Secrets of the Heart (18 page)

“Jesus literally died and was buried. But a dead Christ could save no one. He broke the bands of death and came out of the tomb. He’s alive to save all who will believe and repent of their sin and put their faith in Him alone to save them. In the gospel there’s not one mention of our good works or religious deeds such as baptism, communion, church membership, and the like. The most righteous deeds we can perform are filthy rags before God. There’s no way we’re going to live good enough to get ourselves to heaven. Salvation is open to everyone who will put their faith in Jesus and Him alone to save them.”

“Pastor,” Tom said, “the Mitchells have shown us this before, and we understand it, but Loretta and I will tell you, as we’ve told Hank and Donna, you have your way of believing about God, and we have ours.”

Bruce Humbert’s heart was heavy. “But our way of believing is based on the Word of God, Mr. Harned. What’s yours based on?”

Tom blinked and looked around for a moment, then settled his gaze on Loretta as he said, “Just how we feel, sir. The gospel trail’ simply isn’t our cup of tea. But I’ll tell you what I’ve told Hank over and over again. I appreciate your caring enough about us to give us your point of view.”

Pastor Humbert returned his Bible to his coat pocket and said, “All I can do is ask you to think on what I’ve shown you from the Bible and invite you to come to church and listen to me preach. Will you do that?”

“We’ll think on it, Pastor,” Tom said. “And who knows? Maybe one of these days we’ll pop in and surprise you at church.”

Humbert rose to his feet. “You folks have been very kind to listen, and I thank you.”

Laurie moved to Loretta’s side and said, “Mrs. Harned, please let me help you if there’s anything at all I can do after the baby comes.”

Loretta struggled to her feet and smiled at Laurie.

“I’ll do that, Mrs. Humbert. And thank you.”

S
UNRISE STREAKED ACROSS
L
AKE
M
ICHIGAN
in sheets of vivid colors under a buttermilk sky, tinting the city of Chicago a reddish gold.

Peter Stallworth opened his eyes as the brilliant colors streamed through the bedroom windows. Kathleen was stirring next to him, making little sounds that indicated she was coming awake.

Peter rolled out of bed and padded to the closest window. He stood in awe at the glory of the sunrise and turned to see his wife blinking her eyes as she tried to focus on him.

“Kathleen,” he said, a lilt in his voice. “Come here and look at this!”

The beautiful redhead covered a yawn, threw back the covers, and picked up her robe. Just as she reached the window, Peter took her by the hand and put an arm around her waist. “Set your peepers on that sunrise, honey!” he said.

Its graphic beauty put Kathleen in awe. “Oh, Peter! Isn’t it marvelous!”

“I’ve seen a lot of sunrises in my time,” he said, “but this one tops them all.”

“I won’t disagree, but do you
really
want to see something beautiful?” She took his hand. “Come with me.”

Together they moved into the hall and paused at the open door of the adjoining room. Four-year-old Meggie Stallworth lay in her bed fast asleep. Her long, jet black hair was spread in sharp contrast over the white pillowcase, and her perfect ivory complexion and long eyelashes capped off the picture of elegance and grace.

Kathleen laid her head against Peter’s shoulder and whispered, “Now
that’s
beauty!”

“She’s a living doll—the epitome of beauty, just like her mother.”

Kathleen smiled and raised up on tiptoe to kiss his prickly cheek. “I’ll get breakfast started while you shave,” she whispered.

She remained at Meggie’s door as Peter disappeared into their room. She gazed for a long moment at her daughter and thought of how much Meggie’s grandparents loved her, though they still barely tolerated the daughter-in-law who had brought Meggie into the world. Kathleen had learned to live with the situation, and she would continue to bear it for Peter and Meggie’s sake.

The kitchen was a cheery place as the morning sunshine streamed through the sparkling windows. Kathleen hummed a lively Irish tune as she put breakfast on the table: buttermilk pancakes with lots of butter and maple syrup—one of Meggie’s favorite meals.

Earlier, while the fire was heating up the stove, Kathleen had gone back to Meggie’s room and found Peter holding her in his arms. Father and daughter adored each other, and Kathleen was thrilled to see the love that had developed between them.

Mother and daughter had a special relationship also, and it seemed their hearts were knitted closer with each day.

While she poured coffee for Peter and herself and milk for Meggie, Kathleen thought of how happy the three of them were; she was grateful there was only one small cloud hovering over her world. Well, make that
two
small clouds. One was the Stallworths’ continued sour attitude toward her. The other was that she had not been able to conceive again. She dearly wanted to give Peter another child.

She heard familiar footsteps in the hall and put aside the trouble-some thoughts.

While they ate breakfast, Peter said, “Honey, I’ve been meaning
to tell you, I think there might be a crack in the wall my parents have put up against you.”

“Really? In what way?”

“Dad has said things at the office about private conversations he and Mom have had. They agree you’ve handled the burden they put on you quite well, and a wee bit of admiration has crept into their attitude toward you.”

“Oh, Peter, that’s good to hear,” she said, her eyes moistening with tears.

“I’m thinking that maybe one day soon they’ll actually accept you as their daughter-in-law.”

As Kathleen used a napkin to sponge away her tears, Meggie said, “Daddy, why don’t Grandma and Grandpa ever hug Mommy?”

Kathleen flicked a warning glance at Peter.

“Well, sweetheart,” he replied, “Grandma and Grandpa have some funny ideas. They think that since Mommy didn’t come from the part of town where they live, she doesn’t really fit into the family, so they have been slow to accept her.”

The lovely child’s brow furrowed. She cocked her head to one side and said, “We don’t live where Grandma and Grandpa live, but they hug you and me, Daddy. Mommy lives here too, so why don’t they hug her?”

“Meggie,” Kathleen said, “do you remember that today, while Daddy is at work, you and I are going shopping together?”

The child’s big blue eyes brightened. “Oh, yes! You said you would buy me something, Mommy! What are you going to buy me?”

Kathleen left her chair, bent over and hugged her daughter, then kissed her soft, smooth cheek. “If you’ll be real good, I’ll buy you something very, very special.”

“What?”

“Right now it’s a secret, but like I said, if you’ll be very, very good, you’ll know what the secret is when we get to a certain store downtown.”

Peter finished his coffee, and said, “Kathleen, you do remember
that Derek Walton and Jack Ballard and I have to work late tonight?”

“Yes, darling. You’ll remember to eat some supper, won’t you?”

“Sure. It won’t be like your cooking, but well grab some supper at one of the cafés near the office.”

“Did you say you’ll be home about ten-thirty or eleven?”

“That’s right. So you kiss my baby daughter good-night for me just before she goes to sleep, and I’ll sneak into her room and kiss her when I get home.”

“Daddy!” gusted Meggie, “I’m not a baby anymore! I’m a big girl. I’m four years old!”

Peter reached over, gently pinched her round little cheek, and said, “Sweetheart, no matter how old you get, you’ll still be Daddy’s baby girl!”

Kathleen and Meggie hugged and kissed Peter, waving at him as he drove away in the carriage.

“All right, Miss Meggie,” Kathleen said, “let’s get this kitchen cleaned up so we can go shopping.”

They arrived downtown at a little after ten o’clock that morning. Their first stop was at DeLand’s Department Store, Meggie’s favorite.

“Mommy, is this the store where you’re gonna buy me my special s’prise? I’ve been good. I helped you clean the kitchen.”

“Well…this
could be
the store where it is. Do you remember seeing anything in this store that you really, really wanted?”

Meggie thought on it for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “A baby doll! The one with red hair like yours, and the yellow ribbon in her hair! Oh, Mommy, do I really get it?”

Kathleen smiled and playfully touched the tip of Meggie’s nose. “Yes, you do. Can you remember where it is?”

The child recalled the exact spot in the toy department where she had seen the doll, and she hurried through the store, leading her mother by the hand.

Five minutes later, Kathleen and Meggie left the toy department with the baby doll in Meggie’s arms. Her face beamed as she cradled the doll and said, “What’s her name, Mommy?”

“She doesn’t have one yet, honey. It’s up to you to give her a name.”

“Awright. Her name’s Kathleen, like yours.”

Kathleen stopped and looked down at her daughter. “Honey, are you sure you want to give her my name?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why?”

Meggie looked up into her mother’s eyes and smiled. “‘Cause you’re my favorite lady person in all the world. Daddy’s my favorite man person in all the world, an’ if my baby doll was a boy, I would call him Peter. But she’s a girl, so I want to call her Kathleen.”

The young mother bent over, hugged Meggie, and kissed her cheek. “You’re my favorite little girl person, and that’s why I bought you Kathleen.”

“No, Mommy, I’m not a little girl no more, remember? I’m four years old.”

“Oh, yes, I forgot. You’re my favorite
big girl
person!”

“Thank you for buying Kathleen for me, Mommy. Thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome, honey.”

Suddenly a voice from behind her called out, “Kathleen!”

She turned to see Hennie Killanin rushing toward her, carrying a baby boy about a year old in her arms, and pulling a little girl by the hand who would be about Meggie’s age.

“Hennie! It’s so good to see you!”

The reunion between Hennie and Kathleen was sweet, and the mothers proudly showed off their children.

Hennie had married Seth O’Banion, whom Kathleen remembered meeting at Hennie’s church when she’d heard Dwight Moody preach. At the time, however, Hennie and Seth had not been courting.

“And what is your married name, Kathleen?”

Hennie was shocked to learn that Kathleen had married into the wealthy Stallworth family, especially when Kathleen told her she had been the Stallworths’ cleaning lady.

Kathleen spared Hennie the sordid details of the Stallworths’ disapproval of her as a daughter-in-law and simply said, “Peter and I are deeply in love, Hennie, and our beautiful Meggie makes our love perfect.”

“Well, Kathleen, I’m meeting some friends in a few minutes, so I need to go. It sure has been good to see you and know that you’re doing so well. I hated losing touch with you after the fire…”

“I know, Hennie, but that’s all behind us now. That’s not to say that I’ve forgotten my family… Oh, how I miss them, Hennie! Sometimes I wish—”

“Sometimes you wish what, Kathleen?”

“Oh, nothing. What’s done is done.”

Hennie’s brow furrowed. “Kathleen, I need to know one thing…”

“Yes?”

“Did you ever become a Christian?”

“I’ve certainly thought a lot about it. I mean, some of the words Mr. Moody preached keep coming back to me, and lines of the song Mr. Sankey sang often echo through my mind.”

“But you’ve never opened your heart to Jesus?”

“Well…no.”

“Honey, the greatest need you have is to be saved. Nobody knows when they’ve seen their last sunrise, but we’ll all have our last day on earth, and many people die young.”

Kathleen nodded in little jerky movements. “I know. I know. Well, I really shouldn’t detain you, Hennie. You need to meet up with your friends. It sure was nice to see you again. I…I hope we run into each other again sometime. Come on, Meggie, let’s go.”

Hennie felt burdened for Kathleen as she watched her hurry away, tugging at Meggie’s hand.

When they had reached another department in the store, Kathleen said, “There are some things I need to get right here, Meggie.”

“Okay,” said the little girl, cuddling her doll.

While Kathleen was picking out new linens, Meggie said, “Mommy, what’s bein’ saved? What’s a Christian?”

“Oh, look here Meggie!” Kathleen said. “Here’s a new quilt that will just fit your bed! Would you like to have it?”

The quilt was of soft pastel colors and trimmed with a white eyelet ruffle. “Oh, yes!” said Meggie. “It’s real pretty, Mommy!”

It was almost ten o’clock that night when junior vice presidents Peter Stallworth, Derek Walton, and Jack Ballard finished the project they had been working on in the offices of the Great Lakes Railroad Company.

While the other two men closed up their briefcases, Peter said, “You guys go on. I’ve got some papers in my office I have to put in the safe. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ten minutes later, Peter emerged from the building and headed down the deserted street toward the stables where his horse and carriage were kept. Street lamps flickered along the way, pulsing with tentative light like dim ghostly beacons.