Collaboration
Adam's jaw clenched. "Are your folks still in Hillsboro?"
Pain flashed across her face and she admitted, "Yes, but we have been estranged…"
"Because of Ian?"
"Correct," she confirmed. "They didn't care for him when we dated and when I ended up pregnant they tried to convince me not to marry him. Does that illustrate what they think of his character? Conservative Baptists from the Bible Belt, and they would rather have had their daughter give birth to a child who's not legitimate than have me marry him." Her eyes blazed. "But I was a seventeen year old kid who knew everything back then, and I allowed Ian to sweet talk me into eloping. When I told my parents we had married I think I broke their hearts," she confessed.
Adam shook his head sympathetically. "Wow, I can just imagine."
"When I was six months pregnant Ian insisted we had to move to California where he could find work year round. So off we went. Since then he has refused to have a phone installed so that I can't get back in touch with my parents, even if they wanted to talk to me again. I just left them a note when I moved from Texas. When I settled in California I wrote them a letter, but Ian found it and ripped it up during one of his tantrums. He insisted my loyalty should be with him and since my parents couldn't stand him that meant they couldn't stand Stella and me. I secretly tried to send another and another but he found out both times and raged for days. That finished it for me. Now I don't even try to contact my family."
Adam studied her as her story unfolded. Under the obvious hurt and injustice lay a character of steel. As helpless as she felt, the opposite was true. She had turned herself into a fighter.
"Without going into the sordid details of how he destroyed our furniture Friday because he thought I might consider the assistant manager at the grocery store attractive, yesterday morning I woke up and knew that if I didn't get out right then I would never again have the courage to run. Ian works half days on Saturdays so I waited for him to leave for work, grabbed Stella, and took off. Since he always comes home for lunch on Saturdays and would be alerted if he saw clothing or Stella's belongings missing I left a note that I had driven to town on a grocery run. We don't really have a whole lot of property-of belongings- accrued. I knew it would give me a four hour head start before lunch, and maybe another hour or two after he got home and realized I wasn't running errands after all."
Adam raised his eyebrows in admiration. "Wow! I just think I have made the acquaintance of one incredible girl. Sorry- woman, not girl."
"Maybe not, Adam," Isabelle contradicted. "He'll track me down, somehow. And this car- if Al can't fix it I can't go. But the car at least got me this far and miles away from Ian."
Concerned, Adam regarded her thoughtfully. "Isabelle, where do you want to go? You must see yourself somewhere else ten years from now. What's your perception of your future?"
Isabelle's expression clouded. "I want to go home! That is what I want! I want my mama and I want my daddy! That's what I want!"
Isabelle's declaration triggered another storm of tears and Adam waited patiently for her to calm. When she regained control again she wiped her eyes guiltily. "Oh Adam, I am so sorry! Please, please forgive me! It must be so horrible with the loss of your own parents and here I …."
He interrupted gently, "Nothing to forgive. You didn't set out to hurt me, Isabelle."
"Thank you. No, I didn't mean to hurt you." She looked around the living room as she gathered her thoughts. "I want to go home but I think my family probably has washed its hands of me."
"I genuinely doubt that. Isabelle, if you called your folks today, I think they would drive to California to carry you and Stella home."
"Even so, I've made such a mess of my life. A little pride lingers in me, though. When I return to Texas I want to drive into the yard at the house by myself and not show back up after these years completely destitute. And I'll walk into the front door with Stella in my arms and call 'Y'all up for a visit?' and then I will see their faces the first time they lay eyes on my baby girl."
She wiped at her eyes and smiled shyly at him.
"I understand that." Adam massaged his temples.
Isabelle's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Sometimes I feel like my lifetime finished before I met Ian, like I've lived the best years already. But Stella always shines in my future. I worry every moment that I will end up failing my daughter because of my history with the past."
"You won't fail. I have faith in you."
She smiled ruefully. "Well, thanks for the support and thanks for listening."
"Isabelle," Adam drummed his fingers softly against the arm of his chair. "I do want something from you after all."
"You…"
"I want you to see this as an opportunity handed you. I don't want to sound like a preacher, but just open your heart to any goodness that surrounds you and be willing to say you need help. Life is full of good people, but they need the opportunity to practice."
"What did I just do? Isn't that exactly what this evening has emphasized?" She regarded him with confusion.
"Not this evening." Adam checked the time. "Listen, I'd better head up for a shower and bed. You've gotten to see the McFaddens at our most relaxed today. Believe me, we act differently on Sunday. Monday is polar opposite. Monday starts the ranch and school cycle so I have to hit the ground running in a few hours."
Isabelle stood and stretched. "I'll follow you."
"No, you don't have to go to bed just because I am. You're welcome to stay down here as long as you like. Make this your home and remember that tomorrow Al will be here to check your car."
"Adam, would it bother you if I borrowed a book to read?" She indicated one of the massive bookcases overflowing with books which flanked the living room.
"Help yourself. Both of my parents were readers, and they have managed to pass a love of reading down to all of us, though the six of us have quite a palette of tastes. If you don't mind, just cut out the lights down here. You'll be able to see 'cause I leave the hall light on upstairs in case the boys get scared and need me."
Isabelle spoke softly. "Good night, then."
Half an hour later Adam slid into bed beside Crane so exhausted that he fell asleep before he could even spread the cover over himself.
Monday proved fortuitous for Isabelle.
By suppertime that evening several truths had been realized. First, Al had indeed discovered the car required extensive work which would cost in the ballpark of two hundred dollars- and not five hundred as Adam and Brian predicted- because Al decided to waive his fee. The two hundred would purchase the necessary parts which Al could not order any cheaper. However, on a positive note he assured both Adam and Isabelle that her car actually would serve as a reliable means of transportation for several more years once he completed the repairs. That particular automobile model had experienced a good track record, so Isabelle should relax.
Al shrugged off Isabelle's gratitude and doffed his hat. "Don't thank me any more, Young Lady. I have a daughter just a little older than you. This car will be repaired just as soon as I send my son with the tow truck and can pull it down to the shop and we get to work. Soon as it's running you can come get it. Just pay towards the two hundred as you can."
After Al's visit Adam made a quick -but strategic- trip into town with Isabelle, Guthrie, and Stella. The boys had left for school an hour before. Adam led them straight to Marie, and when they departed half an hour later Isabelle had been hired as a waitress at the diner from noon until eight each day.
Marie had over-ridden Isabelle's concerns that Marie might want to hire permanent help rather than temporary.
They stopped next at the general store before ducking into the lone grocery for a few items. As they loaded them into the bed of the truck Adam regarded two cardboard boxes in the bed near the cab with surprise. "What in the world? Where did these boxes come from?"
Isabelle leaned over the side closest to the packages. "Adam, both of them are addressed to you and the writing on them says not to open until you're back at the ranch."
"Hmmm….Well, let's get back to the house then. I enjoy a good mystery now and again."
On the way home they discussed practicalities affecting her job at Marie's.
Adam would supervise Stella in the afternoons, and Isabelle gratefully promised that in return she would watch Guthrie in the mornings so that he could get more done on and off the ranch. Adam refused to entertain any idea of Isabelle and Stella relocating and insisted they were always welcome at the ranch. Privately he wanted Isabelle to have a chance to save every dollar she earned to put towards a new life back home in Texas. Her wages didn't need to go towards rent.
After lunch when Ford, Guthrie and Stella went down for a nap Adam transferred the boxes from the truck to the living room and checked the contents. He peeped inside both and grinned. "Oh my, Miss Isabelle, I do believe someone packaged these lovely containers for you."
She approached curiously and glanced into each box. Surprise quickly turned to excitement as she unpacked several outfits for Stella as well as clothing evidently meant for her. "Adam, how? Who?"
He shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but I suspect the ladies of our church. Yesterday during the Childrens' Church the story and Scripture reading was about the Good Samaritan." Adam rubbed his temples. "And when our pastor asked how the kids could act as good Samaritans Daniel called out that a stranger had come to our house so we were Samaritans. Of course then the entire church wanted details and an explanation. I'm sorry."
Isabelle smiled happily. "Don't apologize Adam. God bless you and yours, and God bless those people who care about my baby and me."
His relief showed and he winked. "Good. Well it looks like the ladies knew exactly what to send. Now, you will find plenty of extra hangers in the closet in your room, and just make yourself more room in the bureau drawers for folded clothes. I'll carry the boxes upstairs for you to sort."
Adam kept the other interesting tidbit which had occurred in church the day before to himself. Already he had privately dissected it in detail several times in the past twenty four hours.
As he had joined the other parishioners in the social hall between Sunday School and church he had felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. When he turned he discovered his former flame, Chelsea Carter, still as beautiful as when they had dated in ninth and tenth grades. Adam embraced her in genuine delight and she appeared just as happy to see him again.
How many years had passed since he saw her? Her parents had separated and she and her mother had moved to Sacramento at the end of their sophomore year. Adam reminded himself that the distance eventually ended the romance.
Chelsea shared that over Christmas she had decided to sit out a semester of college and return to her roots to stay in town with her dad, who now suffered from diabetes.
She expressed her condolences over the deaths of his parents, and reminisced with the story of her first meeting with Mr. and Mrs. McFadden.
Adam filled her in on the aftermath of his family's tragedy and his new patriarchal status.
With the best of intentions Adam and Chelsea made tentative plans to get together sometime later in the week.
Chelsea regarded him longingly as he walked away to gather his brothers together for the church service.
Adam exhaled sharply and pushed those thoughts of Chelsea aside. That relationship had broken his heart at the time and had taken some time to put behind him.
He set the boxes of clothing on the bed as Isabelle indicated and left her to unpack. On his way back downstairs the phone shrilled and he hurried to answer before it woke the napping kids.
Marie greeted him with wonderful news she broke first to Adam but then personally to Isabelle.
Adam relayed the summons and couldn't help smiling as he witnessed Isabelle react to Marie's news. The ever practical and thoughtful Marie had arranged for Isabelle to meet with Dillon Jace, an attorney with a law practice about an hour away with whom she had kept an acquaintance for years. After hearing Marie's version of Isabelle's story, the attorney had immediately agreed to represent Isabelle during divorce and child custody proceedings and insisted he would only put forth the effort if he could accept the case on a pro bono basis. He planned to drive to the diner the next afternoon and would speak with Isabelle at work.
Adam viewed the lawyer as the most positive and productive of all of Isabelle's encounters the past couple of days. Just knowing she would no longer legally find herself tied to her violent husband filled him with immense relief. He had worried that with the passage of time Isabelle would begin to miss the man, abusive or not. He knew enough about domestic abuse to understand often women slid right back into the toxic relationships. Filing a divorce action would steer Isabelle toward the creation of a new and better life.
Curious, Adam questioned her about custody issues in the future divorce. Isabelle assured him Ian would finagle a way to relinquish custody so that he would live the next fifteen years child support free.
His interest had never centered upon Stella.
Isabelle appeared just as excited at the prospect of finally terminating a terrible relationship.
Adam grabbed his jacket and headed outdoors to tackle ranch duties, and the pastor's lesson about the good Samaritan popped into his mind again. Adam reviewed the past three days and framed them against the moral concept. What had he learned? Faith had guided his movements since Saturday, and had not steered him wrong. A community of neighbors had banded together to support a mother and child's efforts to embrace a new, safe life. His own brothers had witnessed the Golden Rule in action, and had experienced a lesson in placing someone else's needs above their own.
Adam acknowledged he had spent months raging against the injustice of losing his parents, of the devastation to their family, of his mixed emotions at stepping into an adult patriarchal role prematurely.
His perceived suffering had colored every aspect of his existence for several months thus far.
Then Isabelle appeared on his doorstep. Coincidence? Absolutely! Adam rubbed his chin. The time had come to change his path and that of his brothers and celebrate the beauty and goodness around him.
Adam paused at the gate of the corral and rested against it as he surveyed his corner of the world. From babyhood days his family had always recited a beautiful Gaelic blessing which reiterated God's care during a journey whenever family members travelled. Adam pivoted to look back at the house before focusing again on the land. In all honesty he admitted to himself, through his entire emotional journey- the devastating raw pain and loss of the past months- he had travelled with God beside him the entire journey.
God had blessed him.
God had held them in the palm of his hand.
God had blessed them all.
Gaelic Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains soft upon your fields,
and until we meet again-
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.