Page 41 of Blessings in Disguise

“Just a bit, right?”

“Hmm.”

They were quiet, enjoying the simple moment.

Which ended when Gemma asked, “What are we doing, Caleb?”

“I don’t know. Certainly the issue we had initially—which feels like it was eons ago—doesn’t seem to matter to me anymore. There are so manyrealproblems.” He glanced upstairs. “Like his.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I feel the same way. Do you think Marlena’s done with you?”

“No.”

“Me, either.”

The doorbell rang. Caleb, the ex-pastor, swore vividly. “What now?” But he got up and strode to the door before the bell could ring again. On his porch stood Mick Thomas. “Hi, Chief.”

“Caleb. I hope it’s not too early. I need to talk to you.”

“Sure. Come in.” The chief stepped inside and they crossed to the living room. His gaze landed on Gemma. “Uh-oh. I interrupted something.”

“No, you didn’t. You remember Gemma Kendrick from Pathways.”

“Yeah, Dr. Kendrick. Nice to see you again.”

“You, too.”

“We fell asleep on the couch,” Caleb explained. “Besides, there’s a child here. Harlan Ford’s upstairs.”

“I’m glad to hear he’s staying with you. For how long?”

“As long as he wants.”

“You have a lot on your plate.” He looked around. “I’m sorry I’m going to add to it.”

Gemma stood and picked up their mugs. “I’ll get us more coffee. Want some, chief?”

“Yeah.”

“If you’d like to talk in private, I’ll go upstairs. I want to be here when Harlan wakes up.”

“No, actually, you can stay for this.”

When the three of them were settled with coffee, he turned to them. “Marlena Shepherd was arrested last night. Police were called because she was wandering the streets. She was high on something. So we took her in.”

“I probably could have handled her showing up here better. I kicked her out. I didn’t know she’d wander.”

“Her actions are not your fault, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I went to interview her about three this morning. She rambled on and on. But I caught some things.”

“What?” Caleb asked. His spine was tingling.

“She mentioned the bombing.”

“Of Pathways?”

“Yes. And of your church, Caleb. We arrested her on suspicion of terrorism, arson and malicious destruction of property for both incidents.”

Caleb dropped his mug. It fell to the table, cracked and spilled coffee all over the rug. He stared down at it blankly.

---