The Long Road Home Read online

  All was quiet in the hallway outside of their room, and Paul opened the door before lifting Abby into his arms. The door shut with the help of his foot, and he moved to the nightstand where the lantern stood. Abby struck the match and lit the lamp all from the position of his embrace.

  “You could put me down, you know.”

  “I don’t want to put you down.”

  Abby laughed. She thought he sounded like a little boy whose older brother was trying to take away his birthday present.

  The room was bathed with a soft glow from the lantern when Paul sat in the overstuffed chair with Abby in his lap. She snuggled against him thinking how small and protected he made her feel.

  “I love you, Red.”

  Abby’s face was radiant as she tipped her head back to stare up at him.

  “You,” she teased him, “may call me Mrs. Cameron.”

  Paul’s laughter bounced off the walls before he looked into her eyes—eyes filled with love and mirroring his own, eyes that assured him that the long, long road to finding each other had been worth every single step.

  Epilogue

  Baxter, Wisconsin

  Summer 1891

  Nearly one year later

  Steam blew and doors were opened as the train rumbled to a stop. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Cameron disembarked, shifting packages and bundles as they made their way to the street.

  They headed straight for Grandma Em’s with one stop for more shifting of the packages.

  “Do you think she’ll be surprised?”

  “I’m not so sure. We write so often, and she knows us pretty well.”

  “I just couldn’t stand the thought of her coming all the way to us, Paul. And it’s simply not the same to put it in a letter. But I don’t want to upset her.”

  “I know what you mean, Red, but she’ll be worried about you nonetheless.”

  A few minutes later they stood before the front door. Abby knocked with Paul towering behind her holding the two smallest bundles.

  Grandma Em opened the door and gasped, her hands flying to her breast in surprise. Abby immediately stepped forward, hugged her and led her to the couch. Paul pushed the door shut with his foot as he followed.

  Grandma Em had still not said a word but watched as Paul moved next to Abby and placed his bundles in his grandmother’s arms.

  “The one on your right is Jessica Marion and on the left is Julie Marie.”

  Tears filled the old woman’s eyes as she looked in wonder at the infant girls in her arms.

  Abby spoke then. “We hope you’re not upset, but we just had to come and see you. It’s been so long, and this was too special for a letter.”

  Grandma Em finally found her voice. “But Abby, are you sure you should even be out of bed. Why, these babies can only be…”

  “Three weeks old, and I’m fine. My date was off and we thought they were early, but the doctor said they’re full term.”

  “None of your letters said it was twins,” the older woman accused her grandson with a stern look.

  “We didn’t know, Gram—not until Jessica was delivered and the pains continued so Julie could arrive.”

  “Did you have a rough time of it, Abby?”

  Paul answered for his wife. “She was wonderful, Gram. The whole thing was over in just a few hours. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

  “You were there, Paul?”

  “You bet. The doctor tried to throw me out, but I pulled rank on him and told him God wanted me there, and he gave up.”

  Grandma Em laughed in delight at this, but the tears were just under the surface and Paul and Abby took their daughters so she could wipe her face. When she had dried her nose, she moved two chairs close to the front of the sofa and Paul and Abby sat. Grandma Em took the couch, everyone’s knees nearly touching, and studied her great-granddaughters in their parents’ arms.

  Her wrinkled, weathered hands reached out to stroke the downy red fuzz on the tops of their heads, and she watched as one baby found her tiny fist and began to suck on it. No one moved from their position until the girls began to fuss from hunger.

  Makeshift cribs were made for the babies while Abby fed them in the bedroom upstairs. Paul and Abby put them to bed before rejoining Grandma Em back in the living room.

  In a movement as natural as breathing, Paul pulled Abby close the minute they sat down on the sofa. Grandma Em regarded the two of them and then spoke softly. “It’s so good to have you here.”

  “It’s good to be here,” Abby smiled and answered for all of them.

  Paul kissed the top of his wife’s head, and then spoke across the room to the woman who had stayed faithful and near him in her prayers, all the years of his life. He knew she would understand his words.

  “I chose a rough road, Gram, but Abby was waiting at the end of it. Every time I look at her, I know how much God truly loves me.”

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Epilogue

  Neillsville, WisconsinOctober 1889

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23