Page 78 of Perilous Healing

“You’re good now,” Caleb replies. “And thank God for that.”

“Thank God,” I reply with a smile.

And then it hits me like a bright light straight into my heart. If I hadn’t had the fever, we wouldn’t have left the camp. We never would have been out here for the team to save us, and we wouldn’t have the chance to save everyone else.

Thank you, God.I breathe a sigh of relief, the miracle settling around me. I turn to leave, and spot Silas standing just inside the medical tent. He’s changed his clothes, wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt that stretches over his expansive chest. His hair is dry now, his gaze piercing.

“We’ll give you two just a minute.” Caleb leaves the tent, Abana walking out with him. She pauses in the entryway and squeezes Silas’s arm gently, then disappears outside.

He clears his throat. “How do you feel?”

“Good. Better. Caleb says it’s like I wasn’t even sick.”

Silas nods. “Good.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence around us, something I can’t quite put my finger on clinging to the very air we breathe. I scrape the still-damp hair off my neck and use the ponytail holder on my wrist to put it in a low bun. “How is Eloise? Caleb said Elijah was setting you up with a video conference so you could see her.”

He smiles. “She’s good. Looks like she’s grown in the last three weeks.”

“I bet she has.”

“She told me she missed me and that she’s ready for me to come home, but that it’s okay if I can’t yet because she’s having so much fun with Eliza and Lance.”

“That girl is mature beyond her years.”

“You’re telling me.” He runs a hand over the back of his neck. “You’re really okay?”

“I really am.” I hesitate just a moment, unsure if I should speak my mind or not. Silas has never made it a secret that he’s struggled with his belief, though after he nearly died I know he came around to the idea. To God. He’s even prayed with me each night since. But is he truly open enough to hear my thoughts? Only one way to find out. After all, no one brought about change by remaining silent. So, I take a deep breath. “Look, I know you don’t fully believe in it, but I can’t help but feel like the fever was a tool to get us out. The fact that I was so sick earlier but now I’m totally fine? It shouldn’t make sense.”

His gaze levels on mine. “I prayed for you when we were in that water.”

Silas’s words stop me in my tracks. “You did?”

He nods. “I begged God not to take you too.”

His tone is tortured, his expression strained. I reach for him, needing to bring him some sort of comfort. “Oh, Silas, I?—”

At his expression, I drop my hand.

“I thought that I was being punished for the way I’ve been. See, I had the perfect family, Bianca. Loving parents, a supportive sister.” He moves further into the room. “But I still felt like I needed more. My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and run the ranch, but that just felt so torturous to me. I went into the military because Iwantedmore, and during my time in, I losteverything.My friends, my parents, the ranch, my sister—” He chokes on the last word, his grief still so fresh. “I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t my punishment for not being content with what I had.”

“Silas, I?—”

He shakes his head, so I stop speaking. “And then this whole time we’ve been here. You’ve managed to remain so positive, behaving like a light to these people, speaking about God and the salvation He offered through the death of Jesus Christ, and all I could think was that I wish for one second I had the same type of blind faith you do.” He moves in even closer, until he’s standing only a few inches from me. “I got closer after this.” He presses a hand over where the injury was. “But I still struggled, then when I was in that water with you, Itrulyprayed for what the first time since my sister died, and here you stand. Free of the chains that bound you back in that camp, and free of the sickness that plagued you only hours ago.” Reaching up, he runs his hand over the side of my face.

I shiver at the touch, enjoying the contact far more than I should. Far more than is safe.

“It’s enough to make a cynic like me understand that I don’t know everything.”

His words are everything to me.

His hope stoking the fire burning inside of me.

I tilt my face up to look at him, desperate for him to take the next step even as I know it would change everything for the both of us.

His gaze drops to my lips, and he leans in.

I close my eyes.

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