“I won’t get in the way,” Ember said quickly.
“But he’ll want to know you, too,” Sue replied. “He’s been asking more about you lately, and it just seems—the timing seems providential, is all.”
“A little,” Ember agreed with a misty smile.
“Here—” Sue dug into her purse and pulled out a card. “That’s my cell phone number. Call me if you want to. I guess you know where to find us. But give us a few weeks to have some talks with Steven first, if you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.” Ember nodded quickly. “Thanks. This is my card.”
Ember pulled out her own and passed it over. Sue scanned it, her eyebrows rising. “Therapist?”
“I got that degree, and then some,” Ember said.
“I’m happy for you, Ember.” A smile radiated over Sue’s face. “Really happy. You’ve done well for yourself. I hope all your dreams come true.”
“I’m not sure I deserve them—” The words were out before Ember could think better of them, and she felt heat rush to her face. She was saying too much.
“Deserve them?” Sue shook her head slowly. “Ember, you gave us the most personal, painful gift that anyone could give. You made it possible for me to be a mom. You chose me—and for that I will owe you my life. Being Steven’s mom—he’s my world. That sacrifice doesn’t make you weak, Ember. It makes you strong! You deserve happiness—the whole package. All of it! I don’t want to overstep here, but I’m going to be praying that God gives you all of your heart’s desires. Every last one!”
“Will he hate me?” Ember asked uneasily.
“Our Steven?” Sue shook her head. “He doesn’t know your name, but he knows that while his birth mom wasn’t in a place to be able to raise him, she loved him with her whole heart. So she made the hardest choice in the world and made our dreams come true instead of her own. He knows that his adoption was wrapped in love from the very start, and that his birth mom is our hero.”
A tear slipped down Ember’s cheek.
“Mom!” Steven’s voice sounded faintly from outside, and Ember’s heart leaped at the sound. Through the glass door, Ember could see Steven hanging out the window of the U-Haul.
Sue waved and smiled, then turned back to Ember. “I’d better go.”
Ember wiped the tear from her cheek. “Yes—they’re waiting.”
“We’ll be in touch, I’m sure,” Sue said, and with one last little flutter of her fingers in a wave, she walked from the diner and outside into the sunlight. Ember watched as she hopped up in the U-Haul truck and gave her son a kiss on his cheek.
Her son was loved, cherished even. And he was okay.
In her heart, instead of a newborn’s frantic wails, she thought she could hear a lullaby sung by a brand-new mom and dad who had never left her baby alone, not even for a minute. God had answered all of Ember’s prayers for her tiny boy through the love of adoptive parents.
Sue had loved Steven, opened her heart to him and anticipated all his needs. Even now—she was willing to give Steven a chance to get to know his biological mom...and why? Because he would need it.
Back on the Vern ranch, there were two baby boys who needed love. And maybe, just maybe, their mother had sent up one last prayer of her own, much like Ember’s. Was it possible to open her heart to those little boys and become the mom they needed so desperately? Could she be the answer to their mother’s heart-deep prayer like Sue had been for hers?
Ember felt something inside of her lift, and a new yearning took root in her heart. She was a mother—she always would be—but a mother’s heart grew with each child she loved. Maybe there was a chance that Ember could be a mother again.
She wasn’t ready to pray for that new yearning. She’d only just recognized it deep under all that pain. But maybe one day God would fulfill that wish, too.
But it wouldn’t be with Casey, much as she loved him. Even if she could accept his babies and be a mother to them, he couldn’t accept her career or her dreams for the future. It wouldn’t work. Not this time.
She’d just have to trust her heart to God.
Casey poured two mugs of coffee and nudged one in Bert’s direction across the kitchen table. Outside, the sun had set, but there was still a smudge of crimson along the horizon. Casey’s heart was heavy. Ember had left that morning, taking her bags with her, and she hadn’t said goodbye.
“So Mr. Vern sold the place, did he?” Bert asked, taking a sip of coffee.
“He accepted Ember’s offer this morning.” Casey sighed.
“I’m sorry you lost out on your chance to own this ranch, Casey. I know how much it meant to you,” Bert said.
“Yeah. Well.” What else was there to say?
“And that Miss Reed,” Bert went on. “There was something between you, wasn’t there?”
“It wouldn’t last,” Casey said. “She has her own issues around motherhood and she can’t be an adoptive mom to these boys. Obviously, that wouldn’t work between us.”
“Obviously,” Bert agreed. “Was that all?”
Casey smiled bitterly. “Whatever I feel for her, it isn’t enough, Bert. She and I want different things. I want to raise these boys on a ranch with cattle drives and morning chores. She wants to set up some therapy center...”
“What’s wrong with a therapy center?” Bert asked. “It’s something to help the families around here.”
“Families need to work!” Casey shot back. “They need employment and self-respect. I’m not saying this center wouldn’t be beneficial for the city folk who never get out into the open air, but for us? For the locals?”
Bert was silent.
