Page 27

Emery laid a pile of daisies across her lap once she’d gotten comfortable on the boulder beside her aunt.

“It’s a beautiful day,” Carla said. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”

“I wish we could have done something more formal.”

“Jade would hate that, and you know it.”

Em laughed. “She would.”

“You understand why they can’t release her body right now, right?”

“I do. But this doesn’t feel like it’s enough.” Em leaned against Carla, resting her head on her aunt’s shoulder.

“It’s enough that we can come here and remember your sister for the good she did. And we can keep coming back as long as we want to.”

“I loved this spot growing up.”

“Even though you almost drowned here?”

“Maybe because of it. My big sister being the hero and coming to my rescue.”

“Where did it happen?”

“Right over there.” Em pointed upstream to a shallow area of the creek. “The water was higher then. I remember the rocks were underwater. And they were slippery. If Jade hadn’t been here to save me—” She ran her fingers along the scar on her head.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here with you right now.”

“And she did it again.” Em smiled sadly. “Right at the end. It breaks my heart that she didn’t know Jesus.”

“Well…we can’t know that for sure. She came to church a few times. Who knows what decisions she made then or even right at the end.”

“She hated church.”

“I know that’s what she said . But there was a Sunday when she had tears in her eyes. She didn’t think I saw, but I did.”

“You sure it wasn’t the aftereffects of a yawn?”

“I can tell the difference. She had enough emotion on her face. She couldn’t hide the truth. And don’t forget, she went against everything they tried to fill her head with and—at the end—chose you. She could have reached out to Jesus in those last moments too. With her last breath.”

Em wiped the tears, but more followed. Carla put her arm around her.

“She always did love you,” Carla said. “She just didn’t know how to do it well. You both had to protect yourselves, but you did it in different ways.”

“If I’d understood that better, we could have been closer. Maybe I could have kept her from being influenced like she was.”

“She was an adult. You can’t take responsibility for her actions. My home was always open for her to come back to, and she chose differently. Don’t start taking on that baggage.”

“It’s strange to miss someone so acutely who you barely saw while they were alive.”

Carla took a daisy from Em’s lap, ran the petals across her cheek, then threw it into the water. “Goodbye, Jade.”

Em threw in one of her own. “You’ll be missed, but always remembered.”

The two women sat in silence as they continued tossing the daisies in one after the other until Em held the last one. “You know why daisies were her favorite?”

“I have no idea.”

“Because she said there was no point pining for something you couldn’t have. Daisies are easy to find, so she said she could have some whenever she wanted. She never had to go without.” Em threw the last flower into the water and watched it flow down to a rock where it got stuck for a second before the current swept it around and it followed the path the rest had taken.

Carla stood and swiped at the back of her pants. “Why don’t we go for a walk?”

“Good idea.”

They hopped back onto solid ground and followed a path that wound through the trees.

“The few times we came here together, even though it took a lot of convincing, we pretended we were princesses lost in the forest, waiting for our knights in shining armor to come rescue us.”

“I didn’t think Jade was the princess type. You either, for that matter.”

“I think we did it to feel normal. Other girls played like that. Other girls with a mom and dad who loved them. Maybe we thought it would help us escape.”

“Did it?”

“For a minute.”

“Speaking of knights, you haven’t mentioned Jep at all.”

She glared at her aunt. “What is it with you and him?”

“What? I’m just wondering if you guys are still working together.”

Em focused on the path ahead. “He went back home. He’s got other work he’s doing.”

“What other work?”

“He has a workshop where he helps guys who have made poor choices in life. Helps them get back up onto their feet. Make better choices.”

“You never told me that.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to.”

Carla stopped her. “What’s going on?”

“What? Nothing. I told you, he’s gone back home. The end.”

“Does that make you sad?”

“Why would it?”

“Because he’s a good guy. Perfect for you. He knows you better than anyone else, but he’s not a Christian. You did what’s best, but it’s okay to be bummed.”

“Actually…”

When Em didn’t continue, Carla yanked her around so they were facing each other. “Actually, what?”

“Apparently…he is a Christian.”

“Hold the phone, what? You mean like a real Christian?”

“Is there another kind?”

“There’s weird ones.”

“He’s not weird.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Since when do you need to know everything about this guy?”

“Since you’re really into him. What’s going on? He’s got the whole package. What happened? Did he come out and say he had absolutely no interest in you romantically?”

“No. He…” She was trying to choose her words carefully, but there was no careful about it. “I think there was something.”

“What?”

“We almost kissed. Thinking back, it was probably more than once.”

“What?” Carla threw her hands in the air and marched in a dramatic circle. “I can’t believe I’m only just now hearing about this. When did this happen?”

“We were at your place and?—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not only did he try to kiss you, but it happened at my place? Where was I?”

“Out.”

“And why in God’s name did it not happen? And I can say that because I’m pretty sure God’s in favor of you two.”

“You don’t know that.”

“It’s a pretty good guess. So what’s the deal?”

Em started walking again. What answer could she give?

“He’s not your colleague anymore,” Carla said when she caught up. “Why are we even having this conversation? Why aren’t you with him right now? What are you doing?”

“I don’t know. Leave me alone.” Em picked up the pace.

“No way. Not on this. You’ve spent your whole life hesitating, and you’re finally getting some confidence, so what’s the problem? Are you scared?”

“Why would I be scared?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“I guess… He’s everything I never imagined could be in one man.”

“You’re afraid he’s too good to be true?”

“No, it’s not that—it’s?—”

“What?”

“Well, who am I? I had all these expectations about the man I would be with one day. He probably has the same expectations about a future wife.”

“I doubt he’s put as much analyzing into it as you have.”

“So? It doesn’t really matter. Why would he be interested in a girl like me?”

“He must be, otherwise he wouldn’t have tried to kiss you.”

“But he still left.”

“What if God wanted him back at that other job? He’s supposed to go against God’s wishes? Don’t you want a man who chooses God over you?”

“You are so frustrating.”

“Why? Because I’m right? What did he say when he left?”

“Goodbye.”

“That’s it? Did he invite you to visit?”

“Kind of.”

Carla groaned. “You say I’m frustrating. What did he say? Exactly.”

“He said he hoped I would visit sometime. But he was being polite.”

“No, he wasn’t. Let’s get that straight right now. I can forgive you your ignorance because men can turn our minds into Jello, but what he did was leave a door open hoping—probably praying—that you would walk through it. I think you should go see him.”

“That is a terrifying thought.”

“You said you weren’t scared.”

“I lied.”

“So? You’ve done plenty of scary things. Visiting the man you may be in love with is worth facing the fear.”

“What if I turn up and he’s disappointed to see me?”

“Then you’ll know. Wouldn’t it be worse to get ten years down the road not knowing? Every day wondering what would have happened if you took a chance?” When Em scrunched up her face in indecision, Carla said, “Look, if you visit him, and he’s standoffish and isn’t showing any interest, you can say goodbye and that’s it. No harm done.”

Em looked up at the sky, a pile of emotions bearing down on her. “I can’t do this right now. Can we change the subject?”

“You’re right. Our emotions are high today.”

“You want what’s best for me, and I love you for that. But I think maybe God brought Jep into my life to help me embrace the person He created me to be. I’m satisfied with that.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll let it go.”

Jep hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time, but this new kid had a way of bringing the best out in all of them. Even Slate. He could remember seeing something in Bryce that day at the park when he’d saved him from being beaten up by the drug dealers, even though he’d had him arrested. It was a lifetime ago, but seeing him away from all of that, it was clear now that God was calling the boy to more. And Jep had the honor of being a part of that.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had them all looking toward the front of the workshop.

“Em?” Jep said, his mouth dropping open. He closed it when he realized his heart might jump out.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said, hesitant to step in any farther.

“No. Not at all.”

Bryce snickered, and Jep elbowed him but didn’t take his eyes off Em. He’d thought about her a lot since he’d come back, wondering if he should have made himself clearer about wanting to see her again. Wanting more, actually, but he didn’t want to push.

“I noticed you have a lot of cars outside waiting to be serviced,” she said, taking a few steps and looking around.

“Yeah. We’ve had an increase in support. Probably because I’m putting more effort into it. You remember Bryce?”

“We know each other?” Bryce said, stepping forward with a wide grin on his face. “I’m sure I would have remembered.” He pulled off his baseball cap and squeezed it to his chest.

“She’s the reason you’re still alive,” Jep said.

Em looked confused. “It’s nice to meet you, Bryce. I’m afraid I can’t remember either.”

“Sure you do,” Jep said. “When you first came here and dragged me away from this place, you saw what was happening in the park. Those guys were about to give Bryce a beating.”

“Oh, you’re that kid.”

“I’m not a kid.” Bryce straightened.

Slate rubbed the top of his head. “Sure you are.”

She looked at Jep. “How’d you manage that one?”

“I told him to give me a call if he wanted to change his life around. He called.”

“Smart move, Bryce,” she said. “I think you’ve got a lot of potential.”

“What makes you say that?” Bryce said.

“You like to lift up those around you,” she said. “That’s a good quality in a leader.”

“I miss this,” Jep said. “Your insight. You’re not looking for work, are you? ’Cause I know you couldn’t possibly be here to recruit me again.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. But you said I should come by some time, so I am.”

He could see how nervous she was. That could mean she was here for more than a casual visit. His heart beat faster. “I’m glad you came.”

“Yeah?”

When she bit her lip to hold back her smile and looked at the floor, his confidence rose. He hadn’t come right out and prayed that God would send her, but of all the women he’d ever known, Em stood out as someone he wanted to be with more than anyone else. Spending the rest of his life with her seemed like a dream.

“I can see you ditched the work clothes this time.” The skinny jeans and loose blouse looked better than it should have.

She lifted a foot to show off her sneaker. “I did learn a few things from you while we worked together, like dressing for the occasion.”

“You look good.” His eyes dropped down her body and then back up, catching her gaze flicking across to the boys, who were miraculously watching silently behind him. Probably because they didn’t want to miss the show.

“Ignore them,” he said.

Slate punched Bryce lightly on his arm. “Come with me. I wanna show you something.”

“What?”

“Come on and I’ll show you.”

“I’m fine where I am.”

Slate grabbed him in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles across his skull while he dragged him from the room.

Em laughed. “Are they always like this?”

“Always. If you want to hang around, you can find out for yourself.”

“You sound like you need help running this place.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a feminine perspective around here now and then.”

“It wouldn’t be distracting for them?”

“The boys need training in how to behave around a beautiful woman. As you may have noticed.” He may as well go for it. This could be the last chance he had with her.

“Too bad I already have a job.”

He clicked his tongue. “Too bad. How’s it going, by the way? You like being a supervisor?”

“Yeah. It’s good. Really good.”

“How’s Lawson?”

“Same as usual, except that he asks my opinion now.”

“Wow. He’s come so far.”

“And the team’s running better now that Gardener and Pearce are gone,” she said.

“As it should.”

“Not as well as when you were there, but that’s to be expected.”

He had taken a few steps closer to her, but the hood of a car was still between them. “Listen, Em. This small talk is nice and all, but once you walk out that door, I may not ever see you again, so I’ve gotta be up front with you.”

“Should I be worried?”

He laughed. “That all depends.”

“On what?”

He skirted around the car and moved in. Close. She didn’t move back. “I’ve missed you. A lot.”

“You have?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess we got used to seeing each other regularly.”

“That’s not what I mean. And I take it by that blush that you know it.”

“Mentioning my blush makes it worse, you know.”

He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “What about this?”

“That’s very forward of you.”

“But you’re not pulling away.”

“No.”

“Good.” He leaned in and kissed her. Carefully at first. Tentative. It was a couple of seconds before her arms found their way around him with no more hesitation until the laughter started and some hoots from across the room.

Jep smiled against her mouth before he dipped his head to rest his forehead against hers.

“That’s embarrassing,” Em said with a chuckle.

“For them. Not for us.” He continued to hold her close. “They mean well, even if they’re obnoxious from time to time.”

“We’ll have to do something about that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of chores to give them if they need to be taught a lesson.”

“You think that’s a good idea? Won’t that make them resent me when I start hanging around a little?”

“A little? That’s it? I’m only an hour out of town.”

“Forty minutes from my place.”

“That’s not far.”

“No. It’s not.”

“Then I expect to see a lot more of you than a little.”

He pressed forward, moving her back to a more private spot and kissed her again.