Making His Way Home by Kathryn Springer

Author:Kathryn Springer [Springer, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 1460310640
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“The Merrick homestead is our final stop on today’s tour.”

Grace made the announcement as B.C. lumbered up the gravel driveway for the second time that afternoon. The tours had proven to be extremely popular with the locals as well as the tourists.

Ten people, a mixture of all ages, had clambered into the wagon when she’d stopped in front of the bank. Several of the tourists had even asked if she would pose for a photograph.

The lively tour groups would have taken Grace’s mind off Cole...if she hadn’t been obligated to recite his family history every single time.

With an inward sigh, she launched into the speech she’d prepared the night before.

“Samuel Merrick was twenty-two years old when he built the original cabin and it’s still standing today. He worked for a large lumber company, and his boss sent him here to survey the land.

“Samuel and Jeremiah Stone, his best friend, bought up a lot of the property around the lake as an investment. Jeremiah was more interested in harvesting the timber and moving on, but Samuel fell in love with the area...and Ivy Meade, the daughter of a local missionary to the Chippewa Indians.

“The couple decided to stay here and they are considered the first permanent settlers. Samuel’s initial investment yielded dividends he never expected. He built the first church. The first school.”

All the information Grace shared was part of the speech she’d memorized. A brief overview of the things she’d learned about the homestead before she’d known it would be included in the tour.

What she hadn’t realized was that researching the history of the town was the equivalent of researching the Merrick family. The two were so intertwined; there was no way to separate them.

She also hadn’t anticipated that the details she’d dedicated to memory would take on a whole new meaning.

The people she was talking about were Cole’s family. The things they’d built his legacy. She’d even unearthed a faded portrait of Samuel and Ivy on their wedding day in the archives at the local historical society. The couple had dared to break the current tradition by smiling for the photographer.

Grace had thought about showing it to Cole, but didn’t think he would be interested. He’d offered no excuses, or apologies, when Matt had questioned his decision to sell the property.

And yet he’d accepted their invitation to attend the worship service in the morning.

Was it possible he was a believer now?

Grace’s throat tightened at the thought.

Cole had been so grief-stricken after his father’s death, so angry over the way Sloan continued to treat his family, he had told her that he didn’t think God cared about him.

But Grace knew He did. So she’d shared passages of scripture. Prayed for him.

And she’d continued to pray even after he’d left town. Her desire for Cole to know the truth was stronger than the hurt she felt over the way things had ended between them.

“I have a question!”

The teenaged girl who’d been grumbling ever since the last stop leaned forward and tapped Grace on the shoulder.

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