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for answers, but Ellie nudged them aside out of respect for Rebecca, who was not here to defend herself or offer any explanations.
    Moved nearly to tears again, Ellie sat down to rest on the ground next to Rebecca’s tombstone, and she could not help but compare her life to the other women buried here.
    None of these four women had had all their dreams fulfilled in this world. All had died far too young, and two had died childless. Neither Rebecca nor her mother had even lived long enough to see their children grow to adulthood.
    And Ellie dared to complain about her life? Or refused to consider that God had led her here to this island for His purpose?
    Confronted with this family’s many tragedies, she leaned back on her haunches and clasped her hands together. “Forgive me, Father,” she whispered, acknowledging a litany of sins with those three simple, but heart-spoken, words.
    When Daniel and Ethan came to her mind, she glanced at Rebecca’s tombstone and gave Jackson Smith’s proposal more serious thought. Granted, if she accepted his proposal, he would never be her husband in the truest sense of the word, perhaps because he was still grieving for the wife he had loved and lost and simply could not open his heart to love again. But Ellie knew he would respect her and provide well for her, because he seemed to be a man of his word and he truly, truly loved his sons.
    She reached over to trace Rebecca’s name and sniffled back more tears. If she agreed to the conditions he demanded for their marriage, she would never know the joy of carrying a child in her womb or the pain of burying that child, but she would have both the joy and privilege, if not the challenge, of raising Daniel and Ethan to adulthood.
    Ellie would also have a husband, of sorts, of her own. A home to call her own. She would have a respected place in this world. And she would never, ever again have to bow to the authority of her cousins.
    Reminded of the reality of her situation within her cousin’s household, she swallowed hard. If she returned to the city now, she would be met by a flood of questions from her cousin. Yet given the circumstances of her departure, she suspected even he would support her decision to leave without completing her two weeks, as promised.
    But what about Daniel and Ethan? What arrangements would Jackson be able to make for them now that she had left so abruptly? Could she really walk away without any thoughts for their well-being?
    Disappointed that she had let her own pride blind her to the needs of those two innocent boys, she paused to reconsider Jackson’s proposal more rationally.
    When she did, she realized that marrying him would bring great gifts into her life. Gifts she had the free will to accept or deny. Gifts that called her to rely on her faith and her belief that His plan for her life was now unfolding, according to His will, and with blessings, abundant with His grace.
    Humbled, if not determined to be the woman of faith she yearned to be, she rose to her feet and brushed the dirt from her skirts. Armed with renewed faith and a sense of purpose that had been missing in her life for too long, she set her mind on protecting her interests, as well as the boys. But before she accepted Jackson’s proposal, she needed to know exactly what his offer entailed, particularly since he could easily set her aside one day, seeing as their marriage would never be consummated.
    Jackson had admitted he only wanted a wife to help raise his boys, but had he considered what role she would play in any or all of their lives once the boys reached their majority? Would he expect her to leave then, as penniless and homeless as she was now? Or would he allow her to stay and live out the days she had left in his home?
    She paused, grateful for the gift of good common sense, as well as an eye for detail, before walking directly back to the house with her back straight and her head held high. She needed answers to those