Hearts at Home Read online

  “We want to buy the patent from you so we can have exclusive use of your hybrid. No one else will be able to grow them, of course, but we’ll mass-produce them in our greenhouses and manufacture the peel in our laboratories. I’m sure you’re not ready to discuss details at this moment, but have your lawyer contact ours. I believe negotiations will begin with a number in the high six-figure category.”

  Annie clutched the edge of the antique vanity. Six figures? Why … that was hundreds of thousands of dollars!

  “My lawyer,” she whispered, thinking of Edmund Junior. “Certainly, I’ll have him contact you Monday morning, if that’s okay.”

  “Excellent. Thank you, Ms. Cuvier. We’re very excited about this product.”

  Annie hung up the phone, then braced herself against the edge of the vanity. Money … from one of her experiments! Why, she’d be able to repair the house, live in it, even restore it to its former grandeur! With that kind of money in the bank, she could live on the island and conduct other experiments on Heavenly Daze. Marc could keep his clinic in the guesthouse, and she could use the barn for her greenhouse. And Caleb could stay—

  She looked up, eager to share her news, but the butler had slipped away.

  “Caleb?” She stood and ran to the door, then took the stairs two at a time. She checked the kitchen, the parlor, the dining room, but the butler had vanished. His bedroom was as neat as a pin, the sheets stripped from the mattress and the closet … empty.

  “Caleb!”

  Running through the foyer, Annie threw open the front door and scanned the porch. No sign of the butler anywhere, not in the yard, on the street, or even at the dock. He might be in town, but Annie had a sinking feeling he had kept his word and left the island.

  Caleb had never broken a promise.

  Annie tucked the last silk flower into her hair and smoothed her peach dress, then descended the stairs … and saw Marc standing in the foyer.

  “I wondered,” he turned at the sound of her steps, “if you would allow me to escort you to the wedding.”

  Her heart in her throat, she nodded. “If you really want to.”

  He smiled up at her. “I do.”

  Her heart warming, she went to the bottom of the stairs, then reached for her coat on the hook by the door.

  “Allow me.” Marc pulled the coat down, then held it open for Annie. “You look beautiful. Peach is your color.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But you also look a little sad.”

  “I am. Caleb’s gone—he slipped out this afternoon, without even saying goodbye.” Her voice wavered, and she drew a deep breath to steady it. “I can’t believe he’d leave like that.”

  “Annie.” Marc’s voice was gentle. “He’s been saying goodbye for weeks. You just didn’t want to listen.”

  Pressing her lips together, she nodded. “People have been telling me things all my life… . I’m not the best listener.”

  “Then hear this.” He turned her to face him, his hands resting squarely on her shoulders. “Are you quite sure you wouldn’t rather have me as a father figure in your life? We are quite a few years apart, you know. We are at different places in life, and as dear as you are to me … well, I want what’s best for you.”

  Lifting her chin, she met his gaze head-on. “I’ve had three fathers, Marc—my dad, Uncle Edmund, and Caleb, in his way. I don’t need a father now—I need a partner, a companion, and a friend. I need someone who loves Heavenly Daze as much as I do, someone who will be happy to make a life here.” She stepped closer to whisper in his ear. “I think you might be that man. Is that wrong?”

  With a suddenness that surprised her, he drew her into his arms. When they kissed, it seemed to her as if she had finally and completely come home.

  After a long moment, their lips parted. Still they stood together, foreheads barely touching, breathing each other’s breath.

  “Is that wrong?” His voice went hoarse. “Let’s proceed carefully, and see where the Lord leads.”

  With Marc trailing behind her, Annie slipped into a row and found herself sitting next to Babette Graham. “The church looks lovely,” she said, gazing at the orchid-studded ferns around the platform. Floral sprays, sprinkled with ribbon roses, adorned the end of each pew.

  Babette nodded. “Yes, it is beautiful … and I’m pregnant.”

  Annie blinked. “Wow! Congratulations!”

  Babette nodded slowly, not taking her eyes from the flower-strewn altar. “I’m still adjusting to the idea.” A blush brightened her cheeks. “You’re the first person I’ve told, besides Charles, of course. I guess I’m testing the water, trying to get folks’ reactions.”

  Annie folded her arms, not sure how to respond. “Well—change isn’t easy. But all in all—” she glanced at Marc—“I think change is a good thing.”

  At four o’clock, the lights in the church dimmed. Sniffling conspicuously, Bea began to play the introduction to the old song, Because.

  Wearing an orchid the size of New Jersey, Vernie clumped to the front and began to sing in a warbling alto:

  “Because you come to me,

  With naught save love.

  And hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,

  A wider world of hope and joy I see—

  Because … you come to me.”

  Leaning forward in the pew, Annie caught sight of Stanley on the other side of the church. His gaze was fixed upon Vernie, and a wide smile lit his face.

  Annie smothered a grin. Not every man would be proud of a rectangular woman singing in a purple dress and Army boots, but Stanley obviously was. Such was the power of love.

  As Vernie sang, Pastor Winslow and Salt Gribbon walked out of the small room behind the piano. Stiffly, somberly, they moved to the front of the church and stood before the communion table. Salt kept his eyes fixed upon the swinging doors of the vestibule, but Annie saw the pastor cast a fond glance at Edith, who sat in her customary place on the second pew.

  After two verses and a grand finale complete with high note and uplifted hand, Vernie sat next to Stanley, then threw a strong arm around his shoulders. Annie covered her mouth to suppress a giggle as Bea began to play the Wedding March.

  Annie snuggled into the curve of Marc’s arm as Cleta came down the aisle, followed almost immediately by Salt’s grandchildren, Bobby and Brittany. The little girl grinned as she sprinkled orchid petals over the wooden floor, but Bobby marched with grave solemnity, his attention riveted on a pair of gold rings gleaming on his pillow.

  “They let Bobby carry the rings?” Annie whispered.

  “Those are gold plastic rings. Birdie glued ’em to the satin.” Marc’s breath tickled her ear. “The real rings are in Winslow’s pocket.”

  Annie smiled. Weddings had always delighted her— there was something mysterious about the love that drew two people together.

  Something mysterious and wonderful.

  Edith felt her pulse quicken when Bea thundered out the dah da-ta-da that signaled the entrance of the bride. With the other guests, she stood and turned toward the back of the church, noticing for the first time that Patrick Gribbon had made it home just in time for his father’s wedding. Still wearing his overcoat, he stood near the entrance with Floyd, who carried his captain’s cap.

  Bless Floyd’s heart, he had taken time out of this frantic afternoon to make one last ferry run. Edith caught the mayor’s eye and winked to show she bore him no hard feelings for sharing her secret with Winslow.

  Floyd Lansdown was a good man and a true friend, while her husband—she turned to admire the man she had married—well, just thinking of Win set warm kernels of happiness a-popping in the center of her heart.

  She smiled as Abner Smith came forward with Birdie on his arm. Before them, trotting like two well-behaved ponies, Tallulah and Butch pranced down the aisle, their necks adorned with floppy purple ribbons.

  While everyone else automatically turned to look at the bride, Marc couldn’t resist facing fo
rward to study Salt Gribbon. The old fellow had lived the life of a recluse until only a few weeks ago, then God had sent a woman to enrich his life.

  Birdie Wester had done Salt a world of good. His eyes sparkled with health, his outlook had greatly improved, and he carried himself with more vigor than Marc had noted in months. Furthermore, he couldn’t remember the last time Salt had threatened visitors to the lighthouse with blasts of lima beans and rock salt.

  Yes, love could be good for body and soul … even an aging body and a weary soul. He still found it difficult to believe that God might intend for him to find love with a young woman nearly half his age, but, as Caleb would say, the Lord worked in mysterious ways… .

  Feeling Annie nudge his ribs, he obediently turned to look at Birdie.

  In years of ministry, Winslow had seen his fair share of brides, but none could match the degree of radiance shining from Birdie Wester’s face. That good woman had spent her life serving the Lord and her fellow man, and God had been pleased to bless her with a man who would treasure her throughout life and into eternity.

  Could any woman ask for more?

  Well, perhaps Edith could. She could ask for more patience from him, more understanding.

  He looked to his wife, then felt his mouth go dry. Even in an ordinary church dress, she shone with an aura of peace and contentment.

  He was a blessed man.

  Knowing that a minister ought to pay some attention to the bride, Winslow shifted his gaze from Edith to Birdie. Wearing a knee-length ivory dress with a full skirt, she came down the aisle carrying her mother’s Bible beneath a spray of delicate purple flowers. Wisps of white hair framed her face, and as Abner tenderly placed her small hand in Salt’s rough palm, Winslow couldn’t help but think of a delicate flower growing in the shade of a weathered oak.

  When every eye turned to him, he lifted his little black book. “Dearly beloved,” he began, “we are gathered here today in the presence of God and these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. If there be anyone here who would object to these proceedings, let him speak now or forever hold his peace.”

  “Heavens, Preacher, don’t stop now!” Vernie called from the third row. “Time’s a wastin’!”

  Winslow bit his lip as the congregation roared in laughter, then he winked at the bride and smiled at the groom. If he didn’t hurry, Salt might pass out. The old gentleman had gone as white as a sheet.

  “Marriage is an honorable estate,” Winslow continued, quickening his pace, “instituted by God and blessed by our Savior by his presence at the wedding in Galilee.”

  Marriage! Salt felt a shiver go up his spine as the word echoed in the sanctuary. The seamen under his command would have laughed at the notion of Captain Gribbon marrying at age seventy, but no one could deny the simple truth—he loved Birdie Wester. He wanted to spend the rest of his days, no matter how many or how few, in the light of her smile.

  God had been good to show him that man was not meant to be alone. God had been merciful to send a partner as strong and loving as Birdie.

  Birdie felt her stomach sway when Pastor Winslow looked at her. She’d been doing fine by concentrating on her slow steps and thinking about the significance of the Bible in her hand, but now the pastor was talking right to her, personally.

  “Do you, Birdie Wester, take Captain Salt Gribbon to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  Birdie felt the pressure of dozens of eyes as she turned to meet Salt’s blue-eyed gaze. From her place at the piano, Bea blew her nose with a honking sound.

  Birdie couldn’t resist a grin. Welcome, Salt, she told her groom with her eyes, to my family, to my work, to my bed, to my heart.

  “I do,” she whispered.

  The pastor turned to her groom. “Do you, Salt, take Birdie to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  His love’s eyes shone bright with tears. “I do.”

  Winslow Wickam beamed a mega-watt smile over the congregation. “Then by the power vested in me by the State of Maine, I am thrilled to pronounce you husband and wife.”

  Then, while the people of Heavenly Daze rose to their feet in applause, the man she had always known as ol’ Captain Gribbon drew her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly in front of God, her fellow residents, and who knew what else? Maybe even a smattering of angels.

  After the wedding, the entire town celebrated in the church basement. Patrick Gribbon stood with his father, his children, and his father’s beautiful new bride as Dana Klackenbush snapped pictures.

  Annie noticed that Georgie Graham had been diverted from swiping icing off the wedding cake by special candy-sprinkled cupcakes Abner had baked just for the children. Georgie sat at a small table with Bobby, Brittany, and Zuriel, who was entertaining the children with stories of Daniel in the lion’s den.

  “He tells that story with so much detail,” Marc said, leading Annie toward the punch bowl, “you would think he’d been there himself.”

  Bea, who carried a box of tissues and still occasionally blew her nose, ate cake under Abner’s protective gaze. Across the table from them, Barbara and Russell Higgs were busy telling Mike Klackenbush and Buddy Franklin about the apartment they’d found in Ogunquit. “The rent’s really reasonable,” Barbara was saying. “And there’s room for growth … if and when the Lord decides to bless us.”

  Annie clapped with the others when, right after Birdie cut the wedding cake, Babette Graham admitted that yes, she was pregnant. Cleta immediately threw an arm around her daughter, Barbara, and then, with tear-bright eyes, she congratulated Babette and wished her well.

  “And I hear,” Edith said, whirling around to face Annie, “that you’re not selling Frenchman’s Fairest after all. You’re staying with us?”

  Annie felt her cheeks warm as she faced the townspeople she had loved for so many years. “Yes, I’m coming home,” she said, accepting the glass of punch Marc placed in her hand. “Where else could I possibly find neighbors like you?”

  After Annie and Marc had toasted the happy bride and groom with Vernie’s cranberry punch, Abner brought over a thin young man with sandy hair.

  “Annie,” Abner said, “I’d like to present Lionel Smith, fresh from service in England.”

  Smiling, Annie extended her hand. “What sort of service are you in, Lionel?”

  “Whatever needs to be done,” he said, clicking his heels together in an old-fashioned bow.

  Annie stared at him thoughtfully. She wasn’t sure when the fellow had arrived, but he could have come on the ferry with Patrick Gribbon. “What brings you to Heavenly Daze? Friend of the bride or groom?”

  “Friend of Abner Smith,” he said, glancing at Birdie’s assistant. I’m looking for a place of service, and I understand you might have a position open. I’ve had experience as a butler, and I hear yours has just accepted a new post.”

  Annie glanced at Marc. She’d never thought about employing another butler. Caleb had been a part of the family, but butlers were more a part of Olympia’s generation than hers.

  “I’m not sure I’ll need a butler.” She shrugged slightly. “I’d like to think I can handle my own cooking and cleaning.”

  The young man gave her a broad smile. “Did I mention I’m also handy with a hammer, caulking gun, and paintbrush? I’ve also a gift with plants.” He pressed one hand to his chest. “I hope that doesn’t seem immodest, but the Lord has given me a unique gift with growing things. I don’t really expect wages, but if you’ll allow me to putter in your soil, I’d appreciate the opportunity to serve. I’ve a particular fondness for growing zucchini—”

  “You’re hired.” Grinning, Annie lifted her glass. “First house off the dock, your room will be on the first floor, next to the kitchen. Welcome to Heavenly Daze.”

  The young man lifted his glass, too. “Thank you. Such a blessed place … already I feel at home.”

  “I know what you mean.” Annie let her gaze rove over the dear faces of all those who called the island
home. “I know this isn’t heaaven, but sometimes I think this town is the next-best thing.”

  Epilogue

  Olympia arrived two days after the wedding. Salt and Birdie were the first to spot her; the newlyweds had been walking hand-in-hand on the beach when Salt spied the box washed up on the southwestern shore, in near-perfect condition.

  They hurried the news to Frenchman’s Fairest, whose occupants spilled out at once to set things right. While Annie blustered in confusion, Lionel Smith arranged to have the casket brought safely ashore. With Captain Stroble back on the job, Dr. Marc sent for a backhoe, and within twenty-four hours, Olympia’s mortal shell rested beside Edmund’s in the Heavenly Daze cemetery.

  At our angel meeting the next Sunday night, Lionel told me that Annie struggled to make sense of the odd situation. Why had God allowed Olympia to take that bizarre journey when it would have been so much simpler to bury her properly the first time?

  Lionel answered her with heavensent wisdom: Who are we to question the mind of the Almighty? For through the ordeal of Olympia’s mishap, Annie learned lessons in faith and patience … and from the portals of heaven, Olympia had learned about eternal priorities. We do not stop learning at the threshold of heaven, after all.

  Annie was right—the one constant in Heavenly Daze is change. We have said farewells to several people over the last few months, but we’ve also made new friends. And those from whom we’ve parted are not truly gone—most of them are watching from the balconies of heaven, cheering as we run the course and endure till the end.

  Those of us who remain live and learn and grow more like the Savior. Through love, we experience joy and sorrow. We weep when our hearts grow too full for words and we celebrate with those who rejoice. We bid reluctant farewells, entrusting much-loved souls to the Father’s care, and we extend our hands to new members of the family.

  And with every rising sun, we know that the Father is faithful. As the Master said, “If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? … Don’t worry about food—what to eat and drink. Don’t worry whether God will provide it for you… . He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”