“But what? Don’t get shy now. You’ve never had a problem asking me for things before.”
“What? I do not!”
Zach ticked off the list on his fingers. “Help me find my cousin. Help me renovate my house. Cook my dinner. Take me to work. Fold my laundry.”
Lauren sat up straighter. “I never asked you to fold my laundry!”
“You’re right. It was shovel my driveway,” Zach corrected.
She swatted his arm playfully. “Stop cracking jokes. This isn’t for me. It’s for you, but it matters to me.”
Zach shifted into park and killed the engine. “Why does it matter to you if I go to church?”
She ran her fingertips over the edge of the Bible in her lap. “It’s not going to church that matters. It’s where you end up when our lives here are over.” Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I want to spend eternity with you.”
Hearing those words come out of Lauren’s mouth stole the last of his breath. If only she meant it in the way he wanted her to. “Slow down. You haven’t even taken me on a proper date yet.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. I want you tohave a relationship with God, and that relationship shouldn’t have anything to do with me.”
“Except that it’s all your fault,” Zach added.
“Fine. It can be my fault because I don’t want to stand before the Almighty one day with empty hands. I want to grow His kingdom. That’s bigger than you and me.”
Zach rubbed the back of his neck. There she was, carrying the weight of his bad decisions and his future on her shoulders again. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure this out.”
She gave him a little nod, and the shadow of a smile lifted her lips. “No pressure though.” A laugh burst out of her, clear and blooming like a garden in spring.
Zach bumped his elbow against hers. “You good?”
This time, her nod was unmistakable. “Yeah. Let’s go. I’m right behind you.”
Inside, he stayed close to Lauren, even when she struck up a conversation with Tammy, Bella, and Hadley. It was like he couldn’t pull himself away from Lauren, and she kept glancing at him. Whatever the reason for the frequent looks, he didn’t hate it.
Over the weeks he’d been working at the ranch, the people there stopped being annoying and started being his friends. He’d even warmed up to Travis despite the guy’s uptight attitude. It was easy to see why Travis acted so much like a father, knowing how protective he was of Bella and Ariana.
Once everyone settled down and found seats, Mattasked Gage to pray. Everyone bowed their heads, including Zach. Lauren had been praying before their meals for a few weeks now, and the whole thing didn’t seem awkward anymore. The only thing he had to do was listen.
Gage pulled his hat off and cleared his throat. “Lord, we come to You today to humble ourselves. Help us to see Your word and to understand it. Give us discernment and clarity as we hear the message you’ll bring us tonight. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.”
Zach lifted his head, but one word of the prayer stood out. Humble. It was something Lauren had said before. His whole life had been about making himself bigger and more important, but Gage had done the opposite.
Matt picked up his Bible. “Turn to the book of Joshua, chapter two.”
Lauren flipped through the pages of her Bible, then leaned over and pointed to the spot on the page Matt was talking about. “Right here,” she whispered, leaning against Zach’s side to let him read along with her.
After Matt read a story about a group of men spying in a place called Jericho, Zach glanced around the room. No one seemed to be surprised to hear that a prostitute played a part in the story.
“I thought this was the Bible.” Zach picked up the book in his hands and turned it over to look at the cover. “I expected less war and sex.”
Bella chuckled but tried to hide the slip behind the baby cuddled against her chest. “Nobody prepped the new guy?”
Matt leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Rahab is a huge part of history. She was an average woman living a sinful life in a pagan place, but she helped the Israelites overthrow the largest city of the time.”
“She’s a lot braver than I would have been,” Bella whispered. “Or a lot braver than I was when I had to confess.”
Travis reached out and took his wife’s hand. What had Bella done that needed a confession? These people had let Zach in the door, but he hadn’t moved past the foyer yet. He didn’t know their past and their secrets.
“It’s our instinct to hide when we’ve done something wrong,” Matt said. “Rahab could have backed into a corner and let the shame scare her away from her destiny. Instead, she humbled herself and acknowledged God’s forgiveness. Even though it went against everything she’d grown up believing, she heard about God’s love, and her heart knew the truth.”
