The Prodigal Bride Read online

  Hiram followed her stare, mystified until he set eyes on a large disgruntled orange tabby cat perched in the back window, hissing at him. Well, that settled it, there was no way this woman and her motley crew was getting anywhere near his truck Hiram scowled. He wasn't a cat person to begin with, and this orange monster of a feline looked downright evil.

  He tore his gaze away from the cat, as the woman continued to ramble. He was beginning to sweat now, and becoming more frustrated by the second.

  "If you have a phone I could use, though, that would be great, mine died a while back, and I can't find the charger anywhere. Honestly, the car is a wreck. But, that's what happens I guess when you drive for days with two kids and a cat."

  Hiram drew his phone out of his pocket, and offered it to her wordlessly, wondering when she would pause for a breath.

  "Oh, thanks so much, don't worry, it's local. I just need to call my brother, Ben, to come get us. He lives in Green Valley."

  Hiram stilled, confused. The brother of this scantily clad, airheaded young woman lived in Green Valley? And his name was Ben? The only Ben he knew in Green Valley was Ben Randall. And, that was impossible. Hiram knew all of Ben Randall's sisters, and they all lived in Green Valley, or in the neighboring town of Blue River.

  All that is, except one.

  Hiram adjusted his stance, leaning left, trying to get a better look at the woman. Even as he did it, a feeling of dread overwhelmed him, and his stomach dropped. Since she had started talking, something about her had made him increasingly uneasy, and now, as she finally looked up, presumably to see who had come to her rescue, Hiram knew why.

  They gasped in unison.

  The woman paled and looked as if she would flee if she could. Hiram didn't blame her. He was feeling flushed and faint at the same time. He was sure he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

  Which, in a sense, he had. He stood there helplessly, staring into the sea green eyes of Sophia Randall.

  The very same Sophia Randall who had left him standing at the altar ten years prior.

  Chapter 3

  Sophia closed her eyes tightly, as if she could wish away her current predicament. Hiram Jefferson… of all the people to come to her aid, the universe had sent Hiram? What kind of cruel joke was this!

  She knew that coming back would mean she might eventually run into him, but she had hoped not. After all, she was going to be living in Green Valley, and it was a relatively small town. She knew from Ben that Hiram still lived in Green Valley, but her plan had been to avoid him at all costs—not run into him on the side of the road before she ever even made it into town!

  Of course, the first time she saw him since running out on their wedding would be now, after she had just spent days on end driving through the desert in the dead of summer, in a car with no air conditioning. She couldn't imagine what he must think of her. She glanced down at her tight tank top and short shorts and groaned aloud. Where she was coming from on the coast, they hadn't had much of a summer and her wardrobe had been ill prepared for the heat of the desert. She had bought this outfit from a thrift shop on the side of the road yesterday when the heat had gotten to be too much for her to handle. With the kids asleep in the car, she hadn't even gone into the shop to pick something out. Just poked her head in, explained her predicament to the young shopkeeper, shoved a five dollar bill in the woman's hand, and asked her to pick something out in a size seven. What she had gotten in return, was an outfit she normally wouldn't have worn outside the privacy of her home, but she had taken it thankfully, knowing it would help keep her cool on the hot drive.

  She could just imagine what Hiram must think seeing her in this get-up with a broken down car, and two kids, to boot. She opened her eyes and saw him still standing there, staring at her. He looked angry. She expected to see steam rising out of his head at any moment. She squeezed her eyes shut again.

  It didn't matter that she couldn't see him. She could feel his presence. Everything about him sent her senses into hyper drive. He'd always had that effect on her.

  Hiram was the strong, silent type, the exact opposite of herself, Sophia remembered. While extremely kind and generous by nature, he exuded a self-confidence that she found intimidating. He had a very serious and dry outward demeanor, and bore an almost uncanny resemblance to the actor, Matthew Fox.

  "Are you planning on opening your eyes anytime soon and calling Ben, so that I can be on my way," he growled. "I would like to get home sometime tonight."

  The blatant anger she heard in his voice, was out of character for the Hiram she remembered and she jolted, squeezing Zoe to her tightly.

  "Absolutely," she bit out crisply. "I'm so sorry to put you out," she said as she dialed, feeling annoyed and not sorry at all.

  She spoke briefly to Ben, directing him to her location, before hanging up and thrusting the phone into Hiram's outstretched hand.

  "Ben's on his way, I presume?" Despite whatever feelings he may have towards her, Hiram was a gentleman, she noticed. She briefly wished that he would have acted more like a jerk, or at least gotten uglier with age.

  But Hiram was neither rude nor ugly, and Sophia could not pretend that she had left for any reason other than her own selfishness and fear. She hesitated before she responded. "He's working. He said he would send Mollie."

  Hiram nodded curtly. "Very good then. She should be here shortly, I would guess. You were very lucky to make it as far as you did, by the looks of it. If there is nothing else I can help with, I'll just be on my way. I am very tired, and I have things to attend to at home, so if you don't mind…."

  "Hiram! Wait!" she shouted, much too loudly, as he turned to walk away.

  He looked back at her, and she saw the impatience and indifference in his stony eyes and the hard set of his jaw.

  She paused, racking her brain for the right words to say. She felt she should say something, apologize, explain, tell him why she had left, but as she looked at him, her reasoning, which had been enough to make her leave her entire world behind at the time, now—with a decade of age and experience—seemed silly, even to her. Looking at him, she knew there was nothing she could say after all these years, no magic words that could make up for what she did. Unspoken words and bitter regret lodged in her throat. "Thank you for your help," she said.

  He nodded once more in her direction, and walked away, without another word.

  * * * * *

  Hiram banged on the door to Josiah's small house. "Josiah!" He bellowed, "Open up! I just called the station, and they said you were off shift. I know you're home, open up!"

  He hesitated as he waited for Josiah to come to the door. He knew he needed to go home and check on Lucy and deal with Phoebe's text, and help with the younger kids, but he also knew he couldn't go home in his current mood. He needed to blow off some steam first, and Josiah's house was the perfect place to do that.

  He raised his fist to bang on the door again, just as a very annoyed and sleepy looking Josiah flung it open.

  Josiah was shirtless, and his hair mussed from the pillow. He had a two-day growth on his normally clean-shaven face. Hiram winced. He knew Josiah was coming off a long shift, and he had hoped to catch him before he went to bed.

  "Hiram," Josiah barked. "I just got off a twenty-four hour shift. Can we do this later?"

  "No," Hiram said darkly, as he shoved past his brother into the small kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, chucking the top off angrily.

  He watched as Josiah squinted at him, looking stunned. Hiram knew his brother well enough to know what Josiah was thinking. Hiram rarely drank, and was never one to help himself to something that wasn't first offered.

  "Oh, I know what this is about," Josiah said nodding. "Look, Hiram, I'm sorry, I had no choice. I had to give her a ticket. She was speeding in a school zone!"

  "Not what this is about," Hiram growled. "I'll deal with Phoebe later. And, I would never be mad at you for doing your job."

  Josiah sighed, and grabbed
himself a beer. "So then, what's got you so upset, Bro? It's not like you. Is everything okay with Lucy?"

  "She's back."

  "She's back? From where? Where did she go? Was it for treatment?"

  Hiram frowned. He apparently wasn't making any sense. He was all tied in knots from seeing Sophia. "No, not Lucy," he corrected. "She didn't go anywhere. She's at home in bed. Sophia."

  "Sophia?" Josiah choked out staring at him slack jawed. "Sophia Randall? In Green Valley? When did that happen? She hasn't been back since…" he broke off, uncertain of how much to say.

  "Since she swore to the bishop, and her parents, and the entire town that I was her intended husband, and then ran off minutes before the wedding, never to be seen or heard from again until today? You can say it, Jos, I remember all too well." Hiram tipped his head back, and drained the bottle of beer in two big gulps.

  Josiah just stood there silently, lips pressed together in a tight line, staring at him, and Hiram knew exactly what his little brother was thinking. Sophia had really done a number on him back then. It had taken Hiram a long time to recover from the embarrassment of what she had done to him. In other places, he knew it wouldn't have been a big deal, but here in the community it just wasn't done.

  Their belief system, the way their marriages were designed, gave women all the power. When a women turned of age, she could begin praying for the name of her future husband. Once she received that name from God in a dream, or a vision, or whatever, she could give it to the bishop when she was ready.

  That was the key here, when she was ready. Once the bishop had the name, and blessed the union, the intended husband was notified, a short courtship took place, and then a wedding, usually within a month's time.

  When Sophia had left, it had been hard to ignore the whispers of the townspeople and the niggling of his own self-doubt. What had been so wrong with him to cause her to give his name, and then change her mind and run? It was a question Hiram had struggled with for months, years even, after she left. He had eventually come to a place where he knew it was Sophia's own innocence, insecurity, and flightiness that had caused it, but it taken him a long struggle to get to the point of that being the truth.

  He was older now, and more secure in whom he was, but seeing her today had brought the old feelings crashing down on his head. He cracked open a second beer, but didn't drink it, instead sat and stared at the golden liquid.

  What was he doing? He could not let her do this to him again. He was thirty-seven, he reminded himself. He had two beautiful wives who adored him, and whom he adored. He had six amazing children. He was superintendent of the Green Valley-Blue River School district, and a respected member of the community.

  Hiram had a lot going on for him, and judging by what he had seen today, Sophia did not. He should feel sorry for her, he supposed, but honestly, he couldn't afford to feel anything for her at all. He had enough going on in his life right now, without adding mixed up feelings for Sophia into the mix. Hiram set his full beer on the counter, bid goodbye to Josiah, and went home, resolving to not give Sophia Randall another thought for the rest of his days.

  Chapter 4

  Sophia slunk down into the grass next to Bobby, still holding a now dry, but not quite clean Zoe in her arms.

  "Who was that man, Mommy? He just stopped to help us, and he seemed nice, but then he got mad. Why did he get mad, Mommy? Was he mad at you?"

  Sophia sighed. Bobby was wise beyond his years, and very intuitive. Unfortunately, that meant he was always asking the hard questions, the ones Sophia didn't want to answer. She fought to keep her answer appropriate for his young ears. Bobby had such an old soul, that it was sometimes hard to remember that he was only seven. Since Robert's death, Bobby had become very withdrawn, and rarely spoke to anyone besides his sister. So when he did decide to speak to Sophia, she tried to take it very seriously, no matter what. Even when he was asking those hard questions.

  Gently setting Zoe down on the grass between them, she took Bobby's hand in hers before answering. "That man's name is Hiram, and he is someone I knew a very long time ago. Remember I said Mommy used to live in Green Valley? Well, so did Hiram. We are going to meet a lot of people that Mommy used to know, and some of them might act a little strange at first, like Hiram did, okay? But it's just because they haven't seen Mommy in so long, and they've never met you or Zoe yet, okay?"

  Bobby was silent, regarding her thoughtfully with his big brown eyes as she spoke.

  She hesitated before continuing. Because Bobby barely responded when she spoke to him, it was hard to know how much to say, and she often struggled with finding the right balance between not saying enough and saying too much. She decided to err on the side of reassurance this time. "People in Green Valley and Blue River, where we are going, are good people, Bobby, and they are going to love you and Zoe so much. But sometimes, people are going to be so surprised to see Mommy at first that they might act funny, like Hiram did."

  Bobby nodded. "But, was he mad, Mommy? Because he seemed mad."

  "Well," Sophia said vowing to herself to be as honest as possible. "It's possible that he was a little mad, but I think mostly, he was just shocked, and tired. I think he had a long day, and he was just surprised to see Mommy is all." Sophia prayed that her words would prove true, and that for the most part, her and her children would be welcomed with open arms. It had been a very long and hard year, on all of them, and Sophia desperately needed her family. She prayed with every fiber in her being that coming home would be the right choice… because she had no other option.

  Bobby fell back into his usual silence and opened his book once more, signaling that he was done with the conversation. Sophia was grateful.

  They had been on the road for days, and had slept in the car at rest stops, Sophia barely sleeping at all, staying awake to keep watch over the children. She had managed just fine up to this point, running on adrenaline and an endless supply of coffee, but now that their long trip had almost come to an end, exhaustion and weariness was setting in. Sophia wanted nothing more than a long hot bath and a good night's sleep in a real bed.

  Blissfully, at that moment, a dark blue SUV pulled up alongside them. In the driver's seat was a bubbly looking redhead that could only be Mollie, looking just the same as Sophia remembered her, if a little older. Mollie exited the vehicle with a huge smile, plucked Zoe into her arms, and helped Sophia to her feet, instantly enveloping her in a huge bear hug. At that moment, Sophia felt all the stress and uncertainty of the past few weeks melt away, and it felt good to be home.

  * * * * *

  By the time he pulled into his driveway that evening after leaving Josiah's house, Hiram had put Sophia Randall completely out of his mind. At least, that's what he told himself. It was for the best, he assured himself. That ship had long since sailed, and he had way too much going on right now as it was, to add that drama into his head or his life.

  He hadn't even managed to get both feet through the front door and take his coat off before he was nearly knocked over by a tiny blond whirlwind, and a very wet, and naked one at that. He saw it coming, but didn't have enough time to react before the little mischief maker charged him at full speed, knocking into Hiram's kneecaps with an amazing amount of strength for a three year old. Yes, his youngest was surely a little linebacker in the making, Hiram laughed to himself, reaching down to scoop his son, Silas, into his arms.

  Silas, who had just turned three last month, was squirming, and screeching at the top of his lungs, as was his way. "Papa! Papa! Put me down! Quick! I gotta hide! Lily's coming!"

  Hiram laughed and obligingly put the dripping child on the floor behind him, so that he was partially hidden from sight, moments before Lillian, the oldest of his children—a mere six minutes older than her twin brother, Levi—came barreling around the corner, wild eyed and sopping wet from the waist down.

  She paused when she saw him, and halted her chase to greet him with a quick kiss to his cheek. "Daddy, thank goodness y
ou're home!" she said breathlessly, and Hiram's heart tightened at the weariness he saw in her eyes.

  The weariness and heartbreak was a constant overlying cloud in all their lives ever since Lucy's diagnosis. Thankfully, the youngest children, Silas and Abigail, were still too young to comprehend the reality of her illness. His older children, Lily, and her twin brother Levi, had been a godsend, and he worried that too much responsibility was falling on their shoulders lately. He would have to do something about that soon, he resolved.

  He folded Lillian into a quick side hug. "You've been giving Silas a bath, I take it?" he whispered with a wink and a slight tilt of his head in Silas' direction. Lily smiled and winked back, then reached behind him and scooped up Silas, carrying him wiggling and screeching back to the tub, while Hiram went in search of his wives and his other four children.

  He found Lucy first, snuggled up on the couch in the den with Abigail and Grace watching a Disney movie he didn't recognize. Lord, but he was out of the loop these days.

  He took in Lucy's tired eyes and pain etched face, as he joined her on the couch, picking up Abigail and placing her in his lap. He took Lucy's hand in his, noting that the special arthritis gloves she wore, designed to reduce the pain and swelling that was her constant companion these days. Lucy had recently been diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory illness affecting the spine and joints. They were still trying to figure out what her diagnosis meant to their family, as there was no cure for the painful disease.

  Lucy was a trooper, and she tried to do as much as she could for everyone despite her pain being nearly debilitating most days. It was an adjustment for all of them. Lucy was the heart of their family. She had always loved being a mother and homemaker, and enjoyed staying home with the little ones. They all relied on her for so much. Now, he and Phoebe had spent the summer trying to fill in and take over as much as humanly possible, since they were both with the school district and had been off from work for a few months. The twins, Lily and Levi, had also been a big help, but they were just fifteen, and in a few weeks, they would be back to school as well, leaving Lucy at home with Abigail and Silas. She insisted that she would be fine, but Hiram wasn't sure it was a viable option. Abigail, at five, was a pretty mellow child, and would be in kindergarten two hours a day, but Silas could be a real handful.