by T. K. Chapin
Kora touched Olivia’s shoulder softly, then went to grab Molly, bringing her right into her arms.
“It’s okay, Molly. It’s okay.”
Her mother didn’t have the heart to say it, but it didn’t take Olivia long to realize what had happened. Molly had forgotten her. Covering her mouth with two hands, she wept, knowing that her daughter didn’t know who she was anymore. It was her worst nightmare come true. Her heart ached, and she went and sat down in a nearby metal chair for a moment.
After settling her emotions, Olivia rose and came back to Molly and her mother. This time, she didn’t take Molly but instead only smoothed a hand over the back of her head and down to her back. Little steps, like Tyler said, she reminded herself as she tried not to make it too apparent to Molly that she was overly emotional right now. She knew her daughter didn’t need overactions and dramatics, just love. Once Olivia’s emotions calmed a measure more, she turned and caught the gaze of her mother.
“That was a good sermon, wasn’t it?”
“It was very good.” Her mother nodded. “I liked how the pastor used Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,’ to demonstrate the foundation of his sermon on God’s greatness. I think sometimes we—well, I mean me, specifically, right now—get too caught up in the happenings in our life that we forget just how powerful our God truly is. You for instance. I never thought in a million years that you’d be able to find your way to Jesus. Even when you were thirteen, you were against God in every way imaginable. But here you are, decades later, and a follower of Jesus Christ. Such a powerful demonstration of God’s greatness.”
“I agree. It really is a demonstration of Him. I find it strange there was a time I didn’t believe in God even though that was only a couple of weeks ago.” Olivia’s gaze fell on Molly. “I wouldn’t have Molly here with me, though, if I had God back when I was younger. Bruce and I wouldn’t have ever gotten together.”
“But God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He was able to bring the blessing of Molly into all of our lives, and now, we couldn’t imagine life without her.”
Olivia’s father turned around after chatting with another man and leaned in, hugging Olivia. “Heya, kid.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Oh! there’s Hank. He has my weed eater. I’ll be back!”
Olivia and her mother laughed as Dan made his way across the room in a flurry of steps toward an elderly gentleman.
“Your dad has come around a lot, Olivia.” Kora’s eyes were filled with a spark in them as she watched her husband across the room.
Olivia turned to peer over at him. “I’ve noticed. Must’ve been some men’s conference.”
“Yep. I feel like God has been teaching me a lot lately about His timing overruling my own timing for things.”
“Yeah? How’s that been going?”
Her mother laughed, then said, “Each lesson is painful!”
Olivia hung out with her parents and Molly until the fellowship hall emptied and her parents were ready to leave and Molly was ready for her afternoon nap. Saying goodbye to Molly was the worst kind of pain her heart had felt that day. Her eyes welled up, and she shook her head, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Olive.” Her dad came in close and patted her shoulder. “It’s painful. We understand that. It’s painful for us too. We just want what’s best for Molly.”
They left the fellowship hall and Olivia went and sat down at a table. She needed to calm down before she made the drive back out to Diamond Lake and to her home at the cabin. Dabbing the tears from her eyes with a napkin, she prayed. God, it hurts my heart to not have her, and I long for Your comfort. It’d be so easy to go home and over to Tyler’s house and just let him hold me, but I don’t want to rely on him. I want to rely on You to hold me in this moment. Please teach my heart to rely on You alone, Lord. You alone. Amen.
Leaving the church, she headed home. As she drove, she remembered she needed to pick up a few items from the grocery store so she passed her turn and went into the town of Newport. She pulled Chet’s truck into the parking lot of the grocery store and noticed Alex walking out from the store to his car. She parked quickly and lay down on the bench, hoping he hadn’t already spotted her. Her heart raced even though she was driving a truck and not the car that she had been in when she first met him. Praying, she asked God for help and protection. Please, Lord, let this pass. I don’t want to see him or talk to him!
Ten minutes passed and she felt confident enough to get out and go inside. As she walked through the store and retrieved needed items from the shelves, she checked over her shoulder every few moments. Her heart ached with worry of running into him, and it almost made her decide to leave, but instead, she hurried as best she could.
Turning down the coffee aisle, she glanced over her shoulder toward the poultry. He wasn’t there. Directing her gaze forward down the aisle a moment later, she was suddenly face-to-face with Alex. Her heart jumped and panic filled her to the brim. She tried to keep a straight face even though she was terrified to run into the man.
“I thought that was you.” He smirked and approached her cart. She tried to push past him, but he grabbed hold of the cart’s metal frame, stopping it. “Where you going? I haven’t seen you in a while. You know, Champ asks about you.”
Hearing Champ’s name made her blood boil as the memory of his sticking her with a needle resurfaced amid other things.
“I’ve moved on, Alex. Let my cart go.”
Alex moved closer, a menacing look on his face, standing only a foot away from her now. Her pulse soared and she could feel her throat close.
“What do you want, Alex?”
“Where’s your boyfriend at? I need to talk to him.”
“Leave him out of this. He has nothing to do with it. What do you want?”
He shook his head. “Actually, he has a lot to do with what I want. You see, Champ doesn’t take too kindly to people breaking into his house and stealing away his girls and destroying his drugs and getting the cops to come over.”
“I’m not his girl.”
“Oh, yeah? That’s not how I hear those months together went.” He took another step closer as he leered, but just then, a cop appeared in the aisle and started toward the two of them.
“Officer, this man is harassing me and threatening me.”
The officer shifted into cop mode and set the loaf of bread down from his hand onto the shelf, then approached quickly.
“What did you do to this poor gal, Alex?”
Alex shooed a hand at the cop who knew him by name. “Save it, Brody. Go back to picking off speeders out by the freeway. I’m just talking.”
“Don’t miss a good chance to shut your mouth. Beat it, Alex.” Officer Brody pointed down the aisle to motion for Alex to leave. Once he vanished, he stepped closer to Olivia. “You okay, ma’am?”
“No, I’m not. I’m scared. Alex is a drug addict, and his drug dealer friend is upset with me.”
“I know all about Alex. You need an escort out of the store?”
Comfort at the thought set Olivia’s nerves at ease, but she knew he could be waiting for her outside. “And home, if you don’t mind?”
“Not a problem.”
As she walked with Officer Brody out through the light snow coming down outside in the parking lot, Olivia thought of Tyler and his head wound. If he had to fight in the condition he was in right now, he’d most likely lose, possibly even lose his life, especially if Alex showed up with a gun. The thought sent tremors of worry through her heart. She couldn’t let that happen after all the good he had done for her. Stopping, she turned to the officer.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“I’m not going home. I’m going to drive into Spokane to my parents’ house. I can’t lead Alex to where my boyfriend is located. I fear he might harm him.”
“All right. I’ll follow you for as long as I can and make sure you don’t have a tail on you. Then, you go on to Spokane. I’m sure if you return tomorrow, things will be okay.”
“Thank you.”
She climbed into her truck and started for Spokane, Brody’s police car behind her. On her way, she called Tyler and filled him in on what was happening.
“Let him come. I’ll kill him and chump Champ.”
Olivia knew he was only speaking that way from a place of fear. She knew him enough to know he wasn’t the type to kill or harm or he would’ve the day he rescued her from Champ’s house.
“Tyler, this is serious, and I know you know you can’t kill a person. That’s why you didn’t shoot Champ when you had the chance.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “You’re right. Well, keep me updated and stay safe. I want to know when you’re safe and locked in for the night, please.”
“Okay. Your head feeling okay?”
“Yes, it’s doing fine.”
Hanging up with Tyler, she called her parents’ house. Her mom answered with a lace of confusion around her tone. Olivia told her what was happening.
“But you can’t stay here. Molly.”
Olivia started to cry, and Kora began to also. Her father got on the phone.
“You’ll stay at the Double Tree hotel. It’s even close to a police station if you have trouble. I just called and booked you a room a moment ago. Let me try to figure out what we’re going to do.”
Hanging up the phone with her parents, she wiped her eyes. She knew what her heart wanted. It wanted to be with her daughter, not locked up in some hotel room away from everyone she loved and cared about. That wasn’t a solution.
Her father called later that evening after she had checked into the hotel. It was about six o’clock.
“Your mother and I came up with a plan we think is suitable.”
Her heart leaped at the idea of leaving the hotel and going to their house to stay with them and Molly. Everything would be perfect and she’d be back to seeing her daughter day in and day out, just like how it had been previously.
“We are willing to pay first and last months’ rent, plus deposit and a month of rent until you get a dental office job. That way, you have your own apartment and you’re ready for when the time comes to take Molly back into your care.”
She shook her head as she thought of Tyler and the cabin. “What? Why? I can keep using the cabin.”
“Olive, it’s not fair to live in Tyler’s cabin and not have any romantic interest in him the way he does in you. We love him for what he’s done for us and you, so it’s especially not right to use him in that way. Plus, now you have this Alex guy looking around for you, and the cabin is pretty secluded. It’s only a matter of time before he spots you going to the cabin and things become worse, especially for Tyler. He is such a good man and doesn’t deserve a drug dealer after him. At an apartment in Spokane, Alex and Champ wouldn’t be able to find you as easily as if you stayed out there.”
“I guess you have some good points.” Olivia was conflicted with the idea of not being out at Diamond Lake any longer. Her heart had grown accustomed to the beauty of each morning and the silence every night. If she was being honest, her heart had also grown accustomed to seeing Tyler. But her father was correct. It wasn’t feasible to keep on living at the cabin. She thought for a moment that maybe Tyler could finally move on if she wasn’t hanging around the property. Her heart warmed to the idea of leaving.
“I will do it, but under one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I pay you back every dime after I get this certificate and get on with a dental office.”
“Fine by me.” Her dad was about to end the call, but she stopped him.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah, Olive?”
“I love you. Thank you for caring about my daughter so much that you are willing to put her above what you know I so desperately want. I know it can’t be easy for you to do that.”
“You’re welcome, and I love you too. Have a good night.”
With a resolution in mind for not only the issue with Alex, but with her life moving forward, her stress decreased and she found herself hungry. On the way down to the dining room of the hotel for a bite to eat, she called Tyler to let him know she was safe and to tell him the plans for her life.
Chapter 35
TYLER KEPT SILENT AS HE listened to Olivia explain with great excitement her plan to move away. It cut deeper than the gash on his head, but he wouldn’t dare tell her that. His bringing her to the cabin was to save her life first and foremost, not to keep her for his own. The thread of hope his heart grasped onto of the two of them being together slipped fully from his fingertips in that very moment. Suddenly, his house felt a whole lot bigger and emptier. As she came to the end of her speech of explanation and thankfulness, she waited on the other end of the line for him to speak.
“Tyler? You still there?”
He raked a hand through his hair and relaxed his head against the couch cushion. “Yes, I’m still here. That’s great about the apartment and your parents. Sounds like things are working out for you, Olivia. I’m glad.” His heartbroken state didn’t keep him from truly being happy for her. His love would always want the best for her in life.
“I know. It’s so amazing that they’re coming around.”
A smile curved his lips. “It’s from the seeds of trust and respect you’ve sown with them. We reap what we sow.”
“It’s true.” She breathed a relieved sigh, then her tone shifted. “You need to protect yourself from Alex out there. Keep both eyes open. Champ has him looking for you, and maybe others.”
“Oh, dang, I usually only keep one eye open, not both.”
She laughed, and it sent a welcomed chill down the length of his spine. He loved her laugh. He loved her voice. He loved everything about her. She was going away now.
“You’re going to be okay, right?” she asked, but he could tell in her tone that she already knew the answer was no. He couldn’t be selfish about this no matter how much he wanted to be. He couldn’t tell her how he really felt inside again. He’d already done so. He wouldn’t try to sway her by explaining how things have gone downhill since their talk about their lack of a future together. He wouldn’t bore her with details like how his food had become bland at meals and how time without her had become like slow-dripping faucets, drip by drip, with little to no purpose for its existence.
“I’ll be okay, Olivia. I have to run, though. Ace needs fed.”
“Okay, give him some loving from me.”
“Will do. Enjoy your meal.”
Tapping End Call on his cell phone, he tossed it to the cushion beside him and let his head relax, staring at the vaulted ceilings in his quiet living room. He began to talk himself into the idea of her not being out at the lake with him. Without her a few steps away, maybe the heartache will lessen with time. Tyler didn’t like that she was moving, but he knew it was what she wanted so he would have to deal with it regardless. Your will, Lord, not mine.
Bowing his head a short while later, Tyler prayed before heading to Crosspoint for youth group that evening at seven thirty. Lord, I need to have my head in the game tonight at church. I can’t let this be a distraction from Your work. Please help me, recharge me, and restore me. It’s only through Your grace and mercy that I am able to be who I am. You give and You take away, and I desire a heart within me that can humbly accept it and be content no matter what. Amen.
The Lord provided a measure of relief in Tyler’s soul, but Olivia was on the outer skirts of his thoughts that evening when he showed up to Crosspoint. Upon entering the youth building in the western lawn, he was greeted by Pastor Carson.
“How you doing?”
“Good. You?” Tyler forced a smile.
“I’m all right, but how are you really doing, Tyler?” Carson’s hand came up and rested on his shoulder, his eyes fixed on Tyler.
&n
bsp; Out of nerves, a light laugh escaped from his lips and he shook his head. “I feel like garbage. Olivia is moving out of the cabin and into her own place.”
Carson studied Tyler for a moment. “I thought that would be a good thing for her.”
“It is, but I had grown accustomed to her being around all the time. I’ll miss her, that’s all.” Even as he said it out loud, Tyler knew how selfish he sounded.
“You worried she’s going to fall into temptation?”
Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s as much that or just the fact that I love her and want to be with her. I feel bad for being discontented about it all.”
Pastor Carson shook his head. “If you love this girl, you have to let her spread her wings and fly.”
“I’m familiar with the cliché, Carson. If it’s meant to be, she’ll come back.” Tyler smiled and turned as the youth building’s door opened and children started to file in one by one. It brought a great deal of joy to Tyler’s heart to see his kids showing up. He hadn’t expected their smiling faces to conjure such a relaxed state within him, but they did.
Parker walked over to him and asked to speak with him alone. Tyler obliged and joined him away from the other kids near a folding table with juice and treats.
“My dad’s home.”
“Wow!” Tyler raised his eyebrows. “That’s great news. How are things going with that?”
He shrugged. “I think well. He told my mom he was sorry a whole lot and promised never to leave again.”
“You don’t seem too thrilled about it. You okay, Parker?”
Parker kicked at the carpet with one shoe, obviously nervous to speak the truth in his heart. Tyler lowered himself down and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You can talk to me.”
“I know I should be happy, but he really hurt me and my mom. I don’t want to see her like that again, and I can’t help but be scared he’s going to just leave again. How do I know he won’t?”
Tyler shook his head as his heart splintered. “Buddy, don’t worry about it. Just focus on Jesus and the fact that He will never leave you nor forsake you. It’s only through relying on God and His power that you were able to deal with it when your dad was gone, right?”