Page 76 of Second Chance Serenity

Kyra comes around the counter and takes my face in hers. She stares into my eyes like she’s looking straight through to my soul. It’s something she’s always been able to do. The woman can make you open up and pour your heart out, then help you put it back together without so much as speaking a single word. “I won’t stand here and tell you that you have to just put your faith in Him because you already know that. What I will remind you is that people choose to do horrific things because they are sinful. Because they themselves are prisoners of this world. God can take the horrific and make it beautiful, and something beautiful will come out of this. You just might not see it yet.”

I take a deep breath as I let her words sink in.

It took me a long time to see the beauty that came from my heartbreak. Truly, it wasn’t until Michael nearly died that I began to understand. Because he left me and joined the military, Michael saved countless lives.

He met Lance and Elijah, and they came here and opened up Knight Security.

And since then, Michael has dedicated his life to helping others.

I think of Sunny. Of the fact that he kept her and her baby safe when that man tried to rip the infant from her arms.

I think of Eliza, who was stalked and abducted.

I consider Andie, who was nearly murdered.

Each and every time, it was Michael and his team who stepped in.

Perhaps that’s the beauty in my heartbreak. That the man who shattered me into pieces is the same one who has helped put so many others back together.

The door opens, and Michael walks in, Lance at his side.

My gaze locks on almond eyes that I have spent countless hours staring into, and I know—without a doubt—our story is not done.

He was my first love.

And, God willing, he’ll be my last.

“How are you feeling?” I take a seat on the couch beside Michael.

He sets the folder he was reviewing down and glances over at me. “Better now that I’ve showered and eaten a meal not prepared in a hospital kitchen.”

I laugh and tug a blanket off the back of the couch. Since it’s well past two in the morning, Pastor Redding and his wife have already turned in for the night. But even as I tried to lie in bed and get some sleep, I found myself unable to do anything but stare up at the ceiling fan as it whirred above me. “I can imagine.”

“How are you doing? We’ve talked an awful lot about me, but not you.”

“Well, you were the one who was shot and nearly died,” I remind him.

“You could have died, too.” He sits up a bit straighter and turns, propping one knee up on the couch so he can fully face me. His arm is in a sling, but the color in his cheeks is back, and although his movements are slow and stiff, he’s moving. Which is a gift from God after everything he went through.

“I’m okay.”

“Are you? I mean it, Reyna. You’ve been through the wringer.”

I swallow hard as emotion wells in my throat. Truth is, I’m not okay. Far from it, even. But I am so incredibly tired of crying. Of feeling so helpless. “I’m managing.”

“Reyna. You don’t have to be strong with me. We’re—friends.” He hesitates before the last word. Before I can respond, he grins. “You told my dad off.”

I cover my face with my hands and giggle. “I did.”

“It felt good, didn’t it?”

“You know, it really did. It probably shouldn’t have, but being able to air it out felt nice.” I narrow my gaze. Michael’s father was never violent, but he had a mean tongue when he was worked up. “Did he take it out on you?”

“Actually—brace yourself—he apologized to me.”

“He did what?” And because I can’t fight the urge to touch him any longer, I scoot closer and drape my arm over the back of the couch so I can face him. My hand grips the hand that he has stretched out over the back too, and the moment our skin meets, I’m greeted with an overwhelming avalanche of butterflies in my stomach.

“He did,” Michael replies with a smile. “It caught me off guard. My mother and sister, too.”

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