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Lee: No. They’re still having it. I’ll have to keep my distance, though.

In that case, I’ll just hang out here. I’ve kind of already settled in for the night.

Lee: Sounds good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Okay. Hope you feel better!

She added a heart emoji and got one back from him. Then the conversation was over.

Rori shifted against her pillows to pick up her mug and take a sip before turning her attention to her book once again. Only now, she couldn’t focus on the story.

Uncertain what to do, Rori lowered the phone to her lap and took several deep breaths. This was all so new to her. Relationships of this nature. Not just what she had with Lee, but also the friendships she had with his family and Essie and Al.

It had been in the back of her mind that they’d tire of her eventually. Since that day at Essie’s, she’d prayed every day that these relationships would deepen and strengthen and be with her for years to come.

Was she jumping to conclusions if she assumed that God had not answered that prayer? Or was she asking wrongly? Or had she been too selfish in asking for something for herself?

Rori sighed. Instead of seeking escape in fiction, she should have been praying. Perhaps if she’d been a Christian longer, that might have been her first reaction.

She’d been praying for Lee and for their relationship since she’d become a Christian, but she hadn’t prayed about the situation when it had unfolded earlier that afternoon.

Setting aside her phone, Rori bowed her head and clenched her hands together in her lap. Tears stung her eyes, but she did her best to hold them back. She hadn’t cried over what was happening, and she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

It wasn’t dark yet.

Please God, help me know what to do.

It was a simple request, but it was the only one she could think to make right then. She just didn’t know what to do.

Her heart ached as she leaned to pick up her Bible. That pain wasn’t unfamiliar, but she’d hoped she’d felt it for the last time.

Flipping through the pages of the Bible, she found the slip of paper Essie had given her. She pulled out the notebook she’d been using to record her thoughts on sermons and her devotions. She searched it for the notes she’d made as she’d read through the list of verses from Essie.

It had taken her a few days to read through the list because she’d wanted to spend some time thinking over each passage. That meant they’d been scattered in between sermons and devotional thoughts.

Finally, she found the one she remembered reading.

Proverbs 3: 5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

She’d copied the verse out, then jotted down a couple of sentences, including one that said: How long do I have to have been acknowledging Him?

She’d never gotten her answer. All Rori could do was hope that she’d been a Christian long enough that God would direct her in what to do.

There wasn’t anything else she could do for the time being. Rori just hoped that the situation would get resolved quickly so she didn’t have to wait around trying to figure out how to minimize the hurt and the impact on her life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lee sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor. He didn’t want to get up and face the day. Because it was Saturday, he didn’t have to get up for work. He wasn’t even on call, since Carl had told him to take it easy.

He was certainly aware that he wasn’t handling the news of his parentage very well.

It had been hard enough hearing the basic information from the detective, but then he’d made the mistake of watching the documentary Peter had mentioned. He should have listened to the man.

There had been several points along the way where he could have changed his mind about watching it.

When he went to the streaming website to get a membership.

When he got up to find his wallet for his credit card info.

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