“I’m kinda mad at her,” Bethany voiced in a low tone.
“Well, to be honest, I am, too, but I’ve gotten to know your mom all over again in the last few days and she made the decisions she made, and she had some valid reasons for doing so.” He took her hand and looked into her eyes.
“We can hold on to our anger and have a lot of miserable years ahead of us or we can let it go and start over.”
Bethany went quiet and just stared at him. Then a slow smile started at the corners of her lips and spread until her pale face glowed. “You still love her, don’t you?”
Mason felt the flush start at the base of his neck. Clearing his throat, he said, “Well…ah…”
“Don’t you?”
“Yeah. I do.” There, he’d admitted it.
Bethany squealed and Mason got a brief glimpse of what she might have been like as a toddler. He cherished that moment.
The EMT had done what he needed to do with Bethany and at this point just sat back and let them talk.
Mason appreciated it. And as much as he wanted to spend time with Bethany, he couldn’t keep his thoughts from Lacey. Anxious to get to the hospital to check on her, he rubbed his palms on his jeans-clad thighs and blew out a sigh.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance pulled up to the hospital’s Emergency entrance.
Mason hopped out the back and turned to Bethany. “Go get checked out. Give me a chance to find out something about your mom and I’ll come find you, okay?”
“No! I want to go with you. I’m fine!”
She got up from the gurney, shoving off the hands that attempted to restrain her.
“Bethany, you really…” He clamped his mouth shut. The set of her jaw—the one that was just like his—said he could talk until judgment day but he wasn’t going to change her mind. She was going with him one way or another. He looked at the EMT. “We’ll be fine. Thanks.”
“I just need a signature.”
Mason scribbled his name on the form, took Bethany’s hand and went to find Lacey.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
What truck did I step out in front of? Lacey wondered as pain shot along her left side. She moved, blinked and saw a figure standing beside her.
Vaguely she registered that the figure was calling her name, telling her to wake up.
“Don’t want to,” she muttered. Or thought she did. Her tongue felt funny.
Water. She desperately wanted something to drink.
Something cool and wet pressed against her lips and she swallowed, feeling the slight amount of water soothe her throat.
She wanted more.
She blinked again and felt the rest of her senses kick in. She sniffed. A hospital.
Her fingers twitched and moved, feeling the sheet. And a bed. She was in a hospital bed. Why?
“Mom? Come on, Mom, time to wake up.”
Bethany called her. She had to wake up, her daughter needed her.
That last thought was enough to force her eyelids up and open.
And there stood Bethany.
It all came back to her in a terrifying rush.
“Bethany,” she whispered.
“Hey, Mom.”
“You’re okay.” Something wet splashed on her hand.
“Don’t cry, Bethany, I’ll be fine.”
“Umm, that wasn’t me.”
With a start, Lacey realized the water had come from the other side. She rolled her head on the pillow to come face-to-face with Mason.
His hands gripped hers and he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. He blinked and she saw the moisture there.
“Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey.”
Bethany stood. “I’m going to go down to the cafeteria and tell Grandma and Grandpa you’re okay.”
Her daughter leaned over and gave her a gentle hug, avoiding contact with her left side. Lacey snagged her hand. “You’re really here? You’re all right?”
“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
Bethany exited the room leaving her alone with the man she’d never fallen out of love with.
He looked haggard, worn out. And oh, so good.
“I almost lost you again,” he stated in a hoarse voice.
“Aw, I wasn’t going anywhere,” she tried to joke.
It fell flat.
“You almost got yourself killed.”
“But Bethany’s fine, so it’s all good.” She grimaced.
“Who shot me?”
He sighed. “Janice’s gun went off when you tackled her, so technically Janice did.”
“What happened to Janice?”
“Daniel shot her. She died at the scene.”
Lacey gasped, then winced at the pain in her side. Tears welled for her old friend, for the girl she grew up with, not the woman she’d become. “I’m so sorry.”
“She let anger and bitterness rule her heart for so long that eventually there wasn’t room for anything else. I’m not going to let that happen to us again.” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Lacey,” he whispered. “I always have. I was a fool to believe Daniel over you.”
Emotion clogged her throat. How she’d longed to hear those words from him. “I love you, Mason, I really do. Can you forgive me for keeping Bethany from you? For making you miss the first fifteen years of her life?”
“I already have. Can you forgive me for being an immature jerk who wouldn’t listen?”
“Yeah.” She blinked at another onslaught of tears. “I can do that.”
Mason leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “As soon as you’re better, will you marry me?”
She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. “I’ll have to ask Bethany, but if she says it’s okay, then I would love to.”
“Bethany says yes.”
Mason and Lacey jerked their gaze to the girl who stood in the doorway with a sheepish look on her face. “Sorry. I was coming back to get my purse and couldn’t help but overhear.” She gestured to the small bag and Lacey shook her head.
“How in the world did you manage to hold on to that thing all this time?”
A serious expression crossed Bethany’s face as she walked over to pick up the purse. She opened it and pulled out a picture. Turning it around, she showed it Lacey. Stunned, Lacey realized it a picture of the two of them taken at the beach two years ago.
“Because the only way I could stay strong was to look at this and remember why I was running. Why I had to stay away from you.” Tears started to drip down her cheeks, and Mason grabbed a tissue from the box by the bed.
He handed it to her then offered her a hug. “You did good, Bethany. You did real good, okay?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. She stepped back from his embrace and in a more chipper voice, asked, “So, what’s my role in this whole wedding thing?”
Mason took her hand and smiled down at her. “Daughter of the groom.”
Lacey motioned them next to her, then moved closer and she took Bethany’s other hand. “And daughter of the bride.”
“The missing piece of the puzzle?”
“No way,” Mason said. “The last piece of the puzzle. The piece that makes the picture complete.”
She grinned at her parents. “I like that.”
They all did.
*
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Mason and Lacey’s story. I sure had a good time writing it. When I first had the glimmer of the idea for the story, I didn’t plan on it being a prodigal story—a story of a child that was lost but was found and finally made her way home. However, that’s what happened. Although it took Lacey’s father a little time to come around, Lacey’s mother welcomed her and Bethany home with wide-open arms. I pray that if you’ve drifted from the Lord that you will run home to Him and be swept up into those heavenly arms that hold you close and always welcome you home. I would love to hear what you think about this story. Feel free to email me at: ly
[email protected]. And if you have time, please feel free to stop by my website to sign up for my newsletter at www.lynetteeason.com.
God Bless!
Until we meet again,
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
When Lacey realized she had to act fast in order to find Bethany, she was willing to put aside her feelings and go to the one person she felt could help her. Have you ever had to put aside feelings to do something you knew you were supposed to do?
Mason is shocked when Lacey appears on his doorstep. He’s even more shocked when she makes the life-changing announcement that he’s a father. How have you reacted to life-changing news—whether good or bad?
Mason’s pride and hurt caused him to miss out on the first fifteen years of his daughter’s life. That may seem extreme, but pride has caused a lot of problems for people over the years. Has it ever caused you a problem? If so, what? Did you resolve it?
Mason has placed God on the back burner of his life, so to speak. Up to the point that Lacey enters his life again, he hasn’t really seen a need for God. Where is your relationship with God? Do you have a need for Him?
Lacey grew up in a Christian home. At least she was in church every Sunday and learned right from wrong. What are your impressions of Lacey’s parents and their reactions toward her when she found herself pregnant?
Some people may think sending a pregnant daughter off to a home for unwed mothers is old-fashioned or an ancient way of thinking. Actually, there are some very good homes around the country that do the things Lacey described, when she was telling Mason about her experiences there. What do you think about this idea?
What do you think about the idea of sending a pregnant teenager away to have her baby? In Lacey’s case, she realized it was the best thing that could have happened to her. Do you agree?
What if Lacey were your daughter? What would you do? Or what did you do if you’ve experienced this situation?
What was your favorite scene in the book and why?
What kind of mother do you think Lacey is?
Did you understand Lacey’s anger and bitterness toward her parents? Toward Mason?
Did you think it took Lacey too long to come home after she accepted Christ and turned her life around?
Did you understand Lacey’s fears of telling Bethany about Mason? Was her fear (based on her last experience with Mason) that Mason would reject Bethany realistic?
Bethany said she felt like a lost or missing puzzle piece and that she was still searching for where she fit in (her puzzle). Have you ever felt like that? Have you found your puzzle (the place where you fit in)?
Mason was a Christian at the beginning of the story, but his faith was kind of on the back burner. Life had been going pretty well for him in his career, etc. But then he finds out he has a daughter. A daughter in danger. How did that bring him back to the God he once loved?
Suspenseful romances of danger and faith.
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When a CIA agent goes on the run home, she’ll need help from the local deputy to keep a vulnerable young charge alive. Read on for a preview of
CLASSIFIED CHRISTMAS MISSION by Lynette Eason, the next
exciting book in the
WRANGLER’S CORNER series.
Deputy Lance Goode caught sight of headlights just ahead on the sharp curve and slowed. He focused on staying on his side of the road. The headlights came closer. Followed by a second set. Who was crazy enough to be out in this mess besides him?
He passed the first car and blinked. Even through the falling snow, he’d caught a glimpse of the driver. Amber Starke?
A loud crack split the quiet mountain side, and Lance stepped on the brakes. Chills swept over him. He’d heard that sound before. A gunshot.
When he looked back he saw Amber’s SUV spin and then plunge over the side of the mountain. The vehicle behind her never stopped, just roared past.
Lance pulled to a stop. He headed to the edge to look over. He saw the tracks disappear under an overhang. Relief shot through him. Amber’s sedan had only gone down the slight slope, under the overhang, and wedged itself between two trees. Now he just had to find out if the bullet had done any bodily damage.
He ran to the back of his SUV and opened the back. He grabbed the hundred-foot length roped that he always carried with him and hefted it over his shoulder. He lugged it to the front of the Ford and tied one end to the grill then tossed the rest down to Amber’s car. It reached, but barely. With one more glance over his shoulder, he grasped hold of the rope and slipped and slid down the embankment to the car. He was able to duck under the overhang and squeeze himself between the rock and the driver’s door.
Amber lay against the wheel, eyes closed. Fear shot through. Please let her be all right. He reached for the doorhandle and pulled it open. It hit the rock, but there was enough room for her to get out if she wasn’t too badly hurt.
Amber lifted her head and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
Don’t miss
Classified Christmas Mission by Lynette Eason,
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Love Inspired Suspense® ebooks are sold.
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Copyright ©2016 by Lynette Eason
ISBN: 9781488025778
Missing
Copyright © 2011 by Lynette Eason
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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