Page 68 of Hunting Justice

Noelle stiffened. “Why do you think that?”

“You have a strength, yet you have a newness about you. Like you’re flying for the first time.” The young woman shrugged and walked away.

“That was…weird.”

He clutched her shoulders and spun her to face him. “No. She’s right.”

“Are you trying to tell me she’s psychic?”

“Not at all.” He tapped her ear. “You’re wearing your cross earrings.”

“Oh. Yeah, I kinda forgot about that.” Her sheepish grin was adorable.

He chuckled. “Plus, you do have a certain happy glow to you.” He leaned in next to her ear. “I’m hoping I have something to do with that.”

She smacked his chest and gave him a gentle shove. “You’re a dork.”

“But I’m your dork.”

Her eyes widened.

Great. Had he messed up?

A smile spread across her lips. “Yes, you are.”

His pulse raced at her admission. He wanted to throw his arms around her and kiss the living daylights out of her. But he refrained. Not only were they in public, but she reminded him of a deer. Ready to bolt at the slightest movement.

“What do you say we get out of here and check out Body Murals.” He guided her to the exit and allowed her to do her job before he joined her outside.

Once in the car, she programmed her GPS. “Ready?”

He buckled his seatbelt. “Yup.”

Halfway to their destination, Noelle reached over and squeezed his hand. “Tell me why you quit praying.”

He jerked his gaze to her. “What?”

“I want to know why you quit praying.”

His mind traveled to the past—to his ugly failure. Noelle had opened up to him; he owed her an explanation. “I’ve told you about the accident that killed my wife. I tried with everything in me to save her, but I knew deep down it would take a miracle. So I prayed for one. I prayed hard. Begged, even.” Emotion thickened in his throat. “But God didn’t listen.”

Noelle’s mouth opened, but he stopped her.

“I know. It’s not that He didn’t hear me. It’s that he chose to let a different outcome happen. But I’m not going to lie. It hurt. I felt abandoned. Like He didn’t care about me.” Jonah pinched the bridge of his nose. “It became easier to not pray than to accept that His way wasn’t mine. If that makes sense.”

“Sure it does. Chalk it up to human nature. We want what we want. It doesn’t matter about a bigger picture.”

“True. I guess at first, I wanted to hang on to my anger. Then it became easier to blame God for not listening.” Her words settled in his heart. He hadn’t talked with God in a long time due to his stubbornness. And he hated to admit it, but he’d lost out on the comfort and peace that went with the relationship. “I’m beginning to rethink my stance.”

“Good. Life’s a whole lot easier when you can talk with your best friend.”

“That’s how you see Him, isn’t it? Not as God, but as a friend you can chat with.”

“I believe that’s what He really wants. He wants us to reach out to Him. Wants a friendship with us.”

He spotted the shop up ahead and tucked her bit of wisdom away to ponder later. “There it is, on the right.”

“Got it.” She turned into the parking lot and found a spot in front of the entrance. “Fingers crossed we get a lead.”

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