Noahs ark, p.1
Noah's Ark, page 1
Copyright
ISBN 978-1-60260-592-3
Copyright © 2009 by Debby Mayne. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 721, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.
All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.
One
Emily Kimball opened the sunroof on her nearly ten-year-old Nissan as she hummed to a country tune on the radio. Free from the constraints of a schedule, she felt a slight sense of freedom—something she’d never experienced in her life. After quitting her job at an art supply company and selling everything she didn’t absolutely need, there was nothing left to hold her back.
Sunlight flickered as the sugar maples and oaks thickened on either side of the West Virginia country road. The hills provided a wall of foliage in varying shades of green. Although Emily had never lived in Huntington, she’d visited enough for the familiarity of it to feel like home.
The old farmhouse came into view, giving her a fluttery sensation in her chest. She blinked but not in time to hold back a tear that slipped down her cheek. Last time she’d been here had been a celebration—a family reunion. Her aunt and uncle had a way of making her forget her mother was no longer around. This visit was different. She needed to figure out what she wanted out of life, and she needed the strength of someone who loved her nearby.
Aunt Sherry sat on the swing that Uncle Mel had suspended from the front porch ceiling when Emily was a little girl—back when her parents were still together and her father was still alive. She remembered the sensation of floating as she and one of the adults in her life swayed to the rhythm of the night birds chirping. Back then, she had no idea her mother would decide she wasn’t cut out for family life and abandon her and her father as soon as Emily hit puberty.
Her aunt glanced up right before Emily turned onto the narrow paved driveway leading to the house. Emily turned off the radio, slowed down as she approached, and stopped in the exact same spot where her parents always parked whenever they came to West Virginia to visit.
“Mel!” Aunt Sherry hollered. “Emily’s here!”
“Be right out!” Uncle Mel’s husky voice flooded Emily with even more nostalgia.
Aunt Sherry didn’t waste another second before heading straight to the driver’s side. As soon as Emily opened the door and stood up, Aunt Sherry pulled her into an embrace that smelled of apple dumplings and cinnamon.
“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Her aunt held her at arm’s length and looked her over, smiling the entire time. “It’s been years since we’ve seen you.”
Emily cast a glance down at the ground, embarrassed that she’d let so much time lapse since her last visit. “I—uh, I missed you.”
Aunt Sherry flipped her hand from the wrist. “Don’t you worry about it. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” She gave Emily another hug. “Come on in, sugar. I’ve been cooking up a storm, ever since I heard you were coming.” She put her arm around Emily’s waist and guided her toward the house. “I bet you’re starving.”
“I am a little hungry.”
“Well, I’ll be. . .”
Emily glanced up and saw Uncle Mel coming out of the house, arms open wide. “Uncle Mel!”
Ignoring the steps, he hopped down off the side of the porch and strode toward her. “You sure have grown up, young lady. In fact, you look just like your mama when she was your age.”
Aunt Sherry shot him a warning glance. “Mel, this isn’t the time.”
He snorted and winked at Emily before turning to his wife. “It’s not a secret that her mama was a looker, and there’s definitely no hiding that our little Emily is just as pretty.” He focused his attention back on Emily. “You look just like a movie star. All the boys in church will be gawking at you.”
Emily’s cheeks heated with embarrassment, and she allowed her aunt to take control. “Mel, the poor girl has just arrived. Where are your manners? At least show some hospitality and give her time to rest before you start in on her.”
“I’m just sayin’. . .”
“Emily, sugar, why don’t you give your uncle your car keys, and he can bring your things in?”
As soon as Emily handed her uncle the keys, he left the two women alone. Aunt Sherry led her the rest of the way to the kitchen, which Emily could have found with her eyes closed. All she had to do was follow the aroma that grew stronger with each step.
“Have a seat, sugar, and I’ll cut you a slice of pie. We have apple, custard, and chocolate. Which one do you want to start with?”
Emily laughed. “You’re still determined to make me fat, aren’t you?”
“You never did have much of an appetite. It’s no wonder you’ve always had a hard time keeping meat on those bones.” She pulled a knife from the kitchen drawer and turned to face Emily. “Is custard still your favorite?”
“I think I’d like chocolate today.”
Aunt Sherry chuckled. “Chocolate’s always been my favorite. That’s what I’ll have, too.” She cut each of them a generous slice and added a dollop of whipped cream before setting the plates on the table and lowering herself into the chair adjacent to Emily. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s been getting mighty lonely, with just Mel and me.”
“I don’t know how to thank you for letting me stay here until I figure out what I want to do with my life.” Emily cut the tip of the pie and raised it to her mouth to savor the taste. “This is delicious.”
Aunt Sherry took a bite and nodded. “It was your grandma’s recipe. While you’re here, I’ll teach you how to make it.”
Emily didn’t plan to be there long enough, but since she didn’t want to rattle any cages, she just smiled and cut another bite of pie.
“Tell me all about what you’ve been up to since you graduated from college.” Aunt Sherry paused for a moment, her fork suspended over her pie. “Last I heard before your call was you had a great job. What happened?”
Emily crinkled her face and scrunched her nose. “The job wasn’t what I thought. I wanted to do customer service, and they had me making sales, complete with quotas.”
Her aunt offered a sympathetic look. “Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes? Why, those people ought to be ashamed of themselves for telling you one thing then doing another.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to take some of the blame. I was so desperate for a job I didn’t pay much attention to the full job description until I accepted the position. When I realized what I was about to do, I tried to make the most of it.” She paused as she traced her fork over what was left of her pie, then she looked her aunt in the eye. “But with all the things happening in my life, I couldn’t focus on something I didn’t have my heart in, especially after a new manager came in and acted like I didn’t have a brain in my head. That only lasted a few weeks. I just wish I knew what I wanted to do.”
“If it’s any consolation, sugar, I didn’t have any idea what I wanted when I was your age. Mel and I had been married a year, so I stayed in my dead-end job because I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Then we had kids.” The sound of Uncle Mel’s voice by the kitchen door instantly caught their attention. “It’s amazing how babies can change your life.” He chuckled. “Then they grow up, and you find yourself wondering what happened.”
Emily smiled. “I’d like to have children someday but not until I figure out who I am first.”
“And you need to meet the right man,” Aunt Sherry reminded her. “A man who loves the Lord as much as you do.”
“Absolutely.” Emily wasn’t even sure if such a man existed, at least one who would love her for who she was—a very confused daughter of a mother who took off at the first sign of teenage angst.
Aunt Sherry gestured to one of the empty chairs. “Have a seat, Mel, and I’ll cut you a piece of pie.”
“Maybe later. I’m waiting for the chickens. Noah should be here any minute.”
Emily turned to her uncle. “Chickens? Who’s Noah?”
“Noah’s the vet we brought in a little more than a year ago. We renamed the old animal clinic Noah’s Ark.”
“With a name like Noah, what else could you have done?” Emily asked with a grin.
Her aunt and uncle both laughed, and then Uncle Mel turned serious. “Anyway, after that last flood in the valley, a bunch of livestock had to be rescued. Noah and some of the other fellas got there just in time.”
“So. . .the chickens were rescued from the farms?” Emily was still confused.
“Yep. And Noah’s bringing a whole bunch of ’em here.”
Aunt Sherry made a clicking sound with her tongue. “We haven’t had chickens in quite a while. It’ll take some getting used to, having them around here again.”
“Better get used to it, Sherry,” Mel said. “Noah can’t handle all the animals without a little help from friends.”
“And the Lord,” Aunt Sherry added.
Mel cupped his ear with his hand. “I think I hear the truck comin’ now. Y’all wanna go help?” He took a quick glance at Emily. “You might wanna change out of those nice clothes. Chickens can get you pretty dirty.”
“What are you trying to do to our guest, Mel? She just got here. Give her a chance to relax.”
Emily stood and carried her plate over to the sink. “I don’t mind helping. I’ll be right out.”
Uncle Mel had already gone outside, but Aunt Sherry paused by the door, a look of consternation on her weathered face. “You really don’t have to, but I’m not one to turn down an offer of help.”
“Just let me find my jeans, and I’ll join you all in a few minutes.”
Aunt Sherry took off outside to help Uncle Mel, leaving Emily alone in the old farmhouse. Nothing had changed much. The wood-paneled walls provided warmth and welcome. The only rooms not lined with wood were the bedrooms and bathrooms, all painted in soft pastel colors to add a hint of cheer. Emily walked down the wide hallway with the locked gun closet on one side and bedrooms on the other. She peeked in every room looking for her things. When she got to the end of the hallway, she smiled. Emily was delighted that Uncle Mel had put her bags in the creamy yellow bedroom, her favorite.
She walked around the trunk filled with memorabilia, opened the bigger of the two suitcases, and found jeans and a T-shirt. As soon as she changed, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and headed outside to lend a hand.
Uncle Mel stood beside an old pickup, taking crates from a dark-haired man bent over in the bed of the truck. He grinned and motioned for her to join them.
“Where’s Aunt Sherry?”
The squawking chickens drowned out Uncle Mel’s answer as he bent over and picked up another crate.
❧
At the sound of a different voice, Noah straightened and found himself looking at the prettiest woman he’d seen since he’d been in West Virginia. Her eyes widened as they stared at each other.
“Noah Blake, meet my niece, Emily Kimball.” Mel turned and faced Emily. “Noah’s the veterinarian we told you about earlier.”
Just as Noah was about to jump off the back of the truck to shake Emily’s hand, Sherry came out of the barn. “I thought I heard Emily out here. Why don’t you come help me get these chickens situated?”
Noah turned to see Emily shade her eyes with her hand. “I’ll be right there, Aunt Sherry.” Then she swung back around and faced him with her cornflower-blue eyes focused directly on him. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Blake.”
He smiled back at her. “Just call me Noah.”
She blinked. “Okay, Noah.” Then she took off and disappeared into the barn before he had a chance to say another word.
Mel belted out a chuckle. “Her mama had that kind of impact on men. Too bad she wasn’t half the woman Emily is.”
“Huh?” Noah was dumbstruck, first by his own reaction to Mel and Sherry’s niece then by Mel’s comment.
“Emily is a sweet Christian girl—takes after her daddy. Her mama never stepped foot inside a church after the wedding. It’s no wonder she didn’t stick around when the goin’ got tough.”
Noah still hadn’t gotten used to the openness of these West Virginia folks. He’d just learned more about Emily Kimball than he knew about his housemates from college.
“How many more loads of chickens you got?” Mel asked.
“Um. . .let’s see.” Noah forced his thoughts back on the task at hand. “Two more?”
Mel lifted his eyebrows and let out a snort. “I reckon you better head out and get ’em before it gets dark. Suppertime will be here before you know it.”
“I don’t have to bring all of them here,” Noah said. “Clayton said he could make room in his barn.”
“Nah, better not do that. He has enough of his own cacklers to deal with. No sense in getting them all mixed up.”
Noah hoisted the last crate from the truck, handed it off to Mel, and brushed his hands together. “I wasn’t sure if you had time for this, with your niece being here and all. I figure you don’t want to miss a minute of precious time you can spend with her.” What he wanted to know was how long pretty Emily with the gorgeous blue eyes and wavy, honey-colored hair would be staying, but he didn’t want to come right out and ask.
Mel’s eyes squinted as he cast a long look at Noah. “That girl’s been around barnyard animals before. I reckon she doesn’t mind.”
“She likes animals?”
“Yes, of course she likes animals,” Mel said. “She’s related to me, isn’t she?”
Noah laughed. “She’s been living in the city, so I wasn’t sure.”
Mel planted his fists on his hips and looked him squarely in the eye. “How would you know she’s been living in the city?”
Busted. Noah glanced down then back up at Mel. “Sherry told me.”
“I figured as much.” Mel motioned for Noah to join him.
They finished unloading the truck and getting the chickens situated in half the time Noah expected. “I don’t know how to thank you, Mel.”
Mel made a face. “You don’t have to keep thanking me for what I offered to do. C’mon, let’s help the ladies and get the rest of these chickens in the barn so we can be done before dark. You’re stayin’ for supper.”
“I can’t—”
“Nonsense. It’s the least we can do.”
Noah appreciated the values of these rural West Virginia people—how they did favors yet considered it a privilege and insisted on paying people for allowing them to do favors by feeding them. This was something he wasn’t used to.
A half hour later, Noah was on his way to pick up the next batch of chickens. A year ago he never would have pictured himself working at the outskirts of Huntington, West Virginia, with his clients’ livestock on family-owned farms. When he first got into vet school, he assumed he’d take over for his father, who had a small-animal practice in a ritzy area of Atlanta. However, when he heard about the need for someone in West Virginia, he decided to check it out. The moment he crossed the line into some of the most beautiful, mountainous countryside, he knew he’d come home.
The people were amazing, too. From the farmers to the businesspeople in town, he felt like he’d run into old friends whose sole purpose in life was to welcome weary people who didn’t know what they were looking for. To top it all off, Noah now knew exactly what he wanted, and this was it.
Every day something new awaited him. One day he might get an emergency call that Mrs. Crowley’s pampered poodle, Precious, had something in her paw. The next day he could find himself in Junior Whitmore’s barn delivering a brand-new foal.
And on another day he could be up to his elbows in chickens, only to look up and see the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Emily was even more gorgeous than the picture on the Kimballs’ mantel. To top it off, she was a Christian—couldn’t ask for better than that.
❧
“Need me for anything else?” Emily said.
“Noah went to get the rest of the chickens. But you can go on inside if you’re tired.”
“He’s bringing more?”
Uncle Mel nodded. “Yup. Two more loads, in fact.”
“Then I’m staying out here and helping until the last chicken is taken care of.”
Aunt Sherry grinned, and she joined Uncle Mel as he closed the gap between himself and Emily. “You’re a good girl, Emily. I don’t know how it happened with all you went through, but we’re mighty blessed to have you in our family.”
“Daddy raised me right.” Emily’s eyes stung as she thought about how shocked her father had been when her mother—his wife—had chosen to take off when Emily needed her the most.
“You miss him, don’t you?” Aunt Sherry asked.
Emily nodded. “More than you can ever imagine.”
Her aunt tilted her head forward and raised her eyebrows. “So does Mel. Those two were closer than any brothers I’ve ever known.”
“Daddy always talked about how much he appreciated both you and Uncle Mel.”
“Don’t go gettin’ all sappy on me,” Uncle Mel said. “We got work to do. No point in cryin’ over something we can’t do a thing about.”
Before Emily had a chance to say another word, they heard the rumbling of Noah’s truck on the bumpy road. “Let’s go get those chickens so we can eat at a decent time.”
They worked hard until the last chicken was securely in the barn. Aunt Sherry placed her hand in the middle of Emily’s back. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and rest for a few minutes before supper?”
