Pine Valley's Promise: A Christian Historical Romance Book by Olivia Haywood

Author:Olivia Haywood [Haywood, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rubedia
Published: 2024-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

She’d thought they had nothing in common, that two people couldn’t be more different than David Hawkings and Clara Bakewell. She’d been wrong. They were bound together by the pain of loss, by personal suffering. Clara felt she’d lost so much when her parents died, and yet here was David. He’d lost a wife and child, too, after he’d lost both parents. She couldn’t imagine how he’d dealt with the tragedies.

She did understand the need to run, even though her own instinct had been the opposite.

David had run from his past, his home, his livelihood. She had clung to that home, that past, and that livelihood with the tenaciousness of a Colorado thistle. No one could tear her away from Edenbrook for long. That had been her vow on the day she’d climbed into Pastor Paul’s buckboard with her sister and all of their personal goods.

She’d survived the pain, the loss, the heartache, the perpetual sadness, sometimes through Mary, sometimes through Miss Clemmie, sometimes through sheer will of her own. But she knew now, probably had always known, that most of it had come from God. He had given her strength in her times of need, sending those to her who would provide the most comfort.

And has He now sent David? Is that David’s purpose in my life? To show that others have gone through as much, if not more, than I have? That I must learn to accept my future as God has written it?

She did understand David’s struggle with his faith. She hadn’t experienced a struggle of her own, but she wasn’t heartless. A man, or woman, for that matter, could only stand so much grief. She felt honored that David had shared his story with her, and now that she knew the sorrow he held in his heart, perhaps she could find a way to help him renew his faith.

After supper that night, Clara did the dishes while Mary sat quietly with David at the table, “keeping my hands dry,” she said. Clara smiled to herself. Her little sister did so love attention, not in a preening sort of way, but because she had so much love to give, it just fairly burst out of her. All that love needed something to focus on. Though Barney was often the recipient of Mary’s attention, David fit the bill perfectly in Mary’s eyes because, unlike Barney, David could talk back.

“It feels ever so much better,” Mary said.

“I’m very happy to hear that,” David said. “When you get up tomorrow, put some more cool water on your hands, and Clara will put more linseed on the burns. Wrap them just the same, okay?”

“I might not ‘member,” Mary said, her eyes darting to her sister. “Did you hear, Sissy?”

“I did. David taught me well, so I’ll remember.”

The chair screeched as he pushed it back and stood. “Guess I’d better be headin’ out, ladies. Sun’s started to dip in the sky.” He strode to the peg that held his Stetson. “Anything you need done before I leave?”

Clara spun around, her hands filled with plates.

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