Page 48 of A Twist of Faith
“I know it’s not Charlottesville, but it works for me and my family. Home isn’t a certain place, it’s the peace in knowing that I belong. And here?” Her smile grew. “I’m going to be loved just the way I am—crazy and all. When I’ve won, when I’ve lost. Even when I don’t know where I’m going, I still have a place called home.” She shrugged. “It’s more than enough.”
“Your family makes people feel at home.” Dee braided her fingers together in her lap.
Home.The word, so long an uncertain, dark place, found residence in her imagination again, and from a distance, it looked a little bit like Ransom. But only a little.
The path woundthrough the forest. Sunlight sprinkled the veil of pines and cast pinpoints of light along the way. Moss and pine needle scents mingled with the cool mountain air, and the freshness in the breeze awakened all of Dee’s senses.
Their trek brought them over a ridge and into a view of endless mountains. They rolled up to see the hazy horizon tinted a million hues of blue. The vastness of the view struck Dee with a sense of wonder.
Dee turned and watched the group pass her, a humorous entourage of women and children, with Reese as the lone adult male representative. And what a representative. His ball cap was delightfully absent allowing her full view of his dark curls. With the hunter green windbreaker and Brandon riding on his shoulders, his appeal grew. He loved his kids and mother so well—which only proved he’d do the same with any woman in his life.
Lou held her hand, swinging it back and forth, as naturally as if she’d done it a hundred times before. It fit so well, drawing her into their sweet world like another fixture. Dee’s long list of reasons why a relationship with Reese could never work, number one being the simple fact she was using him for professional advancement, was reason enough to quell any attraction.
But it wasn’t working.
At all.
“Sure does make you think about how small we are and how big God is, don’t it?” Reese stood beside her, Brandon on his shoulders flapping at Reese’s hair.
She stared back over the panoramic scene.So big He didn’t even care about her?
“I got an idea.”
Dee shielded her eyes from the mid-morning sun and looked up at him. “Youhavean idea?”
“Yep.” He tilted his head, clearly ignoring her correction. “Mama’s birthday is tomorrow and I’m sure she’d love for you to come. What if you rode with us to church and then joined us for lunch?”
Dee’s throat tightened around her response. Had he been reading her mind or did God really hear her thoughts? His spies must be everywhere. She scanned the view for clues.
“That’d be great, Ms. Doc. Granny loves company.” Lou added, swinging their hands wider. “And you don’t have to work on Sundays like Aunt Rainey neither.”
Dee might have tried to gently correct Lou’s speech if the thought of church hadn’t put breath in limbo. Years of pushing God as far away as possible, shuffled among the unanswered questions and prayers. She looked out over the horizon and almostfeltHim there too, nudging her. She shuddered.
When she turned back to Reese, his grin broadened. “You said you liked a challenge. Maybe your idea about God is about as correct as your idea about me and my family?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re one sneaky sort, Reese Mitchell.” She shook the notion from her head. “Besides, one doesn’t have anything to do with the other.”
“Then you’re scared?”
Dee sighed in resignation. “Maybe, I’ll go just this once, if I remember.”
“I can write it on your list for you.”
His teasing tone relaxed her shoulders. “You’re impossible.”
He leaned in close, his whiskers tickling her ear. “Just something to ponder—You can’t fail him so badly that He won’t love you anyway.”
She kept her face forward. If she looked at Reese, in the quiet awe of the moment, tears threatened to rise. Then, as if the most natural thing in the world, he reached down and wrapped his fingers around her free hand. His gaze took in the view, apparently unaware of the effect of his touch. Her breath support pittered away to nothing, her face warmed, and something inside her broke free, all because his touch awakened the sense thatSomeoneelse might not be as far away as she’d believed. Someone cared.
“Why did I agree to this?”Dee washed her breakfast dishes and looked over at Haus on a rug by the back door. His ears perked up as if he knew exactly what she was saying. Crazy dog.
“But I’m not afraid. I just don’t see any reason in talking to Someone who is not interested in my life. If He ever was with me, He left a long time ago.”
She peeked at her reflection in the oven-range microwave and smoothed her hair around her face. “So, I’m only doing this for Lou and Mama Mitchell.”
Haus’ scary grin settled in place.
“It’s the truth. You can grin all you want.”
