Page 81 of Love in the Storm

“Yeah. Say it again, please,” she whispered.

He laughed, happy to keep saying it as much as she needed. “I lo–”

Lyric cut him off with another kiss–one fueled by the genuine acceptance they’d perfected for each other. He threaded his fingers in her hair and inhaled a deep breath as his lips moved over hers. Man, he’d completely forgotten how amazing love could be, and with Lyric, it just kept getting better and better.

She started smiling and broke the kiss. “I’m sorry. I’m just so happy.”

“I love seeing you happy.”

“You make me happy. This makes me happy.” She waved her hand around the room. “I really do love your whole family. That doesn’t take awayfrom how I feel about you. It just multiplies things.”

The nagging thoughts fought to overcome the happiness. His family was great, but knowing Lyric was still estranged from hers put a subtle cloud over the moment. Why couldn’t everyone see her determination? She was giving it everything she had, and in some cases, it still wasn’t enough. Maybe her parents didn’t know how well she was doing and how hard she was trying to be better.

“Your family is a lot like mine. Or how they used to be,” Lyric whispered.

Asa hugged her tighter. “You don’t talk about them much.”

“Because I’m scared. I want them to see how far I’ve come, but I’m afraid all they’ll see are my mistakes.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he whispered.

Lyric huffed. “Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. But maybe you’re right. I do need to try again.”

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

She cuddled next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m not sure. I think the holdup is that I don’t know how to approach them.”

“Maybe this is one of those times when you need to say what you mean, do what you can, and let God handle the rest.”

“I think that’s a good plan,” she whispered.

“You want to pray about it?”

“Will you?” she asked.

“Of course.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her and prayed. He asked for wisdom, strength, and peace. He thanked the Lord for the family they had and the family they might get to know.

When he finished, Lyric lifted her head from his shoulder and wiped her eyes.

“Hey, we’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”

“I’m actually not worried.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You’re a great man, and I’m amazed by your faith.”

“I haven’t always been so grounded. There were times when I wanted to doubt because it would be easier or because I was angry. In the end, it was the only thing that kept me going through Danielle’s sickness and after she died. I had a son and a job. When things got tough, I trusted in the Lord, and I stopped worrying. I had to. It was killing me.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Jacob too.”

Asa might not ever be able to tell Lyric how hard it was for both Jacob and him to grieve for Danielle. They were still grieving, but they were also hanging onto the things in life that made them happy.

“I had to let the Lord be in charge of my life. I was worrying myself into an early grave. When I gave it over to Him, I didn’t check up on the promise. I just had faith that it would work out. It’s still not easy, but it’s a little better every day.”

“Here you go,” his mom said as she carried two steaming cups of tea into the living room. She handed one to Lyric and settled into the recliner. “Little House on the Prairie?”

“Sure,” Lyric said as she wrapped both hands around the warm mug and snuggled closer to Asa’s side.

“Really?” he asked.

“We watch it every night,” Lyric explained.

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