“Give Sadie a call.” Peter held out his phone. “Just run it by her.”
Dan stepped back and glared at his friends. “Don’t you guys get it? We’ve been praying for a breakthrough. This might not be how I envisioned it happening, but I’m not sitting here, safe and warm, while my girls go through this without me. My dad’s working for me tonight. Fran has the boys. I’m too wired to sleep. There’s no reason at all for me not to drive to Pasco.”
Wade nodded. “I’m a father. I get it. If something happened to Olivia or Theodore, I couldn’t sit tight and wait for their return if I could get to them more quickly. Go in peace, brother. Know we will continue to pray.”
“Agreed,” said Marco. “Need someone to ride along?”
Dan shook his head. As good as company on the drive down sounded, he needed to have a heart-to-heart with Dixie on the way back. Juanita had said Dixie had news for him. He needed to hear it straight from her, whether she was seriously dating some other guy or something else was going on. But maybe, just maybe, with all that had happened today, she’d be willing to listen to him talk of answered prayer, of how much he still cared for her. Loved her.
Lay it all on the line one more time, come what may.
Dan elbowed past his friends and grabbed his parka from the front closet. Then he stomped into his boots and checked his pocket for his wallet and keys. “Let yourselves out when you’re done. Last one, lock up behind you.”
He strode out to his truck and unhooked the trailer holding the Bobcat, resting the hitch on a block. Dad could get it from there. Then he drove out into the night. Just him and God.
Mandy straddled Dixie’s lap, the child’s arms tight around her mama’s neck even as she slept. Dixie wouldn’t complain. She’d had far too little of that sort of snuggling in recent months. Much longer, really, since she’d spent most of her daughter’s life pushing her away.
No more.
If only she hadn’t done irreparable harm to the little girl already. No, she wasn’t going down that road again. She clung to the fact that God had forgiven her. It would have to be enough.
She shifted slightly on the awkward plastic chair. It seemed she’d been sitting here forever, but it couldn’t have been that long. The officer had taken her statement then asked a thousand questions about her relationship to her mother and to her daughter. The Spokane detachment had called early on to see if she was willing for Dan to meet her here and take her and Mandy home.
Dixie was more than willing, even though the word home had little meaning. It meant Tanisha’s apartment, at least for now. But home was more than a place where she kept her stuff. It was Dan. He was her home, her anchor, her world.
She heard voices down the corridor. Footsteps. And then Dan entered the room. She struggled to rise with the burden of an almost-six-year-old pressing against her, but Dan reached for the child and lifted her as though she weighed nothing.
“Daddy,” murmured Mandy, burrowing against his neck, clinging to him.
“I’ve got you, baby,” Dan whispered back, kissing her hair, stroking her back. “I’ve got you.”
Dixie rose on trembling legs, filling her gaze with this man she loved. He was strong enough to comfort a small child, solid enough to withstand whatever life threw at him. She took a shaky step toward him, desperate to feel the sheltering hold of his arms. “Hey, Dan.”
Emotion pooled in his dark eyes, and his stubbled jaw flexed. “Dixie. You okay?”
She nodded. “Ready to go home.”
“Let’s go then.” He stepped aside so she could pass into the corridor ahead of him.
They entered the lobby, and the police officer behind the desk rose and approached them. He shook Dixie’s hand. “Take care, Ms. Wayling. SPD will be in touch.”
“Thank you.” She followed Dan out into the blowing snow, and he held the truck door for her while she climbed in then he settled a clingy Mandy into her booster in the back.
He backed out of the parking spot, still not really looking at Dixie. A few minutes later he merged northbound onto 395.
Was he intending to keep quiet for two hours? Well, he could listen, then, because Dixie had things to say. She cleared her throat, and he shot her a glance across the dark cab, jaw tense.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve been seeing Juanita Ramirez for the past month or so.”
The brush of his gaze this time was softer. “I heard.”
“She was on the list of counselors approved by Washington Law Help. I had to do something when you sent that letter, Dan.”
He stared out the windshield as they passed the final lights of Pasco. “I had no choice, Dixie. What you did to Mandy at Thanksgiving...”
“I know. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
A measuring gaze flicked her way.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive myself if all this traumatizes her for life. Dan, you have to understand. I’ve changed. Juanita listened to me. She explained things to me.” No change in his expression, but Dixie forged on. “She prayed for me.”
“That’s good.”
He didn’t understand.
She opened her mouth to continue, but he held up his hand.
“Listen, Dix. When we met three years ago, I was a selfish punk only looking out for myself.”
She remembered that New Year’s Eve party hosted by Billie and company. She remembered being swept off her feet by the tall, handsome man with the unruly blond hair. His gaze had been so intense, and she’d reacted to his singular attention. She remembered the passionate night that followed, and how he’d moved in with her and Mandy and Buddy just a few days later. How he’d cared for her, cared for her kids, through thick and thin, until she’d messed everything up.
But he was still talking. “I didn’t know how to love anyone more than I loved myself, but I learned. I fell for you, Dixie Dawn. Hopelessly. But you weren’t enough. You weren’t what I needed deep inside.”
“You needed Jesus.”
This time he stared at her for so long she feared they’d hit the ditch before he looked back to the road. “Yes. I needed Jesus. I needed forgiveness and hope and light.”
“I know.”
His hands clenched on the wheel, and his jaw worked as though getting his words out was physically painful. “How could you know?”
“Because that’s what Juanita showed me. I prayed with her on Christmas afternoon, Dan. Jesus wiped my sin away and made me new.”
He slammed the brakes and veered the truck to the side of the road. Then he turned to her, his eyes gleaming in the glow of the dashboard lights. “You’re a Christian?”
She nodded simply.
“Then... Basil. That guy in the parking lot...”
“Would you believe both conversations were about God and Jesus and faith?”
“Don’t mess with me about something like this.” He choked on the words as he reached for her.
She clasped his hands between hers. “I’m not teasing you. It took a lot for God to get through my hard head. I didn’t think I deserved better.” She grimaced. “My mom did a number on me since I was a kid, but all that ends today. Jesus says I have value. He says I’m worth saving.”
Dan’s knuckles swept down her jaw, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “You have a lot of value, Dixie Dawn.” His words were low, guttural.
And then he leaned just a little closer and captured her lips with his.
Home.
Wherever Dan Ranta was, Dixie Wayling was home.
23
Dan woke on the sofa the next morning, Mandy burrowed against him, arms still wrapped around his neck. His little girl had refused to let him go when he’d carried her into the house at well past two in the morning. It was still dark now.
He tried to shift, but she was a deadweight. Man, he was stiff. Even so, a smile curled his lips.
Had it really happened? Had Dixie finally found Jesus? He remembered the soft sheen in her eyes, the
unaccustomed smile, the wonderment in her words. Dixie wasn’t a good liar. Whatever she was thinking always displayed itself to everyone around her. And she’d proven over the past seven months that she wouldn’t pretend faith she didn’t feel just to keep him. She’d been more than willing to let him go. Let the children go, and keep running her own way.
Dan’s heart thrummed. The change was real. God had given them a second chance, and Dan was going to do it right this time. Watching for God’s guidance every step of the way. Building a new relationship with Christ at the center. Growing together in faith. Receiving godly counsel together.
Together.
He liked the sound of that word. The hope of it had been gone for far too long, but like a seed in a dried-out desert, it sprang to full-blown life with one sprinkle of rain.
Dan chuckled and kissed Mandy’s tangled hair. He rearranged her so he could sit up and lay her back on the cushions without him underneath. She sighed and curled sideways, her lashes flickering against her soft cheeks. His little girl, in all the ways that mattered. She was safe.
Please, dear Lord, erase the memories of yesterday from her tender mind.
Dixie had told him Mandy had sat in the window upstairs, staring out, when she’d seen her grandmother’s car. Eunice had beckoned, and Mandy had gone with no hesitation when her grandmother promised to take her to her mama.
The early questions hadn’t revealed any sinister motives. Eunice’s young boyfriend had hepped her up on drugs and ditched her. She’d snapped. Of course, the investigation would continue for some time.
Dan shuddered as he padded into the kitchen and measured coffee grounds into the filter. Tony had been trying to hook him on Italian-style coffee, but nothing beat a good pot of dark roast. When water began to gurgle through the grounds, he turned to the fridge. A plate of Marietta’s sandwiches, covered with plastic wrap, awaited him. That would do. He set it on the table, pulled the pot long enough to pour the first cup, and settled at the table with his Bible app open.
Half an hour later, Tony came quietly down the stairs. He glanced at the sleeping little girl across the open space then poured himself a mug of coffee before joining Dan at the table. “Sleep okay?”
Dan managed to keep his chuckle hushed. “Not really. My mind was pretty wired, and that kid weighs more than you’d think.”
“I bet.” Tony grinned, reached for a sandwich, and poked his chin toward Dan’s phone. “Glad to see you’re in the Word this morning.”
“I need it more than ever.”
“How so?”
“The past few months have been like a long, dark tunnel with no exits. I haven’t had a lot of choices. Stay the course, or crawl back the way I came, giving everything up.”
Tony nodded.
“By the grace of God, I kept moving forward. It was hard. You know it.”
“I know it.”
“Now...” Dan hesitated, staring out the patio door to where a hint of dawn added shadows to the back yard. “Now it seems like there are choices. Options. It’s like coming out of that tunnel into an open field. I could go in any direction, I guess. I know where I want to go...”
Tony chuckled.
“But I need to know for sure. God kept me going in that tunnel. Kept whispering truth to me. I don’t ever want to lose that.”
“You keep asking, and He’ll keep guiding.”
“Yeah. Part of me says to go down to City Hall this morning, apply for a marriage license, and have a wedding in like three days.”
“And the other part of you?”
“Says that’s jumping ahead of God.” Dan shook his head. “Doesn’t keep me from wanting it.”
“I hear you.”
“What do you think I should do?”
Tony’s eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t matter what I think. You’re my friend — my brother — and I’ll still be that either way.”
“We talked about our future a bit last night. What it might look like. Dixie quit her job at Kristoff’s a couple of days ago. She’s looking for something else. I just want to swoop in and invite her home, but I held my tongue. We need a little time. I know it, but I want to fix everything ASAP. It’s in my nature, I guess.”
“It’s not a bad trait.”
Dan quirked his eyebrows at Tony. “But?”
“But you can’t grow her. She has to get in the Word and do that herself.”
“Yeah.” Dan stared out the glass doors for a moment. The sun still wasn’t visible — it didn’t shine this deep in the north-facing valley until much later in the morning — but its effects illuminated the snow-covered backyard. “But now I get to court her the way I should have three years ago. Take her out. Sit beside her in church. Have family days.” He turned to Tony. “How long will I have to do it that way?”
Tony grinned. He rose, locked his hands together, and stretched above his head. “You’ll know.”
Over on the sofa, a little girl, tousled from sleep, sat up. “Daddy? Where’s Mama?”
Dan held out his arms, and Mandy scrambled over and climbed into his lap. “Remember we dropped her off at Tanisha’s last night?”
She nodded, a little frown on her face.
He kissed her hair. “Don’t worry. We’ll see her today. We’ll see her lots of days.”
“That’s good.” She nestled against his chest. “I miss her.”
“Me, too, baby. Me, too.”
Dixie admired herself in the mirror. She was almost ready for their Valentine’s Day date with fresh highlights in her hair and a careful application of makeup. A pair of silvery hoops dangled from her ears and caught the light as she twisted one way, then the other. The shimmery dress was just short enough to be sexy while being a good ten inches longer than her Kristoff’s uniform.
She wrinkled her nose. There was nothing sexy about her new uniform, white coveralls. Dino Santoro had hired her to help paint the new restaurant as his crew finished the renovation to the building not far from Bridgeview Bakery and Bistro.
Antonio’s wasn’t open yet. Not for a few more weeks, so that wasn’t where Dan was taking her. Just as well, since Tony was putting the kids to bed tonight. She’d met Tony a bunch of times in the past six weeks, and she totally trusted her kids with him.
Dixie sighed. Like she was anyone to talk, but still.
Bzzzt.
The downstairs door, but it was too early for Dan. Her heart skipped a beat all the same.
“I’ve got it,” called Tanisha. A moment later, she stood in the bathroom doorway hidden behind a bouquet of red roses. “Girrrrrrl. That guy is such a keeper.”
Dixie swallowed hard, the air filled with sweet perfume. Dan had sent flowers every single week, starting on New Year’s Eve to commemorate their meeting three years before. That bouquet had been a bright, playful bunch of gerbera daisies. They’d cheered her heart and given her hope.
But twelve red roses. That was a whole new level. True love.
“That’s not all,” said Tanisha.
Dixie blinked and took the bouquet from her host then followed her into the living room, inhaling the sweetness. She spotted a small box with a clear plastic lid containing a wrist corsage with a single red rose and a tiny bud.
“Great look with that silver dress. Tonight’s the night, hon.” Tanisha offered a sideways smile. “I don’t mind telling you I’m a wee bit jealous.”
Dixie lifted the wristlet from its box and slid it on. “Jealous?”
“Not of Dan, exactly, but the way he’s treating you. I didn’t think it would look like this.”
“I didn’t, either.” She carried the bouquet into the kitchen and arranged the roses in an antique vase she’d found at a thrift shop. She’d needed two, since the flowers still thrived when the next installment arrived.
“What’s it like, being treasured?”
Dixie turned to her friend. “I can’t describe it. I’ve loved Dan for so long, but a lot of the time it was just for how he made me feel, you know? No
w I’m seeing him for who he is. Thoughtful. Kind. A great daddy.”
“And a guy who makes your toes curl.”
Dixie grinned. “Oh, yeah.”
“And yet you’re not sleeping together.”
Now that had been a struggle at times. “We’re, um, learning other ways to communicate.”
Tanisha laughed. “I guess that’s good, though sex is a powerful language.”
“It will come again.” Dixie fingered a soft red petal and glanced back at her friend. “We’re doing things the right way this time.”
“Because of that Jesus thing.”
“He’s real, Tanisha. I can’t even begin to describe it.” Although, she’d tried a few times. Her friend deserved that much.
“You don’t have to. I can see the difference all over you, and it’s not just that you’re not coming to the drinking parties. You’re... softer, somehow.”
“It’s all Jesus.” With a side order of Dan.
Tanisha gave a wistful sigh then straightened as the buzzer rang again. “There’s your date. Have fun. Tell me all about it when you get home.”
“You’re not going out tonight?”
Tanisha wrinkled her nose. “Nah. There’s no one special enough for Valentine’s Day this year, and I don’t feel like a drink just for drinking’s sake. You know?”
Dixie gave her an impulsive hug before reaching for her coat. “I’ll see you later, then.”
The atmosphere inside Wild Sage Bistro was all Dan had hoped for when he’d made the reservation weeks before. Sparkling lights festooned the windows along with the draperies, and a flickering candle sat on every wooden table. The hostess led them to a place against the wall, and Dan slipped Dixie’s faux fur coat from her shoulders and draped it over the leather club chair.
She was stunning in that shimmery dress. Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight as she thanked him.
Dan kissed her. Just a peck, because he couldn’t help himself. “You’re beautiful, Dixie Dawn,” he whispered.
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