Adrianne nodded. “I do.”
“So do you think I can talk you into going with us to get a tree, decorate it and then have dinner with Mom and Dad?”
She stared at him for a moment then smiled. “I think I can make room in my schedule for that. When is this happening?”
Alex gave her the details and then left her office for his own, feeling a little bit better but still concerned about what his sister felt the need to hide.
When Alex entered the house from the garage several hours later, he was greeted by the warm scent of tomato and spices. Mixed in with it was the aroma of fresh bread and garlic. His stomach rumbled, reminding him it had been several hours since he'd last eaten. He pulled off his coat and hung it in the front closet before removing his shoes. He could hear voices in the kitchen and headed in that direction, loosening his tie as he went.
As he rounded the corner, Alex took a quick inventory of those present. In addition to Rebecca, Melanie, and Jordan, Tyler and Ryan were also hanging out in the kitchen. From their attire, it was apparent that they'd made a stop at home before coming to the house. Faded blue jeans and sweatshirts weren't normally the dress code for the office.
After a moment’s hesitation, Alex veered off towards the staircase. There was no way he was going to stay in his work clothes when everyone else was comfortable in casual clothes. It didn’t take him long to switch out his suit and tie for a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. As he came out of his room, he met Adrianne on the landing.
“You planning to join us for supper?” Alex asked.
Adrianne nodded. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Alex’s return to the kitchen was noticed this time. Melanie greeted him with a hug and a query on how his day had gone.
“I sure hope you made lots of that lasagna, Rebecca,” Tyler said. “It smells so good, I’d hate to be rationed.”
“No worries,” Rebecca said with a smile. “I learned long ago to always make plenty when there are men and teenage boys to feed. If I end up with too much, it’s always great frozen.”
Alex met Jordan’s gaze for a moment where the boy stood helping his mother put garlic bread in a basket. Jordan glanced away without acknowledging his presence. A knot twisted in Alex’s gut. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
He felt an arm slip around his waist and give him a tight squeeze. When he looked down, Melanie gave him an encouraging smile, obviously having caught the interaction between him and Jordan.
Going up on her tip toes, she whispered in his ear. “Remember, you’re just here to show him that you’ll always be there for him.”
By the time the table was set and the food was ready, Adrianne had returned. Alex still wasn’t sure what the deal was with her and Rebecca and Jordan, because despite her earlier assurances that she had no problem with them, she clearly wasn’t comfortable in their presence. When they were all finally seated at the table in the dining room, Alex found himself between his sisters. Tyler sat on the other side of Melanie while Ryan was seated beside Adrianne.
Alex had anticipated the conversation being somewhat stilted because of his presence, but even though Jordan didn’t interact with him directly, the boy happily carried on a conversation with the others at the table. Though he would’ve liked to have been able to talk with Jordan, Alex learned more about his son as he listened to him talk with the others. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he would take it.
The food was as delicious as it had smelled, and Alex made sure to let Rebecca know he appreciated the effort she had put into the meal for his family and friends. As he watched her talk with Tyler, Ryan, and Melanie, he found himself more curious about the woman she was today.
From the moment he’d gotten the nerve up to ask the cute blonde with big blue-green eyes for a date, she’d been more than happy to let him take care of the details with regards to their dating and even their wedding. He’d made the arrangements for getting the license and then the marriage at the courthouse along with the motel they’d stayed at afterward. He’d been willing to do whatever he had to in order to have forever with the young woman who’d captured his heart.
It was obvious now, however, that she was more than capable of taking care of herself and Jordan. She really didn’t need anything from him anymore. What Alex couldn’t figure out was why that bothered him. He should have been happy that she wasn’t asking him for anything. He should’ve been relieved that she wasn’t trying to get her hands on the money he had earned through his hard work growing BlackThorpe into the company it was today.
Instead, it was as if he was just a casual acquaintance who had no impact on her life one way or another. In his head, Alex knew that there was no future for them. The people they’d been fifteen years ago were not who they were now. The woman he had loved then was not the Rebecca he saw before him today. Gone was the girl who wanted him to take care of her. In her place was a confident, mature woman, who not only didn’t want him to take care of her but didn’t need him for anything.
Questions came to him as he sat there across the table from Rebecca. Why hadn’t he sought her out when he’d returned from the Middle East? Surely he would’ve been able to find some information on her once he left the military. At the very least, he should’ve pursued getting a divorce from her once he realized that she had no intention of maintaining their marriage. Why hadn’t he done that?
Instead, he had allowed those ties to continue to exist. Though they might have been fragile — nearly nonexistent — he had allowed them to remain in place, even though choosing not to divorce Rebecca had limited his options for relationships in the future. But what was he supposed to do about it now? It was apparent that she had no interest in resurrecting the past between them. So why then did the idea of divorce still not sit well with Alex?
“Earth to Alex,” Melanie said as she jostled his elbow.
He glanced over at her before returning his attention to the food on his plate. “Sorry. What did I miss?”
“We were just discussing what size tree we should get tomorrow,” Melanie informed him. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”
Alex returned his gaze to her, lifting an eyebrow. “Seriously? With the size of this house, I would say the bigger, the better. That’s usually what we do, right?” He glanced around the table. “Was anyone really suggesting that we get a teeny tiny tree?”
“I just hope we can figure out how to get the beast home once we’ve chosen it,” Tyler said before tearing off a chunk of garlic bread.
“I’m pretty sure my truck can handle it,” Alex assured him. “Are Mom and Dad coming with us to the tree lot?”
“That’s the plan.” Melanie leaned back in her chair. “I think Dad mentioned something about picking up their tree at the same time.”
“Do we get to chop the tree?” Jordan asked. “Or are we just choosing it?”
“I think where we were planning to go, the trees are already chopped,” Alex said. “But if you want the experience of chopping down the Christmas tree, I’m sure we can find someplace that does that.”
Jordan appeared to mull it over before giving a shrug. "Probably better to just pick one."
"Good choice," Rebecca said. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of you wielding an ax to chop down a huge tree."
"Ah, Mom." Jordan shifted in his seat. "Guys my age are doing stuff like that. Even shooting guns."
"You interested in learning to shoot?" Tyler asked.
"Yes!"
"No!"
The answers from Jordan and Rebecca were given simultaneously with equal amounts of emphasis. Alex couldn't help but smile.
Rebecca turned to Jordan. "You are not shooting a gun." Then she looked at Tyler, Ryan, and Alex in turn. "And you're not to encourage him."
"Mom!" This time, Jordan's reaction was tinged with embarrassment.
Rebecca waved a hand in the air. "Yeah, I know. Guys your age shoot guns. That's all well and good, but you're my guy and
you're not shooting guns."
Alex cleared his throat. "Not wanting to barge into this discussion, but just wondering if your objection is a political one or from a safety standpoint."
Rebecca glared at him, but Alex didn't look away. This might just possibly be something he could offer Jordan. A chance for the two of them to do something together.
"I just don't understand why it would even be necessary for a boy his age to know how to shoot a gun." Rebecca pushed her plate away and leaned her arms on the table.
"I'm not saying that if I had known how to shoot that things would have turned out differently for me as a teen,” Melanie said. “But I do know that having that knowledge now gives me confidence."
Rebecca stared at Melanie. "Are you saying that you know how to shoot?"
"Yes." Melanie gestured to the rest of them at the table. "We all do, actually."
"It's a part of what BlackThorpe provides for its employees. The opportunity to learn how to protect themselves," Alex explained. "If you're really not comfortable with Jordan being around guns, then we'll just let the subject drop. However, if you'd like, both of you could come out to the BlackThorpe training center where we have a gun range. You could learn about guns and then practice shooting them. If it's something you want to do." He turned his attention to Jordan. "I know this is something that interests you, but your mom has the final say, okay?"
Jordan's shoulders slumped, and Alex found himself feeling a similar sense of disappointment. It seemed they both figured that Rebecca would be putting her foot down.
"I'm not saying yes. I’m not saying no. Just let me think about it."
The conversation moved away from the subject of guns, but Alex found himself sending up a silent prayer that Rebecca would agree to this. And not just for him and Jordan, but he found himself wanting her to be there too.
CHAPTER TEN
AS THE MEAL wound down, Alex found that Jordan seemed to be casting more glances his way. Was it possible that this was something the two of them could bond over? Or would Rebecca squash it before it had a chance to take hold?
Once dinner was over, everyone chipped in to clear the table and to put away the leftovers and clean the kitchen. They ended up downstairs in the game room where there was a pool table along with several different gaming systems. It had been a while since Alex had been down there for anything other than watching some television, but he was happy to join the group tonight.
While Melanie and Rebecca talked—Adrianne had already excused herself—the guys settled on an NBA game for one of the consoles. Alex wasn’t up on the game the way that Tyler and Ryan were so he found himself the butt of several jokes when he couldn’t get the hang of the game. Even Jordan got in on the teasing when it became apparent that Alex had no idea what he was doing. In spite of that, it was a nice way to spend a Friday evening.
But when ten o’clock rolled around, Alex set down his controller. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to call it quits. I signed up for eleven to midnight on the twenty-four-hour prayer chain for Alana.”
Tyler glanced up at him, controller still in hand. “Maybe I’ll go now too. I had signed up to be there from midnight to one. There’s probably no harm in being there for two hours instead of just one.”
“I’ll go with you too,” said Melanie, stretching as she got up off the couch.
It didn’t take long to get the controllers put away before saying good night to Rebecca and Jordan then leaving for the church. Melanie rode with Tyler while Alex went alone in his truck. It wasn’t a long drive to get to the church that Justin and Alana attended. Alex parked his truck and waited for Melanie and Tyler to join him. Looking around, he was surprised by the number of cars in the parking lot, but also thankful that Justin had this type of support.
The three of them walked to the church doors, and Alex was grateful for the warmth as they stepped into the foyer. A man stepped forward to meet them, a welcoming smile on his face.
“Are you here for the prayer time for Alana?” he asked.
Alex nodded. “Yes. We’ve volunteered to be here for a couple hours.”
“We had originally planned to do this in the basement, but so many people have shown up that we decided to move it to the sanctuary.” The man led the way to a set of large doors then he reached out to grip the handle. “The prayer is ongoing though they do take the time to break for words of encouragement. We just ask that you enter quietly and take a seat as close to the front as possible.”
When he finished talking, the man pulled the door open and gestured for them to enter. The sanctuary looked much like any sanctuary in a church. A long aisle to the front divided two sections of pews. Alex was one to usually take a seat as close to the back as possible, but following the man’s instructions, he trailed Tyler and Melanie down the aisle to the first empty pew behind the group already gathered there. He sat on the outside edge of the pew with Melanie beside him. Someone was already praying, so he bent his head and closed his eyes. As he listened to the prayer, he also heard soft instrumental hymns.
The person finished praying and silence fell over the group, interrupted only by the faint strains of the music playing in the background. He sat there, fingers intertwined, hands hanging between his knees, head bent. He had prayed so much for Alana over the past few weeks. It seemed she was never truly far from his thoughts, and he had taken the pray without ceasing command in the Bible to heart. But even though he prayed silently to himself, Alex found it difficult to think about praying aloud among people he didn’t know.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes before he heard movement and Tyler began to pray. Glancing over, he saw the man standing, his hands gripping the pew in front of him, his head bent.
“Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight lifting Alana before you. We know that you are with her wherever she is. In Your word, you tell us that you will never leave us or forsake us. We claim that promise now and pray that You will allow her to feel the touch of Your hand. That she will know that she is not alone. We ask for wisdom for those of us who have a role in seeking out where she might be. We pray You will bring to light the information that we need in order to move forward to find her and bring her home to Justin and Caden. We know that this did not take You by surprise even though it did the rest of us. So we ask for Your peace to accept the situation and to allow You to work through it.
“We pray for Justin and Caden.” Tyler’s voice cracked on Caden’s name and he paused. Alex looked over, his own throat tight with emotion, and saw Melanie reach out to cover Tyler’s hand with her own. “Heavenly Father, please give them peace in the midst of all of this. Give them hope and let them know that they are not alone. You are there for them just like You are there for Alana. And we are there for them too. We look forward to seeing how this situation will bring honor and glory to Your name. We pray that good will prevail. That joy will come in the morning. We commit this whole situation into Your hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Alex kept his head bent even after he heard Tyler sit back down on the pew. He continued to pray silently, specifically naming each person involved in the investigation to find her. A couple minutes later, a man spoke from the front.
“I think we will take a little bit of a break here. I know some of you have committed to the full twenty-four hours, but if you wish to speak with Justin or take advantage of the opportunity to change position, please do so now. We’ll continue with the prayer time in about ten minutes or so.”
As people got to their feet, Alex did as well and made his way to the front pew where he saw Justin sitting with his brother-in-law, Dan. Justin looked up as Alex approached and smiled. There was a peacefulness about Justin now, one that hadn’t been present until Alana had come into his life. Even though Alex knew that this whole situation must be tearing him up inside, Justin seemed to be filled with a peace that Alex truly didn’t understand, so he knew it had to be a God thing.
He sat down next to Justin, slipping an
arm around his shoulder to give him a one-armed hug. “It’s good to see you, man.”
Justin shifted on the pew so he could face Alex. “Thank you for coming, Alex. It means a lot to me that you’re here.” He looked up, beyond Alex, and smiled again. “And you too, Tyler and Melanie. It means so much that you guys are here to pray for Alana.”
“We’ve been praying for her every day,” Tyler said. “But it’s a blessing to be able to gather with others to pray for her as a group.”
Justin nodded. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without the support of you guys at BlackThorpe and the people here at the church. They have been so wonderful to Caden and me.”
“I feel really good about this prayer time,” Tyler said. “I really think that things are going to change soon.”
Alex looked at Tyler in surprise. He seemed so confident in his words and in the belief of what he said. Was it possible that this time of prayer would be the game changer? There was really nothing else left. Every avenue they had gone down had been a dead end. Every clue, every lead, every bit of information seemed to lead nowhere. They were at the end of their rope, but maybe now it was time for God to step in and reveal His plan to them. It sure seemed like that was what Tyler expected to happen.
Justin nodded. “I, too, believe that God is just beginning to work in the situation. You guys have all worked so hard to help bring her home, but I know how frustrating it’s been to not be able to resolve this. I’m trusting that in God’s time and in His will, this will come to an end. And like Tyler, I feel like it will happen soon.”
Other people came up to talk to Justin then, so after giving Justin’s shoulder a squeeze, Alex returned to his seat with Melanie and Tyler. None of them spoke as they sat there, watching as people approached Justin and spoke with him. Alex couldn’t help feeling a rush of guilt. He and Marcus both believed that the person responsible for the attacks was someone from their past. And yet he had targeted those who had nothing to do with what had gone on between them all those years ago. If it hadn’t been for what had happened, Alana would still be safe with Justin, planning her wedding.
Proof of Life: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 4) Page 11