Chapter 3
Garnet watched Mertie hurry away. He recognized her immediately when she had come up on the porch. It was no surprise that she might not recognize him. Back when she had known him, his cheeks had been as smooth as hers, and now, while he didn’t quite have a full beard, there were three or four days’ worth of stubble on them, and his voice had certainly deepened, not that he spoke much to her. He couldn’t help but help her out when Gertie had sat down beside her and insisted that she was her mother. It was easy to understand when one knew that Gertie was dealing with Alzheimer’s. Then her odd conversation made sense.
He had wanted to talk to her, had wanted to open up a conversation, tell her how happy he was to see her, ask her if she might want to see her daughter, but he should have known better. He had followed her career. He knew she was a rising star in the Christian speaker and writer industry, and she was paying her dues, almost ready to break out into big time.
He wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if she had her own TV show. She certainly had written books that were very popular and had her own podcast as well. Her speaking schedule stretched far into next year and, as far as he could tell, was completely sold out.
Of course he didn’t really know what to say to her. He was nowhere near as successful as she was, as the world defined success. He was simply doing what God wanted him to do, taking the pastorate of the church with less than twenty-five members. It wasn’t going to support him; the small amount that they were able to pay was definitely not going to support him and his daughter, and the amount of money that he was making from his social media presence, and the one book that he had written, would barely pay for groceries.
None of that mattered, as he watched the woman disappear into the healing garden, the quiet on the porch almost louder than the pair of fighter jets that passed overhead.
As the leader of the group that morning, he should say something, but Garnet didn’t know what to say. He could hardly say, “Hey, it’s my fault she left. She heard my name, and I know something about her that no one else in the world knows, and it would ruin her ministry if it came out.” Or at least, she would think it would. That was her main concern back when she had brought the child to him, that it was going to destroy everything she was building toward. Even back then, she was ambitious and driven.
It was part of what he loved about her. She complemented his more laid-back, easygoing personality perfectly. They did so many things together, and they paired well. Obviously, she hadn’t shared his opinion. Or maybe she just felt like he would hold her back.
“Maybe I should go after her?” Vera said softly after Mertie disappeared into the healing garden.
Garnet didn’t know what to say. He knew why she had run away. It was all him. That, and she had gotten a good look at her daughter. She had probably recognized the eyes, the features, everything that looked exactly like Mertie. But it had been his name, when he had introduced himself, that had set her off.
But he couldn’t go after her. He had agreed to lead the Bible study this morning. He couldn’t just abdicate his responsibilities because he wanted to go after the only woman he had ever loved.
“That might be a good idea. Or I can do it. I’m not sure what’s wrong. She seemed to be looking forward to coming.” Amara, Mertie’s sister, spoke from where she sat on the swing beside Hobert, her fiancé. They had asked Garnet to marry them once the church voted him in, which they seemed to think was a given. Garnet wasn’t so sure, but he had agreed and liked the idea that Mertie’s sister would be his first wedding.
“I’ll go. Unless you have an idea of what might be wrong?” Vera spoke to Amara, glancing at Garnet. He wasn’t sure if people had put two and two together and realized that she left as soon as he had mentioned his name.
His eyes shifted, and he looked over at Dabney. She didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned, having sat down on the step and opened her book again. He hadn’t mentioned that her mother was originally from Raspberry Ridge. He spoke about her as little as possible, other than mentioning multiple times over the years how much different Dabney was from her mother in personality. Dabney had always said she took after him, and he didn’t correct her.
“I have no idea,” Amara said, looking truly perplexed.
“If you don’t mind going after her, Miss Vera, I would appreciate it. And we’ll get started with our Bible study.” Garnet decided that it would probably be best for him to step in, although Vera was very pregnant with the twins she carried. She wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t think she could do it. Typically people looked to the leader to make decisions. And since no one seemed to know what the trouble with Mertie might be, and he did, he figured he should take responsibility.
“I’ll look for you if you’re still talking to her after we’re finished,” he said as Vera stood. She had a hand on her belly but didn’t seem to be in distress.
Vera and Dominic had someone watching the four children that they had adopted. They had gone from having no children to having four, and she and her husband couldn’t look happier. She nodded at him and then stepped off the porch, walking with purpose, although not nearly as quickly as Mertie had, toward the healing garden.
Garnet watched her go for just a moment before he turned back to his Bible and said a small prayer. He hadn’t come intending to upset Mertie. He hadn’t expected her to be here. It was just... He wanted to say bad timing, but he knew there was no such thing. For some reason, God wanted them here at the same time, and while Garnet had hopes as to what that might be, he also knew that it might just be for him to be able to face the past and realize that some pain never went away.
He couldn’t begin to fathom what God might be wanting to teach Mertie.
Sometimes lessons were painful though, and he wished there was something he could do to mitigate that. But it would be foolishness on his part to try to protect her from what God wanted her to learn. It would make her a better person if she allowed it. And from what he knew about her, she would allow it, although she wouldn’t like it.
“All right, everyone, if you would open your Bibles to the next chapter we’re reading together, I’ll start. I understand you typically read about five or ten verses, and then the next person begins. There are some rather difficult names in this chapter, so I hope you forgive me if I butcher them.”
He said that mostly because sometimes people were a little embarrassed or self-conscious about the difficult words that they could come across in the Bible. They looked at a preacher like he somehow had some kind of superhuman ability to know how to pronounce them. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and Garnet appreciated the murmur of laughter that went around the group as he spoke. It was his experience that people could relate to someone who could admit that they weren’t perfect.
He had been looking forward to leading the Bible study. The people here would be the people in his congregation, the core group, the workers, the people who helped when he needed it and supported him and encouraged him and kept the little church open.
But he found his mind drifting to Mertie and what Miss Vera might be saying to her.