Secrets of the Heart (39 page)

“Yes, but we have to be very careful not to put John and Maria in a bad light in Meggie’s mind. I want her to love and respect them.”

After dinner and chatting around the table for a while, Kathleen explained to John and Maria that she and Tom needed some time alone with Meggie before her bedtime. They took Meggie to the guest room where they would spend the night and sat the child down.

Tom let Kathleen do most of the talking. She explained to Meggie in as simple terms as possible why she had gone away, and that her marriage to Tom had made it possible for her to come back.

Meggie’s innocent little-girl heart took it all in, and when Kathleen said, “So you see, honey, you’ve got a new daddy and big brother in your life,” the child looked at Tom and said, “I’m your little girl, then?”

“That’s right, Meggie. Do you know what adoption means?”

“Huh-uh.”

“Well, that means that when I adopt you, you’ll really be my little girl because you’ll have my last name like my boy Caleb does.”

“Hmm?”

“Let me say it like this. Your daddy’s name was Peter, wasn’t it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What was his last name?”

“Stallworth.”

“Okay. My last name is Harned. And your mommy’s last name is Harned because we got married. Do you understand?”

“She’s Mrs. Harned?”

“Right. Now, what’s your last name?”

“Stallworth.”

“And that’s because your daddy’s name was Stallworth. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. Now, what’s my last name?”

“Harned.”

“Very good. If I adopt you, I’ll be your new daddy. So what will your last name be then?”

Meggie pursed her lips, looked at the floor, then said, “Harned!”

“Right!” Tom picked her up and held her close. “Is it all right with you if I adopt you?”

“Yes!” Meggie said, giving him a sunny smile.

“Good! And the best way for me to know that you mean it is you’ll give me a big hug and a kiss!”

Kathleen was elated when she watched her daughter hug Toms neck hard and plant a kiss on his cheek.

When Tom put her down, she looked up at him and said, “Should I call you Daddy yet?”

“You can do that starting right now, sweetheart.”

“Okay. Daddy?”

“What, honey?”

“Will my new brother like me?”

“Oh, yes! He’ll like you, all right. I’m sure he’ll love you, too.”

“Will he play with me?”

“He sure will.”

“That’s good! I never have any children to play with.”

When Kathleen took Meggie to her own room and put her in bed, she told her all about the long train ride to her new home.

Before Meggie fell asleep in her mother’s arms, her last words were to thank her mommy for coming back.

At Chicago’s railroad station the next morning, John and Maria said a tearful good-bye to Meggie, taking turns picking her up and holding her close.

After embracing Kathleen for the final time, John said, “Maria and I couldn’t have lived with ourselves if you hadn’t forgiven us.”

Kathleen kissed his cheek. “Just keep in mind that even more importantly, Jesus wants to forgive you of all your sins.”

“I will,” he said, wiping moisture from his eyes.

“I love you, dear,” said Maria, folding Kathleen in her arms.

“And I love you.”

A tone of regret laced Maria’s voice as she said, “This is the way it should have been all along.”

“That’s all past now,” Kathleen said. “No more living in the past. No more regrets. Only a bright future ahead.”

John and Maria hugged Tom and thanked him for his generosity.

“Kathleen and I will be back for the stockholders’ meetings,” he
said with a smile. “Four times a year, right?”

“Right,” said John.

“Then you’ll get to see Kathleen and Meggie often, as well as Caleb and me. The whole family will come!”

“We’ll look forward to it,” John said, a broad smile on his face.

“Me, too!” Maria said, planting a kiss on Toms cheek.

The Stallworths watched Tom, Kathleen, and Meggie board the train and take a seat next to a window on the platform side. They continued to gaze after the departing passenger car, tears of joy and humility coursing down their cheeks, until the train chugged down the track and disappeared around the bend.

Tom and Kathleen smiled at each other over the top of Meggie’s head as the train rolled westward out of the windy city.

Kathleen held on to her little girls hand and put her head back and closed her eyes. She remembered Tom’s words spoken only moments before to John and Maria:

“You’ll get to see Kathleen and Meggie often, as well as Caleb and me. The whole family!”

Kathleen smiled to herself and placed her hand over her abdomen, thinking, Time enough to get back to Virginia City before I tell Tom and the children the new secret I’m hiding in my heart!