Page 27 of Gideon

“What difference does it make to you? You must be getting ready to leave town. Then, none of this matters anymore.”

That struck deeper than she’d probably meant for it to. “That’s not true. There are people in this town who mean a great deal to me.”

He reached for her without thinking, but she drew back.

“I’m not trying to fight with you,” he said. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“You’ve been here five minutes, and suddenly I’m your responsibility?”

“That’s not?—”

“No. I’m sorry. Honestly, part of me wants that. There have been so many times I’ve wanted someone to be there, ready to catch me when I fall, but you have to understand that I’ve been looking after myself and my mom for years without you. And soon you’ll be gone. If I lean on you now, what will I do when you leave?”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’m sorry for gettingin your way. I’ll leave you alone.” He turned, but she stopped him.

“Wait. I don’t want this to be how our conversation ends. I don’t mean to be cold to you, but knowing that you’ll be gone soon makes me…I don’t know…frustrated. It hurts because I don’t have many friends around here, and I consider you a friend.”

“Thank you for saying that. I feel the same, and I want you to know I’ll miss you when I go. It’s probably half the reason we haven’t seen much of each other this week. The better I get to know people in this town, the more it will hurt when I go.” The conversation was getting too close to a deeper truth he wasn’t ready to admit.

“Is your dad one of the people you’ll miss? How’s that going?”

“Better than anticipated. But if you remember, I came with very low expectations, and I don’t think I’ll get much more than that. My dad’s my dad. I’ll be happy if we part on cordial terms.” He lifted his lunch. “I should get going. Just be careful with Eric. For me.”

“I will. We’ll keep our topics to God.”

He nodded and left, wanting so badly to take her with him.

Chapter 8

“Turn back to God now!”

Gideon heard the shout from around the corner. He’d come out of the workshop, cleaned up after his last job, and was heading to his dad, but he walked around the corner to see what was going on instead.

A small crowd had already gathered with more turning up. Word spread fast.

“Repent!”

He moved closer, trying to get a glimpse of the speaker, when he saw arms poke above the crowd, reaching for the sky.

“Your time is running out!” the man bellowed. “You have sinned against God by turning away from him. These are the consequences, but it’s not too late.”

“Weirdo,” someone mumbled beside Gideon and walked away.

“What did you expect?” the voice continued. “He saved you, and you turned away. You worshiped thingsmade by human hands and not the creator. You have received what you have requested.”

Gideon had never witnessed a street preacher besides what had been caught on video and uploaded on social media. But there had been so much hardship in Asher, it made sense that some around town would struggle with their mental health. Trying to convince an uninterested population wouldn’t end well for this guy, whoever he was. It would take more than these words to get anyone in this crowd to turn to Jesus. But they didn’t mind a good show.

“You will all be held accountable.”

Gideon was about to leave when the crowd shifted, and he caught a glimpse of the speaker.

“This is your last chance!” Eric shouted.

Gideon shook his head. He should have guessed. On the plus side, this show was enough to convince him that Eric wasn’t working for Fairfax. However, his being mentally unstable didn’t do him any favors. It wouldn’t take long for the news to get back to Nikki and Beth and should be enough for them to give the man space.

“God says, ‘I am the Lord your God.’” Eric’s voice boomed through the park. “‘You must not worship other gods.’ And yet, you have done the unthinkable. Those totem poles are an abomination.”

That got a new reaction from the crowd. They liked their art and wouldn’t let some stranger tell them they were wrong. They tried to drown him out with their shouts, but Eric’s words somehow pierced through it all.

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