Yesterday's Embers Read online

  Praise for Yesterday's Embers

  “Deborah Raney writes from the heart with a story that probes the depth of human sorrow, the grit of endurance, and the ability of love to rescue us when we’ve forgotten how to dream. Yesterday's Embers will leave you warmed long after the last page.”

  —Harry Kraus, MD, bestselling author of Perfect and Salty Like Blood

  “With characters so real they feel like family, Yesterday’s Embers will stir your heart with sorrow, compassion, and joy as you journey with the characters down a road too many have traveled. More than just a good read, Yesterday’s Embers offers greater understanding and insight to the challenges of others. A must read!”

  —Diann Hunt, author of For Better or For Worse

  “Deborah Raney weaves a tender story of love, loss, sorrow, and reconciliation that will remain with you long after you’ve read the final page. Yesterday’s Embers expertly unfolds to reveal engaging characters and a compelling story of difficult choices and determined commitment. This is a book filled with warmth and hope that you’ll recommend to all your friends!”

  —Judith Miller, author of the Postcards from Pullman series

  “Deborah Raney has done it again…made me want to pack up and move to her fictional town of Clayburn, Kansas. Yesterday’s Embers is a powerful story of love lost…and found, but not at all in the way you expect. A surprising and touching story. Kudos.”

  —Roxanne Henke, author of After Anne and Learning to Fly

  “Yesterday’s Embers took me through a roller coaster of emotions with the characters tugging at my heart throughout. I wanted so badly for things to turn out well for Doug, Mickey, and the children. I should have known that Deborah Raney wouldn’t fail her readers—or her characters. Yesterday’s Embers is another winner.”

  —Robin Lee Hatcher, bestselling author of When Love Blooms and A Vote of Confidence

  “I sat down to read just a little, and then allowed myself the luxury of reading a little more. Before I knew it I had turned page after page of this satisfying story about the intersection of love and commitment and how our God gives, and takes away, and then unexpectedly gives again.”

  —Sandra Byrd, Christy award finalist for Let Them Eat Cake and its sequel Bon Appétit.

  “Deborah Raney has truly captured the emotional turmoil of love lost and the struggle to move on—and that each step forward is only possible by placing one's trust in God. A powerful, touching read.”

  —Linda Windsor, author of Wedding Bell Blues and For Pete’s Sake

  “Yesterday’s Embers, with its realistic, emotionally engaging characters, is a book that will linger in the back of one’s heart long after the final page is turned. Anyone who has loved and lost…and dared to love again…will celebrate Doug and Mickey's journey.”

  —Kim Vogel Sawyer, bestselling author of My Heart Remembers

  “I couldn’t put this story down. When the highs of new love translate to poor decisions, the innocent suffer until God extends an invitation to love. We all can see ourselves in this powerful story of tragedy turned to unexpected blessings.”

  —DiAnn Mills, author of Breach of Trust

  “Yesterday’s Embers makes a powerful impact with its message of not just second chances, but endless chances, to renew our lives. What hope lies within these pages for all of us! Thank you so much for a great read!”

  —Hannah Alexander, author of A Killing Frost

  “Deborah Raney masterfully draws us into the lives of two people searching for love through some of life’s most difficult circumstances. These are not just characters in a novel—they’re real people, and I walked every step of their journey with them. Yesterday’s Embers is a poignant story of mistakes, restoration, and the thread of grace that can fan dying embers into triumphant flames.”

  —Virginia Smith, author of Age before Beauty in the Sister-to-Sister Series

  “Deborah Raney depicts the innermost human emotions with poignant realism. Yesterday’s Embers is a stimulating, thought-provoking read that kept me turning the pages—at times wishing I could give a character a good scolding and, at other times, a comforting embrace. Prepare to be hooked!”

  —Kathy Herman, author of the Baxter, Seaport, and Phantom Hollow Series

  Praise for Previous Clayburn Novels: Remember to Forget:

  “Deborah Raney has done it again! Remember to Forget is a wonderful, heartwarming story about learning to trust…and love. Yes, I loved it.”

  —Roxanne Henke, author of After Anne and The Secret of Us

  “I was enthralled from start to finish. Remember to Forget took me to deep places of the heart and touched the spot where we all long for unconditional love. I wanted to stay in Clayburn, Kansas, forever. Raney’s best book yet!”

  —Colleen Coble, author of Midnight Sea

  Leaving November:

  “Faith and love triumph in this small-town story of overcoming the past and finding hope for the future. Leaving November gently plays the heartstrings and embraces the spirit in the name of love.”

  —Linda Windsor, author of Wedding Bell Blues and For Pete’s Sake

  “Deb Raney’s books have been an enjoyment and inspiration for me since her first, A Vow to Cherish. She has again touched my life with Leaving November. A gifted storyteller, she also has a way of having her characters learn to lean on God that causes me as a reader to relearn that same lesson. I highly recommend Leaving November.”

  —Yvonne Lehman, author of 46 novels and director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference

  Yesterday’s Embers

  a clayburn novel

  Award-Winning Author

  Deborah Raney

  Our purpose at Howard Books is to:

  • Increase faith in the hearts of growing Christians

  • Inspire holiness in the lives of believers

  • Instill hope in the hearts of struggling people everywhere

  Because He’s coming again!

  Published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.howardpublishing.com

  Yesterday’s Embers © 2009 by Deborah Raney

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Howard Subsidiary Rights Department, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  In association with the Steve Laube Agency

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Raney, Deborah.

  Yesterday’s embers: a Clayburn novel / Deborah Raney.

  p. cm

  I. Title.

  PS3568.A562Y47 2009

  813'.54—dc22

  2008033836

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-5851-7

  ISBN-10: 1-4391-5851-7

  HOWARD and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Edited by Dave Lambert and Ramona Cramer Tucker

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or publisher.

  Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  Visit us on the World Wide Web:

  http://www.SimonSays.com

  To Jenica,

  our precious "daughter-in-love"—

  Welcome to the family!

  Contents

  Ack
nowledgments

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Dear Reader

  Discussion Questions

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  I wish to offer sincere thanks and deep appreciation to the following people for their part in bringing this story to life:

  For help with research, proofreading, and “author support,” I am forever grateful to my dear friend Terry Stucky; my parents, Max and Winifred Teeter; my daughter, Tobi Layton; and my amazing Club Deb gang.

  I appreciate the kind folks at The Swedish Country Inn in Lindsborg, Kansas, where the ideas for the Clayburn novels were born.

  To Mary, Ariana, Christy, and the rest of the gang at Lincoln Perk: you make my Tuesday mornings special (and a Very Vanilla Latte to die for).

  I’m not sure I could ever finish a book without the collective wisdom and brainstorming of the ChiLibris Midwest contingent. I love you guys.

  To my critique partner, Tamera Alexander, thanks for your eagle eye and creative mind. Thank you for injecting your critiques and our conversations with a dose of your wonderful sense of humor. But most of all, thank you for the gift of your friendship.

  A long-overdue word of appreciation for Father James Hoover and the late Reverend Harmon Lackey, whose words of wisdom when my husband and I were about to marry have never been forgotten and have often found their way into my stories in one form or another.

  Deep appreciation to my agent, Steve Laube, who knows how to make me feel like his one and only client; and to my talented editors Dave Lambert and Philis Boultinghouse at Howard Books; and also to Ramona Cramer Tucker, who is such fun to work with, even on a killer deadline.

  To our incredible, supportive kids and our extended family: what a gift from the Lord you all are. I am blessed beyond description.

  And to my husband, Ken…I can’t ever say it enough: I love you, babe. Still.

  Hear my prayer, O Lord;

  let my cry for help come to you.

  Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.

  Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

  —Psalm 102:1–2

  Be glad, O people of Zion,

  rejoice in the Lord your God,

  for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness.

  He sends you abundant showers,

  both autumn and spring rains, as before.

  The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

  the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

  “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten….”

  —Joel 2:23–25

  The woman was right about one thing: she knew how to keep a fire going.

  Prologue

  Thanksgiving Day

  You sure you guys’ll be okay?” Doug DeVore leaned over the sofa to plant a kiss on his wife’s lips.

  But Kaye turned her head, and his lips landed somewhere in the vicinity of her left ear.

  “Sorry, babe.” She wrinkled her nose and put a hand over her mouth. “You’d better not kiss me. My stomach’s feeling a little woozy this morning. I never should have shared that milkshake with Rachel. I’m afraid I’m coming down with whatever she has.” Kaye looked down at their six-year-old, asleep in the crook of her arm.

  The car horn tooted from the garage, and a second later Sarah appeared in the kitchen doorway. “C’mon, Daddy, hurry up! Landon’s bein’ bossy, and Kayeleigh says she’s gonna walk to Grandma’s if you don’t get the lead out.”

  “You tell Landon to cut it out, and tell Kayeleigh to hold her horses and quit sassing.” He gave Kaye what he hoped was a desperate frown. “Sure you don’t want me to stay home with you?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even think about it, buster.” She turned her pretty face to the hearth, where the first fire of the season crackled like brittle leaves underfoot. “But, hey, thanks for the fire.”

  “Yeah, well, I just wish I could be here to keep it going.” He wriggled his brows, making sure she got his innuendo.

  She laughed. “Real subtle…and I’ll take you up on that offer once I get rid of whatever this crud is I’m coming down with. In the meantime, I think I know how to keep a fire going.” She imitated his eyebrow gymnastics.

  He smoothed a hand over her tousled hair. “I had Landon bring in some wood, but if you run out, there’s a dry stack on the porch.” He went over and checked the damper. Man, what he wouldn’t give to call Kaye’s mother and bow out of Thanksgiving for all of them. Sit here by the fire with a good book and watch the game later without Kaye’s brother giving his obnoxious play-by-play.

  He sighed. That would never fly. Kaye’s mom had no doubt been cooking for days. And Thanksgiving was always the last time they got together with Harriet before she headed to Florida for the winter. Besides, if he stayed home, dinner was likely to be a sleeve of stale saltines and a can of Campbell’s tomato soup that he heated up himself.

  With visions of the usual dinner-table mayhem, Harley in her highchair flinging soup all over the kitchen—and Kaye too sick to supervise—he reconsidered. “I’ll bring a couple of plates home for you two.”

  “Uh-huh…that’s what I thought.” Kaye laughed and he knew she’d read his mind. As she always could.

  He reached down to brush a wisp of hair off Rachel’s forehead. “Man…she feels hot.”

  His wife gave a knowing nod. “I don’t think this little angel is going to be eating anything any time soon. But bring a plate home just in case.”

  Kaye had been up all night with Rachel while Doug played possum through the sounds of his daughter’s retching. A twinge of guilt nipped at his conscience now.

  Kaye tugged at his sleeve. “Make sure Harley wears her hat if the kids take her outside. I don’t want her getting sick, too.”

  “I will.” He grabbed his jacket off the back of a kitchen chair and started for the garage.

  “Hey, you…”

  He turned back at Kaye’s voice.

  “I like lots of whipped cream on my pumpkin pie.” She dared to wink at him.

  “Excuse me, I thought you were sick.”

  She smiled. “Not that sick.”

  The door to the garage opened again, and Sadie, Sarah’s twin, popped her blond head in. “Da-aad, hurry up. Harley’s fussin’…”

  He gave Kaye a hopeful grin. “You sure you don’t want me to stay home, babe?”

  Pulling Rachel closer, Kaye cocked an eyebrow his way. “So you c
an help me clean up vomit, you mean?”

  He stuffed an arm through his coat sleeve. “I’m going, I’m going.” Talk about the lesser of two evils.

  “Love you,” Kaye called after him.

  Her soft laughter followed him out the door, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself.

  The woman was right about one thing: she knew how to keep a fire going.

  What would she say? What could anybody say to make what had happened be all right?

  Chapter One

  The parade of taillights smoldered crimson through the patchy fog hovering over Old Highway 40. Mickey Valdez tapped the brakes with the toe of her black dress pumps, trying to stay a respectable distance from the car in front of her.

  The procession had left the church almost twenty minutes ago, but they were still barely two miles outside Clayburn’s city limits. The line of cars snaked up the hill—if you could call the road’s rolling incline that—and ahead of her, the red glow of brake lights dotted the highway, flickering off and on like so many fireflies. Cresting the rise, Mickey could barely make out the rows of pewter-colored gravestones poking through the mist beyond the wrought-iron gates of the Clayburn Cemetery.