Page 47 of Cold Threat

“...some kind of emotional damage.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said, looking over at River. “Can you run that by me again?”

River frowned at him. “Where are you?”

Tony sighed. “I’m a little freaked out about my parents thinking about fostering Angie.”

“I get it. This woman could have been someone you were close to.”

He nodded. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“Just that Angie couldn’t have gotten through that awful night and the death of her mother without it affecting her.”

“I agree,” he said. “I was thinking that maybe she assists people because it helps with her own healing.”

“I think you could be right. That’s one reason I wanted to work in law enforcement. I guess I had the desire to find some kind of justice.”

Tony chuckled. “Did you have a secret desire to arrest your father?”

She laughed. “Not consciously, but it’s not a bad idea.”

“God kinda messed that up, huh?”

River was silent for a moment. Had he offended her?

“The God I was taught about would have locked him up and thrown away the key,” she said softly. She swung her gaze his way. “But then I met you, and you helped me to discover a different view of God. One that loved me completely. Even with all my faults.” She sighed deeply. “The downside being that now I know I have to forgive my dad. Not something I ever thought I’d do.”

“So, are you going to let him come and see you?”

“Probably, but I might not let him come to the house. I’m not sure how my mother would react.”

“And if she says she wants him to come?” he asked.

“You know how quickly she can change. If I could be certain she wouldn’t go ballistic, it would be fine. I mean, it’s her house, and it should be her decision. But what if she doesn’t remember saying he could come? What if she reverts back to the time when he left?” River shook her head. “I can’t risk letting her go through that again. It almost destroyed all of us, and it might send her into a tailspin.” She took a deep breath. “If he’s just looking for away to make himself feel better, he’ll have to deal with it on his own. I can’t allow him to do any more damage to my mother.”

“The forgiveness conundrum.”

River looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Huh? There’s a conundrum?”

He laughed. “Kind of. Okay, let’s say you’re married, and you cheat. You realize how wrong it is and you clean up your act. Do you tell your spouse? I mean, are you trying to make yourself feel better at his expense? Or do you keep it to yourself? If you have a spouse you know loves you and would want to save your marriage?”

“A spouse has the right to know,” River said. “I mean, the marriage vows are broken, right? It’s like the marriage contract is null and void. The wronged spouse should be able to make an informed decision.”

“And carry that pain the rest of their lives?”

River was quiet. Tony could almost hear her mind working. “Well, God would help the betrayed spouse heal, right?”

“Of course.”

“We’re back to our earlier conversation about scars, aren’t we?” River asked.

“Exactly. Do we inflict scars on purpose? Is it selfish?”

“I think each situation is different,” she said. “I guess this is where the Holy Spirit comes in. If He tells the cheating spouse to fess up, then they should. If the Holy Spirit tells them to be quiet, they should be quiet.”

“I believe that’s the best answer,” Tony said. “Unfortunately, not everyone is great about hearing the Holy Spirit. A guy I used to go to church with when I was in college cheated on his wife. He decided it was selfish to tell her about it. He repented, he really did. Unfortunately, the girl he cheated with was angry when he told her it was over. She told his wife.”

“What happened?” River asked.

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