It was such a remarkable change. One that left her astounded. As the weeks and months went by, he grew to be more and more like Christ.
Finally, two years after his sentencing, the day came when he was to be released.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Kyle asked her again on that morning, just as he’d asked her the night before.
“No, I think I’d like to go by myself, if you don’t mind. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I bet you do.” He chuckled and she glared at him. “What is that supposed to mean?” But she felt her cheeks blush and she turned away so that Kyle couldn’t see the pink on her face. After a moment, when the heat had dissipated, she turned back to him, and asked him how Marissa was. Jenna had been so pleased when her good friend and brother had finally gotten together.
“She’s good. We have plans for this evening, so if you want to get Mitch settled back into the house, you’ll have the place to yourselves for a while. I figure you could use a bit of space to talk about everything.” He winked.
“That would be great,” she replied, trying once again not to blush. Yonas had gotten married and now Kyle lived alone in the house, but he wanted a housemate to help with expenses until he and Marissa got married in the spring.
For a few months at least, Mitch would be staying with Kyle. And Kyle had already told him he could come back to work. Knowing he had a place to live and a job to go to when he was released from prison was such a relief for Mitch.
And today, Jenna would pick him up and bring him home.
When she pulled up outside the jail for the last time, she felt momentary panic as she wondered what lay ahead of them. Their relationship had shifted from friendship into something much deeper during his time in jail, and once, he’d even asked her to marry him as soon as he was released. She’d treated it as a joke, but part of her secretly hoped he’d been serious.
Her pulse raced when he walked through the gate as a free man, a small bag of belongings in his hand. His face lit up and he strode towards her, his gaze not wavering from hers for a moment.
“Jenna.” Putting his bag down, he slipped his arms around her and wrapped her in the embrace she’d dreamed of for so long.
She helped him settle in at home. It didn’t take long—he had so little. She’d prepared a special meal for him. “Your favourite. Roast chicken with vegetables.”
“You spoil me,” he said, slipping his arms around her from behind and nuzzling her neck as they stood in the kitchen.
A shiver ran up her spine as he turned her around slowly to face him. For two years she’d dreamed of this moment, but as she gazed into his eyes, she couldn’t believe it was finally happening. He lifted his hand to her cheek and smiled. “Thank you for everything, Jenna. I owe my life to you.”
She placed her hand on top of his and closed her eyes as he lowered his mouth and pressed his lips to hers, caressing her mouth more than kissing it.
They were interrupted by the oven timer. She was grateful because she wasn’t sure how disciplined they could be. She didn’t want everything ruined before it began.
She slipped from his arms and pulled the chicken from the oven. He offered to carve. When they sat down to eat, he held her hand and gave thanks, not only for the meal, but for his new life and the second chance he’d been given.
After they finished eating, they sat and chatted, holding hands and gazing into each others’ eyes. “Thank you for waiting for me, Jenna. Two years is a long time.”
“I think I would have waited twenty.”
“I love you. I think I always have; I just didn’t know what love was back then.”
She chuckled. “You certainly didn’t. All those pathetic pick-up lines. You were a real dude back then.”
“I was pathetic, wasn’t I?”
She nodded and fell into his arms, laughing. “How will you cope being back in the real world? Will it be hard?” she asked, looking up at him.
“I’ll handle it. Especially if you’re with me.”
“You’re a smooth talker, Mitchell Carmichael.”
“But you love me, right?”
She nodded again. “Yes, I do.”
He lowered his mouth and kissed her gently.
Shortly after, the front door opened and Kyle walked in. “Good to see you two making up for lost time.”
Jenna glanced at Mitch and they burst out laughing. She left soon after and promised to pick him up for church on Sunday as she was working a double the following day.
That Sunday, as they sat together in church, and she looked at their joined hands, she thanked God once again for the remarkable changes in Mitch’s life and committed their future to Him.
Chapter 23
It was Mitch’s thirty-first birthday party and he was thrilled to be celebrating with friends. True, his birthday had occurred four months before, but Jenna insisted that they celebrate it now that he was out of jail.
She and Kyle had decorated the house and a few of their close friends came to help them celebrate, including Yonas and his wife, Julie, Marissa, and Gwen. Jenna had also invited a few others from church who she said wanted to support him in his new life.
He’d been out of jail for a full week and was trying to adjust to being back in the real world. If it hadn’t been for Jenna and Kyle, he wasn’t sure how he would have done it.
“So, what are your plans?” Doug, one of the guys who’d occasionally come to visit him with Kyle while he was in jail, asked.
Mitch took a sip of his Coke and leaned against the outside wall. “For now, I’m going to get back to the life I was beginning to live right before I went to jail. Kyle gave me my job back and I’ll be living here for a few months until I’m on my feet.”
“Don’t you have, like, some huge inheritance or something?”
Mitch laughed. “Uh…yeah.” Surprisingly, he still had plenty of his billion left, even after Kendra’s family successfully sued him for millions. “But I’ve decided not to touch it for now. I think I’ll leave it alone until I’ve made some decisions on how best to use it. I’ve been praying about what to do with it, whether to save it for the future, give some to church or support some worthy organisations, but there are too many options and I want to let God guide me in that.”
Mitch glanced at Jenna and smiled as she beamed with pride at him. “Actually, not only that, but before I went into jail, I’d agreed to a two-month experiment with Jenna. The deal was to live like a ‘normal person’ for two months. I want to finish it before I do anything else.”
“Man, you’ve got a lot of discipline,” Yonas said, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I’d be that strong knowing I had a fortune at my beck and call, even though I’m a Christian.”
“You were one of the influencers who helped me, don’t forget,” Mitch replied, smiling at his old housemate with affection.
The party continued and when Jenna brought out the chocolate mud cake she’d baked for him, they sang ‘happy birthday’. He couldn’t think of another time when he’d been happier.
After everyone left and Kyle walked Marissa to her car, Mitch pulled Jenna close and kissed her. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“You’re more than welcome. I’m really proud of you, you know.” She smiled into his eyes and he felt a sadness that their day was ending. He didn’t want her to leave, but the rules were different now he was a Christian, and he knew he needed to respect her wishes. One day soon he’d propose, but he needed to prove to both himself and to her that he truly was a changed man now he was out in the real world before he did. He owed her that much.
The next day, his mother came to visit. She’d visited him once a month while he was in jail, but this was the first time she’d come since he’d been released.
“You’ve come so far,” she said as they sat drinking coffee at the kitchen table.
“I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m trying. I start work tomorrow.”
�
�I’m proud of you, Mitch.” She smiled at him.
“Thank you. I never thought I’d be excited about work, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Will the pay be enough for you to live on?”
“Yes. The rent’s cheap so I can save for a few months and then get an apartment.”
“Not the penthouse?”
“Not the penthouse. You know, I don’t even miss it. The first day I walked in here, I hated it, but it’s kind of homey and I’ve come to like it.”
“It’s certainly quaint. I don’t know I could live here.”
“Shhh... Kyle might hear you.”
“I didn’t know he was home.”
“He’s taking a nap.”
“Oh. You don’t miss the money you had?” she asked in a quieter voice.
“Even if I did, I can’t go back to that life. It almost destroyed me.”
“Money can corrupt, that’s for sure. But it’s not just that,” she said, placing her coffee mug on the table.
“What do you mean?”
“Money’s not the problem. It’s what it can do to you if you let it rule you. Your father thought he could buy my love. He didn’t realise that I would have loved him whether he had money or not. We lived the high life when we got married. We flew everywhere in his private jet, went on lavish cruises, he gave me diamonds and rubies, but he didn’t give me his love. He was always busy making money. We didn’t need any more; we had plenty.”
Mitch looked at her with sadness. He’d never heard her talk about these things. His mum was always trying so hard to make sure he respected his father that she’d been silent about her own feelings.
“When I told him I was leaving, he said I couldn’t take you. I couldn’t face the thought of not being with you, but he had enough money to win any custody battle I might have tried, so I stayed, although we lived separate lives. It hurt me that you were taking after him. You thought the sun shone from him and he could do no wrong in your eyes.”
“I’m so sorry, Mum,” Mitch whispered.
“Don’t be sorry. He was all you saw. You were young and you couldn’t have known any better.”
“I could have. I could have found better role models.”
“All I could do was pray for you.”
Mitch frowned. He hadn’t known his mother had prayed for him. They weren’t a religious family.
"I became a Christian during those difficult years.” His mother smiled wanly. “I was fed up with everything and I went searching. I found God, and I finally felt loved. I’m not happy that a young woman had to die for you to see the light, but I’m so glad you did. There’s nothing wrong with having money, Mitch, but don’t let it define who you are. As Jesus said, it’s harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than a camel to go through the eye of a needle, but it’s not impossible.”
“I had no idea,” he said.
“Seek first the kingdom of God…that’s something I finally started to learn. And I should have been more vocal about it. But I wanted you to find the light on your own. Looking back, I wish I’d pushed for it. You deserved better. But now, you have Christ.”
“Yeah, I really do.”
“You have Christ and you have a young woman who is beautiful and very clearly cares for you,” she said with a chuckle.
“You knew?”
“Of course, I knew. I knew from the moment I first saw you together in the hospital.”
“Oh.”
“So, what are you going to do about her?”
“I don’t know yet. I don’t want to rush anything.”
“It’s been two years. I don’t think you’re rushing.”
“I just got out of jail.”
“And who picked you up?”
“Say no more.”
Chapter 24
When the weekend came around again, Jenna met up with Kyle to get his take on how Mitch was doing. She’d fallen for him totally but was cautious enough to seek confirmation from someone she truly trusted that she wasn’t just blinded by love.
“He’s doing really well in the house. He’s cooking dinner almost every night without my asking, and he’s actually turning into a good cook.”
Jenna chuckled. “He must take after his mum.”
“I didn’t know you knew her that well.”
“I don’t, but I know she likes baking. Anyway, what I really wanted to know was how you feel about me dating him. I mean, we both know about his past and I’m perfectly happy to move on from that, but what does my big brother think?”
Leaning back, Kyle crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her seriously before bursting into laughter. “Come on, Jenna, you should know by now that I support this. He’s a great guy and I think you two were made for one another. I’m not going to judge him for who he was. It’s clear that the two of you have a future together. I’m ready to see it happen.”
Jenna released a breath filled with relief. That was what she’d hoped Kyle would say, but she’d needed the assurance. It was such a huge peace of mind for her to know they had his blessing for them to continue. “So, you’re really happy for things to continue between us?”
“I am. I told you that before, remember?”
“Yeah, I know. But it was different then. We weren’t officially together at the time, but now we are, so I needed to know how you truly felt about it. After all, if you didn’t support our relationship, I wouldn’t have any idea what to do.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. I wholeheartedly approve.”
“Thank you. You know, I never expected to find love this way. It’s kind of crazy how God brings His plans together, isn’t it?”
“Extremely. And that’s what makes them fun and exciting as they unfold. He’s so good to us, blessing us in ways we don’t deserve.”
“When I think back over the past couple of years and I remember who Mitch was, it seems like a dream. You know, once he was in jail, when he was really making an effort to learn about Jesus and everything, I still had doubts. I thought that maybe it was a ruse for sympathy or a momentary desire to change. Although I hoped and prayed that he was genuine, I somehow didn’t believe it.”
“I think that somewhere deep down, you did.”
“Maybe. But I still suspected him. I was afraid to believe it was real because if it wasn’t, I’d have to admit that I’d trusted him and been fooled by him. But he was true and genuine. It’s amazing to see that now.”
Having Kyle’s blessing was exactly what Jenna needed. She’d looked up to her brother her entire life and knowing that he approved of her relationship with Mitch was an encouragement she desperately needed.
The relationship was just at its beginning, but Jenna felt like she and Mitch had been together for an eternity. She couldn’t wait to see what might come next.
Chapter 25
A light breeze cooled Mitch off as he returned to the house after a long run into the city and around part of the eastern harbour. He’d never run much before, but the exercise was doing him good and helped him focus on the day ahead. He was also surprised at how well his legs had healed. Other than the scars, it was almost as if they’d never been broken.
He showered, dressed, and put on a blue-checkered button-up shirt and tan trousers.
“That’s a spiffy outfit. Going somewhere special?” Kyle asked as he relaxed on the couch in basketball shorts and a t-shirt.
“Yeah, well, today’s the day,” Mitch sighed as he finished doing his buttons up, still feeling the weight of what was to come.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, I totally forgot. You know I’m praying for you.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll need it.”
“I’ll be here all day if you need someone to talk to when you get back.”
“Thanks.” He knew he should say more, but his throat had thickened just thinking about what lay ahead.
Kyle had already agreed a few days before to let him borrow his car. After waving goo
dbye, he climbed into the dual cab SUV and took a deep breath before pulling onto the road and making his way across the city. As he drove, he prayed.
Lord Jesus, give me grace. Give me wisdom in how to say the things I need to say. Help me to show my true repentance and help ease the pain I know the McKinnon’s must still be feeling. I don’t know how to do this, so please take away my fear. But most importantly, take away Kendra’s parents’ grief and give them comfort.
By the time he reached the McKinnon mansion, he felt a little more at ease having an assurance that God was with him.
It was certainly possible that the family would turn him away at the door. It was what he deserved. They’d never replied to his letter, and he couldn’t blame them for that. Showing up at their door was rather nervy of him, and yet, he knew that he had to humble himself and face them this way.
Knocking, he took another deep breath and waited until the housekeeper opened the door.
“Hi, I’m here to see Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon,” he said.
“Your name?” the middle-aged housekeeper asked.
He paused for a moment, knowing this could be the trigger for her to slam the door in his face and never open it again.
“Mitchell Carmichael. And they probably won’t want to see me.” He added the last part in case she thought he was insane.
Her mouth fell open momentarily before she closed it again. “Give me a moment.” She closed the door on him.
He’d give it ten minutes before assuming they weren’t going to speak with him and then he’d leave. But he had to at least try. They deserved his apology and an explanation.
It was seven minutes before the door opened again.
“Please come in, Mr. Carmichael,” the housekeeper said stiffly.
She led him into a sitting room filled with fine furniture. He wondered if the money they’d been awarded from the lawsuit had paid for it all or if they were wealthy in their own right. Easing onto a pale pink Anna Casa armchair, he admitted to himself that it didn’t matter.
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