Page 82 of Tactical Revival

“So wild. Apparently I need to make the trip out there so we can catch up on something other than your awful ex-husband.”

“Well, I’d offer you a place to stay, but as of now, I’m not sure how I can get my doors opened again.”

“What do you need?”

“A time machine so I can go back in time and prevent the place from burning down?”

Beckett laughs softly. “‘Here on earth you will face many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.’” John 16:33. I go there whenever I’m struggling beneath the weight of it all.” She sighs into the phone.

Beckett and her husband were only married two years before he passed away when the private plane he’d been flying suffered catastrophic engine failure. On top of that, during their marriage, she’d dealt with fertility issues, and when he died, I know it felt like another blow to her already tattered heart.

Kyra and I had driven out there to sit with her, pray with her, and be her sounding board when she’d been angry at the Father for taking her husband away. Helping her through that loss was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Matty had only been about a year old, but I remember watching her hold him and praying hard that she’d be granted the chance to be a mother.

Someday.

“I’m trying to keep my head above water, but I admit that it’s been more difficult. When Chad left, I had Matty and the B&B to keep me occupied. But now, with the B&B gone?—”

“How bad is the damage?”

“Could be worse,” I admit. “I’m meeting a contractor out there later today so he can give me an estimate on reopening my doors.”

“Who are you meeting with?”

“One of Lance’s friends out of your neck of the woods. Guy named Everett Dorsey?”

She laughs. “I know all about him. Guy was on the cover of every eligible bachelor magazine before he settled down and got married. I feel like I heard the sighs of all the women sad that he was off the market.”

I smile. “Well, hopefully he’s good at his job, too. He redid the lighthouse after it burned down.”

“I heard about that. Mrs. McGinley told my mom, and she told me. So insane.”

“It really was.”

“Call me after you talk to the contractor. I want to know what he says.”

“I will.” And because I haven’t had the chance to tell anyone, I can’t help myself. “Also, you know said handsome former detective?”

She laughs. “I do.”

“We’re sorta dating.”

“Wait, what! Seriously? What is sorta? Like, you’re not sure you like him? Or you’ve been on a date?”

“We haven’t been on an official date yet, but—I don’t know. He makes me feel—everything. Is that a thing?”

“It really is,” she replies, her tone taking on a sadness that makes my heart ache for her. “Pauly and I had a connection like that. Hang on to it, girl, because it is not easily found.”

“We kissed last night, and it was—I felt more in that moment than I had in my entire marriage to Chad. And that’s a really bad thing to say.”

“No, it’s not. I get it. Besides, Chad was—I don’t even know how to put it kindly. Difficult from the first moment you guys started dating. You were just too young to see it. We all were, or I would have warned you.”

“That’s a fair point.”

“Well, I better get going. I have a deposition starting in an hour, and I need to prepare. Call me when you’re done though, okay?”

“Will do. Thanks, Beckett.”

After hanging up the phone, I pour my coffee into a travel mug, then carry it out to my car. My parents took Matty to the beach for a picnic and some fishing, so the house is abnormally quiet. And, if I have to stare at one more spreadsheet, I might go insane.

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