Robin Lee Hatcher | Firstborn

Firstborn

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10)

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Look for Firstborn in August 2002

Three months in the top ten on the CBA Bestseller List!
Named a Top Twenty Favorite Novel of 2002 by Christianbook.com!

Erika Welby had a secret she thought no one would ever discover. But someone knew . . .

Erika's worst fear is realized when her well-kept secret shows up on her doorstep. As she reaches out to the daughter she gave up for adoption nearly twenty-two years ago, her husband pulls away, leaving Erika with an impossible choice.

In her latest novel, FIRSTBORN, Robin Lee Hatcher weaves a tale that clutches the reader's heart — traveling with the characters through dramatic and challenging situations to an ultimate affirmation of God's mercy, forgiveness and grace. The people in this riveting story are so familiar, so natural, one gets the feeling they live just up the street from us, or that we have seen them every Sunday in church … FIRSTBORN is likely to become another favorite among the long list of popular and outstanding books by one of Idaho's most prolific writers. — Treasure Valley Christian News

With realistic dialogue, solid description, and flashbacks that build the story one layer at a time, Hatcher creates lives you'll care about. Erika, Steve, and the others are flawed, unsure, adrift—and familiar. They could be your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends from church, your own family. The universal struggle for forgiveness will have you praying alongside them as you read. — Christian Book Distributors

[With "solid writing" In FIRSTBORN] Hatcher believably builds suspense for the reader about Erika's secret and pulls no punches as she convincingly portrays the agonizing emotions and far-reaching consequences of giving a baby up for adoption. Flashbacks are used effectively to flesh out the characters' teen years, and Hatcher manages the multiple points of view adeptly. Although there is an obligatory CBA conversion scene, Hatcher avoids a neat wrap-up; the book's conclusion makes allowances for the messiness of life. Hatcher, the author of 35 novels and novellas, is the recipient of both the Christy and the RITA Awards, so it's no surprise that this is a well-written inspirational novel. — Publishers Weekly

Wow! Robin Lee Hatcher’s stories are usually outstanding reads, but FIRSTBORN tops all of her previous work. Riveting and packed with a skillful balance of realism and heart wrenching emotions, Ms. Hatcher paints a poignant and tender portrait of one woman’s struggle to save her marriage, but also form a relationship with the child she had to give away when she was little more than a child herself … I highly recommend FIRSTBORN for your late summer reading. It is a book you will not want to miss! (4 1/2 plugs) — The Romance Readers Connection

They seem like the perfect couple—high school sweethearts reunited and married after Steven Welby returns from college. Erika James Welby can hardly believe how blessed she has been. In Robin Lee Hatcher's inspirational women's fiction, Firstborn, Steven and Erika are on the threshold of their son Ethan's 16th birthday when an unexpected envelope threatens everything they hold dear. When she opens the letter, Erika lets loose a maelstrom of emotions that threaten to destroy every facet of her carefully constructed life. The letter is from Kirsten Lundquist, her firstborn, the child she gave up for adoption years before. The sin of omission, the lie of withheld secrets, now tears at Erika's soul in Hatcher's compelling and bittersweet examination of the way the bonds of marriage can be strained to their utmost without snapping. Or split apart, as Erika and Steven's best friend Dallas and his wife confront their own test of love and parenthood. Firstborn is a testament to the force of faith and commitment to family, as Erika seeks forgiveness from her husband and son and from Kirsten's father—who never knew of her birth. Hatcher delves into the wellspring of heartfelt emotions, from agonizing betrayal to joyous exhilaration, in creating this extraordinary story. — BookPage Fiction Review

Robin Lee Hatcher pens an intense story with flashbacks guaranteed to make you cry. Erika is an incredible character who faces her past head on. Very true-to-life with a strong message. — Romantic Times Bookclub

Settle in with a cup of tea and a hanky and prepare for a wonderful read. — Tracie Peterson, author

Few can capture on paper the ways of the heart like Robin Lee Hatcher. Robin has a way of making me think through her characters' experiences, sink with their failures, and soar with their triumphs. I find reading her books a pure pleasure in which I learn, not just about fictional characters, but myself as well. — Lisa Tawn Bergren, author

Robin Lee Hatcher's words leave footprints on the heart . . . They come in softly and we are forever changed. — Karen Kingsbury, author

Robin Lee Hatcher isn't afraid to wrestle down difficult issues. With her thumb on the pulse beat of today's women, Ms. Hatcher creates plausible stories of ordinary people impacted by an extraordinary grace. — Lisa E. Samson, author

PROLOGUE

August 1979

The late afternoon sun glared down upon the floating dock, baking the wooden plank surface and the three sunscreen-slathered teenagers who lay upon it, their feet dangling in the water. For the moment, the three of them were alone in the small inlet, the speed boat having taken another run up the length of the reservoir, pulling skiers in its wake.

Opening her eyes, Erika James glanced at the brown hills that surrounded Lucky Peak Reservoir, noting how little time was left before the sun slipped beyond them. Maybe a couple of hours at most.

She wasn't ready for the day to end.

She wasn't ready for the summer to end.

But she couldn't stop either of those things from happening any more than she could stop her boyfriend, Steven Welby, from leaving Boise tomorrow, headed for his first year at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Her sixteen-year-old heart was breaking. No, it had already broken. She wanted to curl up and die.

She rolled her head to the right to look at Steven. His dark brown hair, still damp from his last turn behind the boat, was plastered against his scalp. He'd worked for a lawn maintenance company all summer, and his skin had turned golden brown, the tan emphasizing his newly-defined muscles.

As if sensing her gaze upon him, he smiled but didn't open his eyes. Her heart tumbled and her pulse raced.

Erika had fallen in love with Steven the moment she first laid eyes on him. That had been last September, the third week into her sophomore year at Borah High. She'd been heading from her second period algebra class to her third period biology class and he'd been walking toward her.

Anna Smith had nudged Erika and said, "Wow! Look at him. Wouldn't I just die to have him ask me out?"

Steven Welby. Senior Class President. Track star. All-around athlete. Probably the most popular student in the school. What girl wouldn't just about die?

Steven hadn't asked Anna Smith out. He'd asked Erika instead. They'd been going together for the past ten months, neither of them dating anyone else again. Considering the short leash Erika's dad kept her on — 11:00 P.M. curfew with no exceptions, not even for school dances; no unchaperoned parties; no out of town excursions — Erika thought it amazing Steven had stuck around for a month, let alone ten of them.

"You guys thirsty?"

Erika rolled her head to the left.

Dallas Hurst sat up, squinting despite his dark-colored Ray-Bans. "I'm gonna swim over and see what's left in the cooler. Want me to bring you something?"

"Nothing for me," Steven mumbled, sounding as if he'd been asleep.

Erika shook her head. "I'm okay, too."

Dallas was Steven's best friend, had been since they were in first grade, and the two of them were almost always together. Because of it, Erika spent nearly as much time with Dallas as she did with Steven. There were probably some people who didn't know for sure which of them was her boyfriend.

But Erika never would have fallen for Dallas. Not that he wasn't charming or good-looking. In fact, he was too charming and too good-looking. He always had girls hanging around him, flirting with him, hoping to become his girlfriend. Erika didn't think he'd dated the same girl more than two or three times since she'd known him. Dallas was a player. He didn't waste himself on girls who wanted anything more than a good time.

Dallas stood, stretched, then dove into the water and swam toward shore.

Erika turned her head back toward Steven. His eyes were open now, and he was watching her. She felt that wonderful-terrible fluttering sensation in her stomach.

Oh, yes. She loved him. Loved him more than life itself. And she was scared because he was going away. He was going away without promising he would return to her, without asking her to wait for him. He would spend his days with pretty, sexy college girls.

Had she made a horrible mistake, refusing him when he'd wanted more from her than kisses?

"Come here," he commanded gently.

She rolled onto her right side and into his waiting embrace. He pulled her close, kissing her, slow and sweet, and she wished for another day, another week, another month before he went away. Maybe if she had more time she could make him say he loved her, make him ask her to wait, even make him propose.

Steven drew back slightly, ending the kiss. "Oregon isn't so far. I'll come home for holidays, and we'll see each other then."

"Thanksgiving is three months away."

"It'll go fast."

"No, it won't," she whispered, afraid she might cry. "I'm going to be so lonely."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "Dallas'll be here. The two of you can get together."

"Maybe."

Erika didn't believe it would happen. Dallas would have his hands full with the coeds at Boise State. He wasn't going to have time to spend with Steven's old girlfriend, a mere junior in high school.

Besides, it wasn't Dallas she wanted to be with. It was Steven and only Steven. But he was going away in the morning, leaving her behind with her broken heart.

Erika was certain she'd never be happy again.