Authors: Ann H. Gabhart
The Blessed (36 page)
“What about your first wife?” She let him turn her to look at him.
“I loved her, Lacey. But now I’m ready to love another. You.” He watched her face. “Do you think you might someday love me back? When you get to know me better.”
“I know you already, Isaac.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She put her free hand over her heart. “I know you here.”
He gently tugged her closer to him and put his finger under her chin to lift her face up toward him. “I want to kiss you, Lacey. I want to kiss you so much.”
In answer she moved her face closer to his. He dropped his head down to cover her lips with his. The joy in that kiss tingled down to his very toes. Then at the very moment he pulled away to gaze down into her beautiful brown eyes, the sun broke through the clouds and bathed them in light like a blessing from above. He raised his face toward the sunlight and laughed. Then he picked her up and swung her around the way he had in the woods after the calf was born.
“Will you marry me, Lacey Palmer?” he asked.
She laughed too and then said, “I will, Isaac Kingston.”
“When? Today?”
“No, not today. But when the first dandelions bloom in the spring and it’s time to do the dandelion dance.”
He looked at her, a little puzzled. “Is that a dance the Shakers taught you?”
“Not at all. It’s a family thing passed from mother to child.”
“Will you teach me?”
“I don’t have to. You already know it. I think we just did it. A dance of joy.”
“I love you, Lacey Palmer.”
She smiled at him. “Then dance with me again.”
And he did.
Acknowledgments
I’ve been writing down stories nearly all my life. Some of those stories spew up out of that mysterious well of imagination in a great rush, while others have to be dipped out one cup of words at a time. Lacey’s story was some of both. I met Lacey while writing my last Shaker book,
The Seeker
. I had planned to make her a colorful side character to add to Charlotte’s story, but Lacey stared me right in the face and said, “But what about my story?” So with encouragement from my editor, Lonnie Hull DuPont, I decided to write down Lacey’s story.
I’m forever grateful to Lonnie for her support and help. I thank the whole team at Revell and Baker who play a part in making each of my books the best it can be, from the eye-catching covers to inviting back copy and everything in between. But they don’t stop there. They keep working to get my story in front of you, the reader.
I thank my agent, Wendy Lawton for her business savvy and friendship as well as the way she’s always ready to help me look to the future and imagine the stories I have yet to tell.
I can never thank my family enough for their love and support. And for understanding that when a deadline is looming, a writer can go a little bonkers. And of course, I’m forever grateful to the Lord for putting this will to write inside me and for giving me stories to tell.
Last but never least, I thank each and every one of you who picks up one of my books to read. We have a partnership—you and I. The story that springs up out of my imagination never comes truly to life until you invite my characters into your hearts and minds. Thank you for reading Lacey’s story.
Song Credits
Page 215—“Come Mother’s Sons and Daughters” (Song recorded by Henry DeWitt, 1837,
Manuscript Hymnals
)
Page 215—“Holy Order” (Manuscript Hymnals, 1839)
Page 216—“Sweep, Sweep and Cleanse Your Floor” (
New Lebanon Hymnal
, 1839)
Page 224—Untitled Song (Watervliet, prior to 1838)
Page 226—“Shake off the Flesh” (
Manuscript Hymnals
, 1808–1858; source and exact date unknown)
Page 340—“Vision Song” (Henry DeWitt’s
New Lebanon Hymnal
, 1837)
Page 354—“Dismission of the Devil” (“Warring” song;
Manuscript Hymnals
)
Page 357—“O San-nisk-a-na” (Vision Song; New Lebanon, 1838; Henry DeWitt manuscript)
Ann H. Gabhart
and her husband live on a farm just over the hill from where she grew up in central Kentucky. She’s active in her country church, and her husband sings bass in a Southern Gospel quartet. Ann is the author of over twenty novels for adults and young adults. Her first inspirational novel,
The Scent of Lilacs
, was one of Booklist’s top ten inspirational novels of 2006. Her novel
The Outsider
was a finalist for the 2009 Christian Book Awards in the fiction category.
Visit Ann’s website at
www.annhgabhart.com
.
Also by Ann H. Gabhart
The Outsider
The Believer
The Seeker
The Blessed
———
Angel Sister
———
The Scent of Lilacs
Orchard of Hope
Summer of Joy
