“Knock, knock! Anyone home?” she called, tossing her keys on the entry table beneath a gallery of mismatched burnt orange frames—each one holding a black-and-white photo of her and her sister.
“In the kitchen, dear! Your father is in the basement,” her mother called back.
Beth raised her eyebrows at Bryce. “Who do you want to meet first?”
“Let’s start on this level and work our way down. Moms usually like me better than dads do.”
Beth laughed and led him into the spacious kitchen. She made a beeline for her mom—and was immediately wrapped in her arms before Sue noticed Bryce.
“Beth, dear, is this him, or do we have a burglar?”
“Better call the police, Mom. I’ve never seen that man before in my life,” Beth replied, returning her mother’s wink.
At the startled look on Bryce’s face, Beth took pity. “Mom, this is Doctor Bryce Jensen. Bryce, this is SueLynn Stoner—my mother.”
“Hello, Dr. Jensen. No wonder all the nurses are in love with you—you’re adorable! It’s nice to finally meet you. Call me Sue.”
Before Bryce could respond, she leaned in and stage-whispered to Beth, “No wonder you nicknamed him Dr. Handsome. He’s gorgeous!”
“MOTHER!” Beth cried, turning bright red and hiding her face behind her hand.
“Thank you, Sue. It’s nice to finally meet you too. Please—call me Bryce. Or, I could answer to Dr. Handsome, if you’d like.”
The sound of his laughter—rich, smooth, and unmistakably flirty—was too much for a girl who’d never learned how to flirt.
“I’m going to see Daddy before you embarrass me further,” Beth muttered, fleeing the kitchen.
“Was it something we said?” Sue asked innocently, causing another round of laughter.
Beth dropped onto the piano bench beside her father and kissed his cheek. “Hi, Daddy.”
“LizzyBeth, I did not hear you come in. When did you arrive?” he asked, in his usual formal tone.
“We just got here.”
“We?I did not realize you had brought a friend,” Donald said, distracted as he jotted a note on his music sheet.
“Bryce is with me Daddy. Remember? We met with Pastor Steve and Tami this morning, and then we came here for lunch so you could meet him.”
“Ah, yes. I merely got distracted by the alterations to this piece. Is he here now?”
“Yes, he’s in the kitchen with Mom.”
“Why did you not bring him down to meet me?”
“Because Mom was busy embarrassing me in front of the good doctor, and I came down here to hide.” Beth rolled her eyes and stretched out on the floor, beginning her daily stomach exercises.
“You know, whenever you begin an exercise routine or pace mid-conversation, it signals you are stressed.”
“Yes, Daddy, I’m stressed plus I didn’t sleep well last night. Since I can’t nap, this gives me energy. Besides, can you blame me for being a little stressed?”
“No, I cannot. How did your counseling session go at church with the Ambroses?”
“Good, I guess.”
“You guess? Were they unable to offer advice or insight?”
“They did. It was just… a lot and crazy emotional. Bryce shared his story, his testimony? Um, his reverse testimony? I don’t know what to call it. But he shared about why he had walked away from his faith and how this brought him back to the Lord. Bryce is a believer. He has a painful testimony. I get
