Pierce wasn’t sure if the visible change that occurred on her face was because of who he was or that he’d just become her rescuer. But seeing her taut features relax let him know that he’d made the right decision. “Okay.” She smiled and stood to follow him . . . where?
Now he had to come up with a plausible excuse.
They walked into the living room where a girl had begun to play a hymn on the piano. Glancing back to make sure that Ethan hadn’t followed them, he asked her, “Was Ethan bothering you?”
“Yes.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I mean, no, not in the way you’re asking. But I just . . . well, it feels weird to be here by myself.”
“Without Chase,” he clarified.
She nodded hesitantly. It was almost like she couldn’t say the words out loud, Pierce noted. Interesting. “I almost decided not to come. But an empty stomach can be a powerful motivator,” she said wryly.
He chuckled. “Yeah. This is the best meal I get every month, no question.” He studied her pensively. “I’m sorry I didn’t call and offer you a ride. I should have thought of that. Then you wouldn’t have had to come by yourself.”
She lifted one shoulder limply. “I made it here okay.”
Which was saying a lot because once again, the icy roads were slick. “I’m glad.”
His simple admission brought a full smile to her lips. The effect was dazzling.
Heck, Pierce thought, Chase Dunlop really was a fool to let Noelle Jensen go. “You were a no-show at the dance. Are you planning on skipping the next one too?”
“Yep,” she answered cheerfully. “I’m taking a trip to Snowflake instead.”
“Oh, yeah? Are you visiting some relatives?”
“No. I’m leaving for the temple after work.”
“And driving back to Flag that night?”
She nodded. That didn’t sit well with Pierce at all. Some years, Flagstaff received a minimal amount of snowfall. But this had been one of its wettest winters in several years. “Would you mind if I go with you?” he asked.
Her brows furrowed. “Why?”
To make sure that you travel safely, he thought, although he had a feeling she wouldn’t like that answer. He shrugged offhandedly. “It’s been a while since I’ve attended the temple. I missed last month’s ward night.”
Eyeing him speculatively, she said, “Sure. I guess.”
“What time are you leaving?”
“I figured I would drive to Snowflake early that morning if I can get the time off from work or leave by noon if I can’t. What about you? Do you have to work?”
He nodded. “Saturdays are a busy day at the store, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good, then it’s a date.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Noelle’s eyes bulged in mortification. Pierce would have laughed had he not realized what she was dealing with right now. “I-I-I mean,” she stammered, “we can go together as friends.” Her smile was forced, her cheeks blushing.
Pierce pretended not to notice her blunder. “Mind if we take my Explorer? I’d rather drive.”
“What? You don’t trust my driving?”
He cleared his throat, feeling awkward. “It’s not that I don’t trust your driving, exactly. I, uh,” he stammered, “just want to make sure you’re okay. As my mom would say, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.” He winked.
Her brow spiked higher than he’d ever seen it. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll let you know when to pick me up, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
She readjusted her bag on her shoulder. “Well, I’d better jet. My roommates will probably be home from their own Break the Fasts.”
“Are they your keepers?”
“Are you?” she shot back, letting him know she was catching on to him.
Pierce felt mildly embarrassed, but he refused to let her see it. “Of course not. You’re a grown woman. But my mom taught me to take care of the little old ladies in our ward.”
She grinned. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a little old lady. But my roommates are also going a little nutty worrying about me. I just want everyone to treat me the way they did before all of this happened.”
Pierce hadn’t taken into consideration the probability of Noelle’s relationship with her roommates changing, with the exception of Melody. “Things should get back to normal soon.”
“I wish,” she muttered. “With Melody in the picture, it just isn’t that easy. And weirder still is the fact that Melody’s always been my second mother, even though she’s only a few years older than me. So now when she keeps asking me in her sugary sweet voice if I’m okay, I just want to grab her hair and yank on it for all I’m worth, like I did when we were kids.”
This time he did laugh. “You were an ornery child?”
“So my mom says. I prefer to call myself ‘spirited.’ ” A reluctant smile crossed her lips. “I’m awful, huh?” After a moment, she sobered. “I don’t think our relationship will ever be the same again.”
“Maybe not,” he confirmed. “But don’t give up on having a relationship with her at all. It will get better. I promise.” Inwardly, Pierce squirmed. His relationship with his own dad was still difficult, to say the least.
She looked at him quizzically. “How do you know?”
She was encroaching on personal territory. Deciding to be frank with her, he admitted, “I guess I don’t. I was trying to encourage you. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but keep praying and the Lord will help you.”
She studied him curiously for a moment, then her face relaxed. “Thanks. I’ll call you later this week. See ya.”
“Bye.” He watched her go, thinking she’d made some good progress in the past week.
“So you’re going out with her,” Kurt drawled, sending shivers down Pierce’s back. He hadn’t even noticed his friend come up from behind him. “Man, you move fast.”
“No, I’m not,” he refuted, wanting to squelch that idea before it turned into an ugly rumor. “We’re just friends.” Seeing Kurt’s look of disbelief, Pierce added, “What? She needs a friend right now.”
“And you just volunteered for the job. How noble of you.”
“Shut up,” he growled. “You know nothing about it.”
“Really?” he said sardonically. “She didn’t look too brokenhearted.”
“She was hiding it well.” He scowled in disgust. Sometimes Kurt could be so immature. But if it hadn’t been for him and his dad, Pierce was unsure of what kind of man he would have become. He definitely wouldn’t have become an Eagle Scout without their influence, nor would he probably have served a mission.
Come to think of it, Kurt was the person who had convinced Pierce to attend NAU. He’d been thinking along the lines of Stanford, close to Santa Clara, where his family had lived until he turned eight. After moving around the Phoenix area for a few years, they moved to Glendale, Arizona, when Pierce was ten. He had been a lost and confused kid, angry with his parents for relocating them and disappointed that he couldn’t gain his father’s attention. Acting out in school hadn’t helped. The only thing that had was when Pierce came of age in the Scouting program, with Kurt’s dad being the Scoutmaster in their ward. They’d taken him under their wings and shown Pierce not only how to set up tents and cook outdoors but how a real father-and-son relationship worked as well. They’d given him a sense of purpose, direction, and love. At times, Pierce had felt closer to the Levingtons than his own family. In fact, it was John Levington who had ordained Pierce to the priesthood because his dad had become inactive by then.
“I’ll see you later,” he told Kurt, slapping his back. He thanked Brother and Sister Ingleson and drove home, thinking about all of the things he needed to do the following morning. Tonight, however, there was someone he needed to call. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed her number.
SEVEN
HELLO?”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Pierce.” He could hear the smile i
n her voice as she greeted him. “How’s my handsome ‘middle son’ doing?”
Pierce recalled a time when he was about seven or eight years old and he was feeling overlooked by being the middle child. A mild complaint to his mom had prompted her loving embrace and the tender words that were whispered in his ear. “How could I ever forget my middle son? He’s my ray of sunshine when my clouds are gray.”
A laugh escaped his lips. “You don’t have to call me that anymore, Mom. I’m over it. How’s life going for you?”
“Couldn’t be better. I’m keeping busy with my job and my calling with the Young Women.” His mom was the Young Women president in her ward. “What about you, Pierce? How are your classes going?”
He sighed. “Okay, I guess. I’m already sick of this semester. I just want to finish and graduate.”
“All in good time,” she answered cheerfully. “Pierce, honey, I know you’re getting anxious because it feels like everything is on hold right now. But you need to leave it in the Lord’s hands.”
“So you’re telling me to stop whining and be patient?”
“And trust in the Lord. We are always told that ‘faith without works is dead.’ But waiting on the Lord is just as important. Maybe there’s a reason you need to be there now that you aren’t aware of yet.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” He rolled that idea around in his head for a moment.
“Are you meeting any pretty girls up there?”
Suddenly, Pierce’s chest felt tight. This topic of conversation never lasted too long with his mom, mostly because Pierce never felt comfortable discussing it. “Uh, yeah. There are a lot of beautiful girls here.”
“I’m sure. Any special one catch your eye yet?” she asked meaningfully.
“No, Mom.” But if that were true, then why did his mind conjure Noelle Jensen’s face at her question? Deciding to turn the topic on her, he countered, “But I hear you’re dating someone.”
“Have you been talking to Craig or Gage?”
“Both, actually.”
He heard his mom sigh. “Craig met Eric last month and, as far as I can tell, he thinks that Eric is good for me. Gage is a little distrustful of him.”
Which made sense, Pierce knew, because his older brother was still active in the Church and his younger brother was not.
“We’re all grown men, Mom, so don’t worry about what any of us think of him. If he makes you happy, that’s all that matters. As long as he’s a member of the Church, which I assume he is.”
“He is,” she affirmed. “His wife died about two years ago. His children are mostly grown except a daughter who will graduate from high school soon. He has a son on a mission now.”
Suddenly, Pierce broke out into a cold sweat. “What will happen if you the two of you get married while he’s still on his mission?”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Pierce knew this wasn’t like his situation, but in his mind, he couldn’t stop the horrible memory from slamming in. His mission president calling him in and explaining the situation. Handing the phone over to Pierce and allowing him to call his parents. The shameful tears afterward. President Dryer gently enfolding Pierce into his arms. His companion’s helpless expression as they rode back to their apartment. And the awkward silence that pervaded their ordinarily easygoing friendship.
Everything changed for him that day. Even though he stuck his mission out, something within him had died and he no longer felt he was an effective missionary.
“Pierce, I know it still hurts you to think about that time, but this is a little different,” his mom said gently. “First, we haven’t talked about getting married. We both understand that there are issues we need to work through. You’re right in implying that his son might not like me, although his daughter seems to be okay with her father dating me. We have decided to take it one day at a time and if it is the right thing to do, the Lord will show us how to proceed.”
“You have more faith than I have, Mom,” Pierce replied cynically.
He could hear the regret in her voice as she said, “Honey, I’m so sorry that your dad’s and my marriage fell apart while you were serving your mission, but it was a long time in coming. I was afraid of letting him go. But I couldn’t move on until I did. I’m just sorry that it took me so long to reach that conclusion for myself. And I know it had a negative impact on you boys.”
It was true. His brother Craig had married a girl from Utah in the temple only to find out that they had some issues to work through. Fortunately for them, they’d resolved those issues and they now had two children to show for it. And his brother Gage, who had just received his mission call when the divorce became finalized, had backed out from leaving on his mission and had fallen into a hole of inactivity.
“Pierce.” Sarah Logan’s voice held all the gentleness and compassion a mother’s voice could. “I love you so much. And I know you’ve been avoiding having this conversation with me for a long time. Divorcing your dad was a very painful thing that I never wanted to go through, but some good things have come from it. Your dad was being pulled into the ways of the world, and I couldn’t seem to pull him back. I didn’t like the person I was becoming. My heart had hardened against him and the Lord. I was becoming resentful and cynical, much like I think you are becoming now. I saw the way you and your brothers were starved for his attention and though I was grateful when other priesthood leaders in the ward reached out to you, I hated the fact that your father wasn’t filling that role.”
“I didn’t like seeing you so unhappy, Mom,” Pierce admitted. “There were mornings when I felt bad about leaving for school because I knew that you’d been crying the night before. But you always put a smile on your face for us.”
“Oh, Pierce,” she said sadly. “I wanted us to be an eternal family. I was trying to put on a brave face. And I still want that for the three of you. Craig has a good wife and they are raising a beautiful family. But, like every couple, they’ll have to work on keeping their marriage strong. Gage has some obvious challenges and I worry about him a lot. But I worry about you, too, because this seems to have stunted your growth in ways that you aren’t willing to admit.”
“Like what?” he asked harshly.
“You’re afraid to take a chance on love,” she replied without hesitation.
“Why would I want to put myself through that when I’ve seen how badly it turns out?”
“Pierce,” she chided gently, “you don’t know what will happen. And besides, every person has his or her agency. Whether we seek higher education or take a job or get married and raise children, we can only decide to do our best and leave the rest to the Lord. Two people who are dedicated to each other and the Lord will make a successful marriage.
“But at some point, every person faces a trial that is precipitated by another person’s actions. Mine just happened to come from my husband. We made sacred covenants in the temple, and, oh, it hurt like heck when he turned away from the Church, but sooner or later, every person comes to that wall when they have to decide if they’re going to follow the Lord.
“Heavenly Father loves you, Pierce, and He knows you. He sent you to earth to perform a mission for Him and He trusts you to do it. Please don’t allow fear to hinder your progress.”
The truth of her words hit him hard in the gut. Pierce was silent for a long time. He hadn’t even realized that he’d reached his apartment and his vehicle was idling.
“Pray about it, okay, son? We can talk more about it later.”
“I will, Mom.” His voice came out sounding choked. When had his throat closed up?
“There’s something else I need to tell you.”
The ominous words instantly put Pierce on alert. “What?”
“Your dad has been going to church again.”
The news stunned Pierce. “He has?” he repeated dumbly, trying to remember the last time he’d talked with him. “When did this happen?”
“A few months ago, from what I understand. And there’s mo
re.” Although she still sounded cheerful—his mom was a pro at it—there was a slight catch in her voice. “Apparently, he met a lovely woman and they just got married.”
“What?” he cried out. “Aren’t you still sealed to him?”
“Yes, I am.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Pierce’s heart slammed into his chest. “Why?”
“They were only married civilly. But if or when they are sealed in the temple, I will be happy for him because I still love him as a child of God. He deserves to be happy.”
Pierce could have argued that point with her, but his mom continued, “Call your dad and talk to him, Pierce. Offer him your congratulations.”
“Do I have to?”
“Now you really are whining. Just do it, okay? It will be good for the two of you to talk. I need to go now. I want to call Gage and see how he’s doing. Will you call me next week?”
“All right.”
“Okay. I love you, Pierce. Always remember that.”
“I love you too. Thanks, Mom.”
“Bye.”
He told her good-bye and pocketed his phone, lost in thought. It was a long time before he went inside.
When Saturday came, Noelle was running late. She rushed home as fast as she could, took a quick shower, and yanked a dress out of her closet. Her heart pounded as she dressed and reapplied her makeup. Pierce would be here any minute to pick her up. She hadn’t been able to switch schedules with Avery at work as she’d planned. Pierce hadn’t seemed to mind the delay when she called him but she didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer than necessary.
Jessie walked into the bedroom and asked, “Where are you going?”
“To Snowflake.”
“Is there a Young Single Adult conference I don’t know about?”
“No. I’m going to the temple.”
Just then Melody entered the room. “You’re going to the temple, Noelle? Can I come too?”
Pierced by Love Page 6