Twinkles gasped. “Stop guessing.”
“Who’s Deleena?” Laura asked.
“Dan and Gil will have three children—Jay, Deleena, and William,” Sue replied. “Deleena will be their second child.”
“But if you know about Deleena and her children, why all the secrecy?” Laura asked.
“Stop guessing.” Twinkles demanded.
“I thought the twins looked familiar,” Peter said.
Falling limply into a chair, Twinkles whooped. “Familiar. I’ll have to tell Deleena and D—that is, her husband—you said that.”
“I smell a mystery,” Gil said, kneeling in front of Twinkles. “Who did Deleena marry? We’ve guessed so much, why not let us guess some more? After all, it’s our very own descendants that we’re talking about.”
Wiping her streaming eyes, Twinkles cried, “Poppa, help.”
Poppa, who’d been laughing in a corner, stepped forward and stood by his wife’s side. “OK, everyone, that’s enough conjecturing. Just know that the twins are a very pleasant part of a very pleasant future and leave it at that.”
“Oh, Poppa.” Twinkles giggled. “Me and my big mouth. I don’t know how you’ve put up with me all these years.”
“It’s been awfully hard,” Poppa said with a wicked grin. “But there are compensations. If you like, I could enumerate them.”
“Poppa.” Twinkles gasped. “Don’t you dare.”
With a spryness that belied his years, Poppa sprang away from her restraining hand. With eyes full of mischief, he murmured,
Thunderous roar. Tumultuous heartbeat.
Time tilts in breathless anticipation.
Drunk with the beauty of your eyes,
In sweet, silent darkness, I await your tender touch.
With cheeks that had turned a brilliant red, Twinkles clamped her hand over her husband’s mouth. “Shush up, you rotten old goat.”
“Let him finish.” Sue grinned. “It sounds like a pretty poem.”
“It’s a perfectly lovely poem,” Twinkles said primly. “But you’re too young to hear it.”
“I happen to be a grandmother.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m a great-grandmother, and I’m too young to hear it.” Twinkles rolled her eyes. “Your rascal of a son is just trying to make me blush.”
Removing her hand from his mouth, Poppa kissed her cheek. “You bet I am. You blush delightfully.” He gave her a naughty grin. “Speaking of which, that reminds me of another poem, Silken hair cascading down blushing cheeks—”
As Twinkles sprang at him, Poppa dodged and crowed to Dan, “After almost fifty years of marriage, I’ve finally learned how to put this imp in her place. She’s spent most of our married life trying to make me blush, but I know how to defend myself now.”
“How?” Dan asked.
“I turn the tables and make her blush first. Once our little Gillyflower gets flustered, she forgets all about teasing.”
Putting their hands on their hips, Twinkles and Gil said in the same firm voice, “Stop giving away our secrets.”
~*~
Zeke sat alone, his fingers flying across his keyboard. Somewhere, a Wave Trapper portal had been initiated and then disengaged. After a while, he sighed and leaned his aching head against his hands. Drake’s DNA profile hadn’t been detected. Whoever was using a Trapper wasn’t a threat.
Rubbing his temples, he muttered, “This is an awful time for Marc and Cris to take a day off.”
Drawing in a long, quivering breath, he put his head down on his desk. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but for some reason, he felt as if the world were caving in around him. He knew he should be analyzing data, but instead, he sat perfectly still as painful feelings of betrayal overwhelmed him.
~*~
Drake pulled at his bottom lip. Playing with matches had been fun, and he hoped he’d taught Ruthford a lesson, but he needed to get back to his search. Closing his eyes, he tried to conjure up an image of the crowded elevator. Gil had been next to Dan. Dan had been next to Laura. Laura was next to Peter. Peter was next to Zeke. He tried to remember who had been standing behind Zeke. The image was fuzzy in his mind, but it seemed to him that there had been a dark-haired woman and a girl.
He opened his eyes. The girl was Nicki Cunning, his old case subject. He glared. He couldn’t get to Nicki without a Wave Trapper. Even as he mused about his bad luck, the pieces fell together, and he realized that Nicole Cunning was the dark-haired woman next to the girl. Swinging around, he punched the wall.
He’d been trying to track Nicole down, but he hadn’t had any success. He needed another lead.
Pressing his fists to his forehead, he tried to picture who had been standing next to Nicole. In his mind’s eye, he saw a shining, bald head. He started to grin.
“Thomas Moosly,” he muttered.
~*~
In Colorado, Alex held Phoebe securely as Silverfire walked along the river. “Are you getting tired?” he asked anxiously. “Shall we go back to the cabin? It’s almost time for your nap.”
Phoebe rubbed her cheek against his. “I’m not tired at all. Do you think we can let Silverfire run?”
“Feeling spunky?” As she nodded, he smiled. “Any particular place you want to go?”
Phoebe pointed. “What’s that patch of white on the mountainside?”
“That’s a daisy meadow. The way up is smooth. I think we can manage.” He tightened his grip on her waist. “Hold onto the mane, kitten.”
Alex tapped the stallion’s side, sending the horse running smoothly across the grass. Phoebe’s brown hair streamed behind them. Her face flushed rosy pink as she laughed in delight.
Reaching the edge of the daisy meadow, Alex smiled at Phoebe’s happy face. “Having fun?”
Her eyes were sparkling as she nodded.
Alex’s breath caught. As he helped her slide down from the horse’s back, love for her washed over him in a heady wave. Taking her hand, he led her to the middle of the field of daisies. Puffy, white clouds sailed overhead as the wind whispered in the fir trees. Butterflies flitted among the flowers, and down below, Alex could see Shep in a golden ball on the porch.
“It’s beautiful.” Phoebe sighed, sitting beside him.
“Are you tired?” he asked as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Only a little, and it’s a happy tired. I feel like I could take a nap right here in the flowers.”
Alex’s voice held a caressing note. “Why don’t you? We don’t have to rush.” He gave his thigh a pat. “I’ll even be your pillow.”
Smiling, Phoebe laid down and rested her head on his leg.
As she closed her eyes, Alex brushed her hair gently away from her face. He smiled when a butterfly landed on her arm. If a picture was worth a thousand words, this picture was telling him that beauty and contentment were in his future. As the clouds sailed by, he allowed himself to dream happy dreams.
21
Outside Student Union, Marc walked to the parking lot with Crystal by his side. Seeing the way her car was parked, he shuddered. It wasn’t just crooked. One wheel was actually up on the curb. He was grateful she hadn’t been in an accident.
He looked at her anxiously. “Cris, please, don’t drive when you’re upset. It’s too dangerous. Call a cab.”
She blinked at him. “Are you trying to tell me what to do?”
“Only where your safety’s concerned, and only because I care.”
A reluctant grin tugged at her mouth. “I guess I can accept that. I shouldn’t have driven this morning. I knew it at the time, but I was too stubborn to admit it. I was trying to pretend everything was OK.”
He winced. “It’s OK now, isn’t it?”
Smiling, she said gently, “It’s fine.”
After he’d helped her into his car and climbed in himself, he gave her an unsteady smile.
“You don’t look too perky,” she said. “Are you OK?”
He started the engine.
“After the hurt I’ve caused, I don’t deserve to be asked that.”
Taking off her sunglasses, Crystal rolled her eyes. “Don’t go all dying martyr on me. If we’re going to be friends, we need to be honest with each other. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know. Are you OK?”
“I will be.” He passed a shaking hand over his face. “I just can’t believe how much damage I’ve caused. My moment of weakness hurt you and cost me the friendship of a man who’s been like a brother.”
“I’ve forgiven you. Zeke will, too.”
“I hope so,” he mumbled. “I just don’t know if I can forgive myself.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Marc blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“God didn’t create us with the capacity to hold grudges—not against others and not against ourselves. When we allow bitterness and unforgiveness to have a foothold in our spirits, it destroys us. I should know.” She lowered her eyes. “For a long time, I hated myself for being awkward. I hated my mother for ridiculing me. I hated the boys at school for hurting me. The list of people I had grudges against went a mile long. I had good reason for my grudges, but eventually, I realized that I wasn’t strong enough to carry them.”
“What did you do?”
Crystal leaned back against her seat. “I gave my hurts to God and asked Him to help me forgive myself and others. I have to do it repeatedly. My old hurts kept coming back to roost like persistent pigeons. When they did, I’d give them back to God and think deliberately of something else. I wasn’t in denial about what happened to me. I just knew there was more to life than moping. When something bad happens, you can allow yourself a decent period of mourning, but then you need to get up deliberately and move on.”
Looking down at his hands, Marc mumbled, “I don’t know if I can move on. I feel terrible about myself right now.”
“Feeling bad shows that you’re aware you did wrong,” Crystal said gently. “Imprint the lesson on your mind but don’t wallow. Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13, ‘Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.’ God doesn’t expect perfection, but He does expect us to ask for His forgiveness and then put our failures behind us. Living a Christian life isn’t easy. We all fail at times. That’s why the Bible says we are to work on being holy in the fear of God. Learning to be holy is a process. We’re all going to mess up, but the key is to learn from our mistakes and keep trying. God will help us, but we have to put effort into the process too.”
Marc nodded slowly. Her words made sense.
Crystal trapped his gaze. Her eyes were serious. “I have a feeling that this experience will make you a better person. If you’ll allow me to be blunt, you’ve always been a bit arrogant and inconsiderate of the feelings of others. If this teaches you to be more humble and thoughtful, it’ll be worth it.”
Marc bit his lip. “I just wish my lesson hadn’t come at your expense.”
“What you did was wrong, but God promises to make all things work together for our good. That means He can take even our mistakes and bring something wonderful out of them. What happened last night is teaching me something as well. I try not to think about my old hurts, but in reality, I’ve been carrying them around more than I realized. You may have sinned by kissing me, but I sinned by allowing my mind to become the devil’s playground. Reliving all my past humiliations was wrong. I gave those hurts to God ages ago. By stealing them back, I was acting like a thief. And last night, when I felt hatred toward myself, I was being sinful, too. I’m not worthless. God made me unique and wonderful. Even if I don’t like my awkwardness, I have no right to call any creation of God’s rubbish. The Bible says in Zephaniah 3:17 that God sings over me. God wouldn’t do that if I was valueless.” She grimaced. “I’m ashamed to say that I forgot about God’s love last night, and it’s worth remembering.”
Marc felt a prickling of tears behind his eyes. Knowing that he had caused her so much pain made him feel two inches tall.
“You’ll get your feet back beneath you,” Crystal said softly. “And I think you’ll be a much better man because of this lesson. After all, you aren’t going to be disregarding God’s voice anytime soon, are you?”
He shook his head.
“Then let’s just say that we both learned something and agree to put it in the past.”
Marc took a deep breath. “You’re something else, Crystal Stuart. Do you know that? You’re something pretty special.” As she smiled, he admitted in a quiet voice, “I think part of the reason I got into trouble last night was because I’ve been angry at God. The attack on Wade really threw me for a loop. I don’t know why God didn’t protect him. Rather than confronting my questions, I’ve been letting my relationship with God slide. I’m not sure when I read the Bible last.”
“That’ll do it every time,” she replied. “When I stop reading the Bible, it doesn’t take long for bad results to crop up in my life. You need to get the devotional ball rolling again.”
He nodded. “Would you be willing to have devotions with me before work?”
“I’d be glad to. We can meet on the sofa next to the vending machines. In fact, I’ll bring the donuts if you bring the coffee. That cappuccino you had the other day smelled heavenly.”
“You have a deal.” Marc smiled. “I’m going to enjoy this friendship thing.”
Smiling back, she said softly, “Me, too.”
Pulling out of the parking lot, he asked, “Now, where to?”
“The zoo.”
He laughed. “I haven’t been to the zoo since I was a kid.”
“Then it’s time you went again,” she said, pulling down the visor mirror. “But first, we need to stop at my apartment.”
“Why?”
“Look at me. If I go to the zoo looking like this, I’ll give the children conniption fits and nightmares.”
“You don’t look that bad.”
Crystal gave him a long stare. “Remember. If we’re going to be friends, we need to be honest with each other.”
Stopping at a red light, Marc glanced her way. “Knowing the bighearted way you’ve forgiven me, I can say with perfect honesty that you’re an absolute ten in my eyes, but…”
Crystal chuckled. “Go on, say it.”
He hesitated. “You’re a ten in my eyes, but people who don’t know you probably wouldn’t think so. It might be a good idea to do a little running repair.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Now I know our friendship has promise. Only a true friend will tell you that you look like a train wreck, and you did it in such a diplomatic way.”
He laughed. “Glad to oblige you.”
“From now on, I fully expect you to tell me if I have spinach in my teeth.”
The light turned green.
Grinning, Marc hit the gas. “I’ll be on spinach patrol as long as you promise to do the same for me.”
“Deal.”
~*~
Drake parked next to a brick house surrounded by a picket fence. He quirked an eyebrow. The stuffy looking house was a perfect fit for a gruff TEMCO professor. Getting out of his car, he strolled up the walk and boldly rang the bell. He was more than a match for Thomas Moosly.
The bell echoed in the house. There wasn’t an answer.
Drake rang the bell again.
“He’s not home,” a voice called.
Turning around, Drake spotted a woman with a baby stroller. She was leaning against the picket fence. Tacking on a charming smile, he put his hand in his pocket and ambled toward her.
The woman returned his grin. “Dr. Moosly is visiting relatives.”
Drake felt his gut twisting in anger. He fingered the blade of his knife. “Do you know where he went?”
“Iowa? Indiana? Illinois?” The woman shrugged. “It was some state like that. He’ll be gone the rest of the summer.”
Drake’s smile froze. Rage licked his veins. He took another step toward the woman, fully intending to take his ire out on he
r. Grabbing the handle of the knife, he started pulling it from his pocket.
A car honked and pulled into an adjacent driveway. The woman smiled and waved at the driver. “I have to go,” she said, releasing the stroller’s brake. “My husband is here to pick me up. We’re dedicating our baby in church this Sunday, and we have a meeting with our pastor.”
Glancing at the large man getting out of the SUV, Drake let the knife slip back in his pocket. “Thanks for taking the time to talk with me.”
“Anytime,” she replied cheerfully. “Glad to be of help.”
Drake stole another glance at her husband. He was furious that the man had interrupted his fun. Leaning forward, he murmured, “You know, it really isn’t wise to talk to strangers. I could be a monster.”
The woman chuckled. “And I might be the Easter bunny. I know a good person when I see one.”
~*~
Alex watched with a tender smile as Phoebe awoke from her nap. He was making her a daisy chain necklace, and when he put it over her head, she giggled sleepily. While she admired his handiwork, he picked some more flowers and made a bracelet for her wrist.
“How’d you learn how to do this?” she asked, fingering her necklace.
“My brother taught me.”
“The one you send paintings to?” she asked.
“The one and same,” he replied, slipping the bracelet on her wrist.
“Show me how?”
Nodding, he instructed her. Soon, they both had daisy chain crowns in their hands. Phoebe’s was a bit messy, but Alex could tell she was proud of it.
Setting the crown on her hair, he gave a courtly bow. “Now you’re the queen of the daisy meadow—and an extremely pretty queen, too.”
Phoebe’s eyes danced as she placed her sloppy crown on his head, tilting it to a cocky angle. “A queen needs a king, and I choose you.”
“I’m honored,” he replied. “Does the queen require anything of her king?”
“The queen would very much like a hug.”
With a grin tugging his mouth, and being extremely careful of her injuries, he pulled her close. “It’ll be a struggle, but I think I can handle it.” Holding her, he murmured, “Can the king do anything else for his queen?”
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