Lauren reached out but thought better of it and pulled her hand back. “You need to stay. I can’t believe you drove here like this. You could have hurt yourself or someone else.”
Zach rose to his feet and slid his hand through his hair. “Yeah, but I didn’t.”
Lauren was on his heels in an instant. “I’m serious. Please don’t ever drink and drive again.”
He held up his hands as he marched for the door. “Fine. I won’t. After tonight.”
He was already out the door, and she ran past him onto the porch until she was standing in front of him. “I mean it. You either let me drive you home or you stay here.”
“Come on. It’s a quarter of a mile down the road.” He pointed in the direction of the rental house.
“I don’t care.” She lifted her chin and faced him head-on.
Zach swayed to one side, then compensated on the other. He might be bigger than her, but she wouldn’t be intimidated by him when it came to this. Drinking and driving was a hard line, and not even his intense stare would make her falter.
The lamb was standing up to the lion. It was ridiculous, but she silently prayed it would work. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “You don’t need whiskey,” she said, sure and stern as she stood beforethe fighter.
Zach took one step toward her, lazily swaying as he whispered, “I needyou.”
He needed more than her. He needed a relationship with the Lord and the promises and comforts that come with giving your life to Him. But that was a conversation for another day when Zach was sober, and she wasn’t a week behind on sleep.
“And I need you.” She reached out and touched his arm, gently coaxing him to turn toward the door. “To give me those keys.”
He allowed her to lead him back to the couch where he sat, resigned and looking exhausted. “We don’t have to talk about this tomorrow, do we?” he asked as he leaned to one side until his head hit the couch cushion.
“We do, but I’ll make you breakfast first,” she promised.
She grabbed a pillow and blanket from the hall closet and brought them to him. Zach was already snoring softly on the couch.
After slipping the pillow under his head, she pulled off his boots and lifted his feet onto the couch before covering him with a blanket.
When she slid back into her own bed, the worries she’d carried through the day had dissipated. Maybe he would listen to her in the morning.
22
Lauren
Zach was gone when she woke up. She hadn’t heard him leave, but the blankets were folded and the couch was cold when she went to check on him. Hopefully, he wasn’t hung over and could function this morning.
Lauren sipped her coffee as she took notes in a journal. It was her turn to lead Bible study, and for the first time in years, the message was clear in front of her. It was as if the Lord was pointing to the words and meanings in the scriptures, and she let Him take the wheel.
Her mind was well-rested despite the interrupted sleep. She knew what she had to do. She’d known it all along, but she’d been too stubborn to stop and listen to reason.
The faint sound of an engine outside lifted her attention from the page she’d almost filledwith notes. A few seconds later, the thud of heavy boots on her porch signaled Zach’s approach.
She marked her place in the book, but he’d flipped the lock before she’d stood to let him in.
“Lauren!”
“There’s no need to shout. I’m right here.”
He marched straight to her with a fire in his eyes that said he was a man on a mission. Uh-oh. Whatever had him stomping this morning wasn’t going to be good for her.
He stopped mere inches from her. His shoulders rose and fell in deep breaths. “We need to talk.”
The sternness in his voice had her tensing beneath his piercing stare. “About what?”
“About everything. I know why you’re mad at me. I know why you hate me.”
