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A God who forgave those mistakes and wanted to spend time with her. Actually wanted her to spend time with Him.
It had taken her a long time to accept that, but when she finally did, it was like opening up a whole new world for her.
She finally saw what she’d been missing.
Unconditional love.
The kind of love she tried to pour into Bethany.
The kind of love she hoped her parents would learn. And it seemed that prayer had been answered.
Being reconciled to her parents had had its ups and downs, but Lacey had decided to roll with the punches and accept the good times as they came. Sometimes her mother tried too hard and was overly solicitous. Most of the time it seemed as if her father just didn’t know what to say to her. It caused Lacey pain when he wouldn’t meet her eyes or would leave the room when she walked in.
Although, she had to admit, that seemed to be happening less. So, her plan seemed to be working.
Or it had been until Bethany disappeared.
With a sigh she took another bite of the spaghetti, working her way through the large portion until she finally managed to put a pretty good dent in it.
Snagging her laptop from the kitchen desk, she moved into the den and logged in to her work account. Thankfully her boss had decided she could work from home when there was nothing pressing in the office.
She needed to focus on the project. Needed to throw something else at her mind.
For the next hour and a half, she managed to keep her mind off Mason, although she periodically sent up prayers for Bethany. At least Bethany wasn’t being held captive. She worked at a steady pace, designing the billboard she’d been assigned for a local radio station.
The stillness of the house finally registered.
Nerves jumping, she flashed to the memory of the wig stand in Bethany’s room. The picture on the door. And the sting of her wounds reminded her that someone wanted to do her harm.
Shuddering, she set her laptop aside and rose to walk into the kitchen. She parted the blinds and looked in the direction of the police cruiser.
And relaxed a bit.
It was still there.
The ringing of the phone jarred her. Heart thudding she gave self-conscious laugh and snatched the handset from the base. “Hello?”
“Hello, Lacey. This is Janice.”
Surprise shot through her. “Hi, Janice. How are you doing?”
“Good. But I just can’t stand sitting around doing nothing while Bethany is missing. I wanted to see if I could help in some way.”
Lacey allowed a weak smile to cross her lips. “That’s very sweet, Janice. I appreciate it, but there’s nothing anyone can do, short of going door to door asking if anyone has seen her.”
There was a moment of silence. “I have an idea. I’m friends with a lot of store owners downtown. What if I take flyers and ask managers to post them in their windows?”
“Oh, Janice, that would be wonderful. Would you do that?”
“Sure. I’m not volunteering at the hospital tomorrow, Daniel will be working all hours and the Christmas store can wait because the air conditioner isstillnot fixed.”
“Wonderful,” Lacey said, her voice wobbling in spite of her best attempt to keep it steady. “We can share a cup of coffee, then get busy. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Lacey felt tears prick her eyes. Grateful for her friend, she swallowed hard, momentarily unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
“All right then,” Janice said, perky once again. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning? My house? Nine o’clock?”