No.
She’d asked him to be direct with her and he’d honored that request. She’d stake money on the fact that he cared about her a great deal. If she had to guess what had happened between them this afternoon, she’d guess that he’d been propelled over the dividing line between his affection for her and his wounds.
She’d given him a reason not to trust her. And he’d pulled away. She’d been clear-eyed about his issues and limits from the start. Which is why she’d prayed again and again, asking for God’s guidance concerning Sebastian. God had remained stubbornly silent.
“Why did you put me through this?” she asked Him softly. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen.”
God had stood back and allowed her to follow Sebastian into a trap. He’d let her feelings for Sebastian break free of the box where she’d wisely been trying to keep them.
In the past, God had always steered her. Always defended her.
Why not this time?I don’t understand why you didn’t answer when I repeatedly asked youto show me your will.She’d been poised to obey Him, willing. But He had not spoken.
For the first time since she’d believed in Him, He’d let her down, and now she’d landed herself in a wretched predicament. She’dfallen in love with a man who’d promptly broken up with her. She was experiencing the pain she’d seen other women endure when their relationships ended, a pain she’d planned to sidestep.
She truly couldn’t stand to think about facing the lack of Sebastian’s phone calls, smile, presence, conversations. He was loneliness and staggering success and childhood sorrow. He was a brilliant brain in a rugby player’s body. Inky hair and uncompromising features.
She’d done what she had to do for Claire today. Yet it devastated her to think that her actions had cost her Sebastian.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Never. That’s when Luke Dempsey had planned to return to his hometown of Misty River.
But here he was.
On Friday morning, an elderly woman unlocked the door to the apartment she’d listed for rent. She went in ahead of him, eying him suspiciously.
She was right to be suspicious. He could snap her in half.
He’d found this place the old-fashioned way, by buying a newspaper out of one of the few machines left in town and scanning the For Rent section. This landlady was old-fashioned, wearing tight gray curls and an apron over a faded dress. The apartment was old-fashioned, too.
Green carpet that stank of dust stretched from wall to wall. The kitchen had yellow Formica countertops and wooden cabinets with brass handles. He entered the one bedroom. More green carpet. The bathroom hadn’t been updated since the fifties.
He returned to the living area, which felt big to him after the jail cell that had been his home for the past seven years. The ceilings were at least twelve feet high. Square panes of glass divided the tall rectangular windows that let in views of the town and mountains.
Having grown up in Misty River, he was familiar with this building. It had been constructed for commercial use more than a century ago on the edge of the historic downtown. A warehousecurrently occupied by a lumber company took up the bottom floor. The next floor, offices. The top floor, this floor, contained a few apartments that had probably once housed either the original owner’s family or supervisors.
“Are there hardwood floors under the carpet?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“If I rent this place, can I pull up the carpet and refinish the floors?”
“Yes.”
“Can I renovate the kitchen and paint all the walls?”
A frown wrinkled her forehead. “I’m not paying for that.”
“Can I do it if I pay for it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll take it.”
Despite his many sins and failures, Luke was a man of his word. He’d returned to his hometown to fulfill the promise he’d made to his friend and fellow inmate, Ed Sutherland.
When Ed was dying, he’d begged Luke to protect his only child, Finley—who wasn’t even aware of the danger her father’s actions had brought to her door.
