Lonestar Angel (40 page)

Eden leaned more tightly into the safety of Clay’s embrace. “We have to talk to Madeline. We’re certain, right?”

Brendan nodded. “The picture of Brianna at age two cinched it. I had it compared to pictures of Madeline and it was a match. No doubts at all. The courts will want to do the DNA matching probably, but you can be assured Madeline is your daughter.”

“I want to tell her now,” Eden said, staring up at Clay.

“All right.” His arm dropped away and he rose, offering her his hand.

She took it and they walked to the door. “We’ll be praying,” Allie called after her.

Eden stopped and turned. “I’ll take all the prayers we can get,” she said, meaning it. “God is the only one who got me through this.” She saw Clay beginning to smile. Her friends too.

“What happened out there in the desert?” Clay asked as they walked back toward the bunkhouse.

“I did a little wrestling,” she said. “God won.”

38

E
DEN AND
C
LAY STEPPED INTO THE BUNKHOUSE
. S
HANNON GLANCED UP FROM A BOOK AND
smiled. Madeline was settled in the crook of her arm. “The girls are asleep except for Madeline here. She and I have been reading stories. Bible stories.”

“The story is finished,” Madeline said. She closed the book.

“I’ll leave you all alone now.” Shannon winked at them, then planted a kiss on the little girl’s hair. “Remember what we talked about,” she whispered to the child. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

When the screen door slammed behind her, Eden glanced at Clay. Who was going to break the news? They hadn’t discussed it.

Madeline’s eyes were big, as though she was picking up their tension. Eden wondered what Shannon had said to the little girl. There was a new softness in Madeline’s face.

Clay cleared his throat. “Miss Eden and I have something to tell you.” He sat on the sofa beside her and lifted her to his lap.

“Am I in trouble?”

“Of course not. Why would you think that?”

She shrugged. “Miss Shannon made me stay up. I thought I was going to be punished for being rude to Miss Eden.” Her face puckered. “I’m sorry, Miss Eden.” She began to cry. “Miss Shannon said God doesn’t like me to be disrespectful.”

“Honey, it’s okay.” Eden pulled her onto her lap, and the little girl buried her hot face against Eden’s chest. “I thought you were still mad at me about something. Want to tell me about it?”

The child nodded, her face still buried. “I thought you liked India better. I wanted you to love me.”

Eden pressed a kiss against Madeline’s hair. “I love you so much, honey. We have something very special to tell you, sweetheart. Stop crying and look at me.” She pushed Madeline’s head away and wiped her face with her palms. “We came here to find you.”

Madeline’s eyes widened. She swiped at her face. “Find me? Was I lost?”

It amazed Eden that they were here in this place about to tell their daughter the story.
Thank you, God
. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yes. Yes, you were very lost. And we were lost without you.”

“I’m going to tell you a story about a princess, honey,” Clay put in. “Once upon a time there was a king and his queen. They had a baby girl they named Brianna.”

“I like that name,” Madeline said, her eyes fastened on his face.

“A wicked witch took the baby and told the king and queen that their baby had died.”

Madeline’s lip came out. “I don’t like sad stories.” She laid her head on Eden’s chest.

“This story has the very best ending,” he assured her. “Anyway, when the baby got bigger, the king found out that the wicked witch had lied. Their baby wasn’t dead. She’d just been hidden away. All they had to do was find her and they would be a family again.”

“Did they find her?”

“They did. We did.
You
are Brianna, Madeline.” His voice thickened, and he swallowed hard before continuing. “A long time ago, someone took you away from us, but we found out where you were and came to find you. You are our very own little girl.” His eyes were wet. “And we’re here to take you home with us.”

Madeline’s mouth gaped. Eden couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. She hugged her daughter to her and kissed her cheek. “We’ve found you, honey. You’re ours and we’re never letting you go again.”

Madeline’s arms crept around her neck. “Is this a real story?”

“It’s very real.” Eden glanced at Clay and saw his cheeks were wet too.

He embraced them both. “You are our daughter, honey. We’ve searched the whole earth for you.”

“So you’re going to adopt me?”

“We don’t have to adopt you,” Eden said. “I carried you in my tummy.”

“For real?”

“Pinkie swear,” Eden said, holding up her little finger.

Madeline’s tears dried up. “Can I call you Mommy?” She glanced at Clay. “And Daddy?”

“Forever and ever,” Clay said. He picked her up and danced around the room with her.

Eden’s heart was so full she almost couldn’t bear it. She joined Clay and Madeline. He put an arm around her, and the three of them stood in a tight embrace.

“Wait until the other girls hear this story,” Madeline said. Her eyes were drooping, and she put her head on Clay’s shoulder.

Clay grinned at Eden. “Too much excitement.”

“I know the feeling,” she whispered. “I’m tired too. But happy. So happy.”

His eyes filled, and he kissed her, then walked around the room with Madeline. He hummed a few bars of “Amazing Grace.”

The little girl’s eyes closed, and her breathing deepened. Eden watched the perfect trust as their daughter slept in her daddy’s arms.

“She’s out,” Eden whispered. She went before them down the hall and opened the bedroom door.

Clay placed the sleeping child into her bed, and they kissed her cheek, then stood in the doorway and watched the sleeping girls before backing out of the room. Eden’s heart welled as she looked at the faces of “her” girls. How could she bear to leave them?

Clay put his finger to his lips and led her down the hall. When they reached their room, he shut the door and leaned on it. “There’s something else, Eden,” he said.

His tone filled her with dread. “I know. I saw the e-mail. You’re going out again.” She didn’t want to be that old Eden. The one who pouted and cried at the thought of being left alone. She had changed. “As long as you come back, we’ll be okay.”

He shook his head. “That’s not it. I already turned in my resignation.”

She gasped. “Y-You’re not going?”

“Nope. You have to put up with me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What about the other girls?”

“What do you mean?” His voice was so intense, and she wondered if he felt the same way she did.

“How would you feel about adopting all of them? Except Paige, of course. It wouldn’t be fair since she has a family who loves her.”

“You mean, we’d have four little girls?” She struggled to wrap her mind around it. It had been a secret dream of hers. Whenever she thought about separating the girls, her mind closed down and all she could see was the six of them around the dinner table together. Playing Candyland. Laughing and loving.

“Could you do it?”

She leaped into his arms and smothered his face with kisses. He reeled around the room and they fell onto the bed. “Yes, yes, yes! I didn’t think you’d even consider something this drastic. We’ll have a very full house,” she warned. “And it will be expensive to raise four kids.”

He hugged her close. “Maybe more if the Lord blesses us with another child or two. Maybe a boy this time. Oh, and one other thing.”

“You want to adopt the whole world?” She laughed and snuggled closer.

“I want to continue to work here at the ranch. They can’t pay much, but we already have enough. Our place isn’t far. I could build another dorm there and expand the work here.”

Her vision swam as her eyes filled. “I can’t think of anything I would like more.”

He lowered his lips to hers, and Eden found all thought fleeing. God was giving her paradise.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I
JUST CELEBRATED EIGHT YEARS WITH MY
T
HOMAS
N
ELSON TEAM
—
TRULY MY DREAM
team! Publisher Allen Arnold (I call him Superman) changed everything when he came on board. Everyone in the industry loves him—including me! Senior Acquisitions Editor Ami McConnell (my dear friend and cheerleader) has an eye for character and theme like no one I know. I crave her analytical eye and love her heart. She’s truly like a daughter to me. Marketing Manager Eric Mullett brings fabulous ideas to the table. Publicist Katie Bond is always willing to listen to my harebrained ideas. Fabulous cover guru Kristen Vasgaard (you so rock!) works hard to create the perfect cover—and does it. And of course I can’t forget my other friends who are all part of my amazing fiction family: Natalie Hanemann, Amanda Bostic, Becky Monds, Ashley Schneider, Jodi Hughes, Ruthie Dean, Heather McCulloch, Dean Arvidson, and Kathy Carabajal. I wish I could name all the great folks who work on selling my books through different venues at Thomas Nelson. Hearing “well done” from you all is my motivation every day.

Erin Healy has edited all of my Thomas Nelson books except one, and she is such an integral part of the team. Her ideas always make the book better, and she’s a fabulous writer in her own right. If you haven’t read her yet, be sure to pick up
Never Let You Go
,
The Promises She Keeps
, and
The Baker’s Wife
.

My agent, Karen Solem, has helped shape my career in many ways, and that includes kicking an idea to the curb when necessary. Thanks, Karen, you’re the best!

Writing can be a lonely business, but God has blessed me with great writing friends and critique partners. Hannah Alexander (Cheryl Hodde), Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter make up the Girls Write Out squad (
www.GirlsWriteOut.blogspot.com
). I couldn’t make it through a day without my peeps! Thanks to all of you for the work you do on my behalf, and for your friendship. I had great brainstorming help for this book in Robin Caroll. Thank you, friends!

I’m so grateful for my husband, Dave, who carts me around from city to city, washes towels, and chases down dinner without complaint. As I type this, today is the first day of his retirement. Now he will have more time for those things—and more. Thanks, honey! I couldn’t do anything without you. My kids—Dave, Kara (and now Donna and Mark)—and my grandsons, James and Jorden Packer, love and support me in every way possible. Love you guys! Donna and Dave brought me the delight of my life—our little granddaughter, Alexa! This year at Christmas she was interested in watching her Mimi sign copies for her daddy to give away. When I told her that Mimi wrote the books, I’m sure I saw shock in her face. Okay, maybe I’m reading too much into her little two-year-old mind, but she will soon understand what her Mimi does for a living.

Most importantly, I give my thanks to God, who has opened such amazing doors for me and makes the journey a golden one.

READING GROUP GUIDE

1. It’s said a child’s early experiences shape their personality when they’re grown. What experience do you think was most instrumental in shaping Eden?

2. Losing a child is one of the hardest things a marriage can suffer. What could Eden and Clay have done to have been able to get through the pain of losing Brianna?

3. Clay never gave up on finding Brianna. Why do you think he was so steadfast?

4. What was the base problem in Eden and Clay’s marriage?

5. At first Eden was determined to preserve her perfect image. Why do you think what other people thought mattered so much to her?

6. Why do you think Clay never got rid of his childhood home?

7. Why do you think God allows pain in our lives?

8. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?

An excerpt from
The Lightkeeper’s Ball

T
HE
N
EW
Y
ORK BROWNSTONE WAS JUST HALF A BLOCK DOWN FROM THE
A
STOR MANSION ON
Fifth Avenue, the most prestigious address in the country. The carriage, monogrammed with the Stewart emblem, rattled through the iron gates and came to a halt in front of the ornate doors. Assisted by the doorman, Olivia Stewart descended and rushed for the steps of her home. She was late for tea, and her mother would be furious. Mrs. Astor herself had agreed to join them today.