Charlotte sought Luke out a few days later, finally finding him caring for the potted mums that now lined Main Street, giving the street a distinct feel of autumn. “I want it, Luke.”
“Want it?” Luke looked confused. Not surprising, given her non sequitur.
“I want contentment. Peace. Joy. I want to trust that even when my plans don’t work out God has better ones in store. I want to be as sure about my purpose in life as you are. I want to not care that I got fired. I want to not care that my friend betrayed me. I want it to stop hurting. I want to trust people again.”
She was standing next to him now, looking the opposite way. The words came out as an uninterrupted stream of consciousness, pouring over from her thoughts of the last few days. Charlotte caught her breath and waited for Luke to respond, afraid to look at him after her confession.
Luke’s face softened. “Oh, sweetheart. God can give you contentment, and peace and joy and purpose. Trusting him won’t make you not care, though. Hurts will still sting. Betrayals will still cut you open. It will still be painful when your dreams don’t come true. But you’ll have the best healer to mend the scars. And you’ll have something bigger than all of those to lean on when it does hurt.” He stood up, removed his gloves, and took her hands in his. “Come on. I’ll buy you lunch and we can talk.”
* * *
They drove to Greencastle, a town about twenty minutes away, so they could eat and talk without seeing everyone in town. Conversation was stilted on the way, and Luke prayed fervently the whole trip. Father, Abba, I’ve never done this before. Please give me the words to say. Please don’t let me screw this up. Help me show her who You are. How much You love her. What if I don’t have answers to the questions she asks? What if this is too soon and she’s not ready? Father, you are in control. Speak to Charlotte through me.
Once they had ordered and were waiting for their food, Charlotte wasted no time. “How do I get it, Luke? How do I get the contentment the pastor was talking about?”
Luke smiled. “It’s pretty simple, but there is some ground we need to cover first. What do you know about Jesus?”
During their lunch, Luke answered all her questions. She had a million. They talked about the need for forgiveness and Jesus’ victory on the cross. She made the connection to Christmas and questioned the evil in the world despite a loving God. He walked her through asking God into her heart and life and felt the Spirit move as though it was his own redemptive prayer again. This is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of. Thank you for choosing me, Father.
Before he dropped her off at her car, he asked to pray with her again. “You are a good, good Father. You brought Charlotte here, out of the city and into this place to encounter You. Thank you for your perfect plan and your endless love. As Charlotte grows in her faith in You, make your presence known, Father. You have promised us in the book of Matthew, ‘seek, and we shall find.’ We know that we should never stop seeking you, Lord, and that you will continue to reveal yourself to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, kind Father.”
“How do you do that?” Charlotte asked when he had finished.
“Do what?”
“Pray. How do you do it?” Matter of fact, Charlotte asked the question. Any pretense she held of having all the answers had been knocked down over lunch and the endless questions she’d already asked.
“You can do it too, Charlotte. Just talk to God. He loves you. He wants to hear from you. Just talk to him. Most of my prayers aren’t out loud, and a few of them are even written down. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. We are told to ‘pray without ceasing.’ Treat God like your best friend, and talk to him whenever you want.”
“Thanks, Luke. I’ve never felt like this before. So… happy, I guess!” She laughed, a ringing melodic sound that had his heart singing in response. “I had a career, friends, money. But it never made me feel like this. Thank you.” She leaned over and gave him an awkward hug while he was still restrained by the seatbelt.
Luke gave a short squeeze and relished the contact. Then, he shook his head and looked her in the eyes. “I didn’t do anything, sweetheart. God did it, and you let Him.” Luke needed her to understand. This wasn’t something he had done. It was all Jesus.
Luke raced to Ruth’s house, eager to share the news with her. It wasn’t until halfway through the door he realized maybe it wasn’t his news to share. As he stood in the hallway, trying to decide how to proceed, Charlotte came running in the door behind him, with a joyful cry of Ruth’s name already escaping her lips.
She let her cry die, and released a loud laugh in its place. Her wide smile took his breath away. Now isn’t that a most beautiful sound? Luke laughed with her, and Miss Ruth came walking down the hallway toward them.
“What’s all this now? How’s a woman to get any rest around here?” Ruth spoke with a smile, her tone almost teasing.
Luke glanced at Charlotte and gestured for her to explain.
Charlotte bounced on her toes as the news burst out. “I became a Christian, Miss Ruth. I believe!”
Miss Ruth let out a squeal that would be envied by a teenage girl and flew into Charlotte’s arms. “Oh, thank you, Lord. So good,” she murmured into Charlotte’s hair as they embraced. Luke felt as though he were intruding on the emotional moment, but he couldn’t tear himself away. It felt so right to be here, celebrating with Ruth and Charlotte.
Luke had a realization, and then turned to Ruth. “Mom, I know you have an extra Bible laying around here somewhere. Do you have one we could give Charlotte?”
Miss Ruth opened her eyes and moved quickly. “Oh yes, of course I do. Of course! Let’s step into the library and I’ll grab one.”
After they filed in, Ruth reached for a shelf and began to speak again, her voice soft and reverent. “I know just the one I’d like you to have.”
She pulled out a purple soft-bound book, an inch and a half thick. The edges of the cover were bent, and there were papers sticking out from inside. She handed it to Charlotte, and gave a worried glance to Luke. He caught her eyes and saw the questions there. Then he looked again at the Bible now being caressed by Charlotte’s manicured fingers.
Is that… Rachel’s Bible? I can’t believe I never wondered what happened to it. Luke was filled with sweet memories of Rachel pouring over the words of that book, showing him verses and teaching him. He expected guilt but it didn’t come. Luke had the overwhelming reassurance that Rachel’s Bible was waiting all this time for the perfect home. Rachel would approve. He smiled at Ruth because this felt right. Ruth’s eyes shined with moisture, and she gave him a grateful nod.
“I think this one will be perfect for you, Charlotte.” Ruth’s voice was warm and approving.
Charlotte looked up from the soft leather, where she traced the gilded letters with her fingers. “Thank you so much, Miss Ruth. I can’t wait to read it.”
Ruth didn’t say anything to Charlotte about the Bible’s previous owner; so neither did he.
All three of them celebrated that night and when Miss Ruth went up to bed, Luke and Charlotte walked outside into the still, dark night. The cicadas’ drone was loud, and the chirp from the crickets punctuated the buzz with a melody. “Care to take a walk with me?” Luke asked gently, extending his hand toward her.
“Of course.” Charlotte took his hand and he led them toward the gardens.
Luke asked, “Have you spent much time out here?” In response, Charlotte shook her head. “These gardens were how I earned my keep when I first moved here.” He laughed. “Of course, they expand every year. I could landscape this entire forest and never feel I’ve repaid Ruth for everything she’s given me.”
Charlotte looked at the spread of greenery laid before them. “I love it. I remember the first day Todd brought me here and I saw the gardens.” The path wound through the front yard, twisting and turning around trees and bushes. Forks in the path led to secluded nooks with benches and fountains and bird baths. “How do you maintain it?”
“I prefer to do it myself, but sometimes I catch Ruth out here weeding or splitting bulbs.” Luke shook her head and rolled his eyes. "I know she enjoys gardening, but it would be overwhelming to do herself. Usually, I send someone from the crew out if I can’t get to it.” Luke hated having to do that, but at least it was still his designs and his gift to Ruth.
Whatever walls had been there between her and Luke had been torn down during the day’s events. She asked another question. Charlotte wanted to know everything. “Tell me about your business. How did you come to own your own?”
“Well, I told you I worked as a landscaper at Indiana University when I met Rachel, right?” Charlotte nodded in the dark. “When I came up here, I didn’t have any other skills. I felt so terrible about mooching off Ruth and Rachel that Ruth came up with a way for me to earn my keep. She told me she had always dreamt of having a garden to walk in and enjoy the flowers, right here at the house. She gave me a budget, and let me figure out the rest. It was my very first project.”
He smiled, remembering. “Looking back now, the very first beds I did were terrible. The beds had tall flowers in the front, blocking the shorter ones. They had flowers that require full sun stuck in places with all shade. I’ve pretty much redone all of that first attempt by now. But it felt so good to do it. I started studying horticulture and landscape design. Rachel and I took road trips to the Indianapolis Museum of Art where they have acres and acres of beautiful gardens. I got hired by others to do more basic work—mowing grass, planting trees, mulching existing beds. Eventually, others gave me a chance to do true landscaping, and I fixed Ruth’s gardens enough that people saw what I could do. I officially started my own business around a year after that first Thanksgiving with Ruth and Rachel.” Then, he added something and Charlotte saw his heart in the words. “God has blessed it and made it successful.”
How many men and women Charlotte knew would never give credit to anyone but themselves for their success. But Luke gave glory to God in everything. Even the business he built with his own two hands and backbreaking work.
They wound their way to the back of the house, and passed under a trellis. Big purple and white clematis flowering ivy climbed to the top, where Luke knew they would be seeking the sun in the heat of the day. Luke didn’t notice Charlotte had stopped until he felt the tug on his hand where it joined hers. He turned back and she stepped closer to him.
She tilted her head to look up at him, “You are pretty incredible. You know that, Mr. Brand?”
Luke blushed and was grateful for the dark. Knowing he couldn’t resist any longer, he leaned down and kissed her. She lifted her head to him and stepped into his embrace. His hand continued to hold hers, and his other came up to circle her small waist. In that moment, nothing else existed. As the kiss deepened, Charlotte’s hand suddenly came up and Luke heard a ‘smack’ sound near his face and felt the whoosh of air. When he broke the kiss, he caught Charlotte’s sheepish smile as she swatted another mosquito from her forehead.
“It seems we have a million tiny chaperones,” he joked.
“Yeah, and they are relentless.” She looked at him, and he heard the reluctance in her voice. She doesn’t want the night to end! Good… Neither do I. The day had been a whirlwind of heavy conversations and light-hearted celebrations. But it had been a life changing day for Charlotte. And for him, he realized. He knew they needed to head in for the night, though.
He vocalized that thought and began leading Charlotte toward the cabin. “Charlotte?” At her name, she looked at him, waiting. “Would you spend next Saturday with me?”
She smiled broadly and his heart soared. “I’d love to.”