Marcus rubbed his face and groaned. “You weren’t going to tell me at all, were you?”
“Not a chance.” Kat folded her arms.
“Your feeling about my going contains that much strength?”
Kat’s eyes grew moist and she nodded. “Are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. I need to have a conversation with Abbie.” He snatched his suitcase off the bed and tossed it to the floor. “Thanks, Lord. I appreciate the support.”
“Abbie?” Marcus tapped on his daughter’s door with the tips of his fingers.
A muffled reply floated through the wood. “What?”
“Can I come in?”
“Whatever.”
Marcus turned the knob and stepped through the door. Music pulsed through the speakers on the corners of her desk. The only light in the room came from a tiny lamp to her left and the laptop Marcus bought for her six months back. His daughter pecked at the keyboard, her face awash in the light from the screen.
He reached for the light switch next to the door. “Do you mind if I bring a bit more illumination to the room?”
“Yes.”
He eased up beside her desk and crouched down. “Can we talk?”
“Uh-huh.” Abbie continued to glance back and forth between her screen and a piece of paper to her left.
“Will you look at me, Abbs?”
“Sure.” She spun in her chair, folded her hands in her lap, and looked at him, her bright gray eyes questioning.
“Mom has informed me that your game has been moved to a day when I’m scheduled to be out of—”
“It’s not a big deal.” She brushed back her long red hair and glanced at her laptop. “Don’t stay home because of me.”
“That’s precisely why I will remain home. The championship is not a game I’m going to miss.”
“Don’t sweat it. It’s not like you really come to my games anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” Marcus stood and squinted. “I’ve come to every game for the last eighteen months.”
“I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“No, I mean, yeah, I guess you have.” She glanced up at him.
“You have. I know you’ve changed and everything, like, I mean you got totally different when your friend’s daughter died and all that, so it’s all good.”
But it wasn’t good. Kat said Abbie would understand his going on the trip, not that she wouldn’t care if he went. Yes, he’d changed, but what good had it done? Wasn’t it yesterday she begged him to come to her games? She wouldn’t be doing that ever again. His stomach tightened as he searched for the right words.
“I’ve gotta get this homework done, okay?” Abbie turned back to her laptop.
“Abbie? I—”
“Really, Dad. I have soooo much studying to do, it’s driving me nuts.”
“Yes. All right.” He walked to the door, then turned and stared at the back of her head. So clichéd to say it, but so true—in moments he’d be staring at the back of her head in a church as she stepped into another life with another man. What good would his regrets do him on that day? “I’m sorry, Abbie.”
She didn’t turn. “No worries, Dad. Really. You’re good.”
He shut her door, marched to his den, and slammed the door behind him. Beautiful shelves and beautiful books and his beautifully framed doctorate surrounded him, mocking him. Marcus strode to the far wall and yanked the framed certificate off the wall, flung it to the ground, and dug his heel into the back of it. The sound of crunching glass seemed to reverberate off the walls.
He had degrees, tenure, the respect of his peers, countless papers written, and three published books. But pages had been ripped out of his life he would never get the chance to read. And he was the one who’d torn them out and tossed them on the fire.
Should he go to Well Spring? Or stay and see the game? As Marcus drifted into a fitful sleep that night, he still wasn’t sure which path he would choose.
SEVEN
“NO COMPLICATIONS, PLEASE.”
On Sunday morning at six fifteen, Reece pulled out of his gravel driveway, headed for the airport, and continued to pray that the five of them would get to Sea-Tac and into the sky without any obstacles being hurled their direction. No car troubles, no plane delays, no lost luggage, and no turbulence once they were in the clouds. Reece hated turbulence.
When he reached Highway 522 a few minutes later, he pulled out his cell phone and called Doug lundeen. Be there, friend.
“Hello?”
“It’s Reece.”
“How’s your heart?”
“I’m good.”
“Your tone of voice contradicts your words.”
“Every emotion inside is screaming to turn around and head back home.”
“Good. The nest of hornets has awakened.”
“That I believe.”
“On that note, I must tell you I was praying this morning and had the distinct impression you’re going to hit a snag.”
“Which is?”
“That was all I received. However, it certainly is feasible it was a bad selection of roast from last night talking.” Doug chuckled.
Reece turned on his windshield wipers to push away the light mist landing on his window. “I don’t need snags.”
“Are you looking forward to seeing the place again?”
An image of Well Spring Ranch filled Reece’s mind. “That I am. It’s been six months since I’ve been out there, which is far too long.”
“Do they know how Well Spring came to be?”
“No.”
“Do any of them know of your financial situation?”
“It’s never come up,” Reece said.
“You’ve known them for years.”
“It’s not a secret. But I don’t want them to get distracted by it.”
“I see.” Doug cleared his throat. “What time do you fly out?”
“In a few hours. I’m on my way to the airport right now.”
“How have the last few days been?”
Reece turned the speed of his wipers up a notch as the mist turned heavy. “Better. But still wrestling with uncertainty. Still worrying about going in with them.”
“When I spoke the prophecy over you many years ago, did you believe it?”
“Yes.”
“After you and I and the rest of the group prayed over it and tested it, did you believe more strongly?” Doug asked.
“Yes, but—”
“And when the Spirit revealed the four to you, did you doubt then?”
“No, but—”
“The prophecy and your part in it are true regardless of your emotions. God’s protection is true regardless of how you feel. The freedom you will introduce to the four is true regardless of what the enemy tries to assault you with.”
Reece peered through the thickening rain at the red taillights ahead of him and flipped on his own lights. “And if I take them in and something goes wrong? What about my feelings then?”
“Yes,” Doug said, then went silent.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, something could go wrong. This is war. In war casualties occur. But your job isn’t to worry about that possibility. Your job is to step into your destiny and lead them. They have chosen to come. You will give them the choice to step into the training or hold back.” “So be it.”
“By the way, have you considered this journey you’re now on isn’t only about their freedom but about your own?”
“Not really,” Reece said.
“How can you lead them into freedom if you yourself aren’t free?”
“Those who can’t do, teach.”
“I’m serious.”
Reece rubbed the steering wheel with his thumb and stared at Home Depot off to his right. This wasn’t supposed to be about building him up, it was about building them up.
“Reece?”
“I’m not thinking about me.”
“That sound
s noble, but it’s not. Do not miss what the Spirit has for you during this time.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open.” Reece took the ramp onto 405 and joined the flow of early morning cars headed south.
“Anything else, friend?”
“Last night I think the Spirit told me to come see you on Tuesday.”
“That would be an excellent idea. But I have to ask how you plan to come to Denver, spend time with me, and arrive back at Well Spring without commandeering the entire day to accomplish it. What are you planning to have the four do at the ranch while you are off gallivanting with me?”
Reece didn’t answer and Doug laughed. “You really are going to traipse back into the old days, aren’t you?”
“All the way.”
“Well, good for you, son. Good for them. You do realize if you use that mode of transportation, one of them is liable to discover what you’ve done.”
“I hope so. I’m counting on it.”
Doug chuckled again. “Whenever you arrive here is fine. I’ll be ready.”
Fifteen minutes later his cell phone rang. “Reece here.”
“It’s Tamera.”
Good, he could get his mind off of himself. “Hello, Tamera. Are you at the airport already?”
“No.”
“Are you almost there?”
“No.”
Not good. Reece turned the wipers on high to battle the onslaught of rain pelting his windshield. “Don’t tell me you got a flat in this downpour. That would be a little too cliché.”
It took her three seconds to respond. “I can’t fly out till tomorrow.”
“What?”
“I’ll have to fly out to Denver tomorrow and meet you guys at Well Spring on Monday night late.”
“What’s going on?” Reece’s stomach churned. The prophecy was four, not three; they all needed to be there.
“My agent set up a meeting in LA for this afternoon. Last-minute thing, but the opportunity opened up and it’s a can’t-miss-it kinda deal. I’ll fly down there, do the meeting, fly back late tonight, then get on a plane to Colorado tomorrow morning.” She paused. “First thing.”
The Mount Baker Tunnel loomed in front of Reece. “I might lose you when I go through the tunnel. Hang on.”
His Avalanche entered the tunnel and Reece glanced at his phone. One bar. “Can you still hear me?”
His Bluetooth beeped three times and the call dropped. “Don’t let this happen, Lord. Get her to the airport now. Break through this. Break it down.”
As he exited the tunnel his phone lit up. “Hello.”
“This is a chance I can’t pass up, Reece. This is my show. But I’ll only miss one day of the retreat.”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s all the way or nothing. You need to be there from the start to the finish. Halfway in won’t work.”
“But it’s not halfway. I’ll only miss a quarter.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What if I flew from LA to Denver and got in late tonight?”
“Did God tell you to come with us to Well Spring?”
Tamera released a heavy sigh. “Yes.”
“Then you need to go. Not tomorrow, not tonight. You need to join us now.”
“I need a few minutes to think about this.”
“No.” Reece glanced at his watch. “If you’re coming you’ll need to leave immediately.”
“I . . . I don’t know what to do.”
“Yes, you do.” Reece took the ramp that would spill him onto I-5 south. “The plane lifts off at eight thirty. I am praying you’re on it with us.”
“I can’t. I have to do this.”
“I see.”
She went silent and didn’t speak again for several seconds. “Do you still like me?”
“Of course, Tamera. It doesn’t change my care for you one iota. And I won’t stop praying for you.”
Reece hung up and tossed his cell phone onto the passenger seat. She’d never hesitated about coming like the others had. She was locked in from the start. No worries, no concerns, very few questions. Brandon? Dana? The professor? None of them bagging out would have surprised him. Which was why he should have seen it coming with Tamera. Prayed harder. Prayed with more precision against the attack. Done something.
Twelve minutes later he pulled into the Shuttle Park 2 parking lot a mile east of the airport and sat and stared through his windshield at nothing. Score one for the opposition. He punched the dashboard. The war had begun and he’d lost the first skirmish.
EIGHT
DANA SPRANG OFF THE TOP OF A SILVER ESCALATOR AT 7:23 a.m., stared at the Alaska Airlines sign to her left, and tried to figure out why she felt so good. She’d been up till midnight, and since morning wasn’t her favorite time of day, she should have been more than a mite sleepy. Not to mention getting up at five.
But she wasn’t tired. Probably because of her anticipation of what might happen at Well Spring. Reece said she’d find renewal, and hope, and healing. Bring it. She’d needed all three in abundance—ever since she tossed her engagement ring into the Snohomish river three years ago.
“Are you ready?” a voice off to her right asked.
Reece stood ten yards away, a red Osprey Talon daypack slung over one shoulder, a dark green hiking coat thrown over the other. They didn’t come close to matching. And his dark tan, ancient-looking Stetson Muzzle Hat didn’t help the mix.
She smiled at him and strolled over. “Very.”
“Excellent.”
The word he spoke was right, but something in his tone wasn’t. The big man frowned and turned away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah there is, I saw it in your eyes.”
Reece responded with a glance at his watch, then pulled out his cell phone and talked more to himself than to her. “Where is Marcus?”
He stared out the glass windows of Sea-Tac Airport probably at the cars and shuttles dropping travelers off for departure.
“He should be here by now.” He glanced at Dana, then back out the windows. “Marcus?” Reece shifted the phone to his other ear. “I’m fine. Where are you? We have a plane to catch.”
Concern was etched into his face. Dana looked over his shoulder at a tall, lean man loping toward them who seemed like he was in his late thirties or early forties. Dark hair, thinning a bit, with a complexion that looked like it had rarely seen the sun.
He smiled at her, pointed at himself, then to her, then at Reece’s back. He held a finger to his lips. He stopped ten yards away. It had to be Marcus Amber.
“How soon is soon?” Reece said into his phone as Marcus took three silent steps toward Reece’s back. Funny. Nice to know Marcus had a sense of humor.
“Define very.” Reece scowled.
Marcus said something into his phone, too soft for her to hear, then turned it off and dropped it into the pocket of his light green jacket. Then he took three more steps in their direction till he stood inches from Reece’s back. Reece listened a moment, then dropped his hand and phone to his side and stared at Dana. “He hung up on me.” He glanced at his watch again. “We need to get going if we’re going to make that plane.”
Dana stifled the laughter forcing its way out of her mouth. “Maybe he lost his signal.”
“Boo.” Marcus spoke the words an inch from Reece’s ear.
“Wow!” Reece jumped to his right and raised his fists.
“Just in case your consciousness hadn’t fully woken yet this morning.” Marcus laughed, his eyes bright behind silver wirerimmed glasses.
Reece nodded and slowed his breathing. “I’m seeing another side to Marcus Amber.”
“We academics at the U-Dub are allowed a sense of humor.”
“Thanks for the almost heart attack.”
“My pleasure.” Marcus grinned.
Reece wagged his finger back and forth between her and Marcus. “Marcus, this is Dana. Da
na, Marcus.” He turned and strode toward the security line. “Let’s move.”
“I like you already.” She shook Marcus’s hand as they followed Reece. “It was all I could do to keep a straight face until you, uh, greeted our host.”
Marcus grinned again. “I could not pass up the opportunity. In addition, it seems Reece would benefit from a stiff injection of humor into his life.”
Reece turned but didn’t smile. Come to think of it, Dana couldn’t ever recall seeing him smile. “I agree.” They picked up their pace to keep up with their leader. “Reece told me a few days ago that you’re a physics professor at the University of Washington.”
“Guilty.” Marcus shifted his briefcase to his other hand. “And he tells me you work in the broadcasting industry—in radio. But you aren’t on the air.”
“Nope.” She switched her rolling suitcase to the other hand. “Remember that old Billy Crystal movie City Slickers? Where he ‘sells air’? I’m in charge of the people who sell the air.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“I need it.”
She didn’t offer the reason why and Marcus didn’t ask. They continued to chat as they wound back and forth through the cordoned-off lanes and passed through security to the other side. Thankfully she didn’t have to stand in the little booth, lift her hands over her head, and have some stranger give her the X-ray vision treatment.
After she put her shoes back on and slid her laptop back into her briefcase, she glanced around for the others. Reece stood fifteen yards to her left, Marcus waited for her just a few feet away. She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Do you know the other—?”
Oh no. Her face went hot.
“What’s wrong?” Marcus frowned.
Her throat tightened and she strode toward Reece. When she reached him, she released her rolling bag and put her hands on her hips. “Aren’t we missing someone?”
“No.”
“Is the other gal—this Tamera—is she meeting us at the gate?”
“No.” Reece pushed his hat back on his head and stared at her.
“Why isn’t she here, Reece?”
“She’s not coming.”
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