Courageous (23 page)

He sighed. “The patch. I used it just once. After Emily died.”

“You mean a prescription painkiller?”

“Fentanyl. You just need a doctor to get it.”

Adam shook his head. “It’s only legal for the person the doctor prescribes it to. It’s against the law for you to use this.”

“It’s just a painkiller, Dad. How bad can it be? Normal people use it; it’s not like being a crack addict on the street.”

“Dylan, these meds work for people who are really in pain. But if you’re not in pain, they mess you up. They’re mind-altering drugs.”

Dylan’s look said it all:
That’s the point.

“You got the patch from Jeremy, didn’t you?”

Dylan didn’t answer. “Look, I’m not an addict! I mean . . . I don’t smoke weed that often. Just sometimes when I’m stressed out, I really want something to help me forget.”

Adam breathed deeply. If he lost his cool, the conversation would quickly go south.

“Give me names of people you smoke marijuana with.”

“You’ll just arrest them.”

“Not if they don’t deal it.”

“But then you’ll interrogate them. And tell their parents.”

“Not interrogate. But tell their parents? Probably. Have you ever bought from an adult?”

Dylan didn’t answer.

“That means you have. How many times?”

“Lots of kids buy from him.”

“I want his name.”

“No.”

“You’re in no position to hold out on me.”

Dylan squirmed. One moment he appeared embarrassed, the next angry.

“Did you know your sister’s dead because some guy took drugs?”

Dylan’s face changed in an instant. “What do you mean? They said he’d been drinking.”

“Yeah, but he also took cocaine.”

Dylan hung his head.

“Son, all of this stuff is really bad. You’ll have your driver’s license soon. Just one high and you could kill somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister.”

Dylan didn’t respond.

“You know how stupid it is to do drugs? It starts with marijuana, but it usually doesn’t stop there. I see the results all the time. I see kids shoplift to pay for their habit. They steal from their parents and their brothers and sisters.”

“I don’t have a brother or sister.”

Adam stopped. Tears found their way out. How had this happened? He looked up. Dylan was crying too.

“After she died, I smoked some more dope. Then Jeremy sold me the patch. I wanted to die. Didn’t want to hurt anymore. That’s why I used it.”

Adam got up and sat on the bed next to Dylan and hugged him.

“I felt like I wanted to die too, Son. I understand that part.” Adam moved back. “Buddy, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you I took drugs? Oh yeah, that would have gone over
real
well.”

“I would have helped you.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You would have made me quit track. You’d have taken away my video games. And you would have locked me in my room while you played Yahtzee with Emily!”

Adam took deep breaths, deliberately keeping his temper in check. Though Dylan’s words stung, the last thing either of them needed was for Adam to lash out in his own defense. But after sifting through dozens of possible responses, none of them seemed adequate. Honestly, could he be sure he wouldn’t have responded the way Dylan described? “We need to talk more. But my relationship with you is more important to me than anything I have to say to you.”

They sat quietly. Finally Adam said, “Do you feel up to a run?”

Dylan considered his options. “Okay.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

After their run, Adam and Dylan sat in the driveway and talked for another thirty minutes. While Dylan headed for the shower, Adam came into the kitchen and was pleased Victoria’s color had returned.

“You and Dylan shouldn’t consider housecleaning as a business,” Victoria said, wiping sticky spots off the floor.

“Sorry. I told him he needs to tell you about the drugs. I’ll be there too.”

“I appreciate that.”

His mom’s tears moved Dylan. He apologized, then asked her forgiveness. The three of them hugged. Adam prayed.

Afterward Victoria leaned against the dresser in their bedroom. “How on earth did you know where to look?”

“I thought about where I used to hide things from my parents.”

“Same place you hide things from me?”

“What?” Adam’s face flushed.

Victoria opened the closet door and reached up on her tiptoes. She edged a box off the shelf. “So what’s in here?”

“It’s a gun box. You’re scared of guns, aren’t you?”

“Which is what made it the perfect hiding place.”

She opened the box and removed what Adam had thought was safe. She held it up and waved it in his face.

His eyes dropped. “How long have you known?”

“Maybe two years. I check it a few times a week, and I see the stuff that comes and goes. Guess I should have checked on my son like I did on my husband.”

He looked up.

She held it up in front of him again. “You had to hide this from me?” She took a bite of it.

“Hey, don’t,” Adam said.

“Not bad,” she said. “What is it?”

Adam shuffled his feet. “A raspberry cruller.”

“From the Donut Factory?” She took another big bite.

“From the office.”

“Where do they get them?”

“Krispy Kreme.”

She finished it, smacked her lips, and licked her fingers.

“You’re a mean woman,” Adam said.

“Is this all you’re hiding?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess it’s okay.”

“It is?”

She grinned. “I’ve kept a stash of dark chocolate for years.”

“Where?”

“Why would I tell you?”

“I told you about mine!”

“No, you didn’t. I found it myself. And I never bother it either.” She hesitated. “Okay, one time I had a maple bar.”

“I knew I’d put it in there! I looked through three other boxes. Thief!”

“Then there was that bear claw, but I replaced it.”

Adam smiled. “Apparently Dylan came by his hiding habit honestly. Well, maybe I should say
naturally
.”

“Yeah, it’s just that his stuff is a lot more dangerous. Not to mention illegal.” She searched Adam’s eyes. “He seems to be a casual user, not an addict, right?”

“I think that’s true.”

“Do you think we got through to him?”

“After we ran, he told me it’s hard when so many other kids talk about experimenting with drugs.”

“That makes sense. It’s hard for kids to go against the flow.”

Adam breathed deeply. “This is tough. Tougher than I bargained for when I wrote the points of the Resolution. One thing for sure, I can’t do this without you.”

After a few minutes of silence she asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“That I’m trained in search and seizure. And I’m gonna take this place apart till I find your dark chocolate.”

“You’ll never find it.”

“If I don’t, I’m bringing home Chopper the drug dog. I’ll have his handler familiarize him with the scent of dark chocolate. Chopper will find it before you can say
hot fudge
.”

Victoria shook her head. “Not if I eat it first.”

Chapter Twenty-five

With the Flint River behind them, five men and their families mingled on a gorgeous manicured lawn, awaiting the Resolution ceremony. Everyone wore their best.

Adam approached his pastor. “Glad you came, Jon. If you hadn’t encouraged me to study what the Bible says about fatherhood, we wouldn’t be here today.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it. I love this Resolution! My kids are grown, but the principles apply to grandfathers and mentors of young men. This shouldn’t just stay with the five of you. It should be presented to fathers everywhere.”

“But how would we do that? We’re in Albany, Georgia—not a likely place to reach dads around the world.”

“And David the shepherd boy wasn’t a likely choice for king either. But with God, nothing’s impossible. I have some ideas about the Resolution that I want to talk to you about. But first, let’s see what God does today.”

Across the lawn, Nathan Hayes talked and laughed with his mentor of twenty years, William Barrett. William silently recalled how he’d almost given up on Nathan. It was hard enough to raise his own family. And “that Hayes kid” hadn’t always looked like a great investment. In retrospect, his decision was one of the most strategic he’d ever made—already affecting future generations.

When the time came to begin, William Barrett solemnly took his place in front of the group, next to a table with a white cloth. On the table lay five documents, each with black frames under them.

“I can’t tell you what an honor this is for me,” William said. “To hear the stand that you men are taking for your faith and your families overwhelms me. May God bless the commitment you make today.

“Nathan Hayes, I’d like you to face me and for your wife and children to stand beside me.”

Nathan walked to the center of the semicircle of men and their families. He wondered how many of William Barrett’s white hairs he’d caused. He considered how different his life would be if this man had given up on him. Nathan knew William had prepared him to believe in God the Father by making the very word
father
seem welcome to him for the first time in his life.

“Nathan . . . my son in the faith,” William began. Nathan could see how close Mr. Barrett’s emotions were to the surface.

“I took joy in mentoring you as a young man. Today I take joy in blessing you as a godly father. Are you ready to make this commitment before God and your family?”

“Yes, sir, I am.”

“Then I’d like you to repeat after me. . . .”

One by one, witnessed by their families and their God, the five men stood before William and repeated the words of their Resolution.

“I do solemnly resolve before God

To take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.

I will love them, protect them, and serve them

And teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.”

Adam stole glances at Victoria and Dylan as he made his pledge.

“I will be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her

And be willing to lay down my life for her, as Christ did for me.

I will teach my children to love God with all their hearts, minds, and strength.

I will train them to honor authority and live responsibly.”

When Shane Fuller took his place, only his son was there to witness the promises he made. Shane gazed into Tyler’s eyes and spoke the words of his commitment.

“I will confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

I will pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.”

When his turn came, Javier Martinez proudly stepped forward in the first new suit he’d owned. He was proud to face his family and vow always to be the man they needed him to be.

“I will work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.”

David Thomson felt honored to stand among these older men. No family was there with him, but for a fleeting moment, David imagined a woman and her daughter there, loving him and looking to him for leadership.

“I will speak truthfully and keep my promises.

I will forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.”

Each man repeated the entire Resolution in an air of seriousness and dignity.

“I will learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

I will seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

I will courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this Resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.”

Finally, on behalf of all, Adam spoke the Scripture he’d written beneath the Resolution: “‘Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’”

After the five men finished making this declaration, they moved as one to the printed Resolutions at the table. Each picked up an attractive wooden pen Kayla had selected. Each signed. Nathan was last, weighing every word before putting his name to paper. He looked longest and hardest at one particular statement:
“I will forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.”

William Barrett said, “Now that each of you has committed to live by this Resolution, I bless you in the name of the Lord. May His favor rest on you and give you strength and grace.”

The men relaxed, thinking the ceremony was over, but William spoke again, and everyone snapped to attention because of his serious tone.