Page 68 of His Perfect Bride
“Then we could be looking for just about anything.”
“That is correct as well.”
“So you’ll know it’s a treasure when you find it.”
“Precisely.”
Pastor Abe bent and peered underneath a board. As he straightened, he smiled at Jackson. “Sounds a little bit like what’s happened in your relationship with Sage.”
Jackson’s swirling mind slowed to a crawl as he tried to make sense of Pastor Abe’s line of reasoning.
Pastor Abe perched against a railing that was still intact. “I haven’t been around Sage long, but it’s easy to see you’ve found a treasure in her.”
Sage was kneeling and running her fingers through the long grass. Her expression was filled with determination, her body radiated strength, and her back was stiff with purpose. She’d set out to find Augusta, and he had no doubt she’d do it, because she was an incredible woman. Shewasa treasure—a very rare and exquisite treasure.
“When God gives you a treasure like that,” Pastor Abe continued, “you need to do everything you can to cherish and keep it.”
Jackson studied the reverend’s face. Had Sage told him they weren’t really married? It sounded that way. He supposed it didn’t really matter if the reverend knew or not. Maybe it was even better if the reverend was privy to the truth.
“Do everything,” the reverend repeated.
“She deserves to be cherished.” He agreed with Pastor Abe wholeheartedly. “But by a better man than me.”
“If God gives the gift, then we can’t give it back. All we can do is prove ourselves worthy of it.”
Jackson’s thoughts slowed once again. “I doubt God gave her to me, not when all I do is make mistakes.”
Pastor Abe released a low chuckle. “Like the bridge?”
He nodded, shadows blowing into his mind. “It was my costliest. But I’ve made plenty of others.”
“But you’re here now trying to fix it?”
“I’d like to try.”
“That’s all we can do. When we fall down, we get back up and try again. Each time we do, we hope we don’t fall as hard and that we get up more quickly the next time.”
Jackson peered down at the cracked rod. He was learning from his mistakes on the bridge. It was taking him time and a great deal of effort—hours and hours of studying and calculating and examining diagrams—to make changes and fix the problems.
If he could put that much work into repairing a bridge, he could certainly do that with a relationship, couldn’t he? After all, Sage was worth more than a hundred bridges. Could he spend his life putting in the effort with her to make up for his shortcomings? And when he fell and made mistakes, could he learn to do better the next time?
Hope surged inside him. He might not be worthy of Sage, but he could work on becoming better and fixing himself so that maybe one day his flaws wouldn’t be so glaring.
The first thing he had to do was figure out a way to apologize for last night.
He shook his head at what a fool he’d been. “Reverend, I must admit?—”
A scream rent the air. Sage’s scream.
With his pulse picking up pace, Jackson’s gaze darted in the direction where he’d last seen her.
The open cliff-side road spread out to the south and north. But she wasn’t in sight.
His body tensed, and he glanced quickly around. Where had she gone? Had the same kidnapper who’d taken Augusta gotten his hands now upon Sage?
Twenty-Four
Jackson bolted off the bridge, his heart thudding with dread.
