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“What? Why?”
“It’s too weird. You’ll be the baby’s cousin and, what … stepdad too? I don’t like it.”
“Whoa! Slow down there. I’m talking about dating her, not marrying her.”
“The answer is no.”
Max pressed his lips together, his nostrils flaring. “Hey, I came to you because you’re family, but you’re not being rational here. Jamie is a great girl, who I like very much. She’s funny and beautiful … and single. Last time I checked, you were marrying someone else, so why are you so dead set against us being together?”
Duncan had no good answer to that question. He couldn’t very well tell Max that the thought of them dating made him murderous. That he was so confused, he felt like he was losing his mind.
“You know what, you and Jamie do whatever you want.” He pushed the chair back with a loud squeak and went to his room.
He couldn’t talk about this anymore. Maybe things would’ve been different if he had stopped seeing Jamie as a girl to flirt with and seen her as a girl who needed Jesus.
That thought popped into his mind seemingly out of nowhere, but he knew where it had come from. From the One who loved him and Jamie and their baby more than anyone else possibly could, the One who was working all things together for His good—even though it felt far from good at the moment. From the One he’d been giving the silent treatment for weeks.
Guilt and confusion overwhelmed him, leaving him tossing and turning all through the night. There should’ve been room in his mind for thoughts of Dréa and the wedding, but all he could think about was Jamie and the baby and where he’d gone so wrong.
In the early morning hours, Duncan wandered into the kitchen and found Papa seated at the table with the Bible open in front of him.
“You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Papa said.
Duncan poured himself a glass of water and sat down beside his father. “What are you reading?”
“The Psalms.”
“Which one?”
“Fifty-one. It’s David’s repentance to the Lord after sinning with Bathsheba.”
Duncan tensed. He knew the story of David and Bathsheba well. King David saw a beautiful woman bathing, found out who she was, and though she was married, he had her brought to him anyway and slept with her, which led to her getting pregnant. He committed adultery, which was in that time punishable by death. He even went so far as to have her husband put on the front lines in battle so he would die and David could have her for his own.
“David’s sins were great, but God sent his friend, Nathan the prophet, to open his eyes to the error of his ways. And David threw himself at the mercy of his Lord, admitting he had sinned against Him. No matter what we’ve done, God offers us his pardon. If we admit what we’ve done and seek His face, He offers us forgiveness.”
“I know, Papa.”
“Do you? Because you’ve been walking around here lately wound up so tight. I feel like there’s a reason for that.”
“Yeah, the reason is I slept with someone and got her pregnant, I’m engaged to someone else, I’m moving to Denver after the wedding, I’ll probably never see my baby, and now the mother of my child wants to date my cousin.”
Papa’s gaze was sympathetic. “I’m sorry you’re going through all this, Duncan. But I have a strong feeling you’re not talking to God about any of it.”
Duncan shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, when you get to that place, remember this Psalm. God’s forgiveness and grace are limitless. He wants you to come to Him rather than try to handle things by your power.”
Duncan didn’t reply.
“Just think on it.”
“I will.”
Papa stood and left the Bible open to Psalm 51. “I’m going for a walk. Care to join?”
“No, thanks.” He watched his father walk out of the kitchen and turned his attention to the open Bible before him. He skimmed a few of the verses and stopped on one.