Part 25 (1/2)

”For the last six months, G.o.d's been calling me to the mission field in Cambodia, but I was too scared to give up my comfortable lifestyle. When we met and hit it off, I thought . . .”

”I could be your mission project?” He prayed not.

”No. Of course not. I just thought meeting you, forming a friends.h.i.+p, developing feelings were all signs that I was wrong about where G.o.d was calling me to be. But I see now that, while we were meant to have a friends.h.i.+p, it's not meant to go beyond that. G.o.d has other plans for me, and it's time I started listening.”

She was the first woman he'd brought home to meet his family, and they all thought she was great. Now she was leaving.

”I'd truly like to remain friends, to stay in touch,” she said, hopefully.

How many times had he uttered those words and never followed through?

She grasped the handle of her suitcase. ”Besides, I think it's pretty clear this is where you need to be.”

”What do you mean? I am here.”

”Not just for weddings, Reef. I think you've been running too-from your family, from where G.o.d wants you. I've always had an ache in my heart for orphans. I hear an ache in your voice, a longing, whenever you talk about your family. Stay here, spend some time with them.”

”For how long?” If they stayed in touch, maybe there would be a chance for them down the road. He could make a life in Tahoe, and when she returned- ”Move back to Yancey, Reef. This is where your heart is. I can see it all over your face. You belong here. Just like I belong in that orphanage in Cambodia. We can only run from G.o.d's plans for so long. Embrace what He has for you.”

He stepped closer and stroked her face. ”I thought I was.” He'd thought that, for once, he was doing the right thing-dating the right girl, even if the feelings, the sparks, weren't there. He liked Anna, he really did, but if he was being perfectly honest, though there was an attraction, he didn't have deep romantic feelings for her.

”I'm sorry, Reef. I hope you understand.”

”Why don't you stay until the end of the week?” They could leave together as planned, and maybe they would work through some things.

”No, I've put this off long enough.”

A car horn honked.

”My cab's here.” She pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek. ”Take care, Reef.”

He sunk onto his childhood bed as she closed the bedroom door behind her. What do I do now?

It didn't take long for the patter of Piper's bare feet to echo up the back stairwell. At least Cole and Bailey were on their honeymoon so he wouldn't have to face letting down his big brother again in person. At least not yet.

Piper rounded the corner, sank down on the bed, and put an arm around him, as she'd done so many times in their youth.

”You two are as thick as pea soup” their mom had always said about their special bond.

Perhaps it was because they were the youngest two in the family, or perhaps because they were similar on a heart level. He'd suppressed, or at least miserably attempted to harden, his weakness-his ”tender heart,” as his mom had called it-for more than a decade.

Losing his dad had been painful, but losing his mom had been excruciating. Why had G.o.d taken them both? Why so close together? Just when he needed them most? It had been impossible to continue the daily routine, as his siblings somehow had. Oh, he knew they'd mourned the loss, but the depth of grief wresting inside him, of anger beating relentlessly through him, had pounded hurt into insolence and pushed his reckless streak to the limit.

He'd burst through every boundary he could think of, taunting G.o.d to take him too with every limit pa.s.sed. He'd longed to feel a surge of life in all its reckless chaos, and to numb his heart to the point of never feeling pain again.

He'd been selfish, immature, unable to look past his own feelings to even care about the needs of others. He'd been a self-absorbed mess, but that had changed.

Piper nudged his shoulder at the silence. ”You wanna talk about it?”

He shrugged. ”Not much to say.”

”Reef.” She angled his chin so he was facing her. ”It's me. You don't have to pretend.” Piper had always ”gotten” him, and shockingly, always loved him-no matter what. And she'd demonstrated that in a tangible and irrefutable way when she'd stood by his side during Karli Davis's murder investigation.

He exhaled. ”I thought I finally made a good choice.”

”You did.”

”But it didn't work.”

”And?”

”I finally picked a good girl, and she said the relations.h.i.+p was forced.”

Piper s.h.i.+fted, bending her leg and pulling it beneath her. ”Did it feel forced?”

”Yeah, sometimes.” All the time. ”But relations.h.i.+ps take work.” And he'd been committed, for the first time in his life, to making it work.

”Yes, but just because she was a good girl doesn't mean she was the right one.”

Of course Piper would hit the nail directly on the head.

She b.u.mped his shoulder with hers. ”You still staying the rest of the week?”

The easy way would be to take off, but it was time for him to stop taking the easy way out. Be there for others, not just himself. ”Yes, I'm staying. I promised I would.”

Relief swept over Piper's face, and the fact that his staying meant that much to her filled him with joy-joy that he could finally bring her happiness after so many years of bringing her pain. Maybe Anna was right. Maybe this was where he needed to be, where G.o.d was calling him.

Footsteps thundered up the back stairs, and Gage burst into the room. ”We've got to go. Kayden was caught in a rockslide.”

”What?” Piper's eyes widened. ”Is she okay?”

”Jake said she's pretty battered.”

Piper swallowed. ”I'll call Landon.”

”He knows. I just got off the phone with him. He said he called your cell, but you didn't pick up. Had a momentary panic attack thinking maybe you'd decided to join Kayden on the climb after all.”

Piper patted her pocket. ”I must have left it in the Jeep again.”

”I a.s.sured him you were fine. He said he'd meet us at the hospital.”

Reef clutched Piper's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He was so thankful he could be there for her, that he could be there for his whole family. ”She'll be okay. Kayden's a fighter.”

28.

Jake's pulse whooshed in his ears as the paramedics handed Kayden off to the hospital staff waiting on the helicopter pad.