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It was a long shot, but Honor truly believed it was possible to change hearts and minds. It was a big part of her faith. Things had gotten out of hand earlier between the Ransom brothers and her own siblings. That wasn’t Honor’s way. If it was possible, she wanted to try to smooth things over. Like Hazel always said, you could catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. Honor was about to test out that theory with Joshua.
She prayed it wouldn’t be too difficult to spend time alone with Joshua Ransom and his adorable baby girl. Hopefully it wouldn’t serve as a reminder of everything she’d lost in the past.
Chapter Five
It was a perfect February Alaskan afternoon for a trip to the wildlife center. The sky was as blue as a robin’s egg. Although there was snow on the ground and a chill in the air, it was spectacular weather for this time of year. Joshua had bundled Violet up in a snowsuit, hat and mittens. He tended to be overprotective of his daughter. At three months’ old she’d contracted bronchitis, which had led to a three-day stay in the hospital. Joshua hadn’t left her side for a single moment.
He buckled her into her car seat and tested it to make sure it was secure. Parenthood wasn’t for the faint of heart. Violet twisted his heart up like a pretzel. He had never felt like this before in his life. Well, just once, he corrected himself. Honor used to make him feel as if he could soar like an eagle just by looking in his direction. His pulse began to race as he thought about those days. It had been so long ago, yet he remembered every moment as if it were yesterday.
Joshua had been floored by Honor’s invitation to visit the wildlife center. If it hadn’t been for Violet, he might have declined. Even though she was too young to fully absorb the experience, Joshua still liked to expose his daughter to the world around her. The truth was, Honor still caused his heart to beat a little faster whenever he was in her presence. He wasn’t in love with her anymore, but he still felt a tug in her direction. Perhaps it was the abrupt way their relationship had ended. One moment they had been planning to get married and settle down in Love, while in the next Honor was giving back his ring and leaving town to attend college out of state. If he lived to be one hundred, Joshua would never forget the look of hurt and disillusionment in her eyes when she had ended things after finding out about the fire.
He had asked himself the same questions hundreds of times. What if he hadn’t taken the blame for the fire? Would he have ridden off into the sunset with Honor? Would they be building a family and working together on their life goals at this very moment?
He shook off the futile questions. One thing he knew for certain. If he hadn’t taken a certain path, Violet wouldn’t be in his life now. And without his daughter, life didn’t really make much sense. She gave him a purpose each and every day. Some might say he had saved her from being an orphan, but in truth, Violet had been the best thing to ever happen to him. She infused his life with colors. Reds. Oranges. Vivid purples. He made sure to thank God each day for making him a father.
As he settled into the driver’s seat and began to make his way to the wildlife center, the stunning Alaskan vista came into view. The spectacular view of the mountains always left him in awe. Tall, snow-covered trees dominated the landscape. Hawks flew gracefully up in the sky, dipping down every now and again, then soaring back toward the heavens.
Although many residents of Love preferred to live near town, Joshua had always enjoyed living out in the boondocks. It was serene out here. Nothing but the great outdoors and breathtaking views of Alaska.
As soon as he saw the sign for the wildlife center, Joshua turned down the road and followed the arrows. Before he knew it, he had arrived at a ranch-style house surrounded by several small, flat structures. He could see horses running in a paddock in the distance.
By the time he parked Bud’s truck and got Violet out of her car seat, Honor was walking toward them from a nearby building. With her hair pulled away from her face in a high ponytail, she looked like a fresh-faced beauty. She wasn’t wearing a hint of makeup, and she was dressed casually in a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue parka. A gray wool hat sat on her head. To this day, Honor was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen.
This invitation to the center had come as a complete surprise, especially after the tension that had flared up between him and her family at Bud’s reception.
She waved at them. “Hey, Joshua. Glad you could make it out here.”
He nodded at her. “Thanks for the invitation. I thought it would be good for Violet to experience a little bit of my hometown. When she’s older I can tell her all about how she visited Love.”
Honor smiled at Violet, who turned away and hid her face against his chest. “She’s a bit shy at first. It’ll take her a few minutes to come around.”
“I don’t blame her one bit,” Honor said in a cheery voice. “After all, I’m basically a stranger to her. And she’s here in this new town where she doesn’t really know anybody. It’s a lot for her to absorb all at once.”
He felt grateful for Honor’s understanding of the situation. It was hard for Violet to be away from home and trying to acclimate to her new surroundings. The past few nights she had awoken in the wee hours of the morning crying out for him.
“Well, she’s at a good age for an introduction to animals. I promise we won’t visit any that might frighten her.”
“I appreciate it,” Joshua said. “She spooks easily, although she loves animals. She’s really enjoying the horses at the ranch. Her favorite place back home is the zoo.”
Joshua knew he was probably telling Honor way more than she wanted to know, but things still felt a bit awkward between them. They had once had such a familiarity between them, with conversation flowing as effortlessly as a river. But now, with years stretched out between them, he was searching for something to say. He prayed the awkwardness would melt away.
“Zoos are wonderful places to engage children and educate them about animals. I’ll never forget my first visit to the Alaska Zoo when I was six years old. It changed my life. From that point forward, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” Her voice rang out with conviction.
“I’ve been meaning to say congratulations on all of this,” Joshua said. He swung his gaze around the area, amazed by the scope of it. Dragging his eyes away from Honor took effort. She was extremely pleasing to the eye.
“Thanks,” she said. “I didn’t get here on my own. Boone and Jasper really helped me with tuition. I received a partial scholarship, but there was still a chunk I had to pay. It wasn’t easy, but I held a few part-time jobs to help with the bills. It was a big financial sacrifice for my family, so I wanted to pay for all the incidentals on my own.”
It shouldn’t matter after all these years, but it still rankled that Boone had orchestrated Honor’s moving away to Michigan to attend college. For a long time, he had wondered whether they would have gotten back together if she hadn’t left Love so abruptly. Michigan had been so far away and there hadn’t been a single way for him to contact her. In the aftermath of their breakup, she had changed her email address and her cell phone number. All avenues had been closed to him since she wasn’t active on social media.
It was all water under the bridge now. He had made his peace with all of it a long time ago.
“I wouldn’t expect any less from our class valedictorian,” he said in a teasing tone. Honor had been the top student in their high school class. She had deserved a scholarship to an excellent university and a pathway to the career of her dreams. It probably wouldn’t have worked out if they had both stayed in Love and be
en married as teens. It would have been yet another mistake.
“You weren’t exactly a slouch yourself,” she answered. “You were a great student when you weren’t goofing off.”
They both chuckled, enjoying a moment where they could reflect on the past with frivolity and not bitterness. There had been so many wonderful moments shared between them. Even though he had tried to convince himself otherwise, their love had been real. It just hadn’t been built to last.
