But through it all, he had never blamed Hope. Not for anything. Sometimes she wondered if she’d have felt less guilty if he had.
“Hi, girls. How ya doin’?”
Eric’s voice sounded pleasant, almost soothing as he greeted the children. Hope glanced up from fluffing Cassie’s pillow to see him enter the room with a smile. A nice smile. The kind she could almost believe was meant for her.
“Ready for some chicken? I’m starving,” Beth said as she picked up her pink jacket and ran to give her big sister a hug.
“’Bye, Beth. Save some of that food for me!” Cassie called as Beth headed toward the door.
Eric kissed Cassie and mussed up her hair a little before he walked away. “I’ll see you again tomorrow, sweetie.” Then he looked directly at Hope. “I’d be glad to stay here if you’re tired. You could use a good night’s rest at home, you know.”
Home. Exactly where was that? It used to be wherever Eric was. She shook her head. “Thanks, anyway, but I’m fine tonight. Maybe some other time.”
Eric nodded in reluctant agreement. “Then, we’ll see you in the morning,” he responded quietly.
Hope saw a flicker of uncertainty, almost a ten-derness, in Eric’s gaze before he took Beth’s hand and turned to go. His dark brown hair was cut short and silky straight in complete contrast to the blond curls of the little girl who gazed up at him as they walked away. Eric hadn’t changed his clothes since she’d seen him earlier. His gray slacks and white shirt were slightly rumpled, and his dark blue tie was loosened but still present. He had that weary look about him that Hope wanted to soothe away with the right words or a soft touch. She lowered her clear blue gaze to the pillow she still held in her hands. She missed him. Deeply. She didn’t want to, but she did.
“Mom, ready for me to read to you?”
She returned her gaze and attention to her brighteyed daughter. “Of course, I am, hon. Just let me move these cushions around and turn this cot into a bed.” Hope picked up the extra folded blanket she had brought from home so she could make herself comfortable on the makeshift bed. Nights of unsettled sleep sometimes brought an achiness into Hope’s shoulders that she couldn’t quite overcome, and she knew she would miss Grace’s occasional backrubs. They’d been almost as good as the ones Eric had given over the years. No, on second thought, Hope considered as she remembered her husband’s strong, warm touch, they weren’t that good.
“Cassie, hon,” she said, wanting to think of something else—anything else—but Eric, “I think it’s time for you to read.”
As Eric led Beth through the maze of hospital corridors and out to the parking lot, he was thoughtful. He wanted to help Hope in whatever ways she would allow, and he knew there might not be many. He’d avoided her for too long, but only in an attempt to protect his own heart. Maybe she wouldn’t forgive him. Maybe he was too late. And maybe asking his parents to go away on an unscheduled vacation wouldn’t prove to be the perfect solution he hoped it might be. He guessed the next two weeks would give him the answers he needed.
“C’mon, Carrie Elizabeth. We’re gonna be late,” Hope said, grabbing the car keys early the next morning. She had returned to the house to pick Beth up for school. “Let’s go.”
“If you’re in a hurry to leave, I can take her to school,” Eric offered as he entered the kitchen. Streams of sunshine through the window lit up the room. “I have a few extra minutes this morning.”
“You’re sure?” she asked hesitantly. Having Eric walk through a doorway at any moment was something she had to get used to. And, could, too easily.
“I’m sure,” he answered, reaching for Beth as she ran into the room directly toward her father. “‘Mornin’, babe.”
“Dad! You really are still here!”
“That, I am.” Eric hugged her small frame to him, then released her. “Your grandparents must be sleeping late. C’mon, let’s eat a quick breakfast so you can make it to school on time.”
He glanced up at Hope, surprised to see her still standing there in the doorway, watching them. “If you see Cassie before I do this afternoon, tell her I’ll be there later today,” he said, looking into her fathomless blue eyes a moment longer than he should have.
“Give me a kiss, honey. I’ll see you at school later.” She kissed her daughter, then glanced at Eric again. “Thank you. I need to get there early to look over the lesson plans,” she said before leaving through the back door.
Eric’s presence, his helpfulness and kindness, could be difficult to accept, she knew, but it could also be the Lord’s way of showing them His will for their lives…something Hope hadn’t felt very certain of lately. For years she’d believed that she was following the right course, living in the center of God’s will, and that the love He’d blessed Eric and her with would go on forever. She’d given her heart to the Lord at the conclusion of a Sunday School class one day when she was only six years old. The teacher had asked if anyone wanted to pray for salvation, and Hope had raised her hand. So her heart had belonged to God even before it belonged to Eric Granston.
She climbed into her van and started toward Beechmore Elementary, still lost in thought. Eric was now with her again, but only because he didn’t think she was capable of handling everything by herself while Ed and Grace were away. And he was probably right, she lamented. She needed his help to get Beth to school on time and to be there with her at night while Hope slept at the hospital. She stopped for a red light. Yes, he was being helpful and considerate, almost friendly. But where was the Eric she’d married and loved? He certainly wasn’t the man who was at this moment sharing breakfast with their six-year-old daughter. The Eric she used to know would have kissed her good morning, said a prayer over their breakfast and shared a cup of coffee with her.
The blaring horn of the automobile behind her returned Hope’s attention to the traffic light, which had changed to green. She continued on her way as her thoughts went in another direction. Eric wasn’t the only one who’d changed since Cassie’s accident, she realized. She’d never kept secrets from him before, not until that summer day at the pool.
Entering the familiar school parking lot, she carefully pulled into the first available space. She’d been convinced years ago that the Lord had brought Eric into her life. And He had blessed their union in many ways. Could He have done all that—given them such happiness for so many years—only to let them mess things up like this? Now that Cassie was better and life held such promise? Hope didn’t have all the answers, but somehow, some way, there had to be more in her future with Eric Granston than a divorce decree—if only they could find their way to it.
“How did you meet Mom?” Cassie asked between bites of cherry-red gelatin from her lunch tray later that day. Eric had finished up earlier than expected at a closing and had stopped in to see how his daughter was feeling.
He leaned back in his chair. Meet her? He could barely remember a time when he hadn’t known Hope Ryan Granston. “We met in kindergarten, I guess. We went through school together, graduated from high school and then college together.”
Cassie grinned from ear to ear. “So you were childhood sweethearts?”
“Yes, you could say that,” he responded quietly, reflecting on earlier days. “We were friends for a long time before it became a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship during high school. Your mother was very popular in school, you know. She was pretty and smart, and fun to be with.”
“Don’t you think she’s all those things anymore, Dad?”
“Yes, I do.” He answered her question before his mind went back, momentarily, to envision