Caleb squinted in the dusky light and found him in one of the upholstered chairs near the bookcases, a small lamp lighted on the table by his side. “You still here?”
“Decided to hang around a while.” Blake held up his latest mystery novel.
Just a prop, Caleb was sure. “Still hard to go home, isn’t it?”
“Some nights are worse than others.” A frown embedded itself on his forehead. “What are you doing about Ariel? Everybody can see you two belong together.”
Caleb blew out a breath. “I’m a wayward grandson and failing innkeeper. She’s Ariel Sullivan, for Pete’s sake. She could have about any single man she wanted.”
“Then explain why she spends every day helping you succeed. Why her eyes light when she sees you, and how she changed your grandfather from a bear into a lamb.” Blake closed his book, set it on the side table. “Truth is, you don’t think Jesus can come up with a creative way for your love life to work out.”
The last thing Caleb had expected was to hear the note of sarcasm in his friend’s voice. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, but I can think of a few examples when He did the impossible. Like Daniel in the lions’ den. Option one: stop praying to God. Option two: keep praying and die. God’s creative way: How about I close the lions’ mouths, and you live?”
“I’ll admit this inn sometimes feels like a lions’ den.”
“Then there’s Moses and the Israelites when they got to the Red Sea. Stand still, and Pharaoh’s army kills you. Keep going, and you drown in the sea. God’s creative way: How about I part that sea and you walk through it on dry ground?”
“I can relate to drowning too.”
Blake lowered his voice. “Caleb, whether you want to or not, you have to talk to her. Make up your mind about your future, then grab it.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Dude, you think too much. ‘Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing.’ Go look that up in your Bible and run with it.”
Blake ought to know. He and Rachel had been perfect together.
“I’m going home.” Blake started toward the entrance, then stopped. “Sometimes we have to step out in faith. I was so terrified the first time I told Rachel I loved her, I literally hyperventilated. She loved me anyway. Maybe more because I showed courage in weakness.”
Courage in weakness…
Visibly swallowing, Blake held Caleb’s gaze, as if unashamed of the tear in his eye. “You’re wasting time you could have with her.”
His friend’s raspy voice cut through Caleb, tightened his throat.
“Fight for her, dude.”
Blake was right. If Ariel loved him, he’d find a way to make this work.
Aunt Dahlia’s tone told Ariel the bad news before she spoke the words the next morning.
“Uncle Clarence had another setback last night.” Over the phone, her aunt’s voice held a weary timbre, as if she’d stayed up all night. Which she probably had.
“Are you at the hospital now?” Ariel had rolled out of bed at six—a full hour before her aunt’s call—and now watched from her balcony as the other bands arrived at the Grand as the sun rose over the water. After a moment, she moved to her closet and debated between wearing shorts and her Country Chick T-shirt or a sundress.
“I just got back to the hotel. I stayed all night so Aunt Winnie could go home.” She gave a little sigh.
Dear Aunt Dahlia. “You come to everyone’s rescue, and we all love you for it.”
“The audience might not love me when they find out. But you’ll do great. I already called the production team, so they know what changes to make.”
“We’re prepared, but nobody wants to play the concert without you.” Still in her comfy bamboo pajamas the day before the concert, Ariel dropped ice into her pink Yeti tumbler, then cracked open a bottle of spring water and poured it in. “This is a huge change for the band. When you first told me you wanted to mix things up, this is not what you meant.”
“I didn’t know what I meant. But this might be our shining moment. I might have an idea that will bring the change we want.”
Ariel knew exactly what she meant, and her chest squeezed at the thought. “You can’t leave the band. You’re the glitter and the glam. You’re a sister, mom, and auntie to the world.”
