IN HIS DREAMS

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer. Romans 12:11-12

Following her husband’s illness and death, Marsha Sullivan’s life as caregiver is gone, and she’s lost her sense of purpose. But on a trip to Beaver Island Marsha finds a new purpose when her husband’s widowed brother and his eleven-year-old emotionally impaired daughter reenter her life. Will Marsha see a future beyond her need as caregiver? Can Jeff Sullivan accept the love and faith God is offering him?

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Marsha drew in a lengthy breath of clean island air and headed for her car parked on the gravel driveway. A pebble slipped into her sandal, and she stopped a moment, leaning her hip against the car, to remove a pea-size stone. Amazing what tiny things could cause such irritation, she thought, then realized that seemed to be a truth for much of life.

As she stepped from beneath the shade of a cedar tree, the warm sun fell on her arms. She opened the car door and slid onto the hot seat cushion, raising her legs and wishing she’d worn slacks instead of shorts. Back home, she’d never think of wearing shorts in public, but here, no one knew her, and she enjoyed the freedom.

She followed the narrow road, and through the passenger window, Font Lake flashed between the evergreens. She and Don had rented a boat one summer and paddled around the lake, watching the turtles sun themselves on the lily pads. She recalled one day when they’d run into Don’s brother Jeff and his wife rowing toward them on the lake. They’d teased back and forth, singing There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea, each taking turns to add another line. Jeff’s pleasant voice still rang in her head. He’d been such a handsome man, and Marsha wondered if she’d met him first what might have happened.

Guilt nudged at her for the thought, and she let it slip and filled her mind with the silly song. "There’s a frog on the bump of the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea." She sang into the wind.

Marsha threw her head back, enjoying her bolstering spirit. She wondered if Jeff remembered that day. Regret rolled over her. She hadn’t seen Jeff in so long. Too long. She and Jeff had spent so much time together, but after Don’s death, she’d drifted away from the entire family even though they’d tried to stay connected. It was wrong. Jeff could have used her support when his wife died so suddenly in a tragic car accident and left him with their emotionally impaired daughter Bonnie. She should have offered Jeff some help instead of clinging to her own loss for so long.

As the last view of the lake flashed past, Marsha pulled herself from her doldrums and breathed in renewed vigor. Maybe she’d rent a boat one afternoon, even if she had to rent it alone. Trying to think in a positive light, perhaps she could convince Barb to go.

With her spirit wavering, she shrugged off her attitude and enjoyed the scenery. The thick woods changed to buildings as she drove into St. James, the island’s only town. Nearing Main Street, Daddy Frank’s caught her eye, a small gray and white building with a blue awning. In front, two white open-air tents had been erected for customers to sit beneath at picnic benches and enjoy their famous waffle ice cream cones.

As if her car were in control, Marsha veered to the right and put her foot on the brake. Ice cream. It could raise the most flagged spirit. She exited the car and went inside to order a double dip of peanut-butter cup.

She strolled outside and slid onto one of the picnic benches, licking the creamy dessert. The afternoon sunlight blinded her, and she dug into her purse for sunglasses. Apparently she’d left them back at the cottage with her dramatic exit. She shook her head at the recollection. I need patience, Lord, she thought, as she shifted further beneath the covering to avoid the direct rays. When she looked up, a man and young girl were climbing from a car parked beside hers. She felt her pulse skip, realizing it was her husband’s brother.

"Jeff."

He turned and stared at her a moment as if he didn’t recognize her. Then familiarity filled his eyes. "Marsha." He strode toward her, his arms open in greeting.

She rose and walked into his embrace. Her gaze shifted from his warm smile to his full head of dark hair that framed his classic features. Good-looking and always so nice. She realized how much she’d missed him. "I was thinking about you when I passed the lake."

A grin flickered on his lips for a moment. "The boat rides and that silly song."

She nodded. "You remember."

He grinned and gave her another squeeze.

Marsha searched his face, unable to get her fill of him. Seeing him on the island seemed so right. So real. It took her back to the good times years earlier.

His gaze swept her face. "I wondered how I’d entertain myself while I’m here, and here you are."

She felt unnaturally ill at ease. "That would be fun."

Marsha chided herself on thinking she’d have to scout the island alone. Having Jeff there might give her the lift she needed.

"And look at Bonnie. You’re getting more grown up everyday." Her niece had her mother’s light brown eyes, but her dad’s slightly turned nose, and those darling dimples, but the child’s maturing form gave Marsha pause.

Bonnie gave her a shy look but moved closer and focused on the creamy treat in Marsha’s hand. "We’re getting ice cream, too." She motioned to Marsha’s cone.

Marsha gave the ice cream another lick. "It’s really good."

Bonnie looked at the treat a minute and dragged her tongue over her lips before tugging on her father’s arm. "Let’s go, Daddy."

"In a minute, Bonnie."

"I want to go now." Her voice rose to a piercing whine.

Jeff cringed, then sent Marsha a telltale look that was probably supposed to be an apologetic grin. "We’ll be back." He took Bonnie’s hand and led her toward the building.

Marsha understood his look. From the past she recalled that Bonnie tended to go into a tizzy when she didn’t get what she wanted, and Jeff apparently had difficulty dealing with it. Having a disabled child was difficult enough for two parents. One parent seemed an unfair task—-almost a punishment.