marvelled at how his mother never looked any older. Her curly light brown hair was cut in a style that flattered her. Her blue eyes were as kind and gentle as he’d always known them to be. Her smile could warm any heart.
“Keeping Sara’s family together will make me happy.”
“You took a lot on yourself when your father got sick. You gave up your life in the city to come home and run the farm. We appreciated that. And now what you’re doing for the children is wonderful….”
“But…?”
“You go through life with such a single-minded determination, caring for everyone else.” She shook her head. “I thought things would work out with Melanie.”
Jared hadn’t thought of his ex-fiancée in a long time. The sad thing was that her leaving had barely caused a ripple in his life.
At the time, he’d accused her of wanting too much out of their relationship. Now he realized any woman he became involved with would be like Melanie.
They would want the parts of him that he dared not share, parts that he had locked away a long time ago. They would want him to make himself vulnerable and to trust them. He hadn’t trusted his heart and soul to anyone in so many years. He didn’t believe he ever would again.
He wanted what his parents had, but was unwilling to pay the price…opening himself up completely to the love of another person.
His mother sighed into the silence. “We hoped when you got married it would be for love…like your father and me. Like Sara and James.”
“I’ll be fine, Mum. I promise. Besides, there are reasons other than love to get married. Good, sound reasons.”
She didn’t reply but her expression told him she thought it was a load of hogwash. “Just be kind to this young woman, Jared. She has a very loving heart to want to do this for the children. Annie was always very sweet.”
“You’ll be happy to hear that she hasn’t changed in that respect.” He finished his coffee. “I’m going to take the kids home.”
“It’s so quiet in there. I can almost guarantee your father is asleep.”
When they entered the living room, Jared smiled at the scene. Caroline was sprawled on her stomach in front of the television. In the armchair, Mick Campbell cradled both his grandsons, one on either side. Luke’s eyes were closing slightly as he fought sleep. Toby had given up all pretense and was snoring softly.
His father had always been a tower of strength—active and energetic. Then as he’d fought cancer Jared had watched him fade to a shadow of the man he’d been…at least on the outside. On the inside, the fight of his life had made him so much stronger.
Eve went over and began waking the boys, her husband stirring instantly.
“Sorry I fell asleep.”
“You need your rest,” Jared said. “Besides, it kept the boys quiet.”
Caroline turned around and she smiled at her uncle. “Can we get a scarecrow?”
“How about we get a lion and a tin man, too?”
She sat up, brushing long strands of hair over her shoulder. “That would be silly,” she told him, her expression one of infinite patience. “We have nowhere to keep a lion and what good would a tin man be on the farm?”
“I’ll think about the scarecrow.”
His mother cleared her throat. “You do realize she thinks that is as good as a definite yes.”
“I know. But the day will come when she’s asking for a car. I figure I’ll indulge her while I can afford it.”
Caroline was already starting to get the boys’ things together. It took ten minutes to get slippers on feet, robes on over pyjamas and backpacks in the car.
As Jared buckled Toby in his car seat, Caroline helped Luke with his belt. He turned to his mother and father, both standing on the veranda.
Mick had his arm draped possessively around his wife and Jared saw what he did every time he looked at them together—a love that had taught him a lot growing up, a love he’d wanted to find someday. A love that he knew was always going to be out of his reach because he wasn’t willing to take the risk.
“I’m bringing Annie to dinner tomorrow night. She’ll stay the weekend.”
Eve smiled. “She can stay with us. I’ll make up the spare bed and give her the extra key so she can let herself in if we go to bed early.”
“Thanks, Mum. I figure being here even for a few days will give her time to get comfortable with the kids…and them with her.”
His mother cast a glance at Caroline in the front of the vehicle. “You need to think about what you’ll tell them, too. You can’t just introduce another woman into their lives and not expect resistance. Toby and Luke will probably be okay with Annie but…Caroline may need time.”
Jared scratched his head. “That’s going to be the tricky part.”
“Not to worry, son, you’ll find the words when the time comes.”
Jared nodded. “I hope so, Dad.”
As they drove away, the boys eventually fell back to sleep. Caroline searched for her favorite music station on the radio.
Jared’s thoughts turned to Annie. He remembered a lot about the life she had lived as a child. Her father, a hardworking farmer by all accounts, had died one month before her birth. Some people blamed Annie’s neglect on the fact that her mother had been so traumatized by the loss of her husband that she couldn’t bring herself to love her daughter.
It wasn’t for him to judge the woman…that was God’s right. But he felt heartsick every time he thought of the quiet, sad little girl Annie had been.
Back then there wasn’t a year that went by when child welfare didn’t arrive on the doorstep because of reports. Three and a half years ago, Annie had left town and nobody had heard anything of her since. He wondered if she even knew that her mother had packed and left soon after she did, or that the house of her childhood had burned to the ground?
Annie had been a surprise today, not at all what he’d expected. Her innocence had shone through but so had the little things he couldn’t help noticing. She was an attractive woman. The green of her eyes reminded him of an ancient jade statue he’d seen once at a museum while on a school field trip.
He’d expected her to be taller. For a woman who stood only five feet four she seemed far too fragile for life on the land. Even her hands had been impossibly petite, her fingers touched up with clear nail gloss. There was a gentle way about her.
His mother could play matchmaker all she wanted. He would never be any good as a husband, at least in the traditional sense.
Maybe his father was right. Perhaps he did let his past dictate his future more than it had a right to. But how did a person leave it behind? How did a person turn and walk away from beliefs so ingrained that even a loving
