Page 37 of Westbound Awakening

"To be honest, if it were up to my wife, we'd come a month ago. She's been anxious to see her friend. Driving me crazy with it actually." The warmth in Ryan's eyes told he was happy to indulge his wife.

"You are still limping," Ryan stated. "Is the leg still giving you problems?"

"Not as much," John replied and knocked on the wooden lower part. "Not as much friend."

Ryan laughed.

Once the men made their way back, they walked into to a house full of activity. Mae helped Patricia settle their things into her father's old bedroom while Wesley immediately took to Ryan, the boy showing him his collection of wooden horses.

The conversation over dinner flowed easily, and John was surprised to find how much he missed the Jacob’s company. They were an amazing couple whose easy-going personalities brought ease.

Mae eyes were brighter, and she smiled more than she'd done in days. The visit was a great distraction for them after the countless days of tension.

This could be his life. He was fully aware of it, yet he could not take deny what he'd knew. Upon studying Mae when she stood to get the pot of coffee, full of elegance and grace, he felt stronger about his decision. She deserved a whole man, a better man than he could ever be.

Two days later, they ate outside, an impromptu picnic planned by the women.

Although the air was brisk, it remained warm enough outdoors so the party lingered outdoors after the meal. The ladies had brought out a Sears and Roebuck catalog, their heads together as they studied the pictures, while Wesley, who'd worn himself out playing, napped on a blanket nearby.

Ryan joined John a short distance away where he fished, more to pass the time than to catch anything, it was too late in the day for it. "These are beautiful lands."

"That they are," John agreed. "A perfect place to live."

"John?" Ryan got his attention. "I know you're not married to Mae. I also know why you said you were and I understand why you did."

John continued to fish wondering what Ryan planned to say next.

"Patty tells me you plan to purchase land nearby and move with Wesley?" Ryan pushed his hands into his pocket and brought out a jackknife. He bent to pick up a stick, giving John time to reply.

"It was my plan all along, to find my son, maybe start a family and settle down. I didn't plan to lose a leg and become a cripple in the process." His line became tangled and John wiggled the pole and tugged it. "So, yes it's true, just earlier this week, I found a place, plan to make an offer on it."

"I see," Ryan replied, his knife making short work of the small stick he held. "What about your life here? It seems to me, you have the perfect family already?"

John followed Ryan's line of sight to where the women sat. "Mae deserves a whole man for a husband."

"Is that what she says?"

John remained silent, not ready to share his reservations about her background and of the backlash a marriage to someone with a stigma like hers attached.

"You know," Ryan began. "The Lord says there is no one sin bigger sin than another. A sin just is. Whether you commit a sin or judge a sinner who does, both are the same."

"I admit I am nowhere near perfect, but I do try," John replied. "But some things are hard to move beyond."

"Yes, it's hard for us as humans to change the way we think and feel about what others may think, say or do. Especially when it comes to certain professions." Ryan lifted his eyes to meet his, and John felt his own widen. He knew.

"But," Ryan continued, his attention back to the whittling. "An honorable person will look into another's character and see them for who they are. Certainly love helps." Ryan threw what was left of the stick down. "Seems to me the problem is here." He pressed his fingers to the center of John's chest.

"I need to drag my wife back and get packing so we can make our leave at dawn. Hopefully we can get home before too late. I have much to do."

John pulled the line from the water and held out his hand. "I look forward to coming to your church. You are a rare man Ryan Jacobs. Someone I have come to think of as a friend."

With a smile Ryan shook his head. "Well I try. Just think on what I've said. Maebelle is one of the most generous, kindhearted women my wife and I have ever met. It'd be a shame for prejudice stand in the way of a relationship with her."

"Like I said, she deserves a whole man, not a cripple," John forced himself to keep his gaze from wandering away from the man's who stood before him.

"And like I said, you should let her decide," Ryan curved into his signature soft smile, and he hugged John's shoulder before both headed back to where the women were now packing the picnic items.

John watched as Mae laughed at something Patricia said, then turned and gathered Wesley into her arms.