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No threat lurked in Clark’s brown eyes, and his smile was stiff but not threatening. It was like watching an angry turtle

attempting to smile but failing. He stood with his hands thrust in the pockets of his jeans. Dogs barked off to Paradise’s

right, and she caught a glimpse of his two German shepherds trying to escape his truck’s interior, but the windows were only

open six inches.

“Hey, Clark.” Paradise kept her tone even and friendly.

“You didn’t expect to see me on a college campus, huh? I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth, but I’m no dummy.”

“I know you’re not,” Blake said. “Kent always bragged about how you could fix anything with your welder but a broken heart

and the crack of dawn.”

A genuine smile tugged Clark’s lips higher. “I forgot he used to say that.”

“How’d you find us here?”

“I was coming to The Sanctuary and saw you turn out and head this way. I followed.” He yanked his hands from his pockets and

stared at Paradise. “Why’d you do it?”

“I’ve been in a tough spot where I didn’t know where to turn myself, and God told me to do it.” Would he receive the truth? Even if it made him mad, it had to be said.

“God, huh? God hasn’t bothered with me in a long time.”

“God is never the one who moves,” Blake said.

Paradise shot him a glance of thanks. “Blake knows more than me. I’m new at this God thing myself, and all I know is I felt

a nudge telling me to help you out, so I did. I hear this new walk is one step at a time.”

Clark’s gaze went from her to Blake and back again. “This wasn’t a trick to get me to ‘forgive’”—he made air quotes with his

fingers—“the guy who killed my brother?”

“I didn’t even think about that.”

“Weird.” He turned toward his truck and yelled at the dogs to be quiet, and they quit barking. “I’ll pay you back.”

“I don’t want to be paid back. It was a gift.”

“I don’t take charity.”

“You ever get a gift from someone before?”

“Only from family, and you aren’t family.”

“Maybe not, but it was still a gift. Help out someone else if you like.”

“How’s the old truck running?” Blake asked.

“Like a spring chicken hunting for bugs. It hasn’t purred like that in forever. I went to town and got welding supplies and

happened to acquire a new customer. She wants her Victorian iron fencing repaired. It’s a big job that needs to be done on-site,

and I couldn’t have taken it without wheels. No way to bring my equipment there without the pickup.” He shuffled his feet.

“So thank you. I appreciate it more than you know.”

But Paradise did know, and her fingers went to the ache in her shoulder. “You’re welcome.” She’d come here as a last resort to find her life again. Jenna and Blake had been there for her, and she finally saw a way through the maze of pain her life had been.

Clark gave a final nod before plodding toward his truck. His shoulders were squared now as if having his truck lifted the

weight from his shoulders. Paradise watched him get in the truck and drive off. He waggled his fingers through the open window

one last time.

Blake draped his arm around her. “When you wanted to do that, I thought you were crazy. You did a good thing, Paradise. He

seems like a different guy. I don’t know that he’s able to move past Kent’s death yet, but he’s one step closer.”

She nestled against his side and lifted her face to the morning sunshine. “To be honest, I thought it was crazy too. I hope

it makes a difference in his life. So now what do we do?”

“We wait for Hez to find Nicole’s address, and then we’ll follow up with that. And I think I should find someone to come and

see what we’ve got underground. I need to talk to Mom about it, but I haven’t had a chance yet. I mean, she knows about Nicole

and that there might be oil or natural gas on the property, but I need to find out what she wants to do if there’s a valuable

deposit under there. I hate seeing her work so hard.”

“She loves the place though.”

“She does, and it’s been her dream for a long time. But it was Hank’s dream first, and maybe she’ll decide she wants something

different for her life without him. We haven’t talked about things of the heart like that.” He pressed his lips against her

hair. “Maybe she’ll open up to you. Girl talk, you know. I’m her son and sometimes I think she doesn’t want to worry me.”

“I can see if she opens up. I really love your mom. She’s a special person.”

“More than you know. She didn’t even date when I was a kid. It wasn’t until I was grown and off on my own that she was willing to find out what she wanted for herself from life. I worry she’s doing the same thing now with the boys, and I hate to think about her sacrificing everything for her family.”

“I doubt she considers it a sacrifice. Jenna has always been about family.”

“She’s a great mom, but she’s so much more than just that. Smart with business and with people. I want her to have a full

life.”

“You’re more like her than you want to admit. You threw over a job you loved to come help her raise the boys. Did you consider

it a sacrifice?”

His low chuckle rumbled in his chest under her cheek. “Got me. No, of course not. Nothing is a sacrifice when you love someone.”

It was a truth she was only beginning to realize herself.

***

Paradise could smell fennec fox in her hair after work, so she took a quick shower, pulled back her mane, and went to help

Jenna with supper. There shouldn’t be much to do since she’d put the ham and beans in the slow cooker this morning. She found

Jenna pulling cornbread out of the oven, and the sweet aroma mingled with the salty tang of ham.

“Wow, that smells great.” She spotted green in it. “Green chiles in it?”

Jenna nodded and grabbed a knife to cut it. “Blake loves it that way. I’ll have to give you the recipe.”

Paradise bit her lip to keep from smiling at Jenna’s blatant assumption that Paradise might want to cook for Blake sometime. It wasn’t a wrong way to think. “I’d like that.” She lifted the steamy lid of the cooker and checked the bean soup. “It’s done whenever we want to eat it.”

“I already chopped lettuce too. You want to wash the cherry tomatoes?”

Paradise took the bowl of tomatoes to the sink and turned on the water. “We spoke to TGU today. Jess told us Nicole isn’t

registered at the university.”

Knife aloft, Jenna turned and gaped. “It was all a lie?” She went back to her task of prepping the cornbread.

“Not a word of truth. Hez is tracking down the license plate number, so we’re not at a dead end yet. What do you think about

that whole gas or oil thing? Have you thought about what finding it on your property might mean?”

“I haven’t had time to think about it. It shouldn’t really change anything other than I wouldn’t be able to do the glamping

out there. There’s another spot I could use, or I could forget the whole idea. The campground could be very lucrative though.”

“What if the land was so valuable you could sell it all and never work again?”

The question hung between them, and as the seconds dragged out, Paradise wasn’t sure Jenna was going to answer. Had she never

considered how her life could change if she wasn’t running this very busy animal refuge?

Jenna used a spatula to put pieces of cornbread on the serving plate. “Selling out isn’t an option. It would mean giving up

Hank’s dream. As long as I have this place, he’s still close. I see him everywhere on the preserve. Playing with the baby

goats, feeding the animals, splashing in the pool with the tigers. He’s everywhere, Paradise. I can’t walk away from that.”

Her voice quivered.

“I’m sorry, Jenna. Your pain is still too fresh. Blake and I would love it if you didn’t have to work so hard. Between The Sanctuary, homeschooling the boys, church, and housework, you never have a minute to yourself. You don’t sleep well either. You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends and not have a health crash eventually.”

“I’m fine. I like to keep busy. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have The Sanctuary.” She glowered at Paradise.

“Did Blake put you up to this? Without the preserve to run, he could go back to the Marines. He loved his job so much, and

I hated for him to give it up.”

“He’d never leave the boys. You should know how much he loves them.”

“I do know, but I also know he loves you. He always has, Paradise. He never really got over you. People think young love doesn’t

last, but I know better.”

The direct and pointed statements struck Paradise squarely in the heart. “H-he’s never said that.”

“He won’t yet. Not until he’s sure of how you feel and probably not until he’s out from under suspicion for the murder. If

we’re having a heart-to-heart, just how do you feel about him? I’d hate to see his heart broken again.”

“I don’t plan to do that, Jenna. Life doesn’t offer second chances very often. We haven’t talked about the future yet because

we have to focus on whoever is out to destroy The Sanctuary. But I have no plans to leave.”

She couldn’t tell Blake’s mother that she loved him. Not when she hadn’t yet spoken the words to Blake. And the time wasn’t

right.

Relief washed over Jenna’s face. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll stay out of your business. Just know I never want me and the boys

to stand in your way.”

“That would never be an issue. I love you and the boys. You are a great mom, and all three of your boys are pretty wonderful. Blake worries about the sacrifices you’ve made for him, and he wants to see you happy again.”

Oops, she shouldn’t have said that. Now Jenna would know for sure Blake had asked Paradise to talk to his mom.

“I’m as happy as it’s possible to be with Hank gone. The Sanctuary keeps me busy and content. I wish money wasn’t so tight,

but God has provided week by week. This brouhaha will pass. The truth will come out. It always does eventually.”

Paradise finished washing the tomatoes and laid them on a paper towel to dry. Did truth always come out? In her experience

the bad guys continued their secret work unhindered and justice never came. But she was new at this whole trusting God thing.

The old saying “The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine” came to mind. God had exacted justice on Gerald

Davis by now, but the thought only made her shudder.