A Love All Her Own by Janet Lee Barton Page A

were miles away from here.”
    Marcus shook his head. “No. My thoughts were right here.” On Abigail—where they seemed to stay these days.
    ❧
    Once Abigail was back in her room at the hotel, her thoughts on the minister’s sermon fought to be heard. She barely tasted her tea for all the realizations that filled her mind. Before she could forgive herself for the past and go on, she had to make sure she’d asked God for His forgiveness.
    And how far back did she need to go to know she had? The Lord knew she wasn’t to blame for Rose’s death. But she’d had that moment of hope that because of her sister’s death, Nate might learn to love her. Abigail could no longer deny that she had coveted her sister’s husband. A moan from deep inside escaped, and Abigail slid to her knees. “Oh, please, dear Lord, forgive me for wanting Nate for myself,” she whispered. “And please forgive me for being so envious of Rose for all those years.”
    Abigail began to cry as she prayed. “Please. . .dear Lord. . .please forgive me. . .for drawing away from You.” She wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t want to admit what You’ve known all along. I have been an awful person, Father. I tried to make Nate feel guilty so that he would marry me—and I almost succeeded. And now. . .I don’t know if I ever really loved him or if I just wanted what was Rose’s.”
    Tears flowed freely as she continued. “And if I hadn’t been so hateful to Natalie that day, she wouldn’t have fallen down the stairs. Thank You for letting her be all right now.” Her sobs came from deep within her. “I’m so ashamed, Father. Please forgive me and help me to become the child You would have me be. I don’t want to be the same Abigail who left Eureka Springs ever again. I don’t want to be that selfish or self-absorbed. Please help me. And please, please let Natalie and Nate and everyone I’ve hurt forgive me. All of this, I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
    Abigail stayed there, her head on the settee, until her tears were spent. She felt a peace settle inside her that she hadn’t felt in years, and she knew the Lord had forgiven her.
    ❧
    Marcus looked through his mail, and his attention fell immediately on the envelope from Eureka Springs. It was thick, telling him that his agent had found out more about Abigail. For a moment, he wondered if he should have gone this route. After all, just because he could find out almost anything about anyone didn’t mean he always should, he supposed.
    Abigail had become more than just the daughter of Jacob Connors to him. She was more than a family friend and certainly much more than his other clients. Marcus opened the envelope and pulled out the thick missive. He quickly scanned the pages and then read again, more slowly this time.
    The Abigail Connors of Eureka Springs bore little semblance to the Abigail he’d come to know. He shook his head as he read. Apparently Abigail had, for the most part, lived a very selfish life in the last few years. She’d been mostly concerned with having a good time with her friends and convincing Nate Brooks to marry her. She’d nearly succeeded; but then her niece had an accident, and shortly afterward, her engagement was broken. Nate had recently wed another woman, a Meagan Snow. Hmm, that still doesn’t tell me who broke the engagement.
    Marcus got up from his desk and went to look out the window. From the sadness in Abigail’s eyes when he first met her and the fact that her fiancé had married another woman, he had a feeling that Abigail hadn’t wanted the engagement to end. But he had no real way of knowing. She’d changed some from when he first saw her, so it stood to reason that she wasn’t the same person she’d been at one time. At least he hadn’t seen any evidence of her being the kind of person this letter described her as being.
    He picked it up and read it again. It seemed that before her sister died she hadn’t been quite