The men rushed out of the house and surveyed the yard. No sign of Lucy anywhere. “She couldn’t have gotten far,” JC said, walking down the porch steps. He shaded his eyes and looked to the horizon. “She’s so little, Jayce,” Justin said, clutching the older man’s arm. “Anything could happen to her…” JC took Justin’s hand. “We’ll find her, Just.” He gazed over Justin’s shoulder, his eyes narrowing. “In fact, I don’t think she went far at all.” JC took Justin by the shoulders and pointed the boy toward the barn. Fagin was standing at the barn door, scraping the wood with his paws and barking loudly. JC and Justin walked to the barn, pulling the dog back so they could open and enter. “Lucy!” JC called out. No answer. But both men saw Fagin stand at the foot of the ladder leading up the loft, his big head looking upwards. The dog turned to them, giving the men a look that said “yes, she’s up there, could you please bring her down since I can’t climb a ladder?” JC and Justin exchanged a look. Justin nodded and climbed up to the loft. At first, Justin thought Fagin must have been mistaken. He couldn’t see Lucy anywhere in the dimly lit loft. But a soft sneeze came from beneath a bundle of potato sacks, giving away the girl’s location. Justin climbed the rest of the way up and made his way over to her. He lifted the sacks, exposing the little girl. Justin gathered her up in his arms and held her tight. “Lucy…baby…you scared us to death!” Justin told her, holding her back a bit to look into her face. “Why would you run and hide like this?” Lucy shook her head and refused to answer. “Aren’t you happy here?” She nodded. “They why would you want to leave?” “Because…I want you to go to town, and you can’t cuz of me and it’s so fun in town and I want you to be happy.” Justin sighed at her words, realizing she had heard his and JC’s discussion. “Oh, baby, no. No!” He kissed her chocolate curls. “You misunderstood, Lucy. I didn’t mean it like that.” She turned big blue eyes up to him. “Then why won’t you come to town?” she asked. “Everyone wants to meet you. And…Unca Jaysee would be happy, too.” He didn’t answer her right away. “Did I ever tell you that the first time I met your Uncle JC, I was hiding under a blanket in his wagon?” Lucy blinked. “Really?” Justin nodded. “Yep. And your Uncle JC found me, and took me in, and we fell in love.” He absently pulled some hay from Lucy’s curls. “But where we used to live, there were some people who didn’t like me, so we had to move. Then we got you.” She grinned at him. “And you are so important to us, that I was scared that if the people in this town didn’t like me, we’d have to leave again. And knowing how much you love it here, and how much your Uncle JC loves it here, I thought that if I stayed away from town, no one would notice me, and we could live here forever.” Lucy laughed, and Justin realized how similar it was to JC’s laugh. “But Unca Jussin, everyone already knows bout you!” Justin hugged her. “That’s what your Uncle JC told me, too.” “Maybe now he’ll believe it, Lucy,” JC said as he climbed up the ladder. “And come to town with us.” He scooted through the loft and sat down next to them, pulling both Justin and Lucy close. Justin watched as two pairs of bright blue eyes looked at him. JC’s were imploring…hopeful. Lucy’s were bright with affection for her uncles. Justin took a deep breath and nodded. “Hooray!” Lucy said, hugging them both as Fagin began to bark down in the barn. “Oh, I gotta go say I’m sorry to Fagin.” She looked at the men with a tinge of guilt. “I locked him in my room.” “Lucy,” JC said, forestalling her exit from the loft. “If something bothers you, or upsets you, or if we say something that you don’t understand, please come to us. Don’t ever run away again.” Justin nodded. “We love you, moppet. We never, ever, want you to leave.” Lucy gave them both a sloppy kiss. “Okay!” she agreed, scrambling down the ladder. Justin smiled as he heard the girl apologizing to the dog. He turned to JC, his smile fading as he saw JC’s serious expression. “Did you mean it?” JC asked him. Again, Justin nodded. JC pulled Justin close and covered his mouth with his own. *** The sound of bells rang though the air as JC pulled the wagon to a stop. Justin swallowed, his fingers working at the tight collar of his shirt. He saw JC bound down from the wagon, reaching back up to help Lucy down from the seat. They both stood there, watching, waiting for Justin to join them. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” Justin started, only to pause when faced with their similarly accusing blue eyes. “Couldn’t we have picked a better day?” JC shook his head. “No, this is perfect. The whole town is here, and we were invited.” He lifted a hand to Justin. Justin reached for JC and climbed down, his hand gripping his lover’s tightly. They walked up the steps with Lucy in front of them, pausing at the doors. Lucy looked up at Justin, then at JC, then at their hands. She pried apart their grasp, then held each of her uncle’s hands in her own small ones. “Don’t be scared, Unca Jussin,” she told him seriously. “We’ll take care of you.” Justin smiled down at the girl, then looked at JC, nodding. “I’m ready.” JC opened the door and the three of them entered. All heads turned at their arrival. Justin had never felt so exposed in his life. Pew after pew of parishioner were watching him as he and Lucy and JC walked down the church aisle. His heart beat faster as he saw the pastor leave the pulpit and come down the aisle toward them. Justin gripped Lucy’s hand tighter and shared a glance with JC. The pastor stopped in front of them, his face splitting into a wide grin. “Welcome!” he said, holding out his hand. “Welcome to the Chasez family!” He shook JC’s hand enthusiastically, then turned to Justin. “Welcome to our church, our town, our family, my son,” he told Justin, grasping his hand warmly. He even shook Lucy’s hand. “Welcome to you, too, little lady,” he told her, smiling at Lucy’s wide grin. The pastor led them down the aisle, escorting them to a half filled pew. All along the way, people were calling out welcome and shaking their hands. It was almost overwhelming Justin, this outpouring of welcome and acceptance. He walked with JC and Lucy to the pew, his eyes blinking back tears. He exchanged a glance with JC and saw the older man was also affected. “Let us all sing our first hymn,” the pastor said, waving to the organist. JC lifted a hymnal and opened it to the indicated page. He grasped Justin’s hand and nodded as their voices joined the other parishioners. All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all!