Page 104 of Rescued Heart

Naomi gaped at him and then seemed to realize how her words had sounded. “No, honey, no. Sorry. He’s alive. He’s in trouble down at the police station. We all were going to leave our shopping buggies and hurry down there, but thank goodness you’re here. I’d prefer not to let Scout and Scarlette witness the mess Will’s gotten into. Scout already overheard more than I wanted him to.”

Eddie’s hand grabbed hold of the cart. “Will called you?”

Nothim.

“I doubt he could have gotten ahold of that mother of his. Not that she deserves to be called such. But you know about mothers like that.”

He did. That’s why Will’s father had asked Eddie to watch out for his son. Now Will was in trouble, and Eddie had failed.

He fished out his phone from his pocket. His chest felt as empty as his screen’s display. No notifications. “He didn’t call me.”

Naomi pushed the cart again and placed Eddie’s cart back at the exit. “Before you start thinking things that aren’t true, we’re going to go gather all the details. God has brought us both together at this moment for this specific purpose and this child. Let’s go find the answers. Together. Unless you’d rather stay here and sulk?”

Was that what he was doing?

Eddie caught up, and Naomi hooked her hand on his elbow, just like Bianca used to. “Where’s that truck of yours?”

He pointed at it, and they hopped inside.

Naomi hummed the hymn “I Surrender All” over his radio music.

Eddie turned the volume down on his speakers, and Naomi shifted toward him. “I went and saw Mary.”

He rolled his shoulders back. Not that he’d had time, but he hadn’t done more than send a text to Mary. “How’s Joel?”

Naomi kept still for too long and then finally said, “There’s a chance he’ll get out of the ICU this week. Mary seemed optimistic.”

Eddie kept his gaze locked on the green light ahead of him. “I’m happy for her. And Joel. She said that she couldn’t live without him.”

Unlike Eddie.

Naomi rested her palm on his arm. “I know she hurt you, son. But you can’t let that continue to damage your own heart.”

His own heart was fine. Or it would be. “I never should have met with her. All this could have been avoided.”

“Avoided, maybe. But not mended.” Naomi shifted her purse in her lap. “I gave her your letter.”

Eddie pulled his sun visor down, but the sun sat low and beamed into his vision. “What letter?”

“You know that before your grand-ma’am passed, she reached out to Mary.”

“Wished she hadn’t done that either. She gave Mary my number.” Which had led to the disaster dinner.

“After your grand-ma’am passed, I inherited her Bible. Inside of it were several papers and envelopes, including a letter you’d written after you realized who the Lord was.”

Oh, that letter. “I remember.”

He’d written to his mother to tell her he’d forgiven her for leaving him because he’d been placed with a woman who showered him with love and brownies, and how his next-door neighbor was a cool firefighter. “Grand-ma’am mailed it on Mary’s birthday that year.”

“It was in a return-to-sender stamped envelope.”

Eddie pushed in the brakes at a stop sign. “I thought she was too happy to send a reply.”

Naomi shook her head. “I don’t know why it was sent back. But what I’ve learned at this old age is that I can’t fix the broken. Only God can. He fixed me. He fixed you. Doesn’t mean we don’t need mending along the way, but one of the hardest lessons I learned was that I can tell people all about the true Hope, but only He can turn them to His truth and actually change their hearts.”

She released a sigh that hovered in the silence of the truck like a whispered hug. “Last week at the women’s shelter, I counseled the sweetest girl. People who come there are seeking help…and hope. Sometimes I get to share the truth that God loves them no matter the past. But for some, they only really want their circumstance to be changed. Not the hard work that might come along with it. Most don’t want to have to alter their own habits…their own heart. Unfortunately, some relationships don’t end in a happily ever after. It’s hard to watch others reject God’s salvation.”

She drummed her fingers against her purse. “So, Eddie, I’m going to ask you what I asked that sweet girl who left, still laying blame to everyone but herself for her situation. If nothing else changes, can you still stand upon God’s promises? Trust that His justice will one day be served. His mercy is a glorious gift, and His promises endure through all generations. Is there something inside your own heart that needs repairing?”

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