The Land Beneath Us (Sunrise at Normandy #3) - Sarah Sundin Page 0,62

have something to forgive me for.

One way or the other, that beam will be leveled. I can do it my way, adding the weight of my sin to the beam. Or I can do it God’s way, releasing the weight of their sin in my life and letting them rise.

Only one way leads to peace. Only one way leads to restoration. I am choosing that way.

Leah kissed the page. “How I love you, you wonderful man.”

Now to write her reply. The Lord would have to help her select the right words and speed her letter to Clay. Spring was deepening, and time was running short.

With her pen and her new box of V-mail stationery in hand, Leah sat in the bedside chair.

A man and woman entered the ward. The man was tall with graying blond hair, and he wore a gray suit. Small but sturdy, the woman wore a lavender floral shirtwaist dress, silver streaked her black hair, and dark eyes shone in the deep bronze of her face.

Could it be? “Mr. and Mrs. Paxton?”

“Leah! Mija!” The woman rushed over, kissed Leah’s forehead, and grasped her shoulders. “Let me look at you. Why, you’re even prettier than your picture. Isn’t she, Will?”

“She certainly is.” His Texas twang sounded so much like Clay’s it hurt.

“I—I didn’t know you were coming.”

Mr. Paxton removed his fedora. “We wanted to surprise you. We’re here to meet that baby girl and get the two of you settled in at your house.”

Leah set aside her stationery. “You came all the way from Texas. My goodness.”

Mr. Paxton handed Leah a heavy package wrapped in pink paper. “For the baby.”

“Oh my.” Leah eased off the tape and folded back the paper to reveal a red wooden truck with “Paxton Trucking” painted on the side in white.

“I made it thinking she’d be a boy.” Mr. Paxton shrugged and grinned.

“She’s the first Paxton girl in ages.” Mrs. Paxton’s shoulders and smile lifted as one. “What a breath of fresh air the two of you are.”

Leah spun little wooden wheels. “It’s wonderful, and it’s all hers. Thank you so much.”

Already her daughter had a Raggedy Ann doll from the Bellamy family and a fuzzy white bunny rabbit from sweet Mrs. Whipple, who seemed to have forgiven Leah for her blunder at the orphanage board meeting.

“Would you like to see Helen?” Leah asked.

Mrs. Paxton gazed to the door. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Leah led them to the nursery with its large window facing the hall. “There she is.” She pointed to the baby on the right, fast asleep and covered with a pink blanket.

A nurse spotted Leah, scooped up Helen, and brought her to the window, tilting her so her grandparents could see her face.

Mrs. Paxton pressed close. “Abuelita’s here, little one. Oh, look at her, Will. Isn’t she the prettiest little thing?”

“Sure is.” He grinned. “My, she’s tiny. Can’t believe our boys were that small.”

“You and I get a whole month together, peanut,” Mrs. Paxton cooed.

Leah blinked a few times. “A month?”

Mrs. Paxton made kissing noises toward the baby. “A new mama needs help with the baby and the household chores. You have a six-week lying-in period, and you need to rest. Clay said you’d turn me down, so I wrote your friend Mrs. Bellamy. She’s letting me stay in her spare room, since you don’t have space in your house.”

Leah kept blinking as all her needs and concerns evaporated. “What about Timmy?”

“My sister will watch him when Will is at work.”

“I . . . I don’t know what to say.”

Mr. Paxton chuckled. “Don’t say nothin’. When Lupe makes up her mind—”

“Oh, you’re no better.” She wrinkled her nose at her husband. “I’ll stay for a month, but your father-in-law will go home this weekend.”

“The business, you know.” He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “By the way, we brought a trunk of Clay’s things.”

“Clay wanted them here with you,” Mrs. Paxton said.

“Oh my goodness.” Leah’s breath hitched on her swollen throat. Was there no end to this family’s generosity?

Mrs. Paxton gasped and pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh! She’s waking up.”

“Would you look at that? She’s got your eyes, Lupe—and Clay’s. Sure as shooting.”

Leah studied her mother-in-law and saw the resemblance. “I hope her disposition is as sweet as Clay’s.”

Mrs. Paxton flashed a smile. “Clay was the sunniest child you ever did see.”

Sunny? Clay was thoughtful and kind, but Leah wouldn’t describe him as sunny.

Helen’s face reddened and scrunched up, and the nurse walked away with her. Despite