Love So Amazing: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Wondrous Love Series Book 1)

by JoAnn Durgin

  “It’s my prayer that you’ll reveal your presence to Ava in a special way. Open her mind and her heart to the truth. Be with Sawyer as he shares it with her. Keep Sawyer and Ava close. Help them to work through this situation together. I pray that you give them the kind of wisdom and strength that can only come from you to get through this difficulty with hands together, hearts intertwined, and prayers lifted to you. Allow them to feel your grace, your presence, and to know that you are sovereign. In the precious name of Jesus we pray.”

  “Amen,” Sawyer echoed as Chase ended the prayer. “Thanks, brother. That’s what I love about you.” Sawyer sucked in a quick breath. “You plow right in there and pray. You get the job done.”

  “Keep the faith, Sawyer. It’ll work out, buddy. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do and keep me posted. I’ll be praying for you.”

  After ending the call, Sawyer scrolled through his contacts and pushed another phone number, one he hadn’t called in over two years. “Come on, come on,” he coached under his breath, waiting as he heard the phone on the other end ringing. By the fourth ring, he heard a familiar voice.

  “Ruth? Hi, it’s Sawyer. Listen, I was wondering if I could come out to the house and pay you and David a visit sometime.”

  Five minutes later, he had a dinner invite with Darcy’s parents on Tuesday night.

  Chapter 17

  ~~♥~~

  That Weekend

  Driving to meet Ava, Sawyer reflected upon his conversation with the Ballantynes on Tuesday night. In his estimation, the dinner had gone as well as he could have expected. They’d exchanged pleasantries and then Ruth and David expressed their delight that he’d taken Darcy’s suggestion to start the pedicab business.

  After dinner, as they sat together and talked in the living room, Sawyer finally worked up the nerve to broach the subject of the accident. Of all the situations he’d faced in his life, this was one that required the utmost delicacy and sensitivity.

  “Darcy mentioned Cole Warner a few times,” Ruth told him when he worked his way around to mentioning the man who’d died in the accident.

  Confirmation number one. Cole W. from Darcy’s note was Cole Warner. Ava’s fiancé.

  “She was excited about the sale,” David told him. “It was one of the best commissions she ever earned.”

  “Do you know why they were on the highway headed away from the city?” Sawyer asked.

  David spoke up. “Based on the location of the accident, after having lunch at Rathskeller, we can only assume they were headed to the property he’d purchased. We have no idea why, but Darcy would often accompany clients to properties after the sale if they asked for whatever reason.”

  Confirmation number two. Lunch at Rathskeller. Cole was Darcy’s client in a commercial real estate transaction.

  Confirmation number three. Darcy and Cole were in the car together and on the highway, headed in the direction of the dance studio, at the time of the accident.

  “Do you know where Mr. Warner’s body was taken after the accident?” Sawyer tried to slip in that question, but as he expected, Darcy’s parents looked at him like he’d asked them for a million dollar handout.

  David cleared his throat and placed his hand over his wife’s where she sat next to him. “Mr. Warner died at the scene, son. I suspect his body was taken directly to the County Coroner’s office. Or to the hospital if an autopsy was to be performed, but I have no idea.” His gaze narrowed. “That was none of our concern.”

  Confirmation number four. Cole died at the scene of the accident.

  He’d talked with them a few more minutes, telling them he’d been thankful they’d never filed charges against the estate of the client.

  “That wasn’t our battle to fight,” David said, his eyes full and his voice raspy. “My daughter was gone. Nothing we could do, and no amount of money we could ever get from that man’s family, could ever bring Darcy back.”

  That was Sawyer’s cue that he’d asked enough questions. He’d received the confirmation he needed. Even if he researched hospital records, coroner records, and talked with Ellyn or any of Darcy’s fellow co-workers in the realty office, it wouldn’t change the facts. He certainly couldn’t ask questions of Cole’s family. He couldn’t put the poor guy’s family through an interrogation, especially from the man who now loved and wanted to marry Cole’s former fiancée. That would only rub salt into what might still be an open, raw wound. If anyone asked questions, it would be Ava, but he didn’t think she would. Not that he’d even encourage her to investigate it any further.

  At least in his mind, the evidence was irrefutable: Darcy and Cole had died as a result of the same tragic car accident.

  The rest of Sawyer’s time with the Ballantynes had been spent thumbing through photo albums and sharing their memories of the pretty, vivacious girl they’d all loved. They celebrated Darcy’s life, and the anecdotes they shared brought smiles and laughter along with a few tears.

  Ruth hugged him at the front door. “Darcy loved you, Sawyer. You were her best friend.” Then she’d grasped both of his hands in hers. “Our girl was happy, and she loved life. Many of her most cherished memories were shared with you. But, in her heart, I could see my daughter was becoming more independent. She told me she sensed the two of you growing apart, not as friends, but as a couple. Am I right? You can tell me the truth.”

  Stunned by her words and choked by emotion, Sawyer could only nod.

  “Did Darcy tell you what she planned to do with the commission from the sale to Mr. Warner?”

  “No.” Sawyer swallowed hard.

  “You know how Darcy always loved Italy.”

  “Yes,” he said, almost choking on the words.

  Ruth squeezed his hands. “She was planning a month-long trip to Italy—Rome, Florence, the Riviera, the Amalfi Coast.”

  Sadness engulfed Sawyer. “I’m sorry she wasn’t able to take that trip. And”—a tear streaked down his cheek and he didn’t bother wiping it away—“I’m so sorry I couldn’t love Darcy in the way she needed to be loved in the long-term.”

  “Oh, but you did, as it turns out. The ways of the heart are unknown and unpredictable, Sawyer. When she died, Darcy was full of hope, full of expectation for the future, and she was content. More than anything else, she’d want you to find your heart’s desire.” Ruth’s eyes misted as she released his hands. “Honey, you’ve found your calling with the pedicab business. You also have so much love inside you waiting to be shared with the right woman. Darcy would want that for you. Go now and find that woman.”

  “Thank you for always being so gracious to me, Ruth. Darcy will forever be in my heart.”

  “I know.” After clinging to him in another tight hug for a few moments, Ruth had gone back inside the house.

  In Darcy’s hospital room the night before she died, Sawyer had kissed her and whispered his final good-bye. But as he left her parents’ home, for the first time in his life, he understood—fully understood—the true meaning of closure.

  Chapter 18

  ~~♥~~

  Throughout their dinner, Sawyer was as subdued and distracted as Ava had ever seen him. He hadn’t teased her once and that alone told her he had something important on his mind. When she said something completely nonsensical to test him, he gave her a guilty look and admitted he hadn’t been listening.

  “Sawyer, please tell me what’s on your mind.” A sense of dread snaked its way up her spine. Was he breaking up with her? Seeing someone else?

  Now you’re being paranoid.

  He swallowed a swig of water and pushed aside his plate. “I was waiting until you finished your meal.”

  “Are you breaking up with me?”

  The line between his brows surfaced. “Of course not.”

  “Good answer.” She chewed another bite of her salmon. “Are you going to ask me to indefinitely postpone our wedding?”

  “No. Forgive me if this upsets you, but I have to ask you something
.”

  Ava lowered her fork to her plate. Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she met his gaze. The faint lines on his forehead appeared deeper, and the lines on either side of his mouth were taut.

  “When you preface it with a statement like that, I know this can’t be good. Please tell me what’s wrong.” She’d assumed he was stressed about something with the business or perhaps tired from a lack of sleep. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Focusing his attention on the couple at the table next to them, he drummed his fingers on the linen tablecloth.

  When she placed her left hand over his, he stared at her beautiful emerald cut diamond engagement ring.

  “You don’t have a gambling problem and need to hawk my engagement ring to pay back a bookie or loan shark or whatever they’re called, do you?”

  “Ava, be serious, please.”

  She heaved a deep sigh. “Then give it to me straight. You’re making me nervous, and you know I get silly when I’m nervous.”

  “I know this is going to sound strange, but I have a valid reason for asking. When and where did Cole die?”

  Ava’s jaw gaped and she swallowed. “What? You want a specific date and an exact location?”

  “Yes.” The muscles in his jaw visibly tensed and when she tried to remove her hand, he tightened his hold. “I need to know, Ava. I’ll tell you why after I hear your answer.”

  “December 23rd, two years ago. That dangerous curve on I-65 near the junction—”

  “I know the place.” Chills raced through her, threatening to overwhelm her. Sawyer didn’t look much better. The color had drained from his face, and he looked almost as stunned as she felt.

  “I have one more question, but it’s the most important question and needs to be asked.”

  Pushing her plate aside, her appetite gone, Ava crossed her arms. “Go ahead.”

  “Was Cole alone in the car?”

  Ava pushed her chair back from the table and rose to her feet. Without a word, she pivoted and walked past the hostess station and out into the outer vestibule.

  Within a minute, Sawyer caught up to her. He touched her arm and turned her back around, facing him. “Ava. Wait. Please. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t have a very good reason.”

  She avoided his gaze. “You already mentioned as much. I honestly can’t imagine what that reason could possibly be, and I’m not sure I even want to know.”

  “If you want to go, let me call a taxi to take you home.”

  Inhaling a quick breath, Ava released it slowly as she tried to regain her composure. Why was Sawyer asking her these questions? “I don’t want a taxi. I’ll wait until my fiancé can take me home. I’m not the kind of person to run away, and you’re not the kind of person to ask me something like that, knowing how it could hurt or upset me. So, yes, I figure you must have a reason. Let’s go find a quiet place and talk. Please.”

  He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.” When he offered his hand, she hesitated only a moment before putting her hand in his. He moved his arm around her waist and guided her toward the back patio. A few restaurant patrons glanced their way as they walked across the patio and toward the grassy knoll leading down to a small, man-made lake.

  Spying a bench, she pointed to it. “How about over there?”

  “That’ll do fine.” They walked in silence and Sawyer waited until she’d seated herself before sitting beside her.

  Crossing her arms over her middle, Ava rocked back and forth. “Why are you asking me questions about Cole? Especially that last one?”

  “As crazy as I know this sounds”—she heard him draw in a deep breath—“I believe Cole and Darcy were together on the day of the accident. She was the woman in his car.”

  Ava’s heart dropped down to her feet. Shivering, she continued rocking as numbness invaded her senses. This couldn’t be happening. How was such a thing possible? She couldn’t speak, could barely even think.

  “Let me give you some background,” he said. “You know Heather’s mother gave her the money for the bid at the charity auction, right?”

  Ava nodded. Heather told her the week following the auction and it was just another reason to love her. Her best friend held her best interests at heart, just as she’d always be there for Heather.

  “What I didn’t know is that Ellyn Montague worked with Darcy in the same office.”

  Ava shook her head and ran one hand over her hair, tousling it, but she didn’t care. “That’s right. I know she sells real estate.”

  “Right. She gave me a note she’d found that was written by Darcy. I have it with me.” Sawyer pulled out a small yellow piece of paper and handed it to her.

  Taking it from him with shaking fingers, Ava scanned the contents and handed it back to him. “Darcy was Cole’s realtor.”

  “Yes. Everything matches up, Ava. They had lunch together at Rathskeller. From the note, it was a celebratory lunch. They were about two miles from the exit to the dance studio when Cole’s vehicle skidded on the black ice.”

  “Cole thought his Range Rover was indestructible and that’s one reason he shelled out a lot of money for it,” she said. “Ironic, isn’t it? But wait a minute. Cole bought the studio a few weeks before the accident. Why would he and Darcy go back out there together so close to Christmas?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that one,” he said. “I’m not even sure that’s where they were going, but if I were a betting man—which I’m not—I’d say the odds are almost one hundred percent that’s where they were headed.”

  Ava felt lightheaded. “There were rumors.” She turned to him, eyes wide. “When Cole died, people whispered horrible things. Not many, but enough. They said he was having an affair and cheating on me because he was with another woman when he died. They said”—she moved one hand over her mouth and a small sob escaped—“they insinuated that Cole was taking her to…”

  “They were in a car together, Ava. That’s all.” Sawyer’s tone was gentle but firm. “Don’t believe any of it because it’s conjecture and speculation. In case there’s any question in your mind that anything was going on between Cole and Darcy, I know for a fact there wasn’t. They’d conducted a real estate transaction and had a realtor-client relationship. That’s all it was, and as it turns out, they were together at the time of the accident because of something to do with the real estate transaction.”

  This is nuts. Can it possibly be true?

  “How can you know that for sure?” Call her irrational, but she had to know all the facts. Not that Sawyer had all the answers, but he seemed to know enough to solve the mystery of what happened with her fiancé and his girlfriend.

  “I knew Darcy so well, and vice versa, that we could predict what the other one would say. I ask that you trust me on this. She would never have had an affair and especially with a man who was engaged to marry another woman.” He raised his hand. “Before you say it, Darcy would have known if Cole was engaged, but that’s not even a consideration here. She would have been thrilled to help Cole find the property with a building for you to use as a dance studio, especially knowing it was a wedding gift for his bride. The whole romance of it all would have appealed to Darcy. Look, I went to see Darcy’s parents on Tuesday night. I called them and they invited me out to the house for dinner. It was good for me to go and see them, Ava. They’re wonderful people and I think, maybe in some small way, it was good for them to see me again.”

  When he looked at her, Ava glimpsed the hope in his eyes. Eyes no longer clouded by the heartache of losing Darcy. Not that she’d been able to pinpoint it until now, but the sadness had lingered there. Until now.

  Sawyer traced his finger over her hand. “For the first time, I had a peace about Darcy’s death and I was able to close that chapter in my life. I thought I had before, but this put the final closure on it.”

  “I’m glad,” Ava murmured. “Were her parents able to confirm anything for you?”

  He nodded. “Everything th
at I thought I knew, they confirmed. Then, when I got home Tuesday night, I remembered Darcy’s mom had given me Darcy’s datebook. I’m not sure why she’d given it to me, but I imagine because there were a lot of notes written in it—places we’d gone together, photos of us, that kind of thing. Ruth must have thought I might want it. The planner was in Darcy’s purse when she died and recovered from the accident scene. I remembered seeing some receipts in the planner. I’d never paid attention to them before but I hadn’t looked at them, either. I’d shoved the planner in a drawer in my condo, and it’s stayed there since Ruth gave it to me. When I checked on Tuesday night, I found the restaurant receipt from Rathskeller. The date on it was a half-hour or so before the time of the accident.”

  She’d blocked out so many details. “How do you remember the time of the accident?”

  “I remember getting the call from Darcy’s dad. I looked at my watch while I was talking with him. It’s one of those odd details that’ll forever stick in my brain. Like where you were when the World Trade Center Towers fell. You just know.” Sawyer ducked his head and she heard the deep emotion in his voice. “Cole died at the scene but Darcy was airlifted downtown and lingered for almost a week. I was too broken up to read the newspaper reports, and I pretty much retreated from the world for a while.”

  Ava pulled out of Sawyer’s embrace and grabbed a packet of tissues from her purse. “I was the same way. I didn’t want to read anything, see anything, talk with anyone. I’ve always wondered about the woman in the car with Cole, but maybe I was too scared to try and find out what happened. Afraid of what the truth might reveal.”

  “When I first realized the truth about what happened, I wondered if it was some kind of cruel twist of fate or if it was somehow God’s plan for us.” Sawyer’s voice was raspy, his tone weary.