Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (38 page)

* * *

Grant stopped himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her. Instead, he tried to gauge her reaction to his showing up unannounced. His coming had been a crazy risk, and he knew it, but two weeks had passed and nothing he'd done had even begun to lessen the feelings he had for her. Talking to her on the phone today had triggered the impulsive decision to show up at her doorstep.

She was smiling, but still seemed as if she'd been caught off guard. Antonio's advice played through his mind.
It might be time for you to move on... Forgiveness is a choice... Sometimes you have to fight for a happy ending...

Everything within him told him that Maddie Gilbert was worth pursuing.

“I know it was crazy to just show up, but...” He held up his hand, stopping short of reaching out and touching her. “I've missed you.”

Grant hadn't intended his words to come out so blunt, but he also wasn't one to dance around the truth. Maddie had sufficiently broken his heart once, and he wasn't keen on it happening again. In fact, if it weren't for the shooting that had literally grounded him these past couple weeks, he'd probably have been out chasing down some land mine and trying to forget Dr. Madison Gilbert instead of thinking constantly about her.

He could smell the subtle scent of her perfume. It engulfed him, drawing him to her like a magnet. He tried to read her expression, feeling that everything he was saying was coming out wrong. He wanted a soul mate. He wanted her. But that didn't change the fact that she had rejected him. And up to this point she'd given no indication that she wanted to reverse that decision.

“I'm sorry.” He stumbled with his words. “I shouldn't have come.”

“No. I'm glad you did. It's just that seeing you today caught me off guard.”

There was a hint of sadness in her eyes as she looked up at him. She rested her hand briefly against his hand, her fingers burning a path across his skin. Once again, he stifled the urge to draw her into his arms and kiss her. But that was something he had no right to do.

Sometimes you have to fight to make things work
.

Yet here he stood in front of her, breathing in her flower perfume and longing to reach out and touch her soft skin. In the tight confines of the kitchen, she was close enough to kiss, yet he didn't dare. Not until the two of them had a chance to talk. The few times they'd communicated over the past couple weeks had been nice, but he hadn't forgotten his need to know if there was any possibility that her heart had finally triumphed over the logical side of her mind.

She pulled a couple soft drinks out of the fridge and handed one to him before following him into the living room she'd decorated with a few colorful accents from Africa. He stopped in front of the small, lit Christmas tree on one of the end tables and sat down on the brown couch. She sat down in a chair across from him and pulled her legs up under her.

He leaned forward, suddenly uneasy. Funny how the chances of a land mine exploding in his face didn't scare him nearly as much as discussing matters of the heart. But it was time they laid everything out in the open between them. Only then would he be able to move forward. Whether or not it would be with Maddie, he still wasn't sure.

Grant popped open the tab and took a sip before balancing the can on his thigh with one hand.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.

“Of course.”

For a full thirty seconds she stared at the blinking lights of the small Christmas tree perched in front of an open window. Traffic crossing the busy intersection outside shot by, mixed with the occasional sound of a blaring horn.

He waited.

“I know that in order to risk one's life for someone else there has to be a reason,” she said finally. “Something that drives that person to put themselves in the line of fire day after day. Policeman and firemen. Soldiers, rescue workers, bodyguards...”

“And deminers,” he finished for her.

She nodded. “Is Darren's death a motivating factor, or are there other reasons?”

He tried to avoid her gaze and looked instead at the tree with its red and silver ornaments. “I've always felt that his death was my fault.”

“Why?”

He wasn't sure why she wanted to know, but clearly it mattered to her. “Remember Camille?”

“Of course.”

“When we graduated from high school, Darren's plans were to go to the local community college, marry Camille and take over her father's landscaping business. It was my idea to join the Marines. I talked him into it, figuring he could still return and have his life one day, but it would give us a chance to see the world before we settled down.”

Her brow wrinkled as she looked at him. “You're wrong.”

“What do you mean, I'm wrong?”

“While I have no doubt that he loved her, Darren had a lot of doubts about marrying Camille. He was only eighteen.” She drew in a slow breath. “A couple years later, he told me that joining the military was the best decision he'd ever made. He felt like he was doing something great, like our father had. You gave him the courage to do that.”

“Why didn't he ever tell me that?”

“I don't know.” She shrugged. “Remember the recruiting letter that came in the mail your senior year?”

“Yes.” That letter had been the catalyst that had gotten him thinking about the Marines in the first place.

“He was the one who went down to the recruiting office and used your name. He thought if the idea came from you instead of him, my mom might be more open to it. After losing our dad, he knew she wasn't going to like the possibility of him joining the armed forces. That she was afraid she'd lose him as well.”

“He never told me any of this.”

“The bottom line is that Darren went into the Marines because he wanted to serve his country. You have no reason to feel guilty over his death. He was proud of what he did, and in the end he was even willing to give his life for what he believed in. That's the one thing that has helped me be able to accept his death. I hope it helps you as well.”

He nodded, knowing he still needed to process what she'd just told him but grateful for what she'd said.

She pressed her lips together and looked up to catch his gaze. “You're not the only one Darren's death has affected.”

He sat quietly, waiting for her to continue.

“When you asked me why Ben and I broke up, I didn't tell you everything. I've realized these past couple weeks that I was afraid something might happen to him. Like my father when he died. And like Darren.”

He listened, unsure of what to say other than that he was sorry.

“I never saw that I was slowly pulling myself away,” she said. “I told myself it was because we were so different. That our goals in life simply didn't mesh. And while all of that was true, I now realize it was so much more than that.”

“Are you telling me you're getting back together with Ben—”

“No... My relationship with Ben is completely over. We
were
headed in different directions, but I realized I was doing the same thing with you. Pushing you away because I didn't want to get hurt. I didn't want to be the one left behind.”

She'd mentioned her fears. He wanted to understand more why she felt the way she did. “Tell me about your father. I know he died in a car wreck, but that's really all I know.”

She ran her finger around the rim of her drink. “I was in the car with him the day he died. He'd taken me out to go horseback riding out in the country.”

“How old were you?”

“Eight. On the way back into town, a drunk driver hit us on one of the windy roads. Killed my father instantly. The other driver was killed as well. I remember sitting on the side of the road waiting for someone to stop and help. Eventually a couple did and drove me to the hospital.”

“Oh, Maddie.” He caught the pain in her eyes, and with it the realization as to why she feared losing someone else close to her. He reached out and clasped her hands. “I can't even begin to imagine what you went through that day.”

“I just... I wanted you to understand. That experience was what made me want to become a doctor. I wanted to be able to save lives.” Still looking at the tree, she drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “But I've also spent my whole life pushing people away, including God, at times. I've also realized that deciding not to run away, and actually following through, takes more courage than I ever imagined.”

“Anything worth fighting for usually does,” he said. He paused, not wanting to push her, but he needed to know how she felt. If she'd missed him as much as he'd missed her. If there was a chance for a relationship between them. “What about us? Are we worth fighting for?”

* * *

A slight smile played on Maddie's lips. Fear still lingered, but with it was something else. The remaining wall around her heart crumbled. He'd been right. There was no way to know the future, but she could grab on to today. And she wanted to. But this time with Grant at her side.

“I never thought I'd be saying this, but yes, we're worth fighting for.”

“Yes?” Grant stood up and smiled. “Then I have a present for you.”

“A present?” Maddie's eyes widened.

He pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket. “This is for you.”

“I don't have anything—”

“There's only one thing I want from you this Christmas. And you've just given it to me.”

Her heart fluttered as she pulled the wrapping off the present, her insides feeling as bubbly as every other child on Christmas Eve. Inside was a delicate silver bracelet.

“Grant, it's beautiful.”

“Turn it over.”

Inside had been engraved the words
Fearless Faith
.

He slipped it onto her wrist and kissed her hand. “I don't know what the future holds for us. But what I do believe without a doubt is that God brought together two people longing for the same thing. In finding forgiveness for myself, I found love.”

Maddie's eyes brimmed with tears as she fingered the bracelet. “What were you going to do if things didn't turn out this way?”

“I don't know.” His smile broadened. “Back in the hospital, I told you I was falling in love with you. Nothing has changed. I decided that I wasn't ready to just give up on us.”

“I...” The familiar footsteps of fear began creeping into the recesses of her heart. “I still have questions. What about your job? And mine? We don't even always live in the same country, and a long-distance relationship isn't something I—”

“I have a few job options that could bring me to Denver.”

“You would do that? For me?” And, she realized she was willing to do the same for him.

He took her hands and nodded. “For us. Fearless faith, Maddie. That's what God calls us to.” He squeezed her hands, and his touch began loosening the fear's rigid grasp. “If anyone's looked death in the face a thousand times it's me, but I won't allow my faith to waver anymore. And the same goes for our relationship.”

Maddie smiled. “Sometimes you have to fight for a happy ending.”

“Exactly.” He ran his thumb across her cheek and kissed her slowly before pulling her against him. “And you're definitely someone worth fighting for.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
EASY PREY
by Lisa Phillips

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed Grant and Maddie's story! A few weeks ago I visited an island off Africa's eastern coastline. There were stunning sunsets, boats bobbing on the water, open markets and palm trees waving in the breeze. While I was there, I have to be honest that I was very thankful I didn't experience any of the things Grant and Maddie went through.

And yet, I think most of us can relate to the issues of forgiveness they both faced. It really is true that “forgiveness is a choice.” And not an easy one at that. In life we hurt people and people hurt us. We fall down and we have to get back up. We face heartache and disappointment and wish we could turn back the clock and start over.

It wasn't easy for Grant and Maddie to fight for their happy ending, just as it isn't easy for us. And while life can be challenging, my prayer is for each one of us to find that fearless faith that lets us step out and trust God to go before us!

Be blessed,