Julia's Last Hope by Janette Oke Read Free Book Online Page A

Jennifer’s elbow nudged her.
    “Not a whole bunch. Some. And it will depend on how many people are here,” explained Julia.
    “I’ll collect the rent,” offered Felicity, her eyes shining, and Julia and Jennifer both shared the joke.
    “It won’t be rent, really,” explained Julia. “They will only stay for a short time—so it will be—fees, I guess. Lodging fees.”
    “I’ll wait for the list,” said Jennifer.
    “Will there just be big people?” asked Felicity, her eyes holding Julia’s.
    “Perhaps not. I have said that we have three bedrooms and so could take families,” Julia answered.
    Felicity and Jennifer exchanged nervous glances. “Will we need to share our things?” asked Felicity.
    “Your own private possessions, no. But the porch swing and the playhouse, perhaps. Tom is going to build a sandbox and a teeter totter. We want the children to have something to do. The parents will enjoy their stay more if their children are happy,” Julia explained. “Then perhaps they will want to come again—and tell others who might also enjoy visiting a quiet mountain town.”

    John supervised the dismantling of the equipment at the mill and watched as it was loaded on boxcars and moved down the tracks to be set up at another location. It wasn’t until he stood watching the train roll from view around the bend of the mountain that the reality of it all settled in. Work at the mill had come to an end.
    There was nothing to do but draw his final wage and go home. He had decisions to make. Difficult decisions. He had been holding them at bay—begging for time—but he could delay them no longer. He had to face reality and find a way to provide for his family. He was proud of Julia. He hadn’t known that she was made of such “strong stuff.” She had rallied the town women, determined to fight to save her beautiful house on the mountainside. The house meant a lot to Julia, John reasoned. She was used to fine things. But John had the sickening feeling that no matter how hard she tried, she would end up brokenhearted. There was no way enough people would be drawn to Calder Springs. They had Banff, already becoming a major tourist attraction. And farther up the Rocky Mountain chain was Jasper. It too was growing in popularity. People already knew about Banff and Jasper, and there were only so many people with money to spend at resorts. There would be no additional dollars to spend in their little town, John figured.
    It might have been different if they could have built up a clientele slowly, but no one in the town had money to cover their needs while they waited. The town would die. The rest of the people would be forced to move out—just as some had already done.
    John sighed deeply, his shoulders sagged. It was hard for him to see Julia lose what she loved so much. It was hard to face the fact that the girls—who had been born to plenty—might now have to do without.
    He himself knew all about hardship. He could live simply. But his family? Except for the first few years of their marriage, John and Julia had lived well. And the girls had never known hardship.
    It sometimes bothered John that it was Uncle George’s money that had built the grand house, not money he had earned through his own hard work. But he had never begrudged Julia the house. She deserved it. He thanked God for the miracle that made it possible. He always thought of Uncle George’s money as a miracle.
    John recalled his secret dream of one day owning a business of his own. He had never told anyone. Not even Julia, for he deemed the dream impossible—selfish. Uncle George’s money had been a temptation—but only for a brief moment. He would not have considered using it to fulfill his own ambition. Julia’s house was always uppermost in his mind.
    Still, on occasion, he thought about that little business. A wood-shop. A place where he could take the rough wood that came from the forest and shape and polish it until it shone like