Page 13 of Run with Me

“But Padre, my heart and soul are both clean.”

They were probably as clean as the toilets in theback.

“Then I shall see you at church this Sunday.”

“Yes, Padre.”

“Stay in peace, then, and stop hustling the town. God sees all and hearsall.”

Ben didn’t say anything again, and we left the Bistro with Father Francis.

“Now, what were you two kids doing in thatbar?”

“I’m sorry, Father. We were afraid for Anna’s friend,” John replied. “I wish they would just leave this town alone and take their life of crime elsewhere.”

“You two shouldn’t be worrying about that family. The Lord doesn’t discriminate – remember that. He has a path set for everyone, including the Cortez family. We’re all lost sheep at one point in our lives.”

“Yeah, but the Cortez family is like a lostherd.”

“We have to keep the family we have at the church strong and full of faith. One day, the Cortez family will be part of our community as well, and we’ll all be able to have a pint of beer at the Bistro withoutfear.”

“Father, I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re talking about the impossible,” Isaid.

I watched how John was listening to Father Francis, his attention catching everyword.

“Try to think of them as lost sheep. One day they’ll be found.”

“I wish they were lost elsewhere, then,” I mumbled, wondering whether Xavier was one of those lost sheep. I hoped he was the one who’d been driving through the back roads earlier this morning. I hoped he’d gotten away from Ben and would never need to come back to Pace again. He’d sacrificed his own safety by pushing me out the door. In the few hours that I’d known him, Xavier had managed to stir a new feeling in my heart, one I didn’t recognize, and as much as I wished for him to be gone, I yearned to see him again evenmore.

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