Page 139 of Left Behind

“You’re safe, Ava. Forever and ever.”

Ava sighed and laid her head on Wiley’s shoulder. “Nobody can hurt me now. Nobody can shoot at me through the windows. You and Linnie keep me safe.”

“Yes, baby, Linnie and I keep you safe.”

“Safe, just like at Grammy’s house.”

He grinned. “Yes, and I better dance you back to Grammy.”

Watching her slide into his mother’s lap was a blessing in itself. Shirley could have resented the child, and instead she’d welcomed her with open arms. Then he turned to look out across the dance floor, located his wife, and went to reclaim her.

***

They snuck out of the dancing, changed out of their wedding stuff, packed it up and dressed in street clothes, and left the church, only to drive down the mountain in a car with a Just Married banner across the trunk.

They arrived at the Serenity Inn, went straight up to the bridal suite, and hung a Do Not Disturb sign on the outside of the door.

Then they stood for a few moments, looking out at the valley and the town below and then turned and looked at each other.

“You really own that?”

“Me and every other Pope, Cauley, and Glass.”

“What is my role in that world?”

“The same as mine—to stay silent.”

“Do you think Ava is okay?” Linette asked.

He nodded. “She likes being at Mom’s house.” Then he took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Tonight she asked if when we moved, could Corina find her. I said no. That Corina was gone forever.”

“Bless her heart. Even when we think she’s forgetting, it’s all still in her head. What did she say?” Linette asked.

“She gave me a look and then asked, ‘Did she drop dead like Miss Mattie?’ Then I asked her what she would think if that happened? And she said she’d feel safe. So, I told her she was safe forever.”

“Oh, Wiley, was she sad?”

“Not even a little bit. All she said was when we move, no one can drive by our house and shoot in the windows.”

Linette put her arms around Wiley’s neck and tucked her cheek against his shoulder. “You make Ava feel safe. You make me feel safe. Where does that come from? How did you get to be this knight in shining armor?”

“I’m no hero, sweetheart. I’m just a man who wants nothing more than to make love to his wife.”

Then he got up and turned off the lights, but left the curtains open to the inky-black sky and the stars scattered across the heavens. When he turned around, she had pulled back the covers and was lying on the bed waiting for him, naked to the world.

He moved to the foot of the bed, watching her watching him, and slowly began taking off his clothes. Moments later, he slid into the bed beside her. Kissed the ring on her hand, and then her lips as he moved over her, then into her.

He was hard, and she was ready.

After that, it was nothing but fireworks.

***

The movers had packed up everything from the house Wiley and Linette had been renting and were on their way up the mountain with Sean leading the way for the van.

The rest of the family was already at their new house. It had been painted inside and out in a fresh coat of white, except for the pale-pink walls in Ava’s room. They’d added a new bathroom attached to her room and remodeled the one in the master bedroom. Appliances in the kitchen had been replaced, the huge propane tank outside refilled, the porch patched, and the chimney cleaned. They’d kept all of Ella’s antiques. The sideboard and pie safe in the kitchen. The grandfather clock in the hall. The old long-barrel rifle hanging over the fireplace. The handmade oak dining table with twelve chairs. Family things. Irreplaceable things. Things to cherish.

Ava had been up and down the stairs so many times that she’d worn herself out and fallen asleep in Shirley’s lap.

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