Page 15 of Rescued Faith

“Well, thank God for that! He must be watching out for you, but still?—”

Penny dropped the brush. “Whoa. Did you just mention God?” And watching out for her? Was she kidding?

“Just because Dad didn’t believe in anything doesn’t mean we have to follow his example. And what’s the big deal? The kids and I have started going to church. Dan and I are attending a Bible study.”

“Are you sureyou’renot the one with a head injury? I can’t believe Dan is going along with this.”

“Well, he is. Even though at the moment he’s on a work trip in Germany. But if he was here, he’d be the first to tell you that he’s completely on board with it. And you know what? It’s good. There’s a lot of evidence that I wasn’t aware of. Christianity isn’tsome social club of brainwashed people. There’s actually a lot of evidence about the Bible. About…well, everything.”

Yeah, and when Penny had been seven years old, she’d prayed at Vacation Bible School, but at some point, people had to grow up and stop believing in fairy tales.

“Good for you. But if you don’t mind, you can take me to my car and I’ll find a hotel. Hopefully I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the day.”

“Out of my hair? Have you heard anything I said?”

“Yup. You found religion. Whereas I, on the other hand, screwed up…again.”

Had gotten trapped. Again. Where was God then?

“That’s not what I’m saying, Pen. I mean…you didn’t call.”

“Because I’m on ajob. I didn’t realize I was even heading in this direction until the person I was following exited the interstate late last night. I didn’t have a chance to call you. But I’m passing the case off to someone else and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“I don’t want you out of my hair!” Libby dropped a hand on Penny’s arm. Libby touching her? That was weird.

“Ugh. Can’t you see? I’m only upset because—” Libby looked away a moment. When her gaze met Penny’s, tears shimmered in her eyes. “I was really worried. I don’t want to lose you.”

Aw…“Lib…you’re not going to lose me.”

“Well, we miss you. The kids and I do. Even Dan has asked about when we’ll see you next. You’ve been gone for over a year.”

Seeing real emotion in her big sister brought a tightness in Penny’s own throat. “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy. You’re running from one case to the next. Have you stopped to even think about your family?”

“Of course I have. And I miss you guys too.” Especially the kids. But yes, her sister also. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to havesomeone with whom she could drop the professionalism, the masks she needed to wear to go undercover and get the job done.

“So you’ll stay?”

A day to recover and see the kids wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

As long as she didn’t run into Bryce Crawford or fall back into his extremely capable and strong arms again, she’d be fine.

She hated to leave a job undone, but she could pass this off to Jude and see what other work was out there. That was the beauty of being her own boss. And, being licensed in multiple states, hopefully she wouldn’t have to try hard to find another case.

“Maybe I could crash on your couch for a day and see my favorite niece and nephew before I head out? I’m pretty sure Hazel owes me my own personal dance recital.”

“I’d like it if you’d stay longer. I’m not even sure you should be driving.”

And there she went, back into big-sister mode. At least this didn’t throw Penny off-kilter like the God-talk did. Or the lovey dovey stuff. She always left that to their younger sister Tori, who as a kid, used to switch from Penny’s to Libby’s bed any given night because she hated sleeping alone. Now she was out in Alaska wanting to jump out of planes and fight wildfires.

“We’ll see how it goes. But for tonight, I’ll stay with you.”

“Thank you.”

She almost looked like she wanted a hug or something, but eventually Libby just smiled and started the car. She drove them to where Penny’s SUV was still parked on the street. Only because she could follow her did Libby even allow Penny to drive her own vehicle to their house. But when they pulled up to the three-story family home in a cul-de-sac neighborhood, another car was waiting in the driveway. A man with dark hair, wearing a shirt and tie, leaned against it.

“Jude! What are you doing here? Bible study is next week, right?” Libby asked as they got out of the minivan.

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