Authors: Shelley Shepard Gray

The Caregiver (22 page)

BOOK: The Caregiver

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Lucy realized he wasn’t going to kiss her or even hug her without her permission. He was too afraid of spooking her. Of pushing.

But now that she knew what love was, Lucy realized she had no fears at all. A quick inspection revealed that they were still alone in the train car. As alone as they were ever going to be for the next many hours.

She leaned a little closer. “Calvin, perhaps you’d like to kiss me?”

One of his palms released her own and cradled her jaw. Unable to help herself, she pressed her cheek against his hand, enjoying the feel of his hand on her skin.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” She bit her lip, then continued: “I want to kiss you. I mean, if that . . . if that is what you want—”

She wasn’t able to finish because his lips were on hers then. Tenderly kissing her. Tenderly making her feel loved.

Caring for her. Just as she’d cared for him. Little by little, she leaned closer. Rested her palms on his shoulders. Calvin’s hands skimmed her arms, then lightly closed around her back. After too short a time, he broke away.

Lucy felt a shiver run through her. Everything with Calvin was so perfect. So sweet. So worth waiting for.

He looked into her eyes and smiled. “Lucy, when I stopped being afraid to give you my heart, I realized something.”

“And what is that?”

“My heart wasn’t in jeopardy with you at all. Instead of being hurt, it would be cared for. By you.”

“Always,” Lucy said. “I will always care for you.”

As they sat together, side by side on the train, Lucy knew that she could finally look forward to the idea of always. Of Always . . . And Forever.

At last.

A Letter from the Author

Dear Reader,

I was on a cruise when I learned I had a new contract with Avon Inspire. How neat was that? I was thrilled. I celebrated! I love writing, and was I very excited to get home and start on a new series.

However, God had other plans. When we got off the ship and were in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, I checked our home messages and discovered my mother was in the hospital. She’d been having some heart problems and was disoriented.

Suddenly, everything I thought mattered so much didn’t matter so much at all.

Over the next few weeks, I flew to California, spoke to doctors, and called my brother and sister more than I’d called them in years. Our mom would get better, things would settle down, then one of us would get another phone call and find out she was in the emergency room again. It was a frustrating and very hard time.

Yet, it was also an incredibly meaningful time. I discovered that my siblings and I still had a strong bond that not even years spent living thousands of miles apart could break.

During all of this, I began writing
The Caregiver
.

Now, looking back on those weeks, I have to smile. It was so obvious that God was right there with me! He helped me craft what I’d originally planned to be a somewhat light, upbeat story into a novel far more meaningful.

He helped me with Lucy’s character, too, as I imagined what kind of a woman would leave her family, travel to another state, and volunteer to care for someone going through chemotherapy. At first, I was sure that woman would have to be an independent, incredibly strong woman.

But then I started thinking about Lucy some more. I started asking questions, too. What if she wasn’t very strong? Or even better, what if she was stronger than she ever imagined she was? A woman like that, I decided, would make a great heroine. A woman like that was Lucy Troyer.

I hope you enjoyed Lucy’s journey to Jacob’s Crossing, her romance with Calvin Weaver, and her calling to become the type of person she was meant to be.

I hope you’ll continue with the series as the people of Jacob’s Crossing have even more adventures. I promise, Calvin’s Uncle John is about to go on quite an emotional roller coaster, as does the rest of the Weaver family. Even little five-year-old Katie has some growing pains!

Finally, if you’ve ever smiled at the grocery-store clerk when you were sad, happily volunteered when you really wanted to cry, or said you were “just fine” when maybe you weren’t “just fine” at all . . . this book is for you. God bless you.

With my thanks,

Shelley Shepard Gray

PS: To everyone who’s asked your library to carry my books, thank you! To all the librarians who’ve recommended my novels and asked me to speak at their libraries, thank you, too. I’m really looking forward to visiting and meeting your patrons.

In the meantime, please visit me at www.shelleyshepardgray.com or on Facebook, or write to me at: Shelley Shepard Gray, 10663 Loveland-Madeira Rd. #167, Loveland, Ohio 45140. I’d truly love to hear what you thought of the book.

Discussion Questions

1. Lucy and Calvin are on the train to Cleveland by chance. However, that one coincidence changes their lives in numerous ways. Can you think of an experience in your life when a “chance” meeting led to a life-long friendship?

2. Calvin’s personality is far different from Lucy’s. While she’s reserved, he’s outgoing. Where she is timid, he is sometimes too gregarious. Do you think they really were a good match? What qualities did Lucy and Calvin each bring to their relationship that the other lacked?

3. After twenty years, John Weaver returns to Jacob’s Crossing. He hopes to reconnect with his extended family. John’s story continues through the next two books in the series. What do you think will happen to him? Can you ever really go home again?

4. Do you think John will stay in Jacob’s Crossing? Already, he’s interested in two different women, Jayne and Mary. Do you think either woman will be the right partner for him?

5. While Mattie Lapp endures chemotherapy, she’s struggling with her faith and depression. Was there a time in your life when you also experienced a crisis of faith? If so, what helped you cope?

6. Was Lucy the “right” person to be Mattie’s caregiver? Why or why not?

7. As I wrote about Lucy, I often thought she was one of the strongest heroines I’ve ever created. She survived years of abuse and the death of a spouse and was able to still reach out to others. Is there anyone in your life who has displayed a great strength that you admire?

8.
Happiness is the inner joy that can be sought or caught, but never taught or bought.

From the moment I read this Amish proverb, I knew it was the perfect quotation to start my novel. How can this proverb about happiness be applied to your life?

9.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me
~Psalm 23:4

God is present with all of the characters in this novel. Lucy knows that without her faith, she could never have survived her marriage to Paul. Calvin and John’s faith gave them a positive outlook for their future. Finally, God has blessed Mattie with a loving family, a giving community, and a good friend in Graham—all people who want to help make her recovery easier. When has God’s presence helped you through a difficult time?

About the Author

SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY
is the beloved author of the Seasons of Sugarcreek series as well as the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full-time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town’s scenic bike trail.

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Also by Shelley Shepard Gray

Sisters of the Heart series

HIDDEN

WANTED

FORGIVEN

GRACE

Seasons of Sugarcreek series

WINTER’S AWAKENING

SPRING’S RENEWAL

AUTUMN’S PROMISE

Credits

Cover design and photograph by Laura Klynstra

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE CAREGIVER. Copyright © 2011 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition March 2011 ISBN: 9780062074577

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1