Page 23 of Inventions of the Heart

Reading a man by how taut his jawline was, whether his knuckles were white when they were supposed to be resting on an overstuffed chair arm, whether a vein pulsed in his neck, was all part of Caleb’s skill set.

“She won’t trust you because you put your hands on her in violence. She most especially won’t trust you after you threatened her daughters.”

Edgar kept a serene, remorseful expression on his face, but some of the color heightened in his cheeks. The man’s temper was under tenuous control.

But Caleb honestly didn’t want to make the man erupt in fury. “You ruined your marriage, and I’d say you’ve ruined any chance you’ll ever have to make it right, but you haven’t ruined your chance to change how things are between you and God.”

Edgar’s eye twitched. Something calculating shifted in his genial gaze. Caleb wondered if the man would lie, pretend to turn to God.

Or maybe he really would. Caleb prayed with every word he spoke. A glance at Laura told him she was praying, too. And she hated Edgar. That stopped his thoughts.DidLaura hate him? It was a terrible thing to hate.

Feared him, absolutely. Was furious at him for what he’d done to her mother.

And yet now she prayed. He saw her eyes closed. Her head just slightly bowed. She wasn’t putting on a grand show of it, just praying for a man who’d been terrible to her, or maybe for Caleb to say the right things, but that amounted to praying for Edgar, too.

Caleb would have said he couldn’t have possibly loved his wife more. And yet he felt himself slide even deeper. His own prayers included thanking God for bringing Laura into his life.

He went back to talking to Edgar. Praying God would give him the right words. Knowing he was casting his seeds on thorny soil.

Nick moved around the sofa slowly until he was standing slightly behind Edgar. Caleb hoped he wasn’t preparing to pounce. That wouldn’t go well with his ministry.

“Like I said, I don’t think there’s much of a chance Margaret will ever trust you again.”

Temper flashed in Edgar’s eyes, but he blinked and regained his serene expression quickly.

“But she might forgive you.”

Margaret made a small protesting humph.

Caleb turned to her and smiled. “Those things are different. I can forgive someone who’s done me a terrible wrong and is unrepentant. But that’s mainly so I don’t carry the ugliness of unforgiveness inside me—not after God has forgiven me so much.”

Her scowl eased a bit.

“You can forgive without trusting. I don’t believe God asks us to trust someone who has hurt us and clearly intends to do it again. Trust has to be earned through true signs of regret and a change of behavior. Even then, with a violent man, I’d be very wary.” He turned back to Edgar. “ButGodwill forgive you. He will know if your repentance is genuine because He knows what’s in your heart. So He’d know if He could trust you or not. If you sincerely believe that Jesus came here and died for your sins, if you repent of those sins, God will forgive you and save your soul.”

Edgar’s shoulder jerked, and he clasped the chair arms tightly.

Caleb was silent, watching the man who thought he was such a talented liar. He really wasn’t all that good. What had Margaret and her daughters been thinking?

“I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, Parson Tillman.”

“Call me Caleb. I’m your son-in-law now. Maybe I should call you Papa.” He couldn’t quite control the little jab because he didn’t want Edgar to believe his act was working. He was focused on Edgar, but he felt Margaret and Laura flinch at the wordpapa.

He saw Nick roll his eyes.

Caleb almost smiled. “If you want to talk about your faith, if you’re truly sorry for how badly things have gone with your marriage, I’d love to talk with you about it and help you find a path that leads you to God. I am living proof that God can use a flawed man, save a lost soul. God writes the truth of salvation on every person’s heart, and He loves us all enough to give us a chance to turn to Him.”

He watched and prayed and waited.

Then the shift in Edgar’s eyes. The fake sincerity. It was all there.

“I’ve handled things terribly with my marriage, that’s true.”

And Caleb knew he’d lost. But then, he hadn’t lost, had he? He’d laid the truth before the man. It was Edgar who had lost. Whowaslost.

Edgar rose from his chair and turned to Margaret. “I do ask you to forgive me, Margaret. And I hope our marriage can be healed. I need time away to think things over, to ... toprayover all I’ve done.”

“You’re leaving?” Margaret failed to keep the hope out of her voice. She wanted this man to go away, no doubt about it.

“Yes, but only until I’ve searched my heart for why I’ve turned to such wrongdoing. I’m going to be a better man. I’llwrite to you.” With a slight tip of his head to Caleb, Edgar strode from the room.

Nick had moved to the door and held it open for him, then swung it shut with a sharp bang.

“I failed with him.” Caleb felt a wash of grief for the man’s soul. “But then, it was my job to set truth before him, and I didn’t fail at that. Whether he accepted that truth was up to him. But still, it hurts me to see a man so lost.”

“You may have failed with him, Caleb, but you’re right about forgiveness. I have no trust in that man, but I am going to do my best to cast the unforgiveness from my heart.” Margaret stood from the sofa and came to take Caleb’s hand. “And you can call me Mama.”

She turned to Nick. “You can call me that, too.”

Nick scratched his head and didn’t call her anything.

---