tell everyone,” she said.
He laughed then restarted the truck. “Let’s go tell them then.”
That night after Clarissa had packed the two bags containing her worldly possessions and cleaned every inch of the bunkhouse, she lay in bed reliving the miraculous day. The acceptance from Paul and Susie Dillon. The joy in Mackenzie’s hug as she told them she’d found salvation.
The only mar on the perfection was the vitriol from Abby and Donald Van Neys. But Jed seemed sure they weren’t a real problem.
Kitty lay on the bed by her feet mumbling. The cat would have to stay with Mackenzie when she moved back to town.
She closed her eyes and opened the bible, letting it fall to a page on its own. It was a game she’d begun playing once she realized how used the bible was after such a short time of ownership by Tammy Jo.
The bible opened to Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not int your own understanding. In all your aways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
She couldn’t ask for a clearer sign from God than that.
Jed was right. They just had to trust God and everything would work out.
The next morning Mackenzie and Jed helped Clarissa pack the truck, not that it was all that hard. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of bittersweetness. The bunkhouse had become a home of sorts.
Mackenzie kicked the dirt beside the truck. “I don’t want you to go, Clarissa.”
Clarissa laughed. “I’m not going far, goose. I’ll be at the apartment behind Pete’s. Just like before.”
Mackenzie’s scowl grew deeper. “I prayed and asked God and he said he doesn’t want you to go to the apartment. He’s saving that for Lemmalu.”
Lemmalu. That seemed a lifetime ago. “The mermaid?”
Mackenzie nodded morosely. “She got kicked outa the ocean ‘cause her Momma’s mid evil.”
Oh-oh danger, Will Robinson. Clarissa could see the wheels working in Mackenzie’s brain, trying to tie her mother and mid evil. Jed walked out of the bunkhouse with a plate of food from his mother, but he saw the look on her face and hustled to run interference if needed.
“What do you mean by mid evil?”
Mackenzie sighed with long suffering. “You know! Not super evil. Not a little evil. Mid evil. That’s Lemmalu’s Momma.”
Clarissa swallowed laughter at the little girl’s use of the word. “Well, no worries for Lemmalu, Mackenzie. She’s going to live with me in the apartment.”
“She can’t. She has to be alone forever. It’s her curse.”
“Mack,” Jed said, scooping his daughter up in his arms, “your curse is to be ticklish forever.” With that he set to proving those words.
A few minutes later the truck was packed with everything except the urn holding her mother’s ashes. Clarissa walked into the bunkhouse one last time and took the urn from the window sill.
As she did she realized she didn’t want to take Tammy Jo from the Triple Eight, the place her whole life had changed.
Jed stood beside the truck, Mackenzie ran back and forth on the porch trying to catch her shadow.
“Do you think I could spread Momma’s ashes here, maybe out by the gazebo?”
Jed didn’t hesitate. “I think that’s a great idea. We’ll get Momma and Daddy, and I can call the crew. They’d all sure like to be there if you’re okay with that.”
She nodded and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat.
They left the truck parked in front of the bunkhouse and walked up the gravel road to the big house and the ATV’s.
Mack rode between her and Jed laughing every time they hit a bump. Clarissa held on for dear life, thankful for the seatbelt but not sure it was all that helpful in a vehicle so open. They pulled to a stop in front of the gazebo and garden. The others were already there. When she stepped out of the ATV with the urn, they removed their hats.
Then they stood together beside the gazebo and Clarissa cleared her throat and spoke. “I’d like to thank you all for how you accepted me and my momma. You made a huge difference in our lives. Your refusal to judge her, your ability to show God’s love, it made all the difference in the world, and it led to her accepting Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior. That led to me doing the same.”
Clarissa brushed away a tear and continued. “This isn’t a sad time. It’s a time of joy because I know my momma’s in