Heart's Design: A Contemporary Christian Romance (26 page)

“Probably another night, maybe two. The doctor wants to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t develop any complications. Otherwise, you can heal up just fine at home and that handsome man can watch over you.”

“You’ve been a great help. Thank you,” Caroline murmured as the nurse turned to go. Caroline closed her eyes. Her body ached all over, but the pain was bearable.

She heard a light knock on her door a minute later. “Caroline? May I come in?”

Chapter 32
~~♥~~

Mother
. Caroline struggled to sit up. “Come in. I’m not asleep.”

Eleanor approached her hospital bed. Her mother’s eyes were wide and she appeared more small and vulnerable than Caroline had ever seen her.

“Seth is outside, but I asked him if he could wait. I wanted a few minutes with you in private, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

After first seating herself in one of the chairs opposite the bed, she moved closer after Caroline beckoned to her. “Please. Come sit on the bed.”

Tentative at first, Eleanor did as she asked and sat on the side of the hospital bed. She wore another one of her many twin set sweaters, this one in another neutral tone, and black slim pants. Elegant and poised as usual yet seemingly scared to death.

“You gave us quite a scare, young lady.”

“Well, I certainly didn’t plan on it.” Caroline bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry, Mother. My sarcasm gets the better of me sometimes.”

“I understand.” Eleanor finally lifted her eyes and met her gaze levelly. “Your brother’s new girlfriend made sure we went to your church this morning. Everyone was shocked and concerned when they heard about your accident, but they wanted me to be sure and tell you how much they’re praying for you. How much they…love you.”

Caroline’s eyes filled with fresh tears at this unexpected announcement. “I’m so glad you went so you could meet my friends. I know that’s outside of your usual comfort zone, and it means a lot to me.”

“Liesel’s mother, Beverly, is here in town. She’s sent some homemade muffins for the nursing staff and I’ve left those with Seth, too.”

“That might have been a mistake.” When her mother didn’t smile, Caroline cleared her throat. “Beverly’s lovely. I hope you’ll have the chance to get to know her a little before you head back to Boston.”

“I hope so, too.” Her mother lowered her gaze and appeared to have something weighing heavily on her mind. “I have something to say that might shock you.”

“Try me.”

“Since you’ve become a Christian, I’ve seen a remarkable difference in you, Caroline. You might find this difficult to believe, but I once accepted Jesus as my Savior. So long ago it seems like a lifetime ago in many ways.”

Her mother was right about one thing. Not much on the planet could have shocked her more. “Once? That’s all it takes, Mother.”

Eleanor shifted on the bed. “First of all, call me Mom from here on out. I’ve always hated this Mother stuff and that started with Sidney’s birth. My mother insisted on it and it sounds so formal and stiff. Banish it from your mind.”

“I can do that.” In her own mind, the Hallelujah Chorus had begun to play. Miracle number one down. Actually, two, but first Caroline needed to hear more about her mother’s salvation. “Please, go on.”

“Do you need anything? Water? Pain medication?”

“I’m fine for the moment. Please continue.”

“I went to a youth meeting with a good friend of mine when I was thirteen. You must understand I’d never been in a church before other than for funerals and weddings, and I had no concept of who God was and what He was about.”

Just
like I felt when I first came to Evergreen.

“They had an altar call and I went forward. I know in my heart what I did was real, but then I went back home. I tried to share with my mother what had happened but she would have none of it. She called me a Jesus Lover as if it was a bad thing. I was full of enthusiasm and wanted to join a church or a Bible study and learn as much as I could, but my attempts were squelched at every opportunity. My mother found my Bible and that was that…I never saw it again.”

“How awful. I’m so sorry, Moth—Mom.”

“I wasn’t a strong person then and I’m certainly no stronger now. Not like you, Caroline, or I might have fought harder. Might have tried to do more. I’m not sure how, but I would have found a way. I sold out, honey.”

“What do you mean?”

“My parents threatened to disown me and strip me of any inheritance whatsoever if I became a practicing Christian, as they called it. So, because I didn’t know what else to do, and to keep my inheritance for my own children, I did what they asked. I became the model daughter, the model student, and then the model wife.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “But you married someone from the so-called bad side of town.”

The slightest hint of a smile creased her mother’s lips. “Your father might not have come from a wealthy family, but from an early age, he showed great promise. My parents saw that and my father, in particular, pushed me to marry Duncan.”

At that statement, Caroline’s jaw gaped. “Are you saying—”

“More or less, I’m saying that I married the man my father picked out for me.”

“An
arranged
marriage, Mom? In this day and age?”

“Well, of course, they didn’t call it that back then but don’t be so naïve as to think it didn’t happen.” Eleanor’s voice held a slight edge. “Girls were told all the time which man they should or should not marry. Business deals were made with the understanding that a successful man’s daughter was part of the promised package. The girls who balked and weren’t obedient were sent packing or were forced out of their homes and had to make their own way in the world. Like I said, I was never strong, Caroline. And I settled by also agreeing to never raise you three children as believers of anything but wealth and social status.”

The tears started. The tears her mother had never shed in her presence before. Biting her lip not to groan aloud with the pain, Caroline leaned forward and opened her arms to her mother. Inching closer, Eleanor leaned her head on her shoulder and wept quietly. Her shoulders shook and Caroline knew the shoulder of her hospital gown was wet. But she didn’t care. For the cleansing tears of her mother, it was worth it. She could cry buckets if she wanted. Flood the hospital room.

“I know you’ve hated how closed off I’ve been, and you’ve believed I haven’t been able to show emotion. It’s true. I couldn’t because I didn’t know how. My mother never showed love for me, but I realize that’s no excuse.” She looked at Caroline, her blue eyes glistening with more tears. “But how do you teach somehow to love? I had no brothers or sisters and everyone I’d ever thought I’d loved—and who was supposed to love me—betrayed me.”

Eleanor accepted a tissue that Caroline pulled from the box on the bedside table and stuffed in her hand. “I grew to love your father, but then when he became so successful, he preferred other women. So then I became even more withdrawn into myself and closed off from the world and those I loved most. You, Sidney and Bryce have always been the bright lights in my life, and it’s to my detriment that I’ve never shown you the love you deserved.”

“It’s hard to know what to say,” Caroline said. “Surely you’ve known that we loved you.”

“Yes, but it was because it was expected, like everything else in your life. But love’s not supposed to be a duty or a chain. It’s supposed to be freely given and offered. I don’t know if there’s any way you can ever forgive me, Caroline, but I’m asking you to consider starting over. The new Mom has arrived.”

“I’d like that, Mom. You must forgive me, and I hope you don’t have to repeat this entire conversation in the future, but it seems…rather unreal.”

“I realize that.” Eleanor nodded and dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to speak with you, to tell you the truth.”

“What’s different now? What made you decide to speak up?”

“In your church this morning, I rededicated my life to serving Jesus. A wonderful white-haired woman sat next to me. She held my hand and looked straight into my eyes and told me that God is with me. He knows me intimately and knows the desires of my heart.”

“Marla,” Caroline said under her breath. She smiled. “Her name is Marla.”

“Yes, that’s right. She’s such a dear lady, and then she walked with me when I went to the front of the church.”

Caroline’s eyes filled with more tears. Healing tears. “You can’t know how happy that makes me.” She grabbed a tissue for herself. “Mom, Bryce told me about Dad last night. Or whenever it was.” Caroline frowned. “I’m confused and still groggy and medicated, so you must forgive me.”

“This will sound even stranger to you, I’m sure.” Eleanor straightened on the bed and grabbed a wad of tissues from the box on the bedside table. “Duncan’s memory is starting to fade in and out. When he’s lucid, he’s the same man but then he’ll lapse into the man he was early in our marriage. He remembers the times that were good and he’s more considerate of my feelings, and kind, and loving.”

That’s why Dad has seemed so loving and affectionate at times toward Mom since he’s been here
. Was it possible he didn’t remember their discussion in his office when she’d told him she was quitting law school? Of course he knew she wasn’t in law school or practicing at the firm, but did her father remember the way he’d dismissed her on that awful day? Maybe it no longer even mattered.

“I’m sure it must be just as confusing for you as it is for Dad.”

“It is. But we’re in it together. I made a commitment to your father all those years ago and I intend to keep it. He’s protected me and, other than a few indiscretions I know meant nothing more to him than physical pleasure, he’s been a very good husband. A good provider and a good father.” Her mother gave her a sad, wan smile yet her eyes held a light she’d never seen before. A glimmer of hope, of a newly rediscovered faith, of love.

In some ways, Caroline recognized that she was slowly losing her father. But, in another way, she was regaining her mother.

~~♥~~

“You’re the son of Matthew Barnes. The man the jury acquitted.”

Seth looked up sharply from his chair in the hospital lounge. Duncan Prescott stood in front of him. The more imposing, intimidating attorney version of Caroline’s father.

“That’s correct.” Seth rose to his feet and met the other man’s gaze, holding it.

“Your father was a good man.”

Seth almost lost his footing. He swallowed. “Thank you for saying that.” He wondered if Duncan remembered their brief conversation from the night before. At least when he’d attempted to speak with Duncan. The probability that he remembered was low.

“I’m having a moment of lucidity. Best to take advantage of it now before I lose it all.” With a heavy sigh, Duncan dropped into a chair and Seth sat back down again beside him.

“For years after the trial, I believed you tried to destroy my father’s character on the witness stand, and that, in essence, you destroyed my family in the process.” Seth braced himself for the man’s possible wrath, but he’d needed to say it, this time when he knew the man would hear and understand his words.

“Why did you think that, son?”

“Because my father post-trial was not the same man as the man who walked into that restaurant bar that night. And my mother’s health declined shortly after the trial, and she was never the same.” He put his head in his hands for a moment and then raised it, meeting Duncan’s clear-eyed gaze. “I know in my heart he was innocent.”

“You believed in him because he was your father.”

Seth sat stunned, unable to speak. Was he implying his dad was
guilty
?

“In other words, you also sentenced
me
. Didn’t you?” Duncan stretched out his legs and he stared straight ahead. “Because of the bad things that happened to your father, and to your mother, it was all the fault of the big bad attorney who prosecuted that trial.”

“I haven’t thought of it that way.”

“What’s your mother’s health issue, son?”

Seth swallowed. “She has dementia.”

Duncan nodded. “You might have heard I’m suffering from that myself. Alzheimer’s they’re calling it. Same thing in my opinion although I suppose there might be differences. We’re still learning about it all and talking with the doctors. But no matter what they tell me, there is no cure. In other words, I’ve been sentenced. Me, an innocent man.”

“With all due respect sir, the circumstances are different.”

“Are they? I don’t blame the doctors for giving me that sentence. They’re doing their job, the same as I was doing in your father’s trial. You see, attorneys aren’t paid to determine a man’s innocence or guilt. Most people don’t understand that, Seth. We’re paid to defend the rights of our client and we use whatever means we have at our disposal in order to do that. I looked up your father’s case on the computer this morning. I suppose you believe I was wrong to bring up your father’s slight juvenile delinquency and the fact that he made a few bad business decisions early on when he started his contractor’s business.”

“Yes, I did.” No wonder this man had been such a brilliant attorney. He was arguing his case quite effectively right now.

“They were true events and circumstances in your father’s life, were they not?”

Seth nodded. Shame began to snake a slow path through him. He might not agree with Duncan Prescott’s manner and methodology, but he made a good point now.

“I presented the facts as I knew them. Your father admitted they were correct and true to the best of his knowledge.” Duncan lifted his head to the ceiling and then blew out a long sigh. “My point, son, is that the fate of your father wasn’t in my hands. And your father was acquitted, one of the few cases I considered to be a failure. I’m only telling you this, for your ears only.”