Sadie's Secret: 3 (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker) (57 page)

Wendy Lawton,
my amazing agent, friend, and writing Sherpa from Books & Such Literary Agency. I cannot imagine writing without you.

Kim Moore,
my Harvest House editor, and the rest of the Harvest House team for your invaluable input and assistance. I also owe a huge debt of thanks to the entire Harvest House team for your support in bringing this series to print. Without you, Will Tucker would never have stolen his first jewels.

Laurie Alice Eakes
(
www.lauriealiceeakes.com
), award-winning author of the Midwives series and The Daughters of Bainbridge House series for her assistance in matters of historical accuracy. Your ability to ferret out the facts astounds me. Thank you for your willingness to help and to read through the manuscript. Any errors are mine alone.

Malcolm Steiner,
author of Old Mobile Restaurants, whose knowledge of the history of Mobile, Alabama’s, dining scene proved invaluable in choosing the restaurant where Jefferson and Kyle would order their oysters. I urge you to visit Malcolm’s website at
www.oldmobilerestaurants.com
to learn more about his fascinating book on this unique area of Mobile history.

Jeane Wynn
of WynnWynn Media who went over and above the call of duty to see that the world knew about Will Tucker and the Pinkerton agents who chased him.

As always, to my husband,
Robert Turner,
who was invaluable in planning and executing the great writing research trip of 2012 where I was privileged to see firsthand many of the locations I went on to write about in this series. Not only did he play chauffeur, photographer, and tour guide, he has since given me great advice on plot and characters and has even read through the manuscript on a mission to seek out those nasty typos and mistakes authors are known to make. Bless you, Bobby T!

Finally, to my readers. You are the reason I write! I am always looking to hear what you like and what you would like to see next. Who knows? You might even find yourself in a book someday.

If you have enjoyed the Secret Lives of Will Tucker series, I hope that you will connect with me on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/kathleen.ybarbo
) or Twitter (
www.twitter.com/KathleenYBarbo
) to let me know. Also, check out my website at
www.kathleenybarbo.com
to see what’s next!

Discussion Questions

1. Sadie Callum is good at what she does because her job as a Pinkerton agent requires her to pretend to be someone else. It is only when she is forced to answer to her father that she becomes herself. Sometimes we react to God in a similar way. Have you been hiding from your Father? Is there something you need to tell Him, and if so, why have you been putting it off? Sadie needed to go home and make things right. Is there an area in your life you need to do the same?

2. Jefferson Tucker is an innocent man who was locked up for the crimes of his twin brother. For almost a year he sought justice and yet found none. Through it all, he never gave up. Is there something in your life for which you’ve been seeking justice? Perhaps something you’ve been requesting of the Lord to which He has not yet responded? If so, persevere. We serve a God who hears our cries even when it feels as if He does not.

3. The men in Sadie’s life love her enough to seek her out in an attempt to protect her. This protection, however, has been the cause of more than one situation that did not end well. Have you been overprotecting someone in your life? If so, how can you take steps now to release that person and allow him or her to take responsibility? Or perhaps there is a situation you have been trying hard to control. Is there something you need to turn over to God and allow Him to handle? What can you do today to allow that to happen?

4. Sadie is trying so hard to get her way that she is willing to deceive those she loves in order to do as she wishes. It is only when the results of that deception come to light that she realizes what she has done. Is there something you want to do so badly—or are already doing—that you would be willing to hurt others in order to continue doing it? If so, what is God telling you about this? How can you take steps to make right choices in this area?

5. Jefferson’s loyalty to his profession puts him at odds not only with Sadie, but also with his brother, John. For as a man sworn to uphold the law, John’s claims should not carry any weight when compared to the arrest warrant sworn out against him. Why, then, do you think that Jefferson entertained the thought, however briefly, of helping his brother? Have you ever been tempted to do something you knew was wrong because the outcome was something you wished to see happen? If so, what was it and why did you feel this way? Did you go through with it? Why or why not?

6. Sadie has been given all the benefits of being a wealthy sugar planter’s daughter, complete with a beautiful home and a family who loves her. And yet as a girl she envied the children of the employees whose lives seemed far more interesting than her own. As an adult, she finds herself restless when languishing at home, almost as if she’s missing something by being where she is. In short, Sadie suffers from an inability to find peace and joy in her surroundings. Are you always looking for the next thing? Perhaps believing that you would be happier if your circumstances were to change? Do you recognize the fallacy in that expectation? What can you do today to change that type of thinking and, in the process, put yourself on the road to finding peace and joy right where you are?

7. Sadie has five older brothers, each of them very different in looks and temperament, and yet all raised by the same set of parents. Each of the men has his strengths and weaknesses, and together the five Callums support one another. The church is made of people very much like the Callum family. Each member has strengths and weaknesses that are complimented by others in their congregation. What are some of your strengths and weaknesses? How do you use these strengths to serve?

8. John and Jefferson Tucker look so much alike that their resemblance causes many to believe that one is the other. This similarity causes doubts to surface as to Jefferson’s ability to do his job and eventually leads to his dismissal. Have you or someone you know ever been wrongfully accused of something, or has someone made incorrect assumptions about you due to the company you keep? What could have been done differently to avoid this?

9. Sadie’s and Jefferson’s cases intersect at a point where neither is certain of the other and yet they are forced to work together. Have you ever had an issue of trust with someone? What caused that issue and how did you remedy it? Or, did you find that trust could not be regained? If so, then why and what did you do about that?

10. Sadie’s parents believe the solution to her problems is marriage, and so they take steps to try to arrange a happily-ever-after for her. However, things do not work out as they planned. Has that ever happened to you? Have you taken action to make something happen only to find that God had another plan you never expected? If so, what did you try to accomplish? What did God do instead?

11. Sometimes people are not what—or who—they seem. While we may think we know someone, in truth, that person could be hiding deep and possibly dangerous secrets they wish would never come to light. Perhaps you have secrets you hope are never revealed. Do you know that God sees past whatever exterior facades we erect to peer deeply into our hearts? Is there something you need to admit to Him? Perhaps some secret has been burdening you. Unburden. Go to God and talk to Him. If you’ve done this, there is no need to share your secret with others. However, would you consider sharing how you felt after you came clean with God? Perhaps you might save someone else from carrying needless burdens with your testimony.

12. Sadie devised a plan to investigate a man she believed to be an art thief, only to find the plan had disastrous results. Have you ever made plans without praying over them sufficiently? Perhaps you felt as if you needed to help God along? What happened? What might have happened if you had waited? What will you do the next time you are tempted to do the same thing?

13. Part of Sadie’s job is keeping secrets. While she is good at what she does, the life she is living is not the one she wishes she had. Have you been in Sadie’s place? Is there a life you wish you were living? Are you keeping secrets? What can you do to change this? Is this something you want to change? Why or why not?

14. Sadie and Jefferson must learn to trust one another before they can cooperate to solve the cases they have been entrusted with. The pair finds that the process of learning to work together is not easy. Has God ever put you in a position where you were required to cooperate with someone with whom you did not get along? How did you handle this? What was the result? If given the chance, what would you have done differently?

15. “Nothing is certain, Sadie. Live a little.” With those words, Jefferson convinces her to get into the boat and sail off on an adventure. Those same words, spoken by his grandmother a few weeks prior, had given Jefferson the confidence he needed to set off on his own adventure. Has there ever been a time when you felt that God was calling you to take a chance, perhaps to set off on an adventure with Him? What did you do? How did it turn out? If given the chance to do it again, would you? Why or why not?

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