cold of the past few weeks, pushing the temperature up to near fifty. But with dusk approaching quickly, the air began to chill and the sun was low behind the trees. Beth paused on her porch and looked across her brown lawn, the drabness fitting her mood perfectly. Her feet ached from standing more than usual that week at school and her mind felt muddled from the late nights she’d spent grading writing assignments until her eyes had crossed and the words had blurred.
All she wanted to do was collapse into her soft velour lounge chair, switch on her television for background noise and stare unseeing at the screen. Do nothing. For once. But this was Friday and she had told Samuel she would come to dinner. With a heavy sigh, she stuck her key into the lock and opened her front door.
A noise from the back of the house alerted her that someone was inside. She tensed, her hand clenched around the knob.
“Beth, is that you?”
Relief sagged her body against the door. Daniel was home from college. “Yes.”
Her youngest brother came down the hall, drying his hair with a blue towel, wearing a pair of jeans slung low. “I just took a shower and was getting dressed to go out.”
She managed to close the front door without slamming it, a remarkable feat of patience when she didn’t think she had any left. “I didn’t know you were coming home this weekend.”
“I caught a ride with Mitch. He’s taking me back on Sunday, too, so you don’t need to.”
“Oh.” Her exhausted mind couldn’t come up with anything else to say while she stared at her brother.
He hung the towel over his shoulder. “In fact, he’ll be by in fifteen minutes. We’re going to Pete’s.”
She refrained from saying “oh” again by mashing her lips together.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. I’ll tell you about my classes then.” He turned and headed down the hall toward his bedroom.
Beth watched him disappear, irritated at herself because she was irritated at Daniel for not telling her he was coming home for the weekend. She should be happy—and she was—but he had a way of taking over the whole house. To emphasize her thought, loud music blared from his room, chasing away the silence she desired after a day spent listening to 150 students.
When she placed her stuffed briefcase and purse on the table in the foyer, she noticed the mail that Daniel must have brought into the house. On top was an envelope from the Christian Mission Institute. She tore into it with a jolt of energy. A letter welcoming her interest in their overseas program and an application caused her hands to tremble. When she filled this out, she’d be one step closer.
As she stared at the application, an image of Samuel came into her mind—of a look of vulnerability that she had seen beneath his confident surface. A man in need of a friend. Surprised by that thought, she put the letter and application on the table next to her purse. She would deal with it later when she wasn’t so tired, when she wasn’t picturing a man who shouldn’t send her heart pounding with a smile.
Beth walked to the kitchen to find a drink with some caffeine in it. She rummaged around in the refrigerator, positive that she’d had one cola left. Nothing. She scanned the counter and discovered the empty can by the sink along with a dirty plate and fork. Daniel.
For a brief moment she thought of making a pot of coffee and drinking it all, but decided instead to take a cool shower. Maybe that would help keep her awake while having dinner at Samuel’s. Then she again visualized the handsome reverend and knew she wouldn’t have any trouble staying awake, because for the past few weeks he’d haunted her dreams when she’d finally fallen asleep.
Why now? She’d never been particularly interested in a man to the point she dreamed about him.
She wasn’t getting enough rest. That had to be it. Shaking her head as if that would rid her mind of the man, she started for her bedroom. Passing the laundry room, she caught sight of a huge mound of clothes thrown on its floor and covering most of it. Daniel. Now she knew her brother’s real reason for coming home. He hadn’t done any laundry since she’d dropped him off three weeks ago. Flipping on the light, she picked up a dark shirt that reeked of smoke and cologne and waded through the pile of clothes to the washer. She dropped it in, followed by another and another.
Finished with his sermon for the coming Sunday, Samuel pushed back his chair at his desk in his office and began to rise when a knock sounded at his door. “Yes?”
Tanya Bolton strode into the room. “Do you have a few minutes to talk to me?”
The troubled expression in her eyes prompted Samuel to say, “Yes, of course. What’s wrong?” He gestured toward a chair.
Her eyes took on a misty look as she fought tears. She sank into the chair next to his desk. “Tom has been hurt.”
“Tom?”
“My husband.” Tanya folded her hands in her lap and stared at them. “He’s in prison for arson. A while back he was caught burning barns in the area.” She lifted her gaze to his. “He’s a good man, really. He just went a little crazy after our daughter’s accident. As you know, Crystal is in a wheelchair. She fell from a horse and became paralyzed. He blamed all horses after that.”
“How was he hurt?” Samuel asked, realizing there was so much he didn’t know about his congregation and that this put him at a disadvantage when dealing with his parishioners’ problems.
“An inmate attacked him and stabbed him. He’s in the infirmary. The doctor says he’ll be okay, but, Reverend Morgan, I’m worried. Lately Tom has said he doesn’t want me to come visit him anymore. He’s never let our daughter come. I don’t know what to do.” Tanya twisted her hands together, the sheen of tears visible in her eyes. “I’m so afraid for Tom, my daughter, myself. What should I do?”
The question he most feared was spoken. There had been a time when Samuel had always had a ready answer, had been sure of the advice he’d given. Now he felt as though he was fumbling around in the dark, most often stumbling and falling.
“He needs me now more than ever and he won’t see me.” A tear slipped from Tanya’s eye.
Lord, help me to say and do the right thing, Samuel prayed, aware of the silence that shouldn’t have filled the office. Tanya stared at him, waiting for an answer to her problem.
“Sometimes we have to honor a person’s wishes even when we don’t think they are good for them. Have you prayed for guidance?”
Tanya nodded. “That’s why I’m here.”
Panic took hold of Samuel. Counseling was a natural part of his job, but since his wife’s death he’d felt inadequate, now more than ever. How could he counsel another when he couldn’t help himself?
Samuel offered his hands to Tanya. “Let’s pray together.”
Tanya took his hands and bowed her head.
Samuel began to pray, hoping the words would soothe a troubled soul.
Beth fingered the tortoiseshell clip that held her riotous damp hair pulled back. A few strands of her unruly mop had come loose and curled about her face. Long ago she’d given up trying to control it, and spending hours straightening it seemed like a waste of time, time she’d never had for herself. Peering down at her black jeans and heavy black-and-white sweater, she satisfied herself she was ready to ring the bell. She’d done all she could to make herself presentable in her rush to be on time for dinner, but there wasn’t much she could do with her plain features. She’d started to press the buzzer when the door swept open and warmth enveloped her.
The bright lights of his foyer framed Samuel, throwing his face into the shadows, but Beth saw the smile of greeting. The welcome in his expression rivaled the warmth emanating from his house, drawing her in out of the cold.
“I hope I’m not too late. My brother unexpectedly arrived home from