"

Liza brushed an imaginary fly away from a plate of
chicken. "You most certainly cannot."

Jeremiah smiled, rubbing his chin. "I'd be no bother."

The poor man. He obviously didn't know Liza the way
Faith did. Jeremiah would have better luck trying to lasso
the moon than winning Liza Shepherd's favor.

"Well, then, would you do me the honor of sharing a
cool glass of lemonade?" Jeremiah motioned toward his
blanket spread generously with food, a pitcher of fresh
lemonade, and a single yellow rose in a crystal vase.

"Are you out of your mind?" Liza busied herself with her
handwork. "Go away-people are staring-go away, you
old goat!"

Jeremiah politely bowed. "As you wish, madam. Please
accept my apologies. My intentions are most honorable.
You see, I thought I was inviting a lady to share an idle
moment with me, but sadly I was mistaken. I didn't realize
I was extending an invitation to an old crab!"

Liza's jaw dropped as Jeremiah turned and walked off.

Biting her lip, Faith lowered her head, her body shaking
with mirth. Old crab. Jeremiah had called Liza an old crab!

Adam shouted for Faith to join them in the ball game.
Collecting herself, she sprang to her feet, catching the ball
Dan tossed to her. She threw it to Sissy, who missed. Sissy
chased the ball and threw it back to Faith. Running back ward, Faith stretched as tall as she could but missed the
reckless throw. She heard a dull thwack and whirled to see
Nicholas rubbing the back of his head. For a moment her
steps faltered, and she wasn't sure what to do.

Nicholas calmly bent down and picked up the ball. Faith
backed up as he walked toward her, cupping the ball in the
palm of his hand.

"Does this belong to you?"

Faith nodded, for once speechless. Nicholas handed her
the ball. Their hands brushed during the brief exchange,
and Faith felt a current. For a moment she was certain
Nicholas felt it too.

"Try to keep it in your court."

"I'll do that."

Oooohhhhhh, he was so infuriating, she thought as he
walked away-so downright smug!

Faith's temper gave way and she reared back, hurled the
ball, and hit him squarely in the back of the head, hard.
Nicholas spun around and shot her a look of disbelief.

"Faith, I wouldn't do that," Dan cautioned. "Nicholas
will only put up with so much."

Faith met Nicholas's stern look with one of her own. "I
could have knocked him cold if I'd tried."

Dan looked mildly amused, then cleared his throat. "Get
the ball, Sissy!"

"Anyone care for watermelon?" Reverend Hicks shouted.

Picnickers made a beeline to the brush arbor. Amos and
Vera were busy slicing watermelon, serving adults first, then
children. Sissy and Adam were anxious to get their piece of the juicy pink melon. Dan took them by the hand and
asked Faith, "Want me to bring yours?"

"No, thanks." She brushed grass from the back of her
dress, glancing at Liza still sitting alone on her blanket.
On closer look, Faith saw the woman was crying. Liza,
crying? She looked again, just to make sure. Liza was
silently sobbing into her handkerchief.

Regardless of their differences, Liza's tears softened Faith's
heart. God would not want her to ignore another's pain.
She had no idea how her presence would be received, but
she couldn't just stand here without offering help. If Liza
sent her away, so be it. It certainly wouldn't be the first
time she had been rebuffed by Nicholas's mother. It surely
might be the last.

Edging toward the Shepherd blanket, Faith proceeded
with caution until she was able to kneel beside the older
woman. Liza quickly dried her eyes.

"Liza, may I get you a slice of watermelon?" Faith asked
softly.

Liza refused to look at her. "I'm surprised you'd offer."

Faith sighed, gently touching her shoulder. "Well, I care
about you, Liza. I wish we could be friends."

Liza's gruff demeanor evaporated, and vulnerability took
its place. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, Faith, how
could you care about me? After the way I've treated youthe way I've treated everyone. I'm so ashamed ... so
ashamed."

Papa always said Faith was blessed with a forgiving spirit.
She knew she wasn't, but in this instance she found it easy to forgive. She knew Christians weren't perfect, just forgiven.

"Liza, I know I'm impetuous at times, and I'm not the
easiest person to get along with. I have a stubborn streak a
mile long," Faith admitted. "But I've never meant you or
Nicholas any harm."

Liza reached out for Faith's hand, and held it. She trembled
like a small child. "You've done nothing wrong. You stood
up for something you believed in. I've been so impossible, so
vile to you. And I'm sorry I came between you and Nicholas." She broke off, sobbing into her handkerchief. "It's just
that I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't mean to be
hurtful."

Faith put her arms around the broken woman and held
her tightly. "Sometimes we just need a good long cry," she
comforted. "Cry, Liza. I'll hold you."

And cry she did, until Faith felt there were no more tears
left to fall. Liza must have had them stored for a powerfully
long time.

When the storm passed, Liza sat up, wiping her swollen
lids. "I'm sorry. I haven't always been like this." She drew a
deep, shuddering breath, then gave a faint laugh. "Always a
little headstrong, but never this mass of weeping emotions.
The death of a loved one is devastating. I miss Abe so
much! Sometimes the pain just takes my breath away."

Nodding, Faith tenderly brushed a lock of hair stuck to
Liza's damp cheek. "It must be difficult to accept." Nicholas
was a dutiful son, that Faith knew only too well; but Liza
needed another woman, a daughter, to comfort her when she hurt, to understand the depth of her pain, to hold her
hand during uncertain times.

Liza brought her hand to her mouth, whispering, "I know
God is to be the center of our lives, but oh, how I long for
my husband. When Abe died, a part of me died with

him-my best part. Sometimes I feel so empty that I rail
against God, wishing he had taken me, not Abe."

"I know it's not quite the same, but I felt empty and lost
when Papa died."

Liza blew her nose, and her gaze centered on Jeremiah.
"What must he think of me? I've treated him so badly."

Faith smiled, thinking how strange life was. Never in a
million years would she have thought she'd be having this
conversation. Not with Liza. Especially not with Liza.
"Well, I can't speak for Jeremiah, but I suspect he doesn't
think badly of you."

"The whole town thinks badly of me. They can't understand that it isn't the money...." Liza paused, drained of
emotion. "I can't recall when I wasn't on the front pew come
Sunday mornings. I've been there for revivals, christenings,
baptisms, never failed to give the Lord his 10 percent and
thank him for his bountiful blessings. I've tried to raise
Nicholas in a Christian home, but oh, I've fallen short so
many times. I'll be the first to admit to that. For so long now,
I've been in this awful deep valley. I'm not sure why, or
how, to find the strength to climb out."

"Papa said sometimes God takes us through the darkest
times because he's preparing us for a higher mountaintop."
Faith reached for Liza's hand, squeezing it. "Something in my spirit tells me you're not in a hopeless valley; you're just
getting ready to climb a new mountain."

"How can you say that, child?" Liza questioned softly.
"My husband is gone. I've lost my youth; my body betrays
me. Nicholas will be married-another woman will take
my place in his life. I have nothing. I have no one."

"Yes, Abe is dead. But you'll always have his memories;
nothing can take those away from you. And you know he's
with the Lord now. Why, he's probably smiling down on
you right now, saying, `Hold on, Liza; we'll be together
again soon.' And, Liza, you'll never lose Nicholas. You
have raised him well. He's a good and godly man who
will always honor his mother. And his family will be your
family."

Faith drew the woman back to her breast and gave her a
good hug, something she'd obviously not had in a long
time. "As for youth, don't cry over lost youth, but glory in
the knowledge that each year that passes brings you one step
closer to going home to be with our heavenly Father, home
to be with Abe."

Liza's shoulders heaved as tears fell anew. "Right now I
just feel very old, old and tired, unloved, and horribly forgetful. I misplace everything, and I'd forget my name if I
didn't write it down."

Liza's admission brought Faith a pang of guilt. "I'm afraid
I have a confession to make...."

Liza looked up. "A confession?"

"You're not as forgetful as you think. I've been hiding
your snuff-not out of spite. I hid it because I thought if it wasn't there to tempt you, you might decide to give up the
habit." Faith wrinkled her nose. "I hid it behind the mantel
clock."

Liza patted Faith's hand. "I know, dear. I found it each
time I rewound the clock. You're lucky, young lady, I
didn't take a switch to you." Liza shyly grinned through a
veil of tears. Faith was stunned to see she wasn't old at all.
Quite pretty, actually.

"I hope you aren't upset with me."

"Quite the contrary. I haven't touched snuff for weeks
now. And I have you to thank for making me think about
what a bad habit I had developed."

Should she mention the brown vial? No, they were
making progress on their friendship. She didn't want to
spoil the effort by introducing more problems.

The women shared a good laugh. Then Faith grew serious. "See, you're not as forgetful as you think. And you're
not old, either. You're still beautiful and-" she raised her
eyebrows-"there's a certain gentleman who would very
much like to know you better."

Liza blushed, her gaze fixed on Jeremiah sitting across the
yard. "Well, I doubt that he likes me any longer. I've managed to run him off, too."

"Oh, I have a feeling he won't be gone long. Jeremiah
knows a good thing when he sees it. I doubt he'd let you
slip away without a good fight."

Liza blushed. "Faith, I-I don't know how to thank you.
I realize now that I haven't turned my problem over to
God, haven't let him heal my pain. I know better; I read God's Word every day. It's odd how easy it is to forget his
promises in the midst of one's pain."

"God loves you, Liza, and he's waiting to give you peace."
My yoke is easy, and my burden is light, Faith remembered. She
hugged Liza again briefly. Her sister, Hope, always said she
hugged the life out of people, but she didn't care. She never
got enough hugging herself. "If you're feeling better, I had
better be getting back. The children will be looking for me."

"Run along ... and thank you for listening to an old
woman's problems."

Faith pointed a stern finger at her. "You're not old."

Faith was about to walk away when Liza latched onto the
hem of her skirt. "All the apologies in the world aren't
going to correct what I've done. Nicholas is stubborn, so
like his father. It seems you've wounded his pride by turning to Dan-although I accept full responsibility. I'm so
sorry, Faith. As much as I would like, I doubt that I can
undo the wrong I've done. Pride destroys all it touches."

Faith nodded. "I know. It doesn't matter anymore. I've
decided to return to Cold Water. Perhaps when this is
over, Nicholas will find a woman here in Deliverance to
marry." She thought of Rachel, taking no joy in the
thought. "A grandchild is just what you need to take
away your loneliness."

Faith said good-bye and rejoined Dan and the children.
Now she knew the reasons Liza had erected so many barriers-to protect herself from further loss. The woman she
thought she could never like, now appeared to be someone
she could truly love.

But it was too late. Too late for Liza, and too late for
Nicholas and her.

Toward sunset, Nicholas wandered down to the pond.
Faith and the children were sitting on the bank, fishing;
Dan and the baby were napping at the church ground.

Watching Faith bait her hook, Nicholas felt a tightening
in his throat. With stark clarity he realized God had not sent
Faith to him; he'd sent her to Dan Walters. Dan's children
loved her-Dan was in love with her himself; it didn't take
a wise man to see that. And Faith was falling in love with
him. Nicholas saw the blush in her cheeks, heard her bubbly laughter. What a blind fool he'd been. He'd sweated
blood over their situation, wondered, prayed if he should
ask her to come back. Ironically, today he realized the state
of their relationship was no longer in his hands. Faith
belonged to Dan.