Forgiven (17 page)

Jenny stood, walked to the kitchen sink, and rinsed her coffee mug. “Bailey…”

“What?” There was still an edge to her voice.

Jenny looked over her shoulder. “Leave room for God to deal with Jeremy Fisher.”

Bailey’s shoulders dropped a few inches. “Meaning we 136

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shouldn’t try to keep him in jail? Mom, if he drives a car again he’ll kill someone else.”

Jenny turned and leaned against the sink. “I’m not saying we should look the other way.” Her voice was calm. Justice and grace were hard concepts for anyone, especially for a person young in her faith. “I just think it isn’t healthy to harbor a lot of hatred toward the drunk driver. God would want you to spend your time loving the people he hurt or being an example for kids like Abbie.” She hesitated. “Don’t you think?”

Bailey shrugged. She held the cereal bowl to her lips and drank what was left of the milk. When she was finished she cocked her head, her eyes filled with steely determination. “I think all that. But I think he should be punished too.” She stood, left her bowl on the bar, and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket near the refrigerator.

Jenny watched her daughter for a few moments. This wasn’t the time to push the issue. Instead she drew a slow breath. “You and Tim have talked a lot this week.”

“I know.” She took a bite of the apple, her expression pensive. After she’d chewed and swallowed it she nodded. “About that Tim Reed.” She grinned, the anger from a few seconds earlier gone. “Sometimes I think I like him so much.

Other times,” she lowered the apple and looked at the ceiling. “other times all I can see is Tanner smiling at me across the commons area at school.”

Tanner Williams had been Bailey’s friend since fourth grade, and now that they were in high school, his interest in her was at an all-time high. He was a good kid, quarterback of the football team, one of the few who didn’t drink or smoke.

He and Bailey had gone to homecoming together.

Jenny wasn’t sure which Bailey liked more about Tanner. The fact that he had stolen her heart when she was only ten years old or the idea that he was safe.

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Bailey looked at her. “Tanner called last night. We talked for almost an hour.”

“Was that a good thing?” Jenny didn’t want to push. The relationship she shared with Bailey was something her daughter had always wanted. No prodding or digging for information was needed on Jenny’s part. Bailey shared the details of her life willingly, and when people asked her who her best friend was, she always said the same thing: “My mom.”

Now Bailey grinned. “Very good.”

The doorbell rang, and then they heard the door open. “Hi, it’s me “Cody,” Jenny whispered to her daughter.

“I know.” She raised her eyebrows and straightened her shirt. He rounded the corner and waved at them. He wore Wrangler jeans and a white T-shirt. His dark hair was short, and his dimples seemed to cut all the way through his cheeks when he smiled.

Bailey met him halfway and gave him a quick hug. “You haven’t been by for a while.”

“I knew you were busy.” He looked at Jenny. “The accident and all.” His expression was respectfully somber. “The girl’s funeral was yesterday, right?”

“Yes.” Bailey returned to her spot at the bar. She anchored her feet on the highest rung. No matter what she said about Tanner or Tim, she still had a crush on Cody Coleman. He’d lived with them for three weeks at the end of his freshman year, back when his mother wasn’t able to care for him. He would always feel like part of the family. Bailey gripped her knees, her eyes still on him. “It was so sad.”

“I bet.” Cody opened the fridge and found the milk. He poured a glass and faced Jenny. “Makes me hate drinking; 1 can tell you that much.”

“I hate it too.” Bailey had the angry look again. “It makes all of us hate it.

The guy should stay in jail forever after what he did.”

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For a moment, Cody looked concerned, as if maybe some of Bailey’s intensity might be focused on him. Then his expression changed, and he crossed the room and took the stool next to Bailey’s. “Hey—” he looked around her to Jenny—”when can I have my old couch back?”

“Your old couch?” Jenny laughed. “Cody, you’re always welcome here. You know that. It’s your mother you need to check with.” She paused, her tone more serious. “She’s okay, right?”

“Yeah, she’s fine.” He grinned at the two of them. “My mom needs me. I just wanna make sure I’m still part of the family.”

Jenny watched him and breathed a prayer of thanks. God… he’s come so far.

Thank You for changing his heart.

She felt a lump in her throat at the memory of all he’d been and all he was today. Cody had come to them as a freshman with nowhere to turn, someone who drank heavy amounts every day. Now he was a junior, the most talented receiver on Jim’s team at Clear Creek. He would always be an alcoholic, but it had been a year since he’d touched a drink. Jenny watched him stretch out his legs. God was beyond faithful, always, all the time.

“You’re still part of the family, Cody.” Jenny walked past Bailey and patted Cody on the back as she made her way to the dishwasher. A few bowls were stacked around the sink, so she loaded them. Then she turned around and faced him. “Your mother’s staying away from drinking?”

The shadows in Cody’s eyes told the answer before he could speak. He shrugged.

“Most of the time.” He pursed his lips, and the muscles in his jaw flexed a few times. “I’m always on her, telling her to get to her meetings.”

Jenny nodded. “That’s all you can do.”

“That and pray, right?” Cody’s eyes got big. “Speaking of which, I wanna go back to church with you guys again. That big place across town won’t cut it for me.”

He grinned. “Lots of girls, but not enough God. Know what I mean?”

“I do.” Jenny loved that Cody felt this comfortable around 139

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them, at ease enough to share exactly what was on his heart and mind. After a lifetime of doubting God, he’d been trying churches for the last month. She wasn’t sure how much he understood or whether he was ready to make a commitment, but at least he was interested. “We go Saturdays at 5:30. Just show up at five and you can come whenever you want.”

“Good.” Cody looked at Bailey. His tone was sensitive, as if he suddenly remembered the funeral again. “You okay?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She smiled. “I know where Sarah Jo Stryker is. She asked Jesus into her heart after Tom Sawyer finished last summer.”

He tapped her knee. “Good girl, Bailey. You tell everyone about Jesus. I wish I would’ve known what you know about God when I was your age.”

She looked deep into his eyes for a moment. “I wish that too, Cody.” Bailey was always quieter around him. As if she was reluctant to say something immature.

The corners of her mouth lifted, even as shyness came over her. “The good news is, He’s always known you.”

“Right.” Cody stood and stretched his hands over his head. “And one of these days I might actually find Him too.” He motioned toward the family room. “Can I check out ESPN?”

“Go ahead.” Jenny snagged the newspaper from the farthest kitchen counter.

“Bailey has to finish the dishes, and I have the paper to read.” She gave her daughter a pointed look. “Okay, miss, let’s take care of your bowl and the pans from last night.”

“Ugh.” Bailey made a face. As close as they were, she struggled with helping around the house. She was always being reminded to do the dishes or clean her room or help fold laundry. When Cody was out of earshot, she looked over her shoulder at Jenny, her eyes all lit up. Then she mouthed the words he’s so gorgeous!

Jenny rolled her eyes this time. She gave a mock stern look to her daughter and pointed at the sink. “Enough boy talk,” she whispered. “Do the dishes.”

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Bailey laughed, and Jenny opened the paper. A story on the front page detailed Sarah Jo’s funeral and the hundreds of students and families who remembered her.

Jenny read it. Amazing how much that girl had touched the community. Her story about how she had sung so beautifully in Tom Sawyer had been run and rerun in the paper and played on local television news.

The part that stuck out today was at the end of the article. Katy Hart was quoted as saying, “Sarah Jo’s song will play out forever and ever because she believed in Jesus Christ. That’s the way it is with people who have Him as their Savior.”

Jenny loved that about the local paper. This was middle America, and the reporters weren’t afraid to tell it like it was. Even if the truth involved Jesus. Jenny turned the page and drifted past articles on a new local park and the funding needed for a new grade school.

She turned to the Life Section next, and halfway down the page something caught her attention. The headline read “Dayne Matthews and Crew Slated to Start Local Filming.” This was the first she’d heard of Dayne Matthews coming to town. The article was brief, stating that the cast and crew for Dayne’s upcoming film, Dream On, would arrive in town on Monday and begin filming on Wednesday. The location shooting was scheduled to last two weeks.

An hour later, after Bailey had gotten a ride to school with Cody, Katy came down from her garage apartment. She looked ready to head out somewhere. Like Bailey, her eyes were still a little swollen.

Jenny held up the kettle. “Coffee?”

“Not today.” Katy slung her bag over her shoulder. “I have a meeting.”

Jenny lowered her chin. “With Dayne Matthews?”

Katy didn’t set her bag down or jerk back. But something subtle in her eyes gave her away. She blinked. “You know?”

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“I know he’ll be here by Tuesday.” She motioned to the folded newspaper. “I figured he might’ve come in a few days early.”

“He did.” Katy took her cell phone from her bag and set the bag on the desk.

Then she came to Jenny, her eyes dark. “I saw him last night. After everyone left the theater. He’d heard about Sarah Jo’s funeral and didn’t know where to find me. He drove to the theater on a hunch and because he wanted to see it again. We talked for a while.” She made a face that said she was uncomfortable with the situation. “He wants to see me today.”

Jenny kept from showing any disapproval. She didn’t know Dayne Matthews, but she knew the sort of life he lived. It wasn’t a life Katy wanted any part of, here or in Hollywood. She kept her tone even. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him yes. I’m picking him up at his hotel and taking him to Lake Monroe.”

Katy studied the folded newspaper. “He seems different, Jenny. I think he wants to change. He’s even searching for God.” She paused. “What do you know about Kabbalah?”

“Hmmm.” Jenny worked to keep the alarm from her voice. “A lot of Hollywood actors are into it. To be honest, Katy, that’s some scary stuff. Have you researched it?”

“Not yet.”

“They believe they can attain equality with God.” One of Jim and Ryan’s former NFL teammates had gotten into it. She and Jim had taken a modern religion class at church so they could talk to the player about God’s real plan for life and spirituality. She still remembered the basic flaws in the Kabbalah teachings.

“It’s very contrary to Scripture.”

“I didn’t know that.” Katy opened the paper and scanned the page until she saw the article. After a minute she said, “He’ll be here for two weeks still; that’s what the story says.” She set the paper down. “I’ll research Kabbalah and talk to him. I know it

has to be a lot different than how he was raised.” “How was he raised?” “By missionary parents.”

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Jenny smiled. “Then I’d say it’s a lot different.” She paused, letting Katy get her bearings. “Do you have feelings for him?”

Katy sighed and clutched her cell phone between her hands. “I’ve spent all night asking myself that.” She glanced at the newspaper on the counter again. “He’s a public figure, Jenny. There couldn’t be any future with him.” She looked up.

“But there are feelings. For both of us.”

Her cell phone rang, and for a moment their eyes locked and Katy did nothing.

Then in a rush she flipped it open and said, “Hello?”

Jenny watched her expression change, and she knew. It was Dayne; it had to be.

She’d never seen Katy respond that way before. She raised her eyebrows at Katy.

“Dayne?”

Without breaking the conversation, Katy nodded. Then, still talking, she picked up her bag, waved at Jenny, and left through the front door. At the same time, Jim bounded in through the back door. He had gotten up early to tackle a persistent spread of blackberry, bushes. They grew up around the back fence every year, and every fall Jim cut them down to the roots.

It was hard work, but he loved it. He was in his element outdoors, and every year he talked about selling everything, moving to Montana, and buying a thousand-acre horse ranch. Jenny would listen patiently, then remind him that the football season was under way, or just around the corner, or that spring weightlifting and quarterback camps had started.

And always he would laugh and tell her he was only kidding. He couldn’t leave the kids at Clear Creek; not when they were still building such a successful program. The head coach was Ryan Taylor, and Jim was his top assistant. Jim’s time was spent tending to their real-estate investments from his old NFL days, meeting with other coaches and kids for prayer and Bible studies, and coaching the Clear Creek Cougars.

There didn’t seem to be any change on the horizon.

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He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “Mission accomplished! No more blackberry bushes.”

She breathed in the smell of him, musky dirt and faded after-shave. “Until next year,”

“Right.” Some of his enthusiasm faded. “Until next year.”

“Ahhh, honey—” she turned and slipped her hands around to the small of his backw”I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”

“No.” He was playing with her, trying to sound like a vi-ctim. “It’s okay. I spend three hours in the fields and you shoot me down.”