“It’s true I’ve never experienced great tragedy, but I’ve witnessed what has happened to others who have.”
“The grocer.”
“Yes, Paul.He’s a wonderful, loving man because he has risen above the horrible pain of losing his son.There is no bitterness in his heart.When a family lost their only son in a drowning incident this summer, it was Paul who offered them comfort.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I...I don’t know anyone who can help you, and right now I feel terribly inadequate.I love...you.”She faltered slightly, then regained fluency.“And because I love you, I can see what all this hatred for Jennings is doing to you.Your bitterness and drive for revenge have become an obsession, an angry monster that’s consuming your life.”She stood directly in front of him.“You invented a wonderful safety device that will save thousands of lives.Unfortunately, you’ll probably never get the credit.But you have the personal satisfaction of this accomplishment.Isn’t it enough?”
“No,” Cole shouted, his face cold and solemn, his narrowed eyes darkened with emotion.He stopped and rubbed a hand over his eyes, then the side of his face, distorting his features.“I won’t rest until I’ve seen justice.”
“That will probably never happen.You’ve got to accept this and a whole lot more.”She paused, knowing how difficult this would be for Cole and how hard it was for her to say these things to him.“You need peace within yourself.You’ve got to forgive Jennings.”
“Forgive Jennings!”Cole spat in disbelief.“You’re crazy.”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
“Then you couldn’t possibly understand what that man has done to me,” Cole shouted.“To us.”
“What Jennings did was wrong,” she replied calmly.“I could never deny that.But what you’re doing to yourself is far worse.”
Cole bounded to his feet and stalked to one end of the room, his eyes blazing.“I can’t believe you’d even suggest such a thing.”
The smile that touched her eyes was troubled and sad.“It’s the way I was raised.My parents brought up Terry and me in an atmosphere of love and forgiveness.We were raised in the church—”
“Here it comes.”The shadows of pain darkened his eyes.“Ithought you just got done telling me I’d helped you get over being a self-righteous prude?”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Lesley defended herself, looking straight into Cole’s shocked expression.
“But you’re going to give me some holier-than-thou advice about forgiving the man who’s ruining my life.”
“The man you’re letting ruin your life,” she amended, hoping he would catch the subtle difference.
“Lesley, listen to me,” Cole pleaded, fighting for control of his temper.“You’re not making any sense.”
With an aching heart, Lesley studied Cole: the roughly carved jaw, the thick creased grooves in his forehead, the tight line of his mouth.She would give anything to make herself clear, anything to help him understand.
“Today is Good Friday,” she said at last.
A heavy silence hung in the room.
“What’s that supposed to mean to me?”His expression was as hard as a granite wall.
“Unless you’re a Christian, I guess it doesn’t mean much.”
“Then why bring it into the conversation now?”Slowly he walked to the far side of the room, his hard gaze pinning her.
“Because we were talking about forgiveness.”
“Are we back on that subject again?”
Lesley’s smile was tremulous.“I never stopped talking about it.When Jesus hung on that cross, He wasn’t the pretty picture some artists have depicted.He was beaten so badly that He was unrecognizable as a man.He hung in shame between two criminals.”
“Are you going to insist on giving me a Bible lesson?”
“Yes,” she cried, her voice shaking violently.“Yes, I am, because maybe then you’ll understand.Jesus was perfect...sinless...the Lamb of God.”
Cole glanced away, a bored look on his face.
