Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) (32 page)

A
horseshoe sailed through the air and clinked against a metal post, rolled
several feet then flopped over into the sand. “Awe, come on!” Tyler called out,
laughing in frustration. “I had it, and it just rolled off!”

“Whatever
makes you feel better,” Susan taunted good-naturedly. Tyler shook his head,
laughing as he set down by Rye in one of the two metal chairs on their end.
Jason and Susan collected the horseshoes then she lined up and sent one sailing
towards the far metal post. It clinked against it and only slid a few inches
past. The second one landed just as close. “Um, Tyler,” she spoke sly, “is that
two points?”

He
smiled and nodded his head. “Yes Susan, that’s two points.”

“I
thought so,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “I’ll let you know if you get any
points.” Her good natured taunting drew a laugh from him. “You haven’t yet,”
she spoke sweetly as she set down next to Jason, “just in case you weren’t
sure.”

“Wow,”
Rye said as Jason stepped up to throw, “she bites.”

“Sure
does,” Tyler responded like he enjoyed a little sass, as he set down in one of
the metal chairs, next to Rye. “But she’ll be eating those words when Jason
gets a ringer, right Jason?”

Jason
just looked up and gave an attempted smile but didn’t answer as he took his
position behind the pole. His heart was far from the game. Why play games? Why
work? Why try? Why train? Why go on with life when there was nothing left to
live for? He focused on the far pole and sent the horseshoe sailing. Tyler’s
eyes grew wide, and he jumped from his seat a split-second before the horseshoe
crashed into it, the impact of metal slamming against metal sounding loudly.

Embarrassed,
Jason muttered “sorry” and intentionally tossed the other horseshoe short, just
to insure he didn’t hit anybody. Turning away, he was headed back to his seat
when the sound of gravel crunching under tires drew his attention, causing him
to turn around. A familiar black Cadillac crept down the driveway towards them.

Jason’s
heart began to pound. The car came to a stop nearby and the FBI agent, who’d
come by and delivered the devastating news to Jason several days prior, stepped
out. Her attire was basically the same except she didn’t wear any shades,
allowing her intelligent brown eyes to size things up freely.

“Agent
Bethany Weathers,” Jason spoke, apprehensive as to what news she had. “What
brings you out?”

“A
word in private, if you don’t mind,” she replied.

Jason
walked over to her and followed her around behind her car. He could hardly
breathe. He could literally hear the sound of his own heart. Uneasiness swam in
his chest. As soon as she turned around to face him, he began. “What is it?” he
demanded. “Did you find out who the other passport is for?” The look in her eye
said he had hit the nail on the head. He almost didn’t want to know who it was
for. Didn’t matter. She wasn’t going. He was going to prove… Was she smiling?
How cruel. He felt his blood pressure began to rise.

“It’s
you,” the agent laughed. “The other passport, the other plane ticket… they’re
both yours.”

Jason
just stood in stumped silence. Dare he believe? “But how, um, why the…” He
stopped, unable to form a question.

“She
must have purchased them for you, and it was going to be a surprise,” the agent
explained. “We also took a look at her phone. She had a lot of things saved
about Mexico. Best we can figure, those two one-way tickets were just the
beginning of her purchases. It looked like she was planning on you guys taking
a plane to Cancun, spend a while down there then, I think,  she was
looking for a cruise that went up the Mexican Gulf Coast back to the states; we
assume that, from there, once she had a cruise ship booked, she would have
booked the return flight home.”

Jason
wanted to hug the FBI agent, but part of him was afraid to get too excited
about the news. “So the fact that the trip is planned for one day after my
climb is just a coincidence?”

“Yes
and no,” the agent replied. “Yes, it is a coincidence but not completely
random. Can you think of anything worth celebrating that happens around that
time?”

Jason
stood in silence for a moment… then it dawned on him. “My birthday!” he
exclaimed.

“That’s
right,” Agent Weathers beamed. “I think it was going to be a birthday
surprise.” She then paused and grew somber. “I’m sorry we added more to your
already troubled life but, well, all the arrows pointed that way.”

“It’s
okay,” Jason sighed and shook his head. “You don’t know her. I do. I can’t
believe I doubted her.”

Agent
Weathers gave him a keen study. “But what about the money in her account?” she
asked. “You don’t still doubt her for that?”

Jason
glanced over at Susan, who, along with the others, was looking their way. He
turned back to the agent. “I’m a spender,” he confessed. “It doesn’t make it
right, but she probably knew it wouldn’t have lasted long in our joint account.”

“And
you’re just going to let it go at that?” she asked, disbelieving but seeming to
hope it was true.

“I’ve
done worse,” Jason replied.

With
their goodbyes said, Agent Weathers drove away and Jason returned to the game.
It was his turn when he got back. He threw a ringer and a leaner; that combined
with the two points Tyler had scored while he was gone put them in the lead.
Jason was smiling.

“Okay,
it’s killing me,” Susan spoke, “what’d the FBI lady say?”

“The
other ticket and the other passport,” Jason spoke, “they were for me. Looks
like she was planning me a birthday surprise.”

“See,”
Susan said, her tone a jesting sort of relieved, “I told you she wasn’t capable
of that.”

“And,”
Tyler spoke, looking happy for Jason, “since she bought the surprise with her
private checking, I doubt she was planning on keeping that secret much longer.
She was probably planning on telling you soon.” That was a good point; one
Jason hadn’t yet thought of.

With
a contented smile on his lips, he cast a deep look across the horizon. A flock
of birds flew by. Blades of yellow grass danced on the breeze. A yearling colt
nickered. Life moved around him once more. He took a deep breath. It was time
to fight again.

- - - - - -

Fighting
was exactly what Jason felt like doing as he sat on a padded pew, confined by
walls that he never thought would surround him. If he could just get through
the morning of song, prayer and praise, he would then fulfill his obligation to
follow Tyler’s order. When that was accomplished, he never again planned to
frequent such an establishment. There was enough turmoil in his life – things
to figure out and emotions to sort through – without throwing Jesus, God, and
religion into the mix.

Then
a man stood up and walked to the platform where he proceeded to talk about
heaven, hell, and God verses the devil, apparently doing his best to make an
already uncomfortable situation as painful as possible. Then he said something
that caught Jason’s attention.

“Jesus
warned us to ‘Beware of false prophets, which come in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.’” Jason’s mind received a jolt. That sounded
a lot like his dream. “Now, who do you think Jesus was referring to?” the
preacher asked. “He, of course, was referring to all betrayers, but I have a
feeling that, in that moment, someone special may have been on his mind.” The
preacher then paused for a moment… which drove Jason crazy. Forget dramatic
effect! Who was the betrayer?

“A
man named Judas was his betrayer… and very close friend,” the preacher said
then stood silent for a moment, surveying the crowd before going on. “I guess
the next question would be why. We all know it was for thirty pieces of silver.
But why trade anything, whether it be money or just foolish pride, for someone
that you love?”

Jason
felt like he’d been slammed in the chest by a bull. He couldn’t breathe. That
is exactly what he’d done. While it had been unintentional, he had traded Misty
for his stupid pride. Maybe that made him better than… what was that guy’s name
– Judas? Maybe he was better off than Judas seeing how Jason hadn’t meant for
anyone to get hurt… but then the preacher continued.

“The
Bible tells us more about Judas,” he said as he tapped one hand on the edge of
the wooden stand where his Bible rested. “When Judas saw that Jesus was being
crucified, he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the scribes – tried to
get a refund; he tried to give them the money back in what I believe was an
attempt to set Jesus free. But they refused,” the preacher said, shaking his
head. “No refunds, I assume.”

He
sighed as he looked out over the crowd as if he had bad news before adding,
“This bothered Judas’ conscious to such a great extent that he threw the money
down at their feet then went out and hung himself.” Jason jerked. What a brutal
ending.

“Now
folks,” the preacher went on, “I want to ask you something – why would Judas
hang himself over a job well done? He betrayed Jesus to an angry mob. What did
he expect them to do… throw him a party? No. He knew they wanted to kill him…
but this is Jesus we’re talking about. You know, miracle man – feeding the
thousands, healing the blind, healing the sick… even the dead. These same men
had tried to kill Jesus before, but he was too powerful for them. They tried to
stone him twice, tried to throw him off a cliff once, but it was as if some
supernatural power prevented them… mainly because some supernatural power
prevented them,” he added with a smile then looked up, gazing into the eyes of
the assembly before he went on. “They tried to kill Jesus before… and failed.
So why would this time be any different?”

He
paused again and looked around at the crowd. Finally, his gaze seemed to rest
on Jason as he said, “So this morning, I present to you my belief and that is…
Judas meant Jesus no harm. He was just thinking of himself. No one was supposed
to get hurt. The one that he loved was not supposed to be taken away from him.”

Tears
rolled down Jason’s cheeks. He was Judas. He had betrayed the one that he loved
most in exchange for his own selfish desires.

“We
are all Judas,” the preacher said solemnly.  “I’m Judas. You’re Judas.
We’re all Judas because we have all betrayed Jesus. Whenever we choose things
here on earth over this one who loves us more than he feared death, we don’t
mean him any harm. No one is supposed to get hurt. But we betray him just like
Judas, and we deny him just like Peter, and we crucify him just like the Roman
soldiers.”

Now a
new guilt plagued Jason, a guilt that had never surfaced before, but at the
same time, it was something that had been bottled up inside for years.
Something was missing from his life, and the preacher’s words seemed to hang
Jason out over that void and expose the weaknesses and fears within.

Questions
began to trouble his mind – questions like… where was he going when he died? –
If he went anywhere, that is. Would falling from the Tombstone result in him
lying forever in the grave… or was it going to be like the preacher was saying?
“Those who do good and know Jesus will be given eternal life, but those who do
not know him cannot go to be with him but must spend eternity separated from
him.”

The
preacher looked out at the crowd and gave a gentle smile as he added, “These
are the only two options – Jesus and eternal life or Satan and eternal death…
and which one you choose is really the only thing that will matter to you a
hundred years from now.” He stood silent for a moment, and his eyes danced with
passion as he added, “Eternity folks. That’s what it’s all about.”

A few
moments of quietness filled the building before the preacher began to speak
once more. “We are about to sing a song and no matter what song we choose to
sing, at this time, we always call it the invitation song. That is because we
are inviting you… each of you personally to come and know Jesus. Or if you have
known Him, and you turned your back on this your dearest friend, he is here
waiting with open arms.”

Jason
rose numbly to his feet as the song began. His heart called for him to come out
of the place he’d buried it – but fear of change kept him grounded in place.
There were a lot of things in his life that he was willing to change – things
like clothes, furniture, and pickups every once in a while… but those were
changes
in
life, not a change
of
life – which is what obeying the
words of the preacher and yielding to the call would lead to. It would change
everything.

As
Jason stood wrestling with the emotions within, Tyler squeezed past and made
his way to the front row and sat down. After the song concluded, the preacher
sat down beside the tall cowboy and placed an arm around him. There were a few
moments of quiet as Tyler and the preacher conversed quietly before the
preacher gestured towards the platform as if saying, “Go ahead.”

Tyler
rose and made his way up the steps to the platform. He looked out across the
crowd then began by saying, “I was shown the love of Jesus Christ many years
ago.” He sighed and rubbed the wooden stand in front of him nervously. “But I
walked away from him, and I’ve walked a lot of miles on my own since then –
thinking that I couldn’t and shouldn’t need, um, other people… or even God. But
several years ago, I was placed in a position where I was needed, where someone
would have died without me… and that was my very first beacon of hope. I’ve
come to learn that if it is okay to be needed then it must be okay to need.”