Beneath a Southern Sky Read online

  She reached out and traced a finger over the crude inscription on the stone that marked the grave. The Timoné had the beginnings of a written language now. God’s Word was coming to life for them day by day because of Natalie Camfield’s tireless work side by side with her father, Dr. Nate. The little hut that Daria and Nate had shared was now a church. It had been enlarged not once, but twice, and still its walls often bulged with Timoné men and women and children who came to learn more about the one true God. Seeds of faith were sprouting—seeds that Evangeline Magrit had planted, and that she and Nate had cultivated. And Natalie’s joy in nurturing those nascent buds was another precious gift of redemption for all the sorrow that had gone before.

  Natalie had told her mother the meaning of the cryptic writing on her father’s gravestone. Now Daria moved her lips, stumbling over the familiar syllables, smiling to herself as she remembered how Nate had always teased her, mimicking her attempts at the language.

  In heart-wrenching circumstances, Nathan Camfield had exemplified the words from the gospel of John that now marked his burial place: Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

  She brushed the damp earth from her hands and rose to her feet to gaze one last time at the final resting place of the man who had relinquished everything he cherished for her sake. Her throat tightened as she realized anew the magnitude of the sacrifice Nate had made for her and for Natalie and, yes, for Cole and Nikki as well.

  She turned her face to the sky as Timoné’s sun appeared again to warm her skin.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to One who had made a far greater sacrifice. That sacrifice had for all time granted forgiveness for her mistakes, her disobedience—her humanness. That sacrifice had stretched across two millennia and offered redemption, not only for eternity, but for every tragic consequence they would bear in this life as a result of their humanity.

  Nothing in this earthly life could ever completely erase this aching sorrow, but as an artist smudges the sharp line of a charcoal drawing, God’s thumb had blurred the hard edges of their trial and had given even this black gash of sadness a poignant and haunting beauty.

  She turned away, keenly aware that she was closing the cover forever on another chapter of her life. Yet the pages that lay ahead, still to be written, held sweet promise.

  Eager now to look back upon the years when this place had been her home, she started down the forest trail, impatient for Natalie to reintroduce her to the Timoné people she had once loved as her own.

  Tonight she would walk alone into the forest behind the hut that had once been their home. She would gaze at the starry heavens, hoping for a glimpse of the star Nathan had declared theirs on a long-ago night. And one last time, she would say goodbye.

  Three days hence she would begin the journey back to Bogotá. Cole—her sweet, dearest Cole—was waiting for her there. And he would be anxious.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank the following people for their roles in helping inspire, research, and write this novel:

  Miss Linda Buller, whose many years as a missionary in Colombia were an inspiration to me.

  Karen Baehler and Missie Wyatt for sharing their knowledge in the field of veterinary medicine.

  Chad Jenkins and his dad, Jerry B. Jenkins, for allowing me to put some of Chad’s childhood wit in Natalie Camfield’s mouth.

  Cyndi Kempke for invaluable input on life in South America.

  Tim Larson for generous assistance in researching Kansas state law.

  The many others who helped with research, including Anthea Burson, R.N., Cathy Hay, R.N., Laurel Hunsinger, Ryan Layton, Dan Miller, and Kristin Sanders, D.A., R.N.

  I would also like to thank the many others who read my manuscript in its early stages and offered suggestions and encouragement: Debbie Allen, Kim Hlad, Ramie Schulteis, Terry Stucky, and Bev Sullivan, along with my parents, Max and Winifred Teeter; my sister, Vicky Miller; my daughter, Tobi Raney; and Lorie Battershill, word-smith extraordinaire, encourager, and friend.

  My talented editors at WaterBrook Press, Lisa Tawn Bergren and Traci DePree, for sharing the vision I had for this story, and for making my writing so much better than it really is; along with production editor, Laura K. Wright.

  Tarl Raney, my firstborn, as well as my Webmaster and computer guru.

  And as always, my sweet and talented husband, Ken, who loves me even when I’m on deadline, and who makes our home (and my writing “studio”) my favorite place to be this side of heaven.

  Finally, a note to my readers: Although Timoné and Chicoro are based on actual settlements in remote regions of South America’s vast rain forests, the villages, people, and native languages portrayed in my story are products of my imagination.

  I’m always delighted to hear from my readers. For more information, or to write me, please visit my Web site at: http://www.deborahraney.com.

  Other books by Deborah Raney:

  After the Rains

  A Scarlet Cord

  (Available June 2003)

  A Vow to Cherish

  BENEATH A SOUTHERN SKY

  PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS

  12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200

  Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

  Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture also taken from the King James Version.

  The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-45938-1

  Copyright © 2001 by Deborah Raney

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

  WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Raney, Deborah.

  Beneath a southern sky / Deborah Raney.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  1. Remarriage—Fiction. 2. Absence and presumption of death—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3568.A562 B4 2001

  813’.54—dc21

  v3.0

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Part 1 - Columba: The Dove

  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

  Part 2 - Crux: The Cross

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Part 3 - Ara: The Altar

  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

  Epilogue

 
Acknowledgments

  Copyright