Heart of Mercy (Tennessee Dreams) (40 page)

Mercy’s soul took wings like an eagle’s. “Oh, Sam, I’m so happy to hear you say that. I knew something had happened to change you. And you’re right—God does work even in the ugliest of circumstances when we trust Him. It took an appalling tragedy—namely, the loss of my best friends—to bring the boys into my life and, through them, you. I never would have dreamed that anything good could come of that catastrophe, but the truth is, I know Millie and Herb would’ve wanted me to raise John Roy and Joseph, and having you to help has made the transition so much sweeter and smoother.”

“So, you don’t regret windin’ up with me?”

“What? No, of course not.” She hesitated. “Do you regret winding up with me?”

He swept his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “Not a chance. Come on, I have somethin’ else to show you.”

“What?”

He jumped off the wagon and reached up for her with outstretched arms. She went into them, delighting in how he lifted her at the waist, whirled her around, and set her down, all as if she weighed nothing. He took her hand and led her through the tall grass. They stopped by a big oak tree, and he gave it a thorough looking over, until he put his finger on a specific spot. “There! See it?”

She stepped in for a closer look and identified an ancient carving—a heart with letters inside. Squinting, she made it out. “It says ‘S. C.,’ and there’s a plus sign under it. It’s not finished.” She looked at Sam. “Sam Connors?”

He nodded. “I was sixteen, and I had a crush on somebody. But it was ridiculous, not to mention impossible, so I left the rest of it blank.”

“Who was the girl?” Curiosity had her mind whirling. “Should I be jealous?” The very notion of him caring for another woman did strange things to her heart.

He laughed. “I told you it was ridiculous—back then, anyway. So, no, you’ve got no reason to be jealous.”

“What made it so ridiculous?”

“The girl. She was only twelve, and quite beyond reach.”

Her head snapped up, and her heart thudded heavily. Could it be? “What are you saying?”

He chuckled and brushed his knuckles over her cheeks. “That girl was you, Mercy. You. I saw you every day when you passed by on your way home from school. You were always walkin’ with some skinny little blonde.”

She sucked in a loud breath. “That was Joy Westfall—you met her at the picnic.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Oh, my goodness. Surely, you didn’t notice me way back then.”

“I did. You were the prettiest little brunette I’d ever seen. I’d watch you from the window, and, once in a while, I’d even come outside, pretendin’ I needed to make a trip to the outhouse, just so I could feast my eyes a while longer.”

“But, why didn’t you…you know, pursue me when I got older?”

“Why? Because our families were at such odds. I figured I’d be the last person on earth you’d ever accept a date from, so, why bother even askin’?”

She grimaced. “And when you suggested we marry, I was utterly opposed to it.”

“It took a bit of convincin’.”

“I couldn’t see it workin’ between us, not because of who your family was as much as I couldn’t see myself married to the man whose father shot my pa. Forgive me?”

“No need to, honey. It’s all in the past.” He reached into his back pocket and produced a jackknife. “I think it’s time I finish this carvin’, don’t you?”

“Oh, Sam.” She giggled. “Really?”

“Watch me.”

He leaned against the tree and with great care carved out the letters M.E.C. beneath the plus sign. Once done, they both stood back to admire it. “Let’s come back in ten years and check it again,” she said.

He put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close. “Sounds like a good plan. We’ll bring the whole family—meanin’ our five or so kids, includin’ John Roy and Joseph, o’ course.”

A tiny gasp escaped her lips, and she angled him a shy glance. “Really?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, really. But, for that to happen, I guess we’d have to do away with our arrangement.”

Her pulse skipped. “Arrangement?”

“It’s a little hard to make kids in a marriage where only kissin’ is allowed.”

“Oh.” Now her pulse did more than skip; it accelerated. She looked up into his eyes.

He cupped her face with his work-roughened hands. “I love you, Mercy. Always have, always will.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, she let a single tear fall untended. “I love you too, Sam, now and forever.”

The murmured declarations made them stare at each other, their gazes still locked like two puzzle pieces. “Come here, brown eyes,” he finally whispered. Like heat lightning, she moved into his warm embrace, their lips meeting in reckless abandon. Crushed together, they kept kissing, until he suddenly broke away and gazed into her eyes with renewed intensity. “We’ll start tonight.”

She felt her brows lift under the wisp of hair that had fallen over her eyes. “We’ll start what?” She thought she knew, but she wanted to hear him say it.

He pushed her hair back with both hands as if to free her face for his adoring gaze. “Workin’ on those five kids.”

“One at a time, I hope,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“O’ course. More fun that way.”

Despite the cooling breezes, warmth crept up her face. “Oh, Sam, I—”

He cut her off with another kiss. As it lengthened, they both grew breathless. At last, he pulled away. “Let’s go home,” he whispered.

Home
. The word touched a sweet chord in her heart.

She pressed her palm to his hard chest. “I love that you consider Oscar Evans’ house your home.”

He lifted her chin. “Doesn’t bother me one bit. Home is where you are, honey.”

Questions for Discussion

1. Mercy has lost her two best friends through tragic circumstances, and God seems to speak into her spirit with the words:
   I will refresh you, My child. Keep your eyes on Me, your Maker and Provider.
   When all seems lost, have you ever sensed the Spirit of God speaking to you in such a manner? If you are comfortable doing so, share that experience.
   

2. There is a great deal of animosity between the Evans and Connors clans. What is your best recourse when caught in the middle of a spat you want nothing to do with, but certain parties try to drag you into anyway?
   

3. Mercy prays about the man God wants her to marry, but she finds it difficult to determine His leading. Have you been in the position of having to make a tough decision without sensing God’s clear direction? What do you do in a case such as that, especially when time is of the essence?
   

4. When Mercy is going through a particularly difficult time, she silently cries out to God, “Lord, what am I to do? Please give me a sign.”
   Wait and trust
   , He seems to answer. How difficult is it to wait on God and walk in faith when life holds nothing but confusion?
   

5. When the kitten comes up missing, a discussion arises about how God wants us to trust Him through the hard times. If you feel comfortable in sharing, tell about a specific time in your life when you had little choice but to trust God through the circumstance.
   

6. Sam quotes Jeremiah 29:11 to Mercy while trying to convince her that marrying him fits best with God’s plan. Read the passage for yourself and see how it applies to your own life.
   

7. When mourning the loss of her friends, Mercy draws a conclusion that God didn’t
   cause
   the tragic house fire, but He
   did
   allow it. When bad things happen to good people, are you tempted to blame God? Share a specific situation, if you’re comfortable doing so.
   

8. While staying at his cousin Persephone’s house, Sam reads from his Bible, and one passage in particular stands out to him:
   “Love…seeketh not its own, is not provoked…”
   (1 Corinthians 13:5).
   He relates this verse to the family feud and deduces that it all stems from selfishness. Would you agree that most arguments originate from that motivation—selfishness? Can you give an example?
   

9. In counseling Mercy, the reverend refers to Romans 8:28, which states,
   “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.”
   Have you found this particular verse to ring true in your own life? Explain.
   

10. In the end, Sam found it in his heart to forgive his mother for the wrongs she committed. How important is it to rid oneself of long-held bitterness toward another? Do you think it’s always possible?
    

I love to hear from my readers. Please feel free to contact me at
[email protected]. If you have a specific prayer request, you may rest assured I will add you to my prayer list! There is power in prayer! I love you, my precious readers.

About the Author

B
orn and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree in 1971, she taught second grade for two years, then accepted an invitation to travel internationally for a year with a singing ensemble. In 1975, she married her childhood sweetheart. Together they raised two lovely, wonderful daughters, both of whom are now happily married and enjoying their own families. Retired in 2003 after thirty-one years of teaching, “Shar” loves to read, sing, travel, and spend time with her family—in particular, her wonderful, adorable grandchildren!

A Christian for forty-five-plus years and a lover of the English language, Shar has always enjoyed dabbling in writing—poetry, fiction, various essays, and freelancing for periodicals and newspapers. Her favorite genre, however, has always been romance. She remembers well writing short stories in high school and watching them circulate from girl to girl during government class. “Psst,” someone would whisper from two rows over, when the teacher had his back to the class, “pass me the next page.”

In recent years, Shar felt God’s call upon her heart to take her writing pleasures a step further and in 2006 signed a contract for her first faith-based novel, launching her writing career with the contemporary romance
Through Every Storm
. With a dozen of her books now gracing store shelves nationwide, she daily gives God all the praise and glory for her accomplishments.

Through Every Storm
was Shar’s first novel to be published by Whitaker House, and in 2007, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) named it a finalist for Book of the Year. The acclaimed Little Hickman Creek series consists of
Loving Liza Jane
(Road to Romance Reviewer’s Choice Award);
Sarah, My Beloved
(third place, Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award 2008); and
Courting Emma
(third place, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award 2009). Shar’s popular series the Daughters of Jacob Kane comprises
Hannah Grace
(second place, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award 2010),
Maggie Rose
, and
Abbie Ann
(third place, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award 2011). After that came River of Hope, composed of
Livvie’s Song
,
Ellie’s Haven
,
and
Sofia’s Secret
.
Heart of Mercy
is the first in her latest series, Tennessee Dreams.

Shar has done numerous countrywide book signings, television and radio appearances, and interviews. She loves to speak for women’s organizations, libraries, church groups, women’s retreats, and banquets. She is involved in Apples of Gold, a mentoring program for young wives and mothers, and is active in her church, as well as two weekly Bible studies. She and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan, with their beautiful white collie, Peyton.

A Preview of

Threads of Joy

Tennessee Dreams ~ Book 2
Coming Fall 2014

1

1892 • Paris, Tennessee

T
he last shovelful of dirt went into the hole surrounding the stake bearing the beige handmade sign on which was painted, in bright-red letters,
The Perfect Fit Tailoring Shop
. Joy Westfall stomped on the mound, pressing it into place, to better anchor the sign. Proud of her achievement, she stepped back to assess her work. She might have been less hasty with the lettering, but she was a seamstress, not an artist. Still, it wasn’t bad, standing tall and rather pompous-looking in the center of her yard. It would have been nice to hire out the work, but she wasn’t made of money any more than she was born to fly. Come warmer weather, she’d plant some petunias and pansies around the base of the sign, but for now, it would do just fine.

She drew her coat collar closer to ward off the biting wind. Yesterday, beautiful sunshine and mild temperatures had seemed to promise a warming trend, with the certainty of spring in the offing. As if an affirmation of that guarantee, she’d even spotted a good number of busy robins with bulging bellies. Now, however, sinister black clouds loomed overhead, boding something altogether different—though she knew not what.

Next door, at Paris Evangelical Church, a hundred voices or more sang the final stanza of “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” Joy knew it was the last because she’d counted, and they never skipped verses. Across the yard, her beloved daughter, three-and-a-half-year-old Annie, sang along as she dug in the dirt with a wooden spoon, never mind that she didn’t know the words. “Oh, for Christmas Shoulders” is what she actually bellowed, but Joy didn’t have the heart to correct her.

She’d never set foot inside the little white clapboard church, with the red shingled roof and door to match, even though the church property bordered her own. On the other side of the church stood the parsonage, a simple, two-story structure, painted white, with a cozy covered front porch that wrapped halfway around the house. The neat little yard backed up to the church cemetery, where dozens of etched stones and crooked crosses poked up from ancient graves. On occasion, Joy found herself strolling through the grassy lot, reading gravestones, while Annie crouched to gather wildflowers.