Was Caitlyn up to the responsibility sheâd inherited?
Steve studied her, frowning a little. He remembered her well, even though sheâd been three years behind him in school. Maybe sheâd stood apart because of the fierce ambition sheâd shown even then.
Sheâd used that single-minded determination of hers to take the big city by storm. From what he could see, apparently sheâd made it, despite all the obstacles there must have been for a girl from Texas with no money.
And now, Caitlyn Villard had grown into a beautyâif you liked women who were sophisticated, even icy. But the important thing wasnât how she looked. What was crucial was whether she could be a mother to her twin nieces.
Homecoming Heroes: Saving children and finding love deep in the heart of Texas
Mission: MotherhoodâMarta Perry (LI#452)
July 2008
Lone Star SecretâLenora Worth (LI#456)
August 2008
At His CommandâBrenda Coulter (LI#460)
September 2008
A Matter of the HeartâPatricia Davids (LI#464)
October 2008
A Texas ThanksgivingâMargaret Daley (LI#468)
November 2008
Homefront HolidayâJillian Hart (LI#472)
December 2008
has written everything from Sunday school curriculum to travel articles to magazine stories in more than twenty years of writing, but she feels sheâs found her writing home in the stories she writes for Love Inspired.
Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania, but she and her husband spend part of each year at their second home in South Carolina. When sheâs not writing, sheâs probably visiting her children and her six beautiful grandchildren, traveling, gardening or relaxing with a good book.
Marta loves hearing from readers, and sheâll write back with a signed bookmark or her brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. Write to her c/o Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, e-mail her at [email protected], or visit her on the Web at www.martaperry.com.
Mission: Motherhood
Marta Perry
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Marta Perry for her contribution to the Homecoming Heroes miniseries
Bear one anotherâs burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
âGalatians 6:2
This story is dedicated to the Love Inspired sisters
who worked on this continuity seriesâ Lenora, Brenda, Pat, Margaret and Jillian. And, as always, to Brian, with much love.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Questions for Discussion
It had taken ten years in New York City to eliminate all traces of Texas from Caitlyn Villardâs voice. It took only a week in Prairie Springs to bring it back again.
Had she really just said yâall to the kindergarten teacher and her own twin nieces? Caitlyn stepped out into the courtyard of the Prairie Springs Elementary School. She was greeted by a blast of air hot enough to wilt her hairstyle and melt the makeup from her face.
âUm, maâam?â The warm drawl came from above.
She looked up. A lanky man clung to the top of a wooden stepladder, a paint can in one hand and a dripping brush in the other. âYou might want to move out of range a bit.â
âSorry.â She took a few steps away, standing under the shade of the roof overhang. She had obviously forgotten just how hot Texas was in July.
Through the window she could see into the room where Amanda and Josie sat at a round table with Sarah Alpert, who was assessing their readiness to start kindergarten in September.
That was still two months away. By the time the twins started school, she would be back in New York, picking up the threads of her interrupted life. Back on the fast track to partner at Graham, Graham and Welch, one of the Big Appleâs most prestigious law firms. This interval in Texas, helping her mother cope with the aftermath of her sisterâs death, would be a memory.
âYou brought the girls in for their first taste of kindergarten, did you?â
Caitlyn blinked, as startled as if the spindly potted shrub next to the door had made a personal remark. The painter had descendedâtall, lanky, wearing the scuffed boots, blue jeans, western belt and ball cap that were almost a uniform here.
âI beg your pardon?â It was a tone designed to freeze unwelcome attention.
âThe twins,â he said, as if she was a bit slow on the uptake. âI bet theyâre excited about starting kindergarten in the fall.â
His eyes, intensely blue in a lean, tanned face, now held amusement. They also seemed vaguely familiar.
âIâm sorry. Do I know you?â
âWell, now, I reckon Iâm just not as memorable as I thought I was.â He didnât look as if he believed that, in spite of the aw-shucks expression he wore. He tipped the ball cap politely. âSteve Windham. Prairie Springs High School. Ring any bells?â
She had to dredge through memories sheâd happily buried a long time ago. âSteve Windham. I guess so. You were a senior when I was a freshman, I think.â