A Soldierâs Return
For four years, Ruthie Chandler avoided the man who broke their engagementâand her heart. But when her antiques shop mistakenly sells his ailing grandmotherâs doll, she comes face-to-face with the man she never forgot. Teaming up with Gray Bristow on this important mission wonât be easy, but Ruthie suspects itâs exactly what the disillusioned veteran needs. The doll is the key to Grayâs familyâs pastâand possibly his future. And it may be what finally brings the ex-soldier home to faithâ¦and to Ruthie.
Southern Blessings: Three friends find hope and love in Virginia
He owed her an explanation.
He needed to justifyâto her as well as to himselfâwhat he had done.
She reached for his hand, then seemed to think better of it. âTell me, Gray.â
Her tone was kind. Soft. Caring. Infinitely patient.
She tugged her sleeves down to cover her hands.
âGo inside,â he said just as gently. âYouâre cold.â
He had heard that when people got frostbite, the thawing hurt more than the actual freezing. All the more reason to stay frozen where he was. If it hurt this bad now, what might his heart feel like if he let the warmth back in?
âIâd rather stay out here with you.â
He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He resisted the temptation to leave his arms around her, but it was as if that brief contact had pried open a long-shut door to something inside him that he felt shouldnât be examined.
Because if he did, heâd start questioning whether heâd done the right thing four years ago.
We went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
âPsalms 66:12
Why have I found such favor in your eyes�
âRuth 2:10
This book is dedicated to the memory of
my dear friend and fellow author Charlotte Lobb (a.k.a. Charlotte Carter), who loved, challenged, and treasured all those who were fortunate enough to know her, whether in person or through her stories.
Acknowledgments
To Day Leclaire, with gratitude and affection,
for 23 years of friendship, brainstorming, learning, and laughter.
And much appreciation to Yuko Kimura-Koenig
for checking my use of Japanese words. Any mistakes are all mine.
And thanks to my editor, Melissa Endlich,
for loving my idea for the Southern Blessings series and welcoming me into the Love Inspired fold.
Chapter One
It wouldnât have been so hard to go through boxes of the elderly Bristowsâ belongings if they hadnât included the Japanese kissing dolls that used to sit on top of the piano where their grandson Gray Bristow had taught her to plunk out âChopsticks.â
Ruthie Chandler touched the small porcelain faces together so the two pairs of puckered lips met once again. The boy dollâs premolded hair still showed evidence of having been darkened with a black marker to look like Gray. The girl dollâs locks carried the remnants of a red marker and her face sported brown hand-drawn freckles like Ruthieâs. Some gentle cleaning should easily remove the marksâif not the memoriesâfrom the smooth white finish. She expected the charming, nostalgic set to sell quickly and move on to a new home where it would foster new memories.
Ruthie set the pieces aside and wished it was as easy to set aside the bittersweet memories they stirred in her.
In the adjoining shop, Savannah must have noticed something on her face or in her demeanor. The pretty blonde moved past the wedding dress on display and joined her, where she peered over her shoulder at the pair of dolls in her hand. She didnât say anything at first. Didnât need to.
Her friend had been with her at Wednesday night Bible study the evening sheâd received the Dear Jane letter from Gray four years ago, so Savannah must have recognized the shell-shocked expression that apparently had crept back onto her face. Ruthie mindlessly rubbed her thumb against her left ring finger where the white-gold engagement ring used to sit. Back then her world had been filled with hope for a future with the man whoâd been the Boaz to her Ruth.
A sentimental romantic, Ruthie had loved the part of scripture where the biblical Ruth asked the kindly Boaz, âWhy have I found such favor in your eyes...?â and the happy ending where the couple blessed her mother-in-law, Naomi, with a grandson named Obed. She had imagined the baby she and Gray might have somedayâa child with her then-fiancéâs dark hair and almond-shaped eyes, which hinted at his grandmother Naokoâs Japanese heritage. A child he would protect. A child she would teach to savor the memories of its growing-up years. A child they would raise in the church and who would love God.
Unfortunately, her then-fiancéâs emails from Afghanistan had become short and to the point...which she had told herself was for reasons of military security. But that hadnât explained their platonic tone. The messages sheâd received during the three months prior to the breakup could have been written to his sister. Something had happened just before that Thanksgiving...something Gray had alluded to but couldnât, or wouldnât, tell her.