Julianne sighed as she headed toward the bathroom to gather up her dirty clothes for her weekly trip to the laundromat. She’d almost married Craig Johnson. It sent shivers down her spine to think how close she’d come to trusting her future to a man with so little compassion. Where had her own good judgment disappeared to?
The bag of laundry Julianne lifted was not heavy since it was filled with mostly lightweight summer outfits. With the detergent and fabric softener she needed waiting in the basket, she slipped her feet into a pair of leather sandals and was ready to go.
Thank the Lord, Craig had dumped her, Julianne thought and then gave a soft laugh. If he hadn’t, she might have blundered ahead into a marriage that wouldn’t have worked. And then, what? She wondered momentarily. No husband, no children… What would she have done?
She picked up her canvas purse, tossed it into the basket and headed for the front door. What would she have done? She wasn’t sure what the answer to that question might be, but she was certain she’d have found one, sooner or later, with the Lord’s help. She always had in the past…in every way except one. And she was confident, even in that area of her life, an answer would come. Just because she couldn’t see the solution now, didn’t mean it wasn’t there. She trusted her life to the Lord completely. He’d guided her through many difficulties, saved her from a life with Craig and He would make it clear, at some point, how she was supposed to move ahead to the life she wanted…even without the ability to have children. But for now, she had work to do. Pushing her hair back over her shoulder, she headed toward Fairweather’s only laundromat. She wouldn’t worry about being lonely tonight. There was always someone to talk with while the machines were running.
Luke finished cleaning up the kitchen and went to the living room to check on the twins, who were noisily playing with Nora’s large plastic kitchen set. Just as Luke stepped into the room, he saw Nora pick up a plastic toy spatula and hit Todd on the head with it. Todd whirled around, swinging at his sister and the fight was on.
“Whoa, kids. No fighting. You know the rules,” Luke said as he separated the two with an easy movement. “Nora, tell Todd you’re sorry for hitting him.”
“No!” she answered. “He took my job. I was rinsing the dishes in the sink until he pushed me away.”
“I just wanted to do what Dad was doing,” Todd yelled his reply. “He was in the kitchen washing dishes. That should have been my job.”
Luke shook his head. “Anyone can rinse the dishes. Dad, mom, boy, girl…it doesn’t matter. Everyone needs to take a turn. That’s the part you need to learn. Taking turns. Now, Nora—”
“No!” she shouted and ran toward the staircase. “It’s my job. A girl’s job. A mom’s job!”
Luke watched her go, letting her run up the steps by herself as she ran to her room. He placed a hand across his mouth and lowered his head in a moment of complete frustration. He knew exactly what Nora meant. Kimberly had been responsible for “kitchen duty,” as he used to call it. It had only become Luke’s job out of necessity.
“Come on, Todd. Let’s go upstairs and talk to Nora.” Father and son climbed the steps slowly, hand in hand. Comforting his children hadn’t gotten much easier with time, and Luke wished he could reach a point where he felt he was good at it. Or adequate, at least. Then there were those times when Luke wished he had someone to comfort him. The Lord he’d turned his back on was his best hope for that, he knew, but he was still too angry to look to his Heavenly Father for help. God hadn’t answered his last prayer the way Luke had wanted. He’d found no reason to think anything would be different this time.
“Reverend Ben. How nice to see you,” Julianne said as she looked up from folding clean towels.
Reverend Benjamin Hunter smiled. “Good to see you, Julianne. Laundry night for you, too?” He reached into his pocket for coins.
“Afraid so,” she answered. “But I thought the church board voted to have a washer and dryer placed in the parsonage for you.”
Ben nodded. “They did, but they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.” Quarters clinked into the washer closest to where Ben was standing. “So, how’s everything with you, Julianne? We missed you in service last week.”
“I have an ‘excused absence,”’ Julianne offered with a smile. “I was in Minneapolis visiting one of my brothers. He’s getting married soon, and this will probably be the last chance I have to spend a weekend with him—just the two of us.”
“Well, I hope you had a good time,” Ben remarked. He dumped a basketful of clothes into a second machine. “We had someone new with us last Sunday. Maggie’s brother Luke and his twins were there.” He closed the lid and glanced toward Julianne who was busy stacking clean clothes into her basket. “I thought of you.”
Startled, Julianne stopped what she was doing and met Ben’s gaze. “Me? Why?”
Ben grinned. “Probably because Maggie had mentioned to me a time or two—or more—that you could be just what Luke’s children need right now.”
“They’re in my class at the center,” Julianne acknowledged. “Today was their first day.”
“How’d it go?”
She shrugged. “Okay, I think. They let their father leave for work this morning without any tantrums. That was a very good sign.” Julianne returned to stacking her laundry and then gathered up her belongings, including the latest romance novel she had just finished. “They seemed to genuinely like me.”
“I can’t imagine anyone feeling otherwise,” Ben commented before taking a seat in a nearby chair. “But I want you to be careful, Julianne.” He paused. “The O’Hara children’s needs are great, and I know what a nurturing, giving soul you naturally tend to be. I’m worried you’ll be hurt.”
“I love all the children in my class. Nora and Todd O’Hara will be no different.”
“They are very different. Nora and Todd need a mother,” Ben corrected. “None of your other kids fall into that category. And Luke O’Hara may not be ready for another relationship. I know how badly you want children, Julianne, and I believe the Lord will work that out for you, somehow, in time. But give Him time, don’t rush ahead.”
“If you and I didn’t already know we weren’t exactly meant for each other, I’d think you were jealous, Reverend Benjamin Hunter,” Julianne teased.
“I’m just worried about you,” he replied.
“I’m not interested in becoming the next Mrs. O’Hara, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she assured him with a disbelieving shake of her head, her blond hair swishing gently against her neck. What would make Ben think such a thing? “And I’m not considering kidnapping Nora and Todd to keep them for my own, for heaven’s sake. They’re just two kids in my class, and I’ll do the best I can for them during the hours I’m with them.” She scooped up her basket and belongings. “From the way you’ve been talking, I suspect you’re the one who’s been reading the romance novels.” She grinned at him in amusement.
Reverend Ben shook his head and gave a quiet laugh. “No, I’ll leave those to you. But think about what I’ve said.”
Julianne agreed with a nod. Then she headed toward the double doors to exit the laundromat. “Thank you, Ben. I’ll talk to you later.” She’d probably see him the next day at the center, she knew. Most days she did run into him since Reverend Ben and the day-care center shared a secretary by the name of Emma Fulton. Now, there was someone who would love the book Julianne had just finished reading. But Julianne wasn’t sure she wanted to put any more notions