Desperate Rescue (17 page)

Her heart skipped at the sight of him filling the front doorway. Oh, yes, she thought only of Eli. Him and him alone.

Another danger, for sure.

Wearing a firm expression, he stepped into the building. “I should have asked you if you wanted a ride to work.”

“It’s all right. I needed to walk.”

“Did you eat breakfast?”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“I hope you are now. I stopped by the deli and got them to make up a couple of meals for us. Can you take a late lunch break?”

She glanced at Jenn, who peered out through the glass window, her eyes lit with almost comical interest. “I don’t think Jenn would mind. Smelling the store next door all day has made my stomach growl. They must be cooking up another batch of candy.”

Eli sniffed the air, but said nothing.

He was preoccupied. Thinking of a way to say goodbye?

Just say it, her heart cried out. Or better still, her head suggested, just leave when she wasn’t around.

Jenn was already at the door to the office, one of the boxes in her hand. “This one has the toiletries and some clothes in it. You’ll probably need these at the motel.” With a long sweeping look up Eli’s frame, she handed him the box. “Could you take this for Kaylee?”

Eli agreed and they walked outside to his car. “Sorry about that,” she said. “It’s just Jenn’s way. She must be a romantic at heart.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She pinkened, realizing that an explanation would embarrass them both. Jenn wanted to get them together, and Kaylee refused to put that kind of pressure on either of them. She struggled to find another answer. “Jenn asking you to take that box.”

He smiled. “I don’t mind carrying it, Kaylee.”

They drove to the motel. She dug out her key and Eli brought the box inside while she carried in the meals and set them out on the small table. They ate in an uncomfortable, difficult silence.

A whirring suddenly cut through the air, making Kaylee jump.

“My cell,” Eli explained. He pulled it out and answered it.

It wasn’t hard to realize it was Officer Reading on the line. Eli listened carefully, a frown deepening with each passing moment.

Dread washed over her. More bad news? Phoebe? Had something happened to her?

Kaylee bated her breath, still gripping the small carton of milk Eli had bought for her.

This nightmare was over, right?

Finally, Eli hung up.

She waited as he tucked his cell phone back into his shirt pocket. “Well?” she blurted out. “What happened?”

“The DNA tests came back.”

“And?”

“Yes, the mitochondria matched.”

Relief washed over her. “Just as Officer Reading said. It
was
Noah.”

“No. Mitochondrial DNA would match, but they have the other results.” Eli shook his head, shoved back his chair and stood. “They did a full DNA comparison, just as the coroner wanted. The results show there wasn’t the match siblings would have. It wasn’t Noah who died. It was John.”

“B
ut the DNA matched! They told us!”

Eli heard the alarm in her voice and kept his own calm. “The mitochondrial DNA matched. You see, Noah and I have the same mother, but John’s mother and my mother are sisters, so John has the same mitochondria, too. We share a maternal grandmother.”

Kaylee flew to standing, drawing her hands up to her temples and pressing against them with her fingertips. “This is insane! He’s insane! He’d kill his own flesh and blood to exact revenge on me.”

“I know, he’s crazy, Kaylee. At least now, we can get the police to—”

“To what? They’ve been looking for him all along!” Then, as if she just realized the full measure of his words, her eyes widened.

“We?” She shook her head vigorously and held up her hand. “Oh, no, you can. I’m done here.” She stalked over to the box he’d brought in.

He twisted around. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going home.”

“Home?”

“Yes, to Nova Scotia.”

“Kaylee—”

“No, I have an aunt who wants me to visit. I have friends who are worried about me. You know all that. I should go home to talk to them, like I promised I would.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. I never asked for any of this, and I can’t take it anymore.”

His heart stilled. “You can—”

“No! I don’t want to hear that. I’ve had it. And don’t tell me all that about God not giving us more than we can handle, because you’re wrong. I know how much I can handle and this is way past that amount!”

“That’s not true. You know—”

She brushed past him. “I know my limits, Eli. Look, my aunt wants me to come home. So I’m going.”

“You didn’t want to before.”

“I never said that.”

“If you’d wanted to go, you’d have packed up long ago, right?”

She sniffed. Even though she faced away from him, he knew she was struggling to hold back her emotions.

“You can’t go. We’re close to finding Noah. You owe that much to Trisha.”

“We’re no closer than we were a week ago. He’s hiding somewhere nearby and nobody can find him. Not even you, and you claim to know him best! Look, Eli, you should just go down south, find Phoebe and talk to her. If anything, that’ll lure Noah out of hiding.” After rifling through the donated box, she threw the toiletries into the plastic bag from the deli. “And you won’t have to worry about me. I’ll be at home.”

“And if Noah follows you? What do you think he’ll do when he finds you living with people you love?”

She stopped her movements. “He won’t do anything, because he won’t find me.”

“He had Trisha in his grasp for years! Don’t you think he’d know where the rest of her family lived?”

“Nothing’s going to happen!” She whirled around. “You just want me to stay because you’re as controlling as your brother! And just as selfish! You want revenge because he took something you wanted to control, your own sister!”

He folded his arms. “And you’re a Jonah.”

“A what?”

“You’re just like Jonah, the man from the Bible who ran away. He thought he knew what was right and that God was wrong, so he ran away from his responsibilities, just like you’re doing.”

He watched as red suffused her face. “Next thing you’ll be saying is that I should trust God, that He knows best.”

“You should.” He took a step toward her.

She stepped backward. “And what about you? When was the last time you trusted God?”

He stilled. “I do trust Him.”

“No, you don’t. All I’m seeing is you desperate to find Phoebe and get your revenge on Noah for stealing her. So much so that you want to use me as bait!”

“That’s not true.” Even as the words tumbled from his lips, he knew they were a lie. He swallowed, hating himself and disturbed that Kaylee could so easily snap out the truth.

But was it still the truth? In the past week, he found himself caring more and more for her, until he reached the point he dared not cross. The point of admitting his feelings to her. A very dangerous point for both of them.

“It
is
true,” she snapped back. “That’s the only reason you don’t want me to leave. You’re not trusting God, either! Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, remember? So what are you doing? Getting back at Noah under the guise of freeing your sister! If you trusted God, you wouldn’t be doing things that go against His teaching. So stop telling me what the Christian thing to do is, because you’re not doing it, either!”

With that, she slapped down the bag.

Then she dropped into the chair beside the dresser.

Eli swallowed hard. Twice.
Lord, is what she saying true? I want to be in Your will, so help me, Lord.

There was no wash of warmth, no comforting hand of God on his shoulder saying softly that what he was doing was right. God was as silent for him as He’d been for Kaylee. Eli just stared at her, until she looked up at him, her own stricken expression a mirror of his.

She was right. He was desperately trying to get back at Noah. How many times over the years had he considered hurting Noah, or worse?

“You’re right,” he finally whispered. “So right.” He knelt down in front of her.

She held out her hands and he took them. “And so are you.” Wetting her lips, she continued. “I
am
running away. I’ve always done it. The only time I didn’t run from my problems, I tried to fix them by going to The Farm. I ended up held captive and fell under Noah’s sway. Running away is usually easier for me, but in that compound, it was easier to stay. I was too scared to take any risks. But then when I did take one…”

“No,” he said softly. He didn’t want her to go through all that again. “You think that the Lord is punishing you for all the things you said, but part of it is humiliation, too.”

She looked at him, obviously confused by his words. He explained himself. “You were humiliated by Noah. He not only tricked you with his blasphemy, but after he killed Trisha, he went the extra mile by claiming that he spurned your advances.”

Tears slipped free of her eyes and flowed in two even tracks down her cheeks. They cut sharply into his heart. “Noah humiliated me, too, and I’ve been fighting back for years, trying to get even with him for it. He stole our sister and rubbed my nose in it.”

She clung to his hands, then, a breath later, lifted them to her cheek. “We’ve run out of hope, haven’t we?”

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, reveling in the peachlike feel of her skin and the warmth of her tears. “No. There’s always hope.”

“Lois told me that God promised us life more abundantly.”

“And we’ve had that.” He drew her hands closer to his chest, to keep at bay the temptation of holding her close, kissing her and starting something they shouldn’t start. “Kaylee, sometimes God takes us to the absolute end so that He can show us He loves us and wants to help us. He takes us to the limit of our strength to show us His, so that we can finally admit that we need Him.”

“And have you reached the end?”

He nodded. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much fear he’d felt himself, especially with her announcement that she was leaving. And just as importantly, he could now see the extent that the driven nature he despised in Noah was in him, too. Only one thing could help him conquer it.

A wealth of sudden insight bombarded him and he found himself searching for words, the words that could explain the thoughts racing through him.

“I’ve just realized everything, Kaylee. With your help. I’ve been trying to get revenge on Noah all these years. And you’re right, I haven’t trusted the Lord. I’ve been afraid I was like Noah, expecting that I would be like him and not really believing God could change me.”

“We’ve both reached the end,” she whispered, clinging to his hands. She shrugged, looking self-conscious. “Maybe I need Jesus in my life. I know that I can’t go on by myself anymore.”

He stared at her, too stunned to speak. Finally, he said, “You need Jesus, Kaylee, and He wants to be a part of your life.”

The emotion of the moment overwhelmed him. He wasn’t used to sharing his spirituality with anyone, let alone a woman he’d just met, tried to use and suddenly come to care very much for. He’d never before brought anyone to the Lord.

He dropped his head down, but she lifted it up, cradling it in her hands. “Pray for me, Eli. I think I need it.”

His heart swelled, catching him in his throat and not letting go. “Oh, sweetheart, everyone needs prayer. Especially me right now.”

“Then pray for both of us.”

He prayed, his words so soft he wasn’t sure Kaylee could hear them. But they weren’t meant for her.

Kaylee was so right when she said he was after revenge. He prayed for guidance, wisdom, strength to do God’s will. And he prayed for God to remove the vengeance in his heart, to change him.

When he lifted his head again, Kaylee was smiling.

“Thank you.”

He wanted to kiss her, to hold her and tell her every thought racing through him. But all he could do was stare at her.

She touched his cheek with her palm. “I don’t think I could have done this without you. You have such strength and commitment and know what’s right.”

He laughed, a short one with a shake of his head. “You just told me I didn’t trust God.”

She turned sheepish. “I was mad because you were right about me.”

“Just like you were right about me. I
have
been looking for revenge. But more than that, I’ve been scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of turning out like Noah. Of being so driven that I don’t know what God wants for me. And the more determined I got to stop Noah, the more I lost sight of what God wanted me to do. It wasn’t until this moment that I could really see what He wants for me. He wants me to stop trying to do everything myself—and that includes getting revenge on Noah. He wants me to trust Him.”

“You are trusting Him, just like I am now.”

“It’s more than that. I was using you and even though I knew it, I couldn’t stop myself. And because I felt I couldn’t stop myself, I figured I was as bad as Noah. But all I needed to do was ask for help.”

With that, he bowed his head.

His prayer was louder this time.

“Phoebe interpreted my fear as jealousy and selfishness. Maybe there was a bit of both there. I was really trying to keep myself from being like Noah, instead of letting the Spirit change me.”

“There’s so much I want to ask you about this.”

He chuckled. “I feel like a bit of a novice, myself. But we’ll find the answers together.”

“Yes.” On an impulse, she leaned forward and kissed him warmly on the lips. He returned it. And however brief their kiss, it touched his very soul.

Kaylee reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes before smiling at him again, relief pouring from her grin like water over Niagara Falls. “I just realized I still have to lock up the gym. Feel like driving me down there?”

“I’d love to.”

They took their time leaving the motel, Kaylee pausing for a moment to fix his collar where she’d rumpled it. Then, they drove down to River Road.

The main street of the town had been temporarily repaired, thankfully, and they didn’t have to detour. He swung the car in front of the line of stores, to park by the candy store.

She’d just given her life to Christ, he kept on thinking. It still stunned him. He’d been a committed Christian since he was a teenager. He’d seen this kind of thing before and yet, this time, it touched him so intensely.

He loved her. He truly loved her. He’d been walking around the issue for days. It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast. Love came after the long term, after a deep inspection of both souls.

And hadn’t they just done that?

They walked past the candy store. Kaylee stopped, only feet from the front facade of the gym.

He looked down at her. She was staring at the side of the building. He followed her gaze. All he could see was the alley, and at the end of it, part of the unused shed at the back of the gym. Nothing unusual. “What’s wrong?”

“Smell that?”

He sniffed. “Sweet-smelling. It’s candy.”

“Yes. They’re made right there in the back of this store. They must have made some today.”

Uneasy, he sniffed the air again. “What are you saying?”

She shook her head, before grabbing his hand and backtracking down the line of shops. At the end, they ducked into the next alley, only to come up behind the block.

He wanted to ask her what was going on, but she put her finger to her lips. They moved behind a medium-sized Dumpster. Ahead stood the back of the gym and, beyond, the playground and basketball courts.

“What are we doing here?” he asked softly.

She bit her lip. “I think I know where Noah’s been hiding.” She pointed down the alley.

He peered after her, not understanding. “Where?”

“The shed.”

He looked down toward the right. The old shed stood with its back pressed into the forest. On the side closest to them was a narrow trail that led through the woods to the street across from Kaylee’s cul-de-sac. He shook his head. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“The same thing you’ve been thinking all week. I’ve been smelling candy at the rec center. And when Noah showed up in my backyard, I smelled it again. But now they’re making a new batch, so they couldn’t have been making one this past week or earlier today. They don’t sell that much.”

“Maybe they’re planning for the Christmas rush. It’s only a couple of months away.”

“No. You know what I mean. Jenn told me when I first came here that this business isn’t that big. Besides, I’ve found the wrappers in the gym and down the hallway and outside the back of the building. I’ve been blaming the kids, but that candy isn’t popular with them.” She nodded toward the only door ahead of them, then fastened her gaze on him. “You’ve suspected he’s been around here. Does Noah like candy, Eli?”

He nodded.

She turned toward the shed. “He’s been hiding in there.”

There was no point in denying that he’d considered what she’d just realized. “What’s it used for?”