Page 62 of I'll Be There
“So Micah is pretending he’s you?”
“No, but...we have a plan. And it’s going to work. Then, I’m all yours.”
Sweet words, but, “Iwantyou to be all mine. But I also want this to be over for you. So get answers, but please, Conner, be careful, too.”
The sun had already crested the horizon, bright and bold into the day as Liza headed down to World’s Best Donuts. The least she could do was buy Conner a donut. Maybe even one for Kyle. Seagulls strolled the beach, hunting for morsels, a few complaining overhead. No line outside the tiny red-and-white building, and she ordered three glazed raised and a dozen powdered sugar donuts for the Christiansen horde.
Top of today’s list—a reception venue.
No, actually. Top of today’s list...prayer. Because her guests could go eat donuts on the long pier of the Coast Guard as long as she got to marry Conner Young.
She headed out to a picnic table situated on the beach overlooking the stony harbor to the east. A few children played on the ragged boulders, threw stones into the water, their parents eating their own early-morning donuts, wax papers flapping in their hands.
Not far away, a young couple leaned against the safety railing that overlooked a small cliff. And seated on another rock, a man in a blue T-shirt, black sunglasses, a white baseball cap over short brown hair, a hint of whiskers on his chin, lifted his face to the sun.
He looked like he should have a dog somewhere, chasing a stick.
Liza set her bag of donuts and the box on the table, sat down, the words of Lamentations fixed in her head.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Maybe she was speaking aloud, because the man in the baseball cap got up, glanced her direction. She met his look with a smile, and he nodded.
Lord, I don’t know what is going on with Conner. Or this man who is looking for him—but You do. I want to have faith in You and Your goodness. I want to believe that in our broken places You reach out and pull us free. Save us.She traced the scars on her hand.
Pastor Dan’s words swam behind her thoughts.Life is threatening because you no longer understand what God’s love truly looks like. When your heart’s desire is the will of the Lord, above everything else, then life loses its threat, because His love will carry us through every situation.
She took a breath. Stared out at the lake, the rhythm of the waves, so blue against a cloudless sky.I do want to understand it. Or even, if I don’t understand...to trust it. To raise my Ebenezer. And to desire Your will, above everything else. I don’t want my fear to keep Conner from doing what he loves.
She touched her lips, Conner’s kiss lingering.Now I get to show up for you.
How much she loved a man willing to sacrifice his dreams for her. Maybe it was time for her to do the same.
She closed her eyes.Protect us all this day, Father, because of Your great love for us.
“Is this seat taken?”
She opened her eyes to see a man—early forties maybe, wearing a gray Life Is Good T-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts—holding a World’s Best bag and gesturing to the bench across from her. He had blue eyes, something about them reaching out, tugging at her. Sandy brown hair, and looked like he might be a hiker, with wide shoulders, a lean, toned body.
“No—go ahead,” she said. “I was just leaving.”
“And miss this gorgeous view?” He sat and opened his bag. Dug his cell phone out and set it next to the bag.
“It is gorgeous,” she said. “I like to come down here in the mornings. Sometimes I sit on the beach in the harbor and paint.”
He pulled out a raised sugar donut. “Sin in a bag, but I’m on vacation, right?”
A hint of gray touched his temples, a few specks in his beard, a vacation growth on his face.
“Yeah.”
“Are you on vacation, too?” he asked, and took a bite of his donut.
“I’m...actually, I live here.”
“Really?” Sugar sprinkled the napkin he held beneath his chin. “So, I’m just here for the day. Where are the best places to visit?”
“Oh, well...if you like hiking...you could start with the Devil’s Kettle. It’s a waterfall that seems to make things disappear.”
