Page 141 of Forever After All

“And someone was in the building,” Jess said, filling in the blank with the information she already hated.

“I don’t know who it was. They couldn’t identify her. The investigators said she was probably homeless, but that doesn’t make it any better.” He covered his face with his hands. “I did that. I killed her.”

The gripping in Jess’s chest ached, stealing the breath from her lungs. It was as bad as she’d feared. A woman was dead.

“Do you see why I tried to stay away? Why I warned you? I can’t make up for that. I can’t forget it. Ryan was right. I can’t just live my life like it didn’t happen.”

All the things Ryan had said about Linc were true, but it didn’t add up. They didn’t describe the man she knew. Linc had done some bad things, but she believed him when he said he didn’t mean to kill someone.

“We can’t fix all of our mistakes, but God offers us forgiveness.”

“Even for taking a person’s life?” he asked.

Jess nodded. “I think that one is included.”

He looked away from her and whispered, “I doubt it.”

She grabbed his hand and held it between both of hers. “It’s never too late to do the right thing. You know the Lord now, and you gave your life to Him. He washed away your sins. You made a mistake, and you tried to fix it.”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t.”

“But He did. Linc, it’s time to put it in the past,” she said with finality. “You can’t change it, but you’re a new person now. You have to let it go.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what you’re apologizing to me for. You already apologized once. I’ve forgiven you.”

He looked up at her and chewed on the inside of his cheek. If he thought about it too much, he would cling to the guilt.

“The things Ryan said about me were true too,” she said.

That lit a fire in Linc’s eyes. “Don’t even start.”

“I would repeat them, but there were a lot of curses in there,” she said.

“None of that was true.”

“Mouthy was true,” she said.

Linc chuckled once and immediately reached for his side. His brows pulled together in pain. “You’re not mouthy. You’re just opinionated.”

“Same thing.”

“I love you just the way you are.”

She leaned in, resting her elbows on the side of his bed, despite the pain, and whispered, “Same.”

He brushed a hand over her hair. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Meeting you changed everything.”

“Don’t get sappy. Sometimes, we let the hateful things people say take up space in our heads. We have to decide to learn from those things and trust God to forgive us and help us move forward.”

Linc rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “You’re a good woman.”

“And you’re a good man.”

Linc swallowed hard and whispered, “Let’s make a promise.”

“What kind of promise?” she asked.

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