A Heart Renewed (48 page)

The sight of Julia holding baby James stirred Adam.  How he wished she was his wife and that was his child she was holding.  Ever since the night James was born, he had longed to talk to her, to convince her to let him court her again.  When she stood there that night, her brown curls loose and framing her face, he wanted to take her in his arms and never let go.  The image played over and over in his mind.

“So when are you two going to start courting?” Hannah asked looking directly at him.

Adam glanced at Julia as her face flushed.  She met his gaze and smiled.  Maybe it was time.

“I thought they already were,” Thomas said, looking confused.  Despite the strange circumstances that brought him into the family, Thomas seemed to belong there.

“What made you think that?” Rachel Page asked.

“I guess it’s just the way they keep looking at each other.”

“How do they keep looking at each other?” Jacob Morgan asked.

Little Sarah Morgan piped up, “Like they’re in loooove.” She emphasized the word by clasping her hands together and smiling sweetly while batting her eyes.

That brought a round of laughter from the entire table, except from Adam.  When he looked over at Julia, she was not laughing either, though the look in her eyes told him they needed to talk.

“Here, Julia, let me see my grandson!” Betty exclaimed to another round of laughter.

“Ma,” Paul said.  “He is not your grandson.”

Betty swatted at her son with her free hand as Julia took a seat across from Adam.  “I can adopt whomever I want as a grandson.  And since I adopted little James’s parents, it’s only fitting that I adopt him.  Isn’t that right?” Betty said nuzzling her nose against the baby’s belly.  He squealed in delight.

Ben sat next to Betty, one arm slung over the back of her chair.  He leaned forward to tickle the baby’s belly, sending more happy coos to fill the air.

The conversation continued around them, but all Adam could think of was finding a minute alone with Julia.  Now that others brought up their obvious attraction, he wanted to talk to her.

When Julia finished her last bite of food, she asked, “Shall we see what lovely items everyone brought for James?”

“Can I hold my nephew?” Thomas asked tentatively.

Betty quickly handed the baby off.  “Little one, you will certainly not want for being loved.”

Leading the way, Hannah took a seat by the fireplace and stack of gifts as the rest of the women followed.  Most of the men hung back at the table, except for Will who stood behind his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Julia smiled at the tenderness her brother showed his wife.  He was so different from the young man who left Texas almost two years ago.  Then again, Julia was equally changed.  She was stronger, happier.  She loved this family, whether they all were related by blood or not.

When the gifts were all opened and passed from giddy woman to giddy woman, Julia stood and began clearing the table, carrying several plates to the wash basin.  Ladling some hot water from the reservoir into the basin, she shaved a few pieces of soap into the water and then let the dishes sit.  When she turned around, there was Adam with another stack of dishes in his hands.  She jumped, not having heard him.

“Oh, thank you,” she stammered.  When she reached out to take the dishes from him, her hand brushed his.  Lightning shot through her arm and she almost dropped the stack.  Thankfully she managed to get them in the dish pan without dropping any.

“Julia,” Adam started.  Taking her hands in his, he gazed into her eyes.  “I—”

“Oh!” a startled Lucy Morgan exclaimed as she brought the remaining dishes to the wash basin.

Adam quickly dropped Julia’s hands and walked out of the kitchen, following the men outside when someone suggested a game of horseshoes.

“Sorry, Julia.”  Lucy tried to apologize, but she waved it off.

Baby James started fussing, so Hannah excused herself to feed him at the table.  Betty followed her and started washing the dishes, so Julia stayed to dry them.  Soon the kitchen and dining area filled with the women, chatting away.

She did not pay much attention to the conversation as her thoughts were on Adam, wondering what he had been trying to tell her.

“Julia?” Hannah asked.

“What?  I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“Did Adam ask you if he could court you?  Was that what he was doing earlier?” Lucy Morgan asked.

Julia’s face flushed.  Obviously only Hannah and Betty knew the whole story, but Lucy and Rachel seemed particularly interested in her future.

“He was just helping me bring in the dishes.”

Rachel spoke with a dreamy quality to her voice.  “He is so perfect for you.”

“If he knows what is good for him, that Adam will clear this up by the end of the day,” Betty said.  “And if he doesn’t soon, he may have some competition.”

Julia grew uncomfortable with all of the attention.  When Hannah finished burping baby James, she reached out to take him.

“Let’s go outside for some sunshine,” she whispered to her sweet nephew.

She could still hear the conversation of the ladies as she sat on the porch in the rocking chair.  Gently rocking back and forth, Julia hummed a lullaby.

Will sauntered over.  Nodding at his son, he teased, “Now how is he supposed to learn the game if you lull him to sleep?”

“I thought you’d be thanking me, either that or finding a shady tree to catch a nap under.”

Will chuckled.  “Well, when our guests leave, I may do just that.”  He reached out his arms for his son.

Julia’s heart melted every time she saw her big brother with his fragile little son in his arms.

“You know, Julia, despite all of the joking about you and Adam, don’t you think you should give him a second chance?”

She sighed.  “I’ve been meaning to talk to him for days now.  I’m just not even sure how to begin the conversation.  My unwillingness to forgive Reuben is what drove me from him.  How do I explain that to him?”

Will smiled and shrugged his shoulders.  “Just like you did to me?”

Leave it to Will to state the obvious, she thought with a half-smile on her lips.

“Why don’t the two of you take a nice walk around the lake?  No reason why you can’t talk now.”

She stood, taking his suggestion to heart.

“Julia,” Will added with a wink, “just don’t be gone too long.  Some of us will want to have dessert soon.”

She swatted at his arm before walking toward the horseshoe game.

When Adam saw Julia approaching, he bowed out of the game.  Will already told him when he left to talk to her that he would try to convince her to take a walk around the lake with Adam.  Apparently, Will had been successful.  As he neared Julia he offered her his arm.

“Care for a stroll?”

Julia took his offered arm and nodded.  He steered her towards the lake, away from prying eyes and ears.

As they arrived at the shore of the lake, she said, “I’m sorry I let my anger towards Reuben turn to bitterness and hurt you in the process.  It was not until I could forgive him that I could really let myself love you.”

He stopped and turned to look at her.  His heart beat fast.  He would take her hands, but he felt his palms getting sweaty.  “What are you saying?”

“I love you, Adam Larson.  I have for some time.  When I… The day I ran away, I was not running from you—not really.  I was running from myself.  I was afraid to love you.  I was afraid you would reject me because of what Reuben did to me, so I ran.  But, you didn’t reject me.  You pursued me.  You came to find me.”

“How did you know?” he asked, surprised.  He thought she had been sleeping.

“Betty told me you came looking for me.  She said you looked wounded, defeated.  For days I was angry with myself for hurting you so badly.  But, I was still hurting myself so I didn’t know what to do.  Then, shortly before James was born, I came to realize that I needed to forgive Reuben in order to be truly free.  And I had to forgive him several times before I was really sure I could move on.”

Adam soaked up all that she said, but especially that she loved him.

Julia gazed into his eyes.  She saw no judgment from Adam, but needed to hear his answer to her question, “Do you still want me, even though I’m not pure?”

His face blurred before her.

Please, Adam, I want you to still want me.

He drew her into a warm embrace.  With his lips near her ear, he whispered, “You are pure, Julia.  Our Lord has made you pure.  That is not something that can ever be taken from you.”

She sobbed, letting the truth settle into her heart.  As her sobs subsided, he kept her firmly in the safety of his arms.

“And yes, I still want you.  I want you to be my wife, to share my life.  But, I also want you to have as much time as you need to be ready for our life together.  So, right now, Julia Colter, I’m asking if you will allow me the honor of courting you, until such a time as you are ready to become my wife.”  With the last words, he pulled away.

She looked into those wonderful green eyes.  So full of love—for her.  “Yes, Adam Larson, I would be delighted for you to court me,” she answered.  “Until such a time as when you are ready to be my husband.”

He leaned forward towards her and her breath caught.  Just inches from her lips, he asked, “My dear sweet, Julia, might there be kissing involved in our courtship?”  The roguish grin he gave her sent pleasant shivers through her body.

She closed the distance to press her lips against his, hoping that would be answer enough.  Adam parted his lips and kissed her sweetly.  When she put her arms around his neck, he stopped.

“Ah, Julia,” he said, his voice husky.  “I love you so.”

“I love you, Adam.”

Reaching behind his neck, he unclasped her hands.  Holding out his arm, he said, “I think there is a house full of people who would like to hear our news.”

Julia took his arm and followed where he led.

“And,” Adam said smirking, “I think they are ready for some dessert.”

Julia giggled as joy bubbled up within her.  She was with the man she loved, finally free from her past, her heart renewed.

Author’s Note

It is always a challenge when writing about a difficult subject like what Julia experienced.  It breaks my heart to know that this sort of thing happens today—within the borders of the United States and around the world.  I chose to write about this because I wanted to share the message that there is still hope after abuse.  Jesus really does love you and his heart breaks when his children suffer.

In my dedication, I mentioned the women of Homes of Hope.  This organization is dedicated to rescuing young women from the sex slave trade in Fiji.  The stories of these rescued women are inspirational.  Some of their stories are similar to Julia’s.  Some are far darker.  Yet, these women are rescued—by people who care enough to help and by a Savior that sees them as precious beautiful pure women.  My prayer is that organizations like Homes of Hope will grow and thrive in the coming years increasing their ability to rescue more girls around the world.

On another note, like in my previous book, there are several real historical details included.  The Juniper House was a real hotel owned by George Barnard and is cited as being one of the first hotels in Prescott.  George Barnard also became the postmaster general following the departure of Reverend Read.