Chapter Ten #4
Several hours later Meggie sat beside Quinn on the airplane flying north. His hand continued to tightly grip hers, as if he
couldn’t let her out of his sight.
“I thought I’d lost you, Meggie,” he murmured, in a deep guttural tone that spoke of untold anxiety. “I phoned your father
this morning to try and warn him what was happening. But the line was a poor one and all I could get out of him was the fact
you were flying home today and that Sam was taking you to the airport. I’ve never known such fear as when I heard him tell
me you were meeting Sam. Before I could say or do anything your father said it was useless to try and talk on such a bad line
and hung up the phone. When I tried to call back there wasn’t an answer.”
“Dad works in the garage on Sunday mornings. He just didn’t hear the phone, that’s all,” she explained.
Covering her hand with both of his, he looked away for a moment.
“Do you remember me saying I didn’t pray?
I told you there wasn’t anything important enough in my life to pray about.
But I prayed today as I’ve never done before.
” He rubbed a hand over his face and for a moment Meggie was sure she saw a sheen of tears glimmer in the depth of his eyes.
“You were right when you said I’ve been tortured by guilt.
Diana, Nelson, Laura—I’ve never laid them to rest. I’ve blamed myself for what happened; I allowed hate and bitterness to discolor my life.
” He swallowed tightly and Meggie squeezed his hand, bringing the callused fingers to her mouth as if she could kiss away the hurt.
“You were right about Jill, too,” he said in a soft tone.
“Of all, she is innocent in this. I’ve decided from now on Jill is my daughter.
I’ll probably never know the truth, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve made her my daughter in my heart.”
“Oh, Quinn,” Meggie said, and tried to hold back the tears. For the first time that afternoon, Quinn smiled, his eyes gazing
deeply into hers. “I was like a crazy man trying to get to you. When I couldn’t connect with a commercial flight, I hired
a private plane. You aren’t going to believe this but the pilot was a retired clergyman.”
A gentle smile touched her face, reaching her eyes so that they glinted with all the love that burned in her heart. “Of course
I believe it. My God works in mysterious ways.”
Quinn’s eyes locked with hers. “Our God, Meggie,” he corrected. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I regret, but today
I am a new man, free in Christ. The past is buried and the future—our future—holds wonderful promises.”
Meggie laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, her heart overflowing with a happiness that made words impossible.
“Meggie, come look,” Jill insisted. She was wearing faded jeans and a T-shirt her new grandfather had printed for her. The
picture on the front was of a Cheshire cat grinning his know-it-all smile but his teeth were wired with braces. “I’ve got
my room unpacked,” she told Meggie proudly. “It really looks great.”
Meggie stood in the open doorway, her hair contained in a bright kerchief while boxes from the moving van littered the house.
“Jill, this is great. Good enough for you to help me arrange the living room.”
Jill laughed, her young face sparkling with happiness. “You know adults are really funny sometimes?”
Meggie paused, hands on her hips. “Oh, and how’s that?”
Jill placed one of the moving boxes into her closet. “Right before you and Dad got married, I think it was while you were
in California. Anyway Dad came to talk to Hariette and when he saw me he murmured something about the braces and started hugging
me like crazy. That’s when Dad and I had our talk. Then when you saw me you took one look at me, covered your mouth with your
hand and started laughing and crying and hugging me just like Dad had done.” She paused, her eyes meeting Meggie’s across
the width of the room. “I think adults can act crazy sometimes.”
Meggie didn’t even try to make excuses, only smiled softly to herself.
“Meggie, Jill, I’m back,” Quinn called from the front door. “I hope everyone likes cheeseburgers for our first dinner in our
new home.” Long strides ate up the distance between them as he handed Jill the sack and pulled Meggie into his arms. “Come
here, woman, we forgot something.”
“Quinn,” she cried, as he pulled her out the front door and ceremoniously lifted her into his arms. Automatically, she looped
her arms around his neck. “You’re crazy, you know that.”
He chuckled. “Crazy in love,” he murmured beside her ear.
“Just what are you doing?” Meggie demanded, unable to restrain the laughter.
“Atoning for an oversight. I wanted to carry you over the threshold this afternoon when the movers left, but we got so busy
I forgot.”
Jill stood in the entryway looking out after them, the sound of her giggles filling the summer’s evening air. “See what I mean, Meggie?” she called. “Adults act sillier than kids sometimes.”
Meggie looked dreamily into her husband’s eyes. “Yes, they do,” she admitted in a husky whisper. “They really do.”
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