As Long As You Both Shall Live: A Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense (Dangerous Series Book 2)

by Linda K. Rodante

  And what about Ted? Shepherd said they still had not found him. But Ted had nothing to do with John. Did he? She huffed. None of this made sense.

  Her body ached, and she closed her eyes. Sleep had come off and on last night. If she could rest now then maybe…

  The phone’s ringtone woke her. She reached over the couch to the end table and fumbled for her phone. “Hello?”

  “Sharee, you called the police.” Dean’s voice filled the line. “Do you know the trouble you’ve caused? Again? Having the police come to my business?”

  Her hand shook as she held the phone. “Be strong and very courageous,” the words came back. She took a deep breath and cut across his cursing.

  “You came to my place. You waited all night. That’s not normal.” Why was she talking to him?

  “So now I’m not normal?” The words whispered over the line. “You self-righteous little…”

  “Dean!” How could she have been so stupid? “Don’t call me again. Do you hear? Don’t call again.” Her fingers moved to disconnect him, and she heard him laugh.

  “Oh, I won’t call, sweetheart. I won’t call.”

  She shut the phone off, and fought the unease those last words had initiated. She took a long breath and blew it out. Dean would not cause her to feel like a rabbit that needed a hole to hide in. He was a bully that was all.

  Running her fingers through her hair, she stood and started for the kitchen.

  Knock! Knock!

  Her head jerked toward the sound, and her stomach tightened. She grabbed her phone again. She’d call 911 first this time.

  “Hey, Sharee, you there?” Bruce’s voice came through the door. He knocked again.

  Thank you, Lord! She ran to the door, stopped, stared through the peephole, then unlocked and unbolted the door.

  “Hey. John told me about the other night, so I thought I’d come…” his voice trailed off. “What’s wrong?”

  Her eyes ran over the parking lot. “Quick. Come inside.”

  He rolled his wheelchair forward. She closed and locked the door.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Dean. He called again. Do you know about yesterday?” She backed up and sat down on the sofa. “I thought it was Dean when you knocked.”

  “Why would you think that?” When she didn’t answer, he rolled his wheelchair next to her. “John and I talked this morning. He told me about Dean, and about your car being shoved off the road, and someone chasing you. But that’s all I know.”

  “Dean just called again. He threatened me.”

  Bruce’s face hardened. “Don’t talk with him. Don’t listen. Just hang-up.”

  “I know. I don’t know why I did…I…just did.”

  “Well, stop it.” The roughness of his voice surprised her. “The man is dangerous.”

  “I know.”

  “It seems to me, that since God has put his finger on you and John to do ministry together, you’ve come under attack. So pray and ask God for that discernment and then stand against the enemy. Identify the areas where he is attacking and begin to pray for help and power there.”

  “You’re right. I don’t pray as much since John came home.”

  “Well, it’s good he’s here, but prayer is your weapon against the enemy. You need to learn to pray in advance. Think about what it will be like in Indonesia.”

  “You’re right. I’ve never had to face physical threats before, and it’s scared me.” She walked over to the table and picked up the papers laying there. “Here’s my list of suspects. Tell me what you think.”

  He took his time, going over the different lists, and moving back and forth between them. “Not bad. What is this note you made that says ‘work’ with a question mark?”

  She told him about Detective Shepherd’s call. “I felt like such a fool after he called. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “Let’s hope so. What are the E’s by each person’s name and then the A’s? What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, at first I eliminated them all—one by one—for different reasons, but after thinking about it again, I added them all back on.”

  He laughed but sobered a minute later. “You should tell the police about Dean’s phone call. And when John gets here, make sure you tell him, too.”

  “He’ll be upset.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s protective of you and wants to keep you safe. It’s driving him crazy that he can’t quite do it himself.” The amusement showed. “He and God are still working through a few things there. At some point, he’ll have to hand you over to God.”

  Sharee smiled. “You think that’s a problem?”

  “A major issue, I would say.” He studied her. “That protectiveness and “get things done” attitude is like your dad, I bet.”

  “You know, that’s something I’ve never thought about. He is like my father that way.”

  “Probably what attracted you to Dean, too. In that case, however, he kept a lot of things from you. Don’t blame yourself. We all thought he was Mr. Nice Guy.” He moved his hands to the wheels of his chair. “I’ll be going. Just wanted to stop by and see how things were.”

  “Thank you for coming by and for being concerned.”

  He nodded. “We’ll work on that list of yours another time. Keep the doors locked. Don’t talk to strangers. All that stuff.”

  She grinned. “You and John.”

  “And your father and the police. Wisdom, as they say.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Good.” He rolled to the door.

  ***

  The white sands glistened in the late afternoon sun, and the waves reflected liquid gold with an intensity that proved impossible to watch. Sharee shielded her eyes and looked away from the brightness. John’s arm circled her waist.

  “You should have hung up.” The mixture of roughness and concern in his voice made her smile.

  “I know.”

  He said nothing in reply then blew out an exaggerated breath. “I’m glad Bruce stopped by. It’s possible Dean was nearby, even watching again.”

  Sharee shuttered. “I don’t want to think about that.”

  “Me, either, but we have, too. Sharee—”

  “I’ll keep the doors locked. I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.” She touched his hand as he let out an impatient breath. “You’ve done everything possible. Now, we have to trust God.”

  They walked in silence. She could almost feel his struggle. Let go and let God. How many times had she heard that? Acting on that was proving hard for them both.

  The salt smell and the woosh-woosh of the Gulf waves surrounded them. The last time they’d been here, confusion had ruled her thoughts. She lifted her head. His gaze met hers.

  “John, I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  His chin roughened her hair. “It’s okay. That’s why we came. I wanted to cancel out the negative. Maybe I was too sure of myself that day.”

  She pulled her head back to see him better, feeling the pain he’d gone through.

  One side of his mouth hitched upward. “Can’t have our favorite jogging spot filled with bad memories.”

  They watched three brown pelicans fly past. Small sea birds ran back and forth following the waves that licked up the shoreline.

  “Are you up to this meeting?”

  “With Janice’s parents?”

  He nodded.

  She didn’t reply for a minute. “I still don’t understand why they want to meet me.”

  He took a deep breath. “Maybe it will bring a type of closure for them—to Janice’s death. I know when she died that they couldn’t let go, and you know I’m still in communication with them. I’ve tried to break that tie since I came back from Indonesia, in the midst of everything else. I think I’m beginning to understand that as long as I’ve stayed around, they haven’t had to deal fully with Janice’s death. Our marriage will make a huge difference in their lives.”

  “They will hate me.”

  “I don
’t think so, Sharee. I think it will be a step toward acceptance. But you don’t have to do this.”

  “I’ll do it if you think it will help.”

  “We’ll keep it short.”

  “When did you first tell them?”

  “About us? At Christmas. When I went to meet your parents. Afterwards, I went home; but usually, I go see them first. Spend Christmas Eve with them then drive home. My parents understood. But this time I went to your home, so I didn’t see them until a few days after Christmas.”

  “And you told them you were going to ask me to marry you? You knew then?”

  His eyes lit. “Yes, I knew, but it wasn’t until the day before I left for Indonesia that I told them. I thought it would give them time to deal with it while I was gone.”

  Wisps of hair blew across her eyes. She shoved them aside. “This will be hard for you?” How much had he loved this woman to keep in touch with her parents? What if she didn’t measure up? What if, after they were married, he regretted it? Her insides iced.

  “Hard? In a way.” He broke into her thoughts. “Closure—for all of us.”

  He still needs closure? Show me what to do here, Lord. I’m feeling threatened—by his love for this woman who’s passed away. Don’t let me get lost in my own insecurities.

  They turned, walking back the way they had come, across the causeway to the other side of the park. The sun warmed their backs, and their shadows stretched long and distorted in front of them. The Gulf waters rippled and winked. People sunned themselves on towels on the asphalt or on the backs of cars. Fishermen were thigh deep in the water, casting into the fading sky.

  Laughter and music and snatches of conversation floated on the air. Sharee inhaled the smell of grilling food. When they slipped onto the tree covered path on the other side, palm trees and twisted oaks closed in around them.

  “I’ll be starving before we leave this place,” John said.

  “Uh huh. And you’ll probably grab the first rolls they set in front of us at deli.” Sharee glanced down. “You’re limping.”

  “Longer walk than I remembered. I'll rest when I get home."

  Fading sunlight threw shadows across the path. “Ryann, Matthew, and Abbey came over today. They brought some food they had cooked themselves. We had a nice chat. Matthew told me Marci is still getting calls from Ted.”

  John’s eyebrows lifted. “Is she? You mean she’s accepting them?”

  “That’s what it sounded like. I wonder if she realizes what is happening. What could happen. Breaking up her family? The pain to the kids, Joseph, herself?”

  “People have an idea it won’t happen to them. Perhaps she thinks she can have her marriage and Ted, too.” He shook his head. “It won’t work that way. The devil won’t let it.”

  They were quiet for a while. “It’s sad and frustrating. I wish I could open that head of hers and pour some sense into her.”

  “We tried. That’s all we can do. And pray.”

  “I know.” She waited a beat before changing the subject. “Did you know that Ryann overheard your conversation with Pastor Alan this morning?”

  He said nothing right away, but before long, his eyes widened. “What did she hear?”

  “She and Abbey and Matthew asked me about Dean, and they asked if someone was trying to kill me.”

  “I had no idea anyone was around. Not that early. It was about 8:30. What teenagers are up at that time?”

  “They were. Using the kitchen, I think, to make the food for me.”

  “We were working outside the fellowship hall. I don’t remember everything we talked about, but… Neither of us would have brought that subject up if we’d known anyone was around.”

  “Yeah, well. Be careful next time.” More bothered her than that. “There’s something else we need to talk about.”

  “What?”

  She cocked her head. “Perhaps you’d better tell me what you said to the youth the night you spoke to them. I keep getting these funny looks.”

  “You do?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “All right. It concerns you, anyway.”

  “I thought so.”

  He took her hand and led her through the pines and dappled shade to the water. They stopped at the last group of trees at a small, isolated portion of the beach. The setting sun had just touched the water. Wisps of clouds burned pinks, peaches, and apricot across the turquoise sky.

  He squeezed her hand. “It’s beautiful here.”

  “Yes, it is.” The wind tugged at her hair. “But I’m more concerned about what you said.”

  He stepped between her and the sun, shading her eyes. “I guess I’ll confess. Don called at the hospital. Do you remember? He’d just heard about your accident and about our engagement.” He gave her a wicked grin. “You did tell Lynn, after all. His call couldn’t have been more than two hours later. Anyway, after asking about you, he asked me to speak to the youth on purity and abstinence.”

  “Really? Was that out of the blue?”

  “It was. But it sounded like God’s timing to me.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “Just when I was struggling with…those same things. Don needed a fill-in. His speaker couldn’t make it, so I was the substitute.”

  “But…”

  “I talked that night about how things are today—how things are portrayed on TV, in the movies, all that I said to you the other day. Then I explained how God has given us the best way which is to wait to have sexual relations until marriage. I used scripture and statistics about marriage and divorce, and how today’s culture of living together has a higher divorce rate than those that don’t.

  “It’s amazing how little they know. They think that what they’ve learned from TV and the movies is how it is. When I pointed out that TV shows and movies show no consequences with recreational sex, they understood that. On TV, you just rebound from anything by finding another partner and go on. But that’s not real life. Real life hurts, and there are things like pregnancy, abortion, STD’s, broken marriages, broken families, and even the poverty single mom’s live with when the dads leave.”

  “You went into all that?”

  “Uh huh. I told them about how many girls—and boys, too—come out of a relationship with broken hearts and feelings of worthlessness.”

  “But…”

  He caught her wrists. “Wait. I haven’t told you everything. They asked about us. Don knew he was putting me on the spot. He knew it would make things real to them if he could get someone to talk about purity, about abstinence, that was actually living it.

  “He questioned me about that before he asked me to share. And it was the first question the teens asked when I finished. Were you and I planning to wait until we married? I told them, yes, we were. You should have seen them trying to get their heads around that. We’re old, you see, in their eyes. And I’ve been married before. Why should we wait? I had to explain our commitment to God, our belief that what he tells us is right and for our good—and the rules don’t change with age or circumstances.”

  Sharee tried to hide her smile. “I didn’t think you were always so determined about it.”

  “Well, let’s put it this way. I know what’s right, and it certainly helps when you have a partner who feels the same way. Makes my ‘want to’ into a ‘surety.’”

  “So that’s why I got those looks afterwards.”

  He dropped her wrists to circle her with his arms. “I hadn’t expected you to be at church that night, so when you asked to be there—well, I knew I should have talked with you beforehand, but it was too late. And I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the group. Anyway, I have many excuses, but I did ask them not to talk with you that evening. I wanted time to tell you myself.”

  “Which you didn’t.”

  “Guilty conscience.” His voice held an apology. “And as much as I thought I knew them, I hadn’t expected the way the questions and comments would go afterwards.”

  She huffed. “I don’t kno
w whether to be angry or not. I’m glad you did it—because young people today need to hear that—but you talked about personal things without asking me.” She squirmed to get free of his hold, and his arms tightened.

  “You’re right. I should have consulted you.”

  “You’d better remember that next time.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned, but chuckled a moment later.

  “What?”

  “They did ask if it was difficult.”

  “Difficult?”

  “Yes, abstinence. I told them I do a lot of jogging.”

  She laughed. “I bet your foot limits that these days.”

  “You think it’s funny?” He growled into her hair. “Just watch yourself.”

  “You jog. I do a lot of praying.”

  “Do you?” His fingers moved with butterfly touches over her cheek and neck, and then he leaned down and kissed her. She let her body melt into his. His kiss changed, the gentleness deepening until the fire started inside again.

  She pushed away, breathing deeply. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Mr. Abstinence.”

  “You make it hard.”

  “Me? You’re the one with the electric kisses.”

  “Electric?” he chuckled then sobered. “Talking about purity and walking it out are two different things.”

  “Yes, they are.”

  Chapter 11

  As they walked into the Lucky Dill, past the display of desserts, a rumble of voices and laughter met them. The smell of fresh-baked bread, of garlic, and warm soup filled the air. Sharee glanced around the large room, eyeing the bar, the large sitting area, and the area by the windows. Outside, patrons filled the tables. People talked and laughed and ate. A waitress hustled past them, then another. She moved aside to give room for the large tray one woman carried. The plates on it were piled high with sandwiches, salads, and bread.

  Sharee glanced at John and followed his gaze to the back right corner. An older man stood and gave a low wave. Sharee’s stomach contracted as the man’s eyes rested on her. She saw something cross his face, and he bent down to the woman next to him. The woman looked up, and their eyes met. The woman’s face stilled. Sharee bit her lip, and her hand went to John’s arm.