Page 143 of Julian

Elijah was his other best friend. He’d ended up moving to Idaho after purchasing a home nearby, so they hung out together frequently. They were accountability partners for their sobriety, but they also met with a group of other men for a Bible study.

Over the last few years, Julian had worked hard to find a balance in his life. Kiara and Elijah had been a big help with that, and he was grateful for their input and support.

At the end of their devotions, Julian took Kiara’s hand as she closed her eyes and began to pray. She prayed for Ben, for the family, for the courage to keep raising their kids with wisdom even when days were tough and patience ran thin.

Julian loved to listen to her. There was a tone in her voice when she prayed—unpolished, real, unselfconscious. It had taken him a while to pray aloud with confidence, but it had seemed to come much easier to Kiara.

Spending that time together, studying the Bible and praying, filled him with gratitude for everything they’d built.

They finished their time of prayer with “amen” but didn’t immediately release each other’s hands, enjoying the connection after having been apart.

The man he had been four years ago had been a wreck. It might not have been visible to the world, and he might have denied it, but he had been falling apart.

Though he and Kiara had made a decision that wasn’t God-honoring, God had still brought something beautiful out of the mess.

As Julian held Kiara’s hand, his thumb found her pulse and lingered. The kids were quiet on the baby monitors—another gift of the estate, everything wired and safe.

For a moment, he just looked at their hands, fingers intertwined.

He remembered when he’d been afraid of this, of being known and needed in any real way. Now it was everything. He liked knowing that Kiara depended on him. That she knew shecoulddepend on him. For support. For protection. For love. She deserved it all and more.

Julian could see the lines at the corners of Kiara’s eyes, the tiredness that came from wrangling a toddler and a baby by herself for a few days. He thought about how she’d never once complained, even when days were hard and she went to bed exhausted.

But regardless of how tired she might look, she was still the most beautiful woman he knew.

There was no need for words as they prepared for bed, then crawled beneath the covers, just soaking in the closeness they shared.

Julian of four years ago had not seen value in faith, a home, children, and a woman who loved and supported him. However, for present-day Julian, the most important things to him were within those four walls, especially the woman he held in his arms.

The woman who had brought love into his life. Who had seen him at his worst and still stood by him. In her arms, he’d found love and a home. In God, he’d found peace and contentment.

“I love you,” he murmured.

Kiara laid with her head on his shoulder. Reaching up, she touched his cheek. “I love you too.”

Julian turned his head and pressed a kiss into her palm, thanking God for once again bringing him back to his family. To Kiara.

The End

~*~*~