A Mother's Promise

She stared at Ethan. Was he kidding? That was what brought her to New Beginnings. She honestly wanted to get her life back…and straightened out. She wanted to make a stable home for Cecily and be the kind of mother that won prizes.

Ethan’s eyes said she had a willing listener who would be sympathetic. She was tempted. “Can I trust you?” At his frown, she blinked. “Yes, yes, I can. It’s just…I can’t trust everyone, you know?”

RUTH SCOFIELD

loves to write about God’s love, and His Son, Jesus. Since she does not have a father, she loves to call God, Father, and to feel the faith that that builds. She also loves to play with her grandchildren.

Ruth’s first book was published in 1993 just a month after her return to her native Missouri after years in the East. She often sets her novels in Missouri, where there are lakes and hills aplenty, and as many stories and history as people. This is Ruth’s eighth Love Inspired novel.

A Mother’s Promise

Ruth Scofield

But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

—Matthew 6:33–34

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

—Matthew 7:1–2

To all the young mothers in my family who give

unrestricted devotion and love to their young.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Letter to Reader

Chapter One

Lisa Marley guided the dual-wheel rusty red pickup truck into the deep shadows of the parking lot. A lighted sign declared she had reached the right place— Blue River Valley Community Church.

“Okay, God,” she whispered. “Here I am, as promised.”

She turned off the growling engine and headlights. A few windows illuminated nearby houses, but there was only silence, and the church stood quietly before her in the autumn mist of early evening.

Silence was good, Lisa thought, only she’d grown unused to it. She shivered. From the cool evening or from nerves, she wondered?

Only a small number of cars were scattered across the parking lot.

Her friend Beth Anne Hostetter had warned her there wouldn’t be a large crowd when she’d issued the invitation to New Beginnings. The organization was meant for men and women over forty who needed just what the name implied. A new beginning in life. A second start.

Beth Anne said the person in charge of this ministry, Dr. Michael Faraday, was a very capable, compassionate man, and Lisa could trust him.

Sure, sure… Trust.

Beth Anne knew Lisa’s fears. Lisa had faith in very few people these days. Sometimes not even in herself.

Those were the middle-of-the-night times when she lay still, listening to her own heartbeat, begging God to talk to her. To tell her how to get her life back.

Did God hear her? She didn’t know, was never sure.

But she’d promised Beth Anne to give New Beginnings a chance, and she was willing to do anything to help rebuild her life.

New Beginnings wasn’t just another singles group, Beth Anne insisted. It offered hope for people. Some were in crisis, some in a rut. Others simply needed to change their attitudes toward life.

That certainly described her—Lisa Jane Marley. Beth Anne’s passion about a loving God had drawn Lisa to a Bible Study last year, and over the months, Lisa had tentatively given her heart to God. Now she was learning the hard part—trusting Him with every ounce of her being.

Her nerves felt stretched as she contemplated getting out of the truck and walking through that door. What if those people asked questions?

Her stomach tensed. Beth Anne had assured her that no one knew of Lisa’s recent history, but still…

If anyone asked Lisa what she’d done this last year or two, or where she’d been, she was outta here.

Yet Beth Anne had said Lisa could make new friends. She couldn’t ask for more. Beyond that, the group’s ideals appealed to Lisa. It offered her a place to work on her future, with people her own age who had similar needs.

She clenched her eyes shut while a familiar gut-deep yearning and hope rose high. Please Lord, let this count…

“Okay, God,” she murmured aloud, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “This is it, so You gotta keep Your promise and stay with me. I’m not doing this all alone.”

Swiping her hand down her thigh, she opened the door and slid to the ground. As she started across the lot, another car pulled into it. Instinctively, she turned her head toward the new arrival. The high beams hit her face, momentarily blinding her.

Lisa froze. Her heartbeat jumped, then raced. Her lips went dry. For one long moment, she couldn’t make herself move.

The car parked, and Lisa blinked. On shaky legs, she ran the last few yards to reach the sidewalk that led to the church door.

“Hey, wait up!”

She ignored the masculine shout and kept walking. Almost at the door, she paused long enough to suck air all the way into her lungs.

“Sorry about that,” came a blithe baritone behind her.

Lisa glanced over her shoulder long enough to take in a tall, rather broad-shouldered male flashing her a wide grin. There didn’t seem to be a jot of real regret in his shadowed expression.

“Anyone ever tell you it’s rude to blast your high beams in a crowd?” she snapped.

“A crowd?” Another car was turning into the lot, but the tarmac was empty of pedestrians. The man fell into step beside her, a scarred guitar case dangling from his grip.

“A place that’s often crowded, then.”

He reached past her for the door handle. The air between them stirred, and she sidestepped to avoid closer contact, only to bump into the instrument case.

“Sorry,” he said again.

“I’ll just bet,” she muttered under her breath.

“Hello and welcome,” greeted a tall, rangy man as Lisa entered the foyer. A touch of silver threaded his thick brown hair, and Lisa guessed him to be in his forties. He was neatly dressed in a casual cotton checked shirt and summer-weight slacks. Clear green eyes met hers with neither flirtation nor judging assessment. “I’m Michael Faraday.”

Lisa was about to answer when her companion spoke up enthusiastically.

“Hiya, Mike. How’s it going?”

“Hi there, Ethan. It’s been a good day.” Mike nodded, as though conceding something that was understood between them. “Glad you remembered the guitar. Jimmy has his, too, so we can open with a little music. Who’s your friend?”

“Don’t really know, preacher. Found her out in the parking lot looking lost. She just sorta followed me up to the church door.”

“I didn’t!” Lisa protested, then clamped her mouth closed. He made her sound like a lost puppy looking for a home.

A lot of teeth…she thought as she turned her annoyed gaze on Ethan. His grin widened, his eyes sparkled. Lisa felt a slight flush creep up her face.

He’s cute and he knows it! Jerk…

She was here at New Beginnings for a lot of reasons, but flirting wasn’t on her agenda.

Forgetting her earlier hesitancy, she offered the minister her hand in greeting. “I’m Lisa Marley.”

“Glad to meet you, Lisa.” Michael spoke with sincerity. “I hope you’ll feel at home with us tonight.”

Three other people came into the foyer, and the minister turned to welcome them. “Hi, folks. Go on into the fellowship hall. It’ll be roomy enough there.”

Lisa hadn’t a clue which direction to take, so she fell into step with the others. They headed down the hall on the left, through double doors opened wide, into a spacious, airy room. At one end, a semi-circle of chairs already held nearly a dozen people, chatting to one another. Off to the side, a man had hooked up an electric guitar and was strumming a few chords.

In the center of the room, a huge Bible lay on a simple oak podium.

“See you later.” Ethan left her to join the other musician.

“Uh-huh.” Her reply was so noncommittal as to be ungracious, but she wasn’t about to encourage the guy. In Lisa’s opinion, most men didn’t need but a flutter of interest to try a pick-up. Finding guys who wanted her wasn’t her problem.

It had never been her problem.

“Lisa!” Beth Anne called her name. Lisa hurried toward her friend, gratitude and relief flooding her.

“I’m only going to remember first names,” Beth Anne said as she started introductions. “This is just the third meeting for New Beginnings, you know. Let’s see. Jenny, isn’t it? And Pam, and Karen and Cindy. The guys are Lorne, Matt, Charlie and Jimmy, helping out on the guitar. And the man you met as you came in—can’t recall his name.”

“Ethan,” Lisa supplied.

“That’s it—Ethan Vale,” Jenny said. Her blue eyes shone in keen interest. “Can’t wait to hear him. He played in a band once upon a time.”

“I’ve heard him,” Cindy added. “At a banking function, before his wife Sharon died. The band played bluegrass that night, but Sharon said they also did country-and-western. He’s really good.”

Obviously, Ethan was already popular among this crowd, Lisa mused. And he was widowed. A thin ribbon of sympathy threaded through her consciousness. She let her gaze roam his way and watched him, tuning his acoustic guitar along with the other musician. He had long, masculine fingers that stroked the strings with care.

Lisa put a clamp on her wayward thoughts. She’d had enough romantic entanglements to last a lifetime, and they’d all been disastrous. Besides, she didn’t intend to let anything get in the way of what she had to do now.

The fact Ethan was widowed did tie in with what Beth Anne told her about this group. New Beginnings was made up of all kinds of people, in all phases of life, looking for new directions.

“Didn’t know that,” Beth Anne remarked, gazing around the room as others drifted in. “Well, I haven’t met everyone yet. Looks like our crowd has increased, praise God. You sit tight, Lisa, and I’ll join you in a minute.”

Lisa exchanged a general greeting with the others, too nervous to offer a smile, and sat down in the second row on the end seat. Michael stepped up to the podium and welcomed them all, waited for the low hum of chatter to quiet, then opened the meeting with prayer. True to her word, Beth Anne slipped silently into the chair next to Lisa, giving Lisa’s knee a reassuring pat as she did.

Lisa sighed and let her thoughts join in as Michael’s rich, deep voice intoned an earnest praise of God’s presence in their lives, their rock in time of trouble, then sought God’s attention, help and blessings for them all.

Yes, Lord. Do You hear him? He’s a minister, so I guess You just have to listen to him. And I guess he’s first in line for receiving Your help. But I’m here, too, and I’m one of those who needs all the help I can get. I can’t afford to mess up again. Oh, by the way, thanks for the job. I can get tips as a waitress. If the court had let me work in a place that served drinks, I’d earn more, but that’s okay. I’ll work as hard as I need to, You’ll see. If only Aunt Katherine will see reason…

Fifteen minutes later, as the musicians let the opening music drift to a close, Lisa conceded that Ethan knew how to use his guitar. The man could play.

So what? Lisa mused. That didn’t cover much by way of character.

She was into character study these days—good, bad, weak, strong. Her observations of those around her had become an obsession.

The meeting covered a lot of ground. There were announcements of planned activities, most of them strictly for fun and bonding, Bible studies held in small groups, and the private counseling services that Michael offered.

Maybe she should go see him, Lisa thought. Would Beth Anne go with her?

“We officially launch an ad in two weeks,” Michael went on, “for our first big event. An all-day seminar entitled What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life? and subtitled, Following God’s Blueprint.”

She certainly needed that. But it was on a Saturday… Her thoughts drifted; she’d have to work.

“Blueprint?” commented one of the men. “Guess I was standing behind a door when they was passing out them things, ’cause life has sure passed me by.”

Chuckles greeted the remark, and another man answered, “Ken, you haven’t enough life in you to make a blip on the charts in the first place. Life can’t help but pass you by when it can’t even find you.”

“Then it’s an all-fired surety that God’s gotta give me something to work with for the next few years, isn’t it?” Ken parried, the lines in his face crinkling as he talked. “I’ve gotta make up for lost time. Maybe it’s a good time to ask Cindy here for a date.”

Cindy turned toward the man in cut-off jeans, his short brown hair flying every way but straight. Lisa’s gaze followed Cindy’s carefully narrowed stare.

Ken gave an exaggerated groan.

While those around her laughed, Lisa found herself wanting to smile, too. She could see this crowd liked to tease, but their friendliness included a real compassion. Slowly her muscles relaxed, and she began to enjoy the meeting.

Then Michael regained their attention, explaining who the speakers would be at the seminar, and what they hoped to cover.

“It’s a dynamite program, so it’s a good time to invite other people to come. We want to serve each other here, folks, while we’re finding or expanding our own walk with the Lord. Even though we’re a little out of the way here in River’s Edge, I don’t think people will mind if we can give them what they need. We can still become an effective force for boomers at a crossroads.”

“Sounds cool, Michael,” Pam said. “What can we do to help set up for the day?”

“We need to get the word out, mostly. And Beth Anne will need some help in taking reservations and organizing the kitchen. We’re contracting with Buck’s Barbecue for lunch, but we’ll still need some set-up and clean-up help.”

After that, Michael launched into the serious side of the meeting. He gave a message from Romans, and Lisa stilled her wandering thoughts to concentrate.

“Most of us in this group are reaching for higher gains now, more than just the material things that topped our list of needs in our twenties and thirties. We’ve somehow missed the narrow road.

“Those decades have also shown us how vulnerable we are to human mistakes. What the Bible calls sin. We’ve discovered our own weaknesses and deeper needs, and often we are anxious or depressed, and we’re desperate to feel God’s love and forgiveness. I’d like to remind you all that loving us is what God does.

“As we wrap up the evening, let’s go home with these words from Romans 8:35-39. ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

‘As it is written, For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’”

Nothing? Lisa wondered. Not even her sins? The thought was reassuring, as Beth Anne had told her.

But what about this terrible thirst for revenge?

Lisa pushed the thought down, along with all the ugly reasons for feeling that she was unlovable. She clung to the soothing words of love and forgiveness. Perhaps Beth Anne was right about her needing this group.

They adjourned for coffee and refreshments, which were set up toward the back of the room. It was someone’s birthday, and Pam had brought a cake. Everyone made a production of singing “Happy Birthday,” then the people milled around, talking among themselves.

Lisa glanced at her watch. This was the point at which she wanted to run. She had to be home by ten, anyway. But with Beth Anne’s eagle eye on her, she didn’t have a chance to slip out unnoticed. When Cindy came up to speak with Beth Anne, Lisa nodded and smiled, then moved to stand at the end of the table.

Ten minutes. Then she’d leave.

“So it’s Lisa, huh? What’s the last name again?” Lisa turned to see Ethan standing behind her. She noted his brown eyes had warm amber glints, like the amber earrings she’d once owned.

“Marley.”

“I’m Ethan Vale.” He picked up a foam cup and offered, “Coffee?”

“No, thanks.” She glanced at the exit. Five. She’d give it five minutes more.

“You don’t drink coffee?”

“Sure. Sometimes.”

“But you don’t want any now? Actually, I like to watch my caffeine intake, too. Does it keep you awake? I can get you something else.”

“No. Um, thank you.” Her truck keys made a nice satisfying lump in her denim pocket. If she left now, she’d have time to run by Aunt Katherine’s house. Just to look at it. These days, she could come and go at her own choosing—as long as she was home before curfew.

“I think the kitchen has a supply of tea,” Ethan said. His inviting gaze urged her to make her request known. “Or lemonade wouldn’t bother you. How about some cake?”

“No, thanks.”

“Why not? You can’t be one of those women always on a diet.” His quick glance down her form-fitting jeans held an admiring glint.

“You can’t be one of those men who never turns down a sweet,” she countered. Everything extra she ate went right to her hips, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Aw, come on. It’s chocolate.”

“So?”

“So, chocolate is one of my favorite vegetables, and I always eat my vegetables.”

Yeah, this guy thought he was cute, all right. At least two of the other women thought so, too, from the envious glances tossed her way.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” she muttered. “I have to go.”

Giving Beth Anne a quick wave, she made a beeline for the double doors.

Ethan followed her. “Hey, I’ll walk you to your car.”

“You don’t have to bother. I’m used to being on my own.”

“Really?” He opened the outside door and allowed her to precede him. “No boyfriend?”

“No.” The thought of anyone in their age group having “boyfriends” or “girlfriends” seemed ludicrous to her.

Never mind, she thought. Engaging in useless conversation that passed as flirting was another habit she’d given up. Besides, her mind kept jumping ahead. She wanted to race across the parking lot and gun the truck’s engine into action. Why had she thought it an advantage to park in the corner space?

“Did you just move here or something?” Ethan asked as they made their way across the lot.

“Yes…no. I, um, just moved to Independence.”

“I used to live in Kansas City. In Westport. But now I live here in River’s Edge. Hey, want to do a movie on Saturday?”

Lisa climbed into the truck and held her breath as she turned the key in the ignition. She sighed in relief when the engine started. Uncle Fred insisted the truck ran like a top, in spite of the body rust.

Would Aunt Katherine allow her in the house at this hour?

“So how about it?” Ethan’s tone cut into her thoughts.

“Um…can’t. Have to go, really. Nice meeting you, Ethan.”

“Okay. See you next Thursday.”

“Sure, sure….”

Maybe.

Chapter Two

Katherine Barge, the woman Lisa had called “aunt” all her life, was really her mother’s cousin. She and her husband, Mark, lived in a forty-year-old ranch-style house in Kansas City. They’d been the only ones Lisa’s mother, Betty, could turn to for any kind of help during Lisa’s troubled youth, and they’d grudgingly given Lisa a home for a while. But Katherine’s help always carried a heavy dose of look-at-all-I’ve-done-for-you grievances and warnings of dire consequences to pay if Betty didn’t find some backbone to cope with life.

Her mother never had, Lisa admitted.

Then it became “if Lisa doesn’t mend her ways…” Katherine also berated Betty’s weakness when it came to disciplining her daughter.

Katherine enumerated Betty’s failings over supper almost every night. If Betty hadn’t chosen to marry that no-good lowlife, Rick—against her very sound advice, Katherine usually included—then she wouldn’t find herself in such a bind now. If Betty had stood up to that bully, she wouldn’t have sustained the black eyes or broken arms or been abandoned. If Betty would only snap out of this so-called depression and get a job, then she could make it on her own.

Katherine’s list stretched to include Lisa. Her teenage transgressions piled higher as the months dragged out. She didn’t clean the kitchen properly. Her skirts and her shorts were too short, her hair was worn too wild. She took forever at her homework, keeping the household up late. And if she continued to hang out with that crazy wild kid down the street, she’d find trouble.

What Katherine complained of most was the way the boys looked at Lisa.

Lisa’s answer was to make herself less and less visible at home and to find attention elsewhere. When the boys found her attractive, she responded with a slow sexy smile she’d learned from the movies.

Eventually, Lisa and her mom found an apartment of their own, but life did not improve. With her mother’s spotty work record and frequent inability to cope, Lisa grew up fast. She learned to juggle their income and bills, her schoolwork, her after-school job, the household and her mom—until Betty finally re-married and moved to Florida.

At seventeen, Lisa had been on her own. Emotionally, she still was on her own, she thought now as she waited at Aunt Katherine’s door. On her own again except for the assurance that the Lord was with her. But that was so new…she didn’t really know…

The front door opened a crack. Katherine’s lined face hardened the moment she spotted Lisa. “Oh. It’s you. Might’ve known.”

Lisa despised the fact she’d fulfilled every horrible prediction Aunt Katherine had hurled at her over the years. She had no excuses, but she’d worked diligently to turn her life around this past year.

Behind Katherine, the TV spouted the nightly news and weather. The predicted cold front already made the temperature feel icy. They’d lost the last remnant of summer, Lisa guessed. Like her. She had nothing of her youth left, and only one bright star in her future.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here at this time of night, Lisa? Past your curfew? I’m about ready for bed.”

“You know why…”

“Who is it, Kate?” Uncle Mark called as he came from the back of the house.

Lisa’s fingers tightened on her shoulder purse as she held Katherine’s severe gaze. “May I come in, Aunt Katherine?”