Never Let You Go
Page 30
“Wait’til you get to know her!”
They laughed together, then fell into an easy silence. Grant came and leaned back against the counter, crossing his ankles.
“I’m sorry I missed so many years.”
“You don’t need to keep apologizing, Grant.”
“I can’t help it.”
“It’s done. It’s okay. We’ll work it out.” As soon as she said it aloud, she believed it. Her hope was as real as his presence in the kitchen.
He sighed, a deep and heavy relief. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Right now it will take you slicing open this loaf of Italian bread with an extremely dull knife.” She handed both to him.
“I’m at your service.” When the knife began to tear the loaf into a crumbling mess, he set down the knife and began to pry the thing open with his thumbs. “How pretty does this have to be?”
“Pretty is Molly’s department. I’m good with edible.”
“With standards like those, this might be easier than I thought.” But the bread continued to disintegrate. Lexi debated whether to stop him before it was reduced to duck food. “On the other hand,” he said, “instead of toast, how about we melt the garlic butter and dip the chunks?”
In that moment, nothing was as beautiful to Lexi as that mangled loaf of bread in Grant’s hands—nothing has promising or tasty or reparable. She was so hungry. She’d been hungry for years.
“I love you, Grant.”
He set the bread down in the crumbs.
Lexi started to weep. “I’m so glad you came back. I really needed you to come back.”
He reached for her hand and pulled her toward him, then wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, the tension of years falling away.
Grant whispered into her hair, “You’re proof of God’s grace in the world, Lexi Solomon.”
Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,”
he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I
had on you?” In anger his master turned him over to the jailers
to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Matthew 18:32–34
{ reading group guide}
1. In what ways is Lexi’s love for Molly a compelling force in Lexi’s life? How far does that love go in protecting Molly from Ward? What opposing forces in Lexi’s heart limit the power of her love? Why?
2. What is the nature of the demands Ward makes of Lexi? Why does he choose those particular demands? How does his confrontation with Lexi play into his larger aim of destroying the Grüggen family?
3. Why is Grant compelled to return to his family? Why doesn’t he give up when he runs into opposition?
4. Why was it easier for Alice to support Grant’s efforts than for her to be with Barrett during his crisis?
5. How does each character acknowledge his or her sins and then seek to redeem them? Which attitudes and actions lead to the most desirable results? Why?
6. How does Lexi perceive her own sins in comparison to the way she perceives the sins of others? Why might there be a disparity between her viewpoints?
7. What are the obstacles that stand in the way of Lexi’s forgiveness of Grant? Of Norm? Of her mother? What does she have to do to push these obstacles out of the way?
8. How does Lexi’s relationship with her mother hamper Lexi’s life? In what ways is their relationship nurturing? Their “issues” remain unresolved at the end of the story. What might each woman need to do to bring more peace to their relationship?
9. Angelo tells Lexi on more than one occasion to “listen to love.” What does this advice mean to her at the beginning of her journey? How does it compare to her understanding of the wisdom at the end? How does Molly listen to love as a child, compared to how Lexi must listen to it as an adult?
10. Why doesn’t Angelo prevent Ward from entering Lexi’s life? What is Angelo’s goal? How does he accomplish it?
11. Ward has the ability to make people see what he wants them to see. How much of this ability is supernatural? How much of it is dependent upon his targets’ state of mind and heart? What might make them less susceptible to deception? Why couldn’t Ward deceive Molly as much as he wanted to?
12. Which character in this story has the most accurate perception of what is true? What makes such perception possible? Explain.
{ with heartfelt thanks }
TO TIM, AMBER, AND JAROD
for your above-and-beyond patience and your big, big love
TO TED
for the thrilling ride
AND ALSO TO
Dan Raines
Kathy Helmers
Ami McConnell
Traci DePree
Leah Apineru
All the bright minds at Creative Trust
Allen Arnold and the amazing Thomas Nelson team