In God's Own Time

“I’m serious, Aunt Meg.”

“It’s all right, Lissa. I’m not kidding, either. No one expects you to be perfect. Even though I thought you were when you were little.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m so glad you’re home. I always remember good times with you. And Mom and Dad always talked about you with lots of love and stuff—you know?”

“Yeah…” Meg’s heart turned over She remembered, all right.

“So, Aunt Meg, I was wondering if—that is, Aimee and I talked it over, and we thought maybe you might be tired of—of living on your own?”

“What do you mean, on my own?”

“Well, maybe you’ve come home to stay?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Lissa. I have a great job that I like very much, and I don’t think my mother will need me after a few weeks. I’d just get in her way and make her nervous.”

“Not that. I mean. .Aimee and I thought…we’d hoped—”

Lissa stood very still and held her breath, a peculiar expression fluttering over her face.

“Lissa? What is it, hon?”

“Aunt Meg, would you marry my dad?”

Chapter Four (#ulink_ad757807-c396-5701-8514-7be4ae170922)

Meg sucked in air, wondering if the fragrance of the honeysuckle vines resting against the old board fence next to her car could cause hallucinations. Surely she hadn’t heard right.

“Um, Lissa…”

“Please, Aunt Meg, just listen. Please? I’m seriously serious.”

“Well, I—” She swallowed hard.

“You said you like Daddy, didn’t you? You did say it! You think he’s really special, remember?”

“Yes, I do think he’s special, and yes, I like him very much.” Meg’s heart raced at the vast understatement. If only Lissa knew…“But, Lissa, there’s a lot more to marriage than merely liking each other.”

“But that’s a start, isn’t it? Dad likes you, too. He was all excited when he found out you were coming home. I could tell.”

Kelsey excited about her homecoming? Her mouth went dry as her mind whirled with the thought.

“And you like us kids, don’t you?” Lissa nudged.

“Oh, I do…yes, indeed I do. But Lissa—” Her mind tumbled over what to say. “I think Thad and Phillip might not return the regard. And Heather…”

“Don’t worry about Thad and Phillip, Aunt Meg. They’ll love you just as much as Aimee and I do, once they get to know you better.”

Aimee skidded to a stop in front of them, out of breath and flushed. “Did you ask her?”

“Aimee! What are you doing here?” Lissa questioned in an urgent whisper. “I told you to keep the rest of the family busy. Where’s Dad?”

“Keep your shorts on, will ya?” Aimee hissed back. “The boys went to the barn, and Dad said he had some calls to make. Heather’s playing with her new doll we bought today. That’ll keep her busy till bedtime. Anyway, how about it, Aunt Meg?”

Meg studied the eager young faces in the growing dusk. She had the silliest feeling of wanting to laugh and cry at the same time, remembering her own earnestness at their age. But sometimes a girl of a certain age could be just as earnest about something completely different a week later. “You girls can’t be, um—”

“Uh-huh, yes, we are. Majorly serious,” Aimee insisted.

“You don’t want to marry anybody else, do you?” Lissa asked in a suddenly alarmed tone. “I mean, Aunt Audrey said you were dating that English guy, but—”

“Well, no. No, I don’t plan on marrying anyone.”

“Whew! I thought for a minute—” Lissa sighed.

“Well?” Aimee pushed. “What do you think? Isn’t it a great idea?”

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking,” Meg began slowly, staving off hysterical laughter with gritty determination. “You can’t just ask someone to marry your dad out of the blue. He has to do that for himself.”

“But we want you to be our new mother, Aunt Meg,” Aimee pleaded. “And it isn’t out of the blue. We’ve been thinking about it for a long time. You were Mom’s best friend and she wouldn’t mind. Honestly. And Dad needs you, too.”

“Aunt Meg doesn’t think the boys like her,” Lissa said.

“But they just don’t know you very well, not like we do. And I know Heather can be a pain sometimes.” Aimee made a face, admitting, “She’s spoiled.”

Then Aimee’s face brightened, her brown eyes glimmered with a new thought. “That should tell you how much we all need you, Aunt Meg. You can unspoil Heather for us. And if you marry Dad, you can move back to Missouri! You want to, don’t you?”

Meg nearly gurgled her laughter. “I’m not so sure about that one.”

“Aunt Meg, you’re absolutely, positively the only right woman to marry Dad,” Lissa said in a no-nonsense tone. “Please, please, just think about it.”

“Why do you say that, Lissa? What makes you think I’d make your dad a good wife? And mother for you all?”

“Because Aimee and I prayed for you, don’t you see? The minute we heard you were coming home, we went to The Boss. We asked Him for you. I mean…Aimee and I don’t want that Linda Burroughs, for heaven’s sake. If Dad married her, everybody would be seriously miserable.” She tucked in her chin and shook her head. “I mean seriously miserable.”

“Your dad might not think so” Meg suddenly felt exhausted. Her emotions had run amok all day and in the last few moments they’d been through hoops. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She had to consider that Kelsey might be in love with Linda. Though he hadn’t said anything or even hinted at it. But then why would he? And when would he have had time?

“Dad doesn’t want her either, really,” Lissa assured. “It’s just that she keeps calling him and stuff like that.”

“Besides,” Aimee airily enthused, “now you’re home, there’s no reason for him to go out with her anymore.”

From the house’s open windows she heard a telephone ring. Insistently. Where was Kelsey? He’d gone inside to make calls, Aimee had said. Yet no one answered, and although Meg couldn’t hear what the answering machine said, she heard the low murmur of Kelsey’s recorded voice.

Her nerves went on overload. Perhaps one of his calls was to Linda Just maybe he’d waited for her to leave to speak to the woman who was now in his life.

“I really have to go, girls.” Opening the car door, she slid into the seat. “My mother will be in a tizzy if I’m not there soon.”

“You’ll think about it, won’t you, Aunt Meg?” Lissa begged.