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The idea had merit. A glance at Sarah’s wide eyes and smile suggested she was a fan. Lord? “Are you saying that the camp would have to stop after it becomes a special needs facility?”

“I don’t see why it would,” Lincoln said. “The property is over a hundred acres, not all of which is suitable for residential purposes, so it’s definitely a big enough location.”

“And you want us involved—why?”

Lincoln shrugged. “You’ve been known to have a connection here in Muskoka for years. You’ve even had your house featured on MTV.”

Oh, that. Back when he’d been young and proud of his new contract with Toronto and just bought his cottage in Muskoka, and doing what he could to keep the team’s PR team happy.

“Your connection here is entirely different to someone others see as a ‘blow in,’ as I think I heard myself described recently.” Linc grimaced. “Someone with no roots, just money, who wants to try and change things.”

“But Jackie, you’ve lived here for years, haven’t you?” Dan asked. He thought that had been mentioned before.

“But I’m not the one with the high profile.” Her voice held wryness.

“Oh, I seem to recall something about a Muskoka chair.” A moment when she’d gone viral for fending off Toni’s ex by wielding a heavy wooden chair.

“Please.” She shook her head. “That wasn’t even fifteen minutes of fame. Maybe ten.”

Dan smiled. “I think it was enough that people would know who you are.”

“But I’ll always be known as Lincoln’s wife, not in my own sense. And while I’m okay with that, it does mean that people will look at him and disregard my connection because they’re so focused on Linc.”

Huh. He’d never really realized just how much of a woman’s identity could be lost because of her more famous husband. Gratitude struck him that Sarah’s career meant she had already established her own identity separate to him.

Linc sat back in his chair. “So that’s why we wondered if perhaps you would be interested in partnering with us in this project.”

“Are you saying you’d want me to be the spokesperson?”

“To be the name attached to it,” Linc said. “We’d be the charitable organization in the background who puts up the funds.”

“How much are we talking?”

Lincoln named a figure which was about twice Dan’s annual salary.

Whoa. “Sorry. That’s way too much for me.” Which was a shame, as he’d started to feel interested—

“No, that’s the total. You’d only need to put in twenty percent.”

Huh.

“Oh my gosh.”

He glanced at Sarah. Her green eyes had gotten even wider. “What is it, hon?”

“I, um, you won’t believe this, but I had wondered about something like this. Back when we first talked about it.”

“You did?”

She winced. “There was a lot else going on, which is why I didn’t say anything.

But yes, I had wondered whether a site could incorporate a camping side of things as well as what was needed for a special needs’ residence.

I agree with Jackie. It just seems so wrong for these poor innocent people to have been ripped off like that. ”

Dan nodded, turned to Jackie. “You said you’ve seen the site?”

Jackie looked abashed. “We might’ve ventured there without telling anyone.

It’s not like it’s public knowledge that it’s up for sale yet.

But from what Anna was saying it sounds like it will go on the market soon, and then it will likely be a free for all among developers who’ll just want to develop the land and sell off hundreds of housing sites.

Can you imagine how that would change the local communities, including Muskoka Shores? ”

His nose wrinkled. “Everybody might like to own a piece of heaven, but it doesn’t mean they should.”

“Which is why someone who’s known to have invested years into loving Muskoka would make a great ambassador.”

“I need to give this a lot of thought.”

“And a lot of prayer, too,” Linc said. “But we wanted to talk to you first. There are others who might be willing to come on board.”

“Like Toni,” Jackie said. “She loves Muskoka too.”

Sarah nodded. “Her paintings are awesome.”

“And a great advertisement for keeping things natural and protected from over-development,” Jackie said. “And her husband Matt is involved in property investment, and knows a few things about how to take on projects of this size.”

Sarah’s head tilted. “What was that fundraising group Anna said her mother was involved in? The Musko-cheers or something?”

Jackie smiled. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“If it’s that we might need to see if they would like some younger members, then yes I am.”

How quickly the world could pivot. One minute, feeling like he was facing a fog and at a loss as to what his future held.

The next, pieces of the puzzle falling into place like they’d been dropped from heaven.

Which was true. And should be expected. For if people prayed for God to open the doors, then they should expect some of those doors to open eventually.

Between this proposal from Linc and Jackie, and contacting his old university and learning he could do some courses part time, he felt like they were taking positive steps forward.

Even if Sarah still seemed to be battling exhaustion, that had him second-guessing whether he should go to Peterborough for a hockey skills camp with lots of young teens.

“Sar? Are you sure you’re okay? Do I need to stay?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Then can you please visit the doctor to get your iron levels checked?”

“My iron levels?”

“Look, I remember Bree Vaughan had problems with her iron, so you need to be careful.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I’ve just been doing lots of prep for the tour.” She held up a hand. “Please don’t say anything. I’ll be fine. I can’t wait to see my family in eight weeks.”

Eight weeks. They had a lot to deal with in eight weeks.

His preseason training had ramped up, as had her conversations with Jackie and Serena about forming a committee of potential Young Musko-cheers, as they called themselves, that they hoped would include Toni, Anna, and Staci.

Then Sarah was prepping for her tour, and he had to organize something special for her birthday. Her birthday? What would she like?

He knew it was a super lame husband question to ask, but he didn’t like to get it wrong. “Hey Sar Bear, what do you want for your birthday?”

She eyed him, her lips pulling to one side.

He exhaled. That was a given. “Apart from that.”

Her lips lifted. “I don’t know. How about a new fishing rod?”

“Done.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Hey, I aim to please.”

“I don’t think that’s all you should be aiming for.”

He smiled. “I just know that you’ll want to do something special, and I’ll be away for a few days in Peterborough for the hockey camp, so it’ll be nice to reconnect with you in a good way. Unless of course, you’ve changed your mind, and you’d like to come.”

“As tempting as it sounds to hang out with hundreds of kids, my days of teaching are done. I’m very happy for you to go do you, and I’ll be ready for a nice reunion on your return.”

“You’ll stay here?”

“I don’t want to go back to the city a second sooner than I have to. I love Muskoka.”

“That’s my girl.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you when I return.”

* * *

“And now, I’d like to call the meeting of the Young Musko-cheers to order.” Serena banged the gavel, and smiled at the women surrounding her dining table.

Sarah sat there along with Jackie, the newly-married Anna, Toni, Staci, and a few others. The speed at which they’d managed to pull this together was astonishing, except maybe not, considering these women were used to gathering for their soirees.

Serena explained some of the goals of their time together, then handed the floor to Anna, who gave a little of the history of the fundraising committee.

Her mother had been one of the key fundraisers of the original Musko-cheers, until the Crayling’s Muskoka Ferns Lodge fiasco had shattered all motivation.

Yet the need for charity fundraising remained, as Anna explained. “Because there are all kinds of deserving people and organizations out there. But I hope we’ll be more committed to focusing on what will raise the most money for the needy, rather than what will prove to be most fun for us.”

“We can still keep the fun in fundraising though, right?” Rachel asked.

“For sure.” Anna smiled. “Just not at the expense of the deserving.”

“Such as those poor residents who got caught in that scam.” Jackie glanced around the room. “And I have to say, I think this is a solid group of women who can help with this task.”

Sarah nodded. Many of the women—Serena, Jackie, Anna, Rachel—had lived in Muskoka for decades, and had longstanding connections to the church or local businesses.

Some of the women, like Toni, had shown their love for Muskoka through their work.

Others, such as Staci and herself, had strong fan-bases.

Everyone here brought their own unique skills and talents to the table, united by a heart for God that resulted in a heart of compassion for others. And, apparently, a heart for fun.

As the meeting progressed, she thanked God that He’d brought her into their midst. Obviously, God knew what He was doing, weaving lives together, bringing people to this exact place for this exact time. Almost like He knew His plans needed them here for this right now.

And if He knew that the timing had to be just right for this to happen, then that meant His timing had to be just right for all good things to happen.

She relaxed. God could be trusted to have the right timing with everything.

Sarah groaned, rolled out of bed, and staggered to the bathroom.

She deposited her stomach’s contents in the toilet, as had often happened since that dinner at Jackie and Lincoln’s.

She hoped she’d be better before the Heartsong tour kicked off.

Tisha and the others were getting so excited, so glad she could join them again.

And it felt good that with all the other uncertainties in life, she could plan something.

She’d been a part of Heartsong tours for years, and fans were always asking when she’d next perform.

Announcing her involvement with the tour on her last podcast had seen a flurry of excited fans, many of whom told her they’d buy tickets to see her. And while she wasn’t going to get carried away, it felt good to feel the love. Especially in moments like now when she felt so gross.

After wiping her mouth and brushing her teeth she made her way out to the living room.

Magazines and newspapers lay scattered on the floor from where she’d left them for the past three days.

She blinked. Dan’s house had never looked so messy.

A sigh escaped. He’d been so patient with her these past few weeks, caring for her amid her exhaustion, doing what he could when possible, and warning her not to overdo things.

And she hadn’t. All she’d done was prep for the Heartsong tour, reply to excited fans, and attend Serena’s Musko-cheers meeting yesterday.

That hadn’t pushed her energy levels too much, even though she’d needed a nap afterwards.

But with Dan coming home tonight, she should make an effort for him now.

After making his favorite cookies—white chocolate and macadamia—another wave of fatigue hit her, forcing her to grip the side of the kitchen counter. Ugh. This was getting ridiculous.

Her phone rang. She peered through half-closed eyes at the screen. Rebekah. She put it on speaker mode. “Hey, sis.”

“Sar! How are you doing?”

She wandered into the living room and flopped onto the lounge. “Busy.” She told her about the Musko-cheers and the plans for the Sydney trip. “I can’t wait.”

“It’ll be awesome to see you,” her sister said. “It’s just a shame Dan can’t come.”

Sarah closed her eyes. “He’ll be starting his season then.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get over there this year. But the kids got the flu, and we figured you didn’t need that on top of everything else that was going down.”

“There’s been a lot going down.” She told Bek about the album offer, something she still hadn’t responded to, but now she thought about it, it could actually be the answer to the question Dan had posed a few weeks ago. “I do have a bunch of songs that could suit, but I just don’t know.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” her sister asked. “People know that you love God, and they know you are married. Surely you can do both kinds of music still.”

“But what if people think I’ve crossed over to the dark side?”

“Then they’re judgmental. You can sing songs about love and relationships that don’t have to just be about God.”

“So you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think if you turned it down, you’d regret it.”

Sarah nodded. The project would keep her busy, especially after the Heartsong tour.

Hmm. Maybe she could even use some of the income to support the Musko-cheer project.

People might be more inclined to want to support it if there was a good cause attached to it.

Something to think about, anyway. She yawned, as another wave of tiredness washed over her.

“I just don’t want to overcommit myself. ”

“Sar, you’ll manage.”

“It’s just I feel so tired all the time.”

“Still?”

“Yeah. I honestly think I must’ve picked up a virus somehow. It’s been like this for weeks. Yesterday morning I nearly threw up when I visited Ange’s and smelled the coffee.”

Rebekah was silent for a long moment. “Sar, have you thought about what you’ve just said?”

“What?”

“The symptoms you’ve described?”

“Symptoms?” What on earth was she talking about?

“Sar, how long since your last period?”

“I was bleeding just last week.”

“Oh. I thought—”

“No.” Her heart cramped. “My periods have never been regular since the accident, but even I know you can’t bleed and then be pregnant when you haven’t, ah, had the opportunity to.”

And she’d really thought she might. Sam’s prayer, and that heat that suggested healing, along with something stubborn within still insisted that she could be. One day. But obviously not right now.

“You know we’re all praying for you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I wish I could give you good news, but it’s just tiredness.”

“Well, you take care of yourself, okay?”

“Yes, Bek.” She yawned. “I better go make somebody’s dinner.”

“Happy reunion-ing.”

Hmph. The way she was feeling, Dan would be happier without her.