by Heather Gray
“Heavens, no. I do enough business with them, though, to know a few things.”
It seemed she had more business know-how in her right earlobe than he had in his entire bald head. Despite having scripture in his heart and on the tip of his tongue, he struggled not to worry about Samaritan’s Reach. Did the City Council want him to fail? Their growing anti-vagrancy reputation didn’t bode well for him. He would call his lawyer once he got home.
“I hope I didn’t overstep.” Her voice carried an apology. But why?
“No, no overstepping. I want this shelter to succeed. It has the potential to change lives, but only if I can take advice from people who know more than me. Besides, I don’t think it’s an accident we ended up sitting next to each other.”
“I wouldn’t say I know more.” The corner of her mouth tilted up a scant couple of millimeters, but she didn’t respond to the rest of his words.
The pilot came over the speaker. “We will be landing in Rainbow Falls shortly. Please make sure your tray tables are in the upright position and that any carry-on bags are properly stowed.”
The lone flight attendant made her way down the aisle, collecting empty cups and dirty napkins with a garbage bag.
Once she passed, Sam returned his attention to Skye.
“Come by for a tour. No pressure, but you might be able to offer other suggestions once you see the place.”
Skye stared ahead, gripping the armrests in silence. Her posture told a story, as did the fear that had been plain as day on her face when she’d first looked at him.
Maybe she’d take him up on the offer of a tour.
A woman who wore a show-stopping blue dress to run away in was a woman worth getting to know.
This couldn’t be the last he saw of Skye Blue.
CHAPTER 3
Skye disembarked from the plane with her one carry-on bag, an old battered leather suitcase that had belonged to her dad. She stepped out of the small, single-story airport, breathed in the brisk air that teased with her with its hint of spring, and approached the lone waiting cab.
“Rainbow Heights, please.”
The driver nodded to her in the rearview mirror before pulling away from the curb. “What brings you to town?”
Questions from a cabbie, she could handle. They were easier to deflect. “I have business nearby, and this looked like a decent place to rent a room while I’m in the area.”
“No rental car?”
He had her there. So much for her great powers of deflection. “I might get one later. For now, I just want to settle in at the hotel.”
“Must not be planning to stay long. You don’t have much luggage.”
Small-town cab drivers were clearly more intuitive than their big-city counterparts. She forced a small smile. “I have everything I need.”
Skye turned her head and stared out the window. In the city, this action would have passed for a semi-polite don’t talk to me. Hopefully, it meant the same thing here. Otherwise, it was going to be a short but tedious drive.
When the cabbie refrained from more chatter, Skye breathed out a sigh. Maybe she should have used the same trick when Sam had first spoken to her. Then again…
He’d proven to be an interesting diversion.
The cab pulled up under the hotel’s portico, and Skye passed the appropriate bills to the driver. Most people paid with credit cards these days, but the lessons drilled into her by her grandfather lived strong despite his death.
Never give another person access to your financial information.
Don’t trust technology.
Pay cash and protect your privacy.
Grandfather. A twinge hit Skye in the general vicinity of her heart, but she ignored it, climbed from the cab, and pushed her way through the hotel’s front entrance.
Rainbow Heights used to be as close to a resort as Rainbow Falls offered. That wasn’t its selling point, though. Seclusion was its biggest appeal. That, and locals didn’t frequent it, which made it the perfect place to hide away.
“Skye? Skye! Skye Blue, is that you?”
Her head snapped up to catch sight of someone running toward her. A trail of long, wavy brown hair was all her numb mind registered before slender arms wrapped around her.
“Skye! I never thought I’d see you again. How are you doing? Where did you come from? When did you arrive in town? Say you’ll stay with me. I’ve missed you so much!”
The arms — and the person attached to them — held on longer than was strictly comfortable, so Skye did the only thing she could think of. She lifted her hands and patted the woman’s back. That must have been some sort of signal, because the woman finally released her and retreated a step.
“Tawny…?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know it was me?” Then she burst out laughing. “No wonder you didn’t want to hug me. I suppose it’s not every day a complete stranger accosts you in the lobby of a hotel and wraps you up in a hug.” Another giggle. “Yeah, it’s me. Tawny Brown at your service.”
Tawny executed a bow with a flourish of her hands.
“Um…hi.”
Tears in her eyes, Tawny pulled her into another hug. “It’s so, so good to see you. I thought we’d lost you forever.”
When had someone last hugged her like that? Her grandparents hadn’t been huggers. Affection hadn’t been a priority. The last time someone had cared enough to push past her barriers to hold her close like that… Could it be? High school? In Rainbow Falls? That was over a decade ago. Surely, someone had embraced her since then…
Skye returned the hug. On purpose. “I think I’ve missed you, too.”
Tawny pulled back and linked her elbow with Skye’s. “You think you’ve missed me? Oh, sweetheart, we’ve got a lot of work to do. What did that city do to you? Please tell me you’ll stay with me.”
Skye tugged the woman in the wine-colored broomstick skirt toward the front desk. “I’m only here for a few days, and I’ve already made a reservation.”
“Cancel it.”
“Skye Blue to check in.”
The man behind the granite counter started typing on the keyboard.
Tawny didn’t let go of her. “The hotel’s overbooked. There’s no room for you. Stay with me.”
Skye plucked her arm free, smoothed her hair, and looked her friend in the eye. “Tawny, we haven’t seen each other in over ten years.”
“Twelve. Graduation was twelve years ago.”
Skye blinked. Why had she let her grandparents keep her away so long? “What if we end up having nothing in common? What if you’re a vegan, and I can’t live a day without a rare steak? I think it would be better if I stay at the hotel. Besides, I…” Her words stumbled to a halt. Could she speak her mind, or did it show too much vulnerability? The truth was, she wasn’t used to being around people, at least not ones like Tawny.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but according to the computer, your reservation is for next weekend, not this weekend.”
The desk clerk’s apology did little to calm the churning in Skye’s gut.
Tawny clapped her hands and cheered. “I knew it!”
Was there a polite way to ask if they still had any rooms left for this weekend? Skye stared from the man behind the counter to the exuberant woman by her side as the jaws of a steel trap closed around her. She wasn’t going to be able to escape this, not without serious emotional injury to either her or Tawny.
“Um, okay. I guess I’m staying with you. Only if you tell me what you’re doing here, though.”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t know you were coming. The mixed-up reservation isn’t my doing.” Tawny waved a careless hand in the direction of a frosted glass door labeled Spa. “I provide the hotel with some naturopathic products for their clients. Facemasks, scented lotions, stuff like that. I run my own business. Nature loves you.”
“Oh, no. You actually are vegan, aren’t you?”
Tawny pulled Skye through the hotel’s front entrance in a manner only s
lightly more ladylike than dragging. “Yeah, but don’t worry. I still like carnivores. I just don’t cook the meat. So if you want any while you’re staying with me, you’ll have to prepare it yourself.”
Skye shuddered. She and cooking didn’t get along. Then again, she’d never bothered trying to learn. “Maybe I’ll just order in.”
Tawny squealed, whipped out her phone, and pulled Skye close. The selfie was accomplished in an instant. Who knew whether or not Skye even had her eyes open for the shot?
A couple more steps, and Tawny opened the trunk to a small electric car. “Here. Put your baggage in. How long are you staying, anyway? Because that’s not a very big bag.”
Skye stowed her suitcase and, as she walked to the passenger door of the car, allowed herself a small smile. A woman she hadn’t seen in more years than was forgivable had invited a guest to stay at her place without any idea how long she planned to be there. Tawny hadn’t changed.
But Skye had. Her smile slipped. She wasn’t the same girl who used to live in Rainbow Falls and run with the Rainbow Girls. Did she even know that girl anymore?
CHAPTER 4
Sam’s gaze swept the parking-lot-turned-courtyard. It was an old motel, but it belonged to Samaritan’s Reach. And the bank, of course. The mostly U-shaped structure allowed him to accommodate up to twenty-two men easily, more if he put two to a room. That would take time, of course, but the goal was to eventually have thirty men on a regular basis.
The leadership program was key to the success of Samaritan’s Reach. It made them unique among shelters, but that wasn’t why he’d started it. He’d wanted to make a lasting difference in the men’s lives. He’d wanted them to leave not just full and rested, but able to function and thrive in society as well.
His stride purposeful, Sam marched to the room next to his and pounded on the door. “Up and at ’em, Franco!” He moved down two more doors. “Come on, Gid! It’s time to get a move on.”
Today was going to be an exceptional day. Sam could feel it in his bones the same way he used to instinctively know a scouting mission would end well back when he’d been on active duty.
Franco stumbled out of his room, pants and shoes on but hair in disarray. He was buttoning a shirt over a sweat-stained ribbed tank.
Gideon, eyes bright, opened his door and stepped out. Wire-rimmed glasses would have made him look studious if not for the beard that was just a little too long to be considered conventional in the world of academia. “What’s up, Boss?”
A smile pulled at Sam’s mouth while he drew in a deep, satisfying breath.
Not my will, God, but Yours.
Both Gideon and Franco had taken to calling him Boss once they’d entered the leadership program. It might have started because they’d been willing to do whatever it took to stay off the street and keep a roof over their heads. Now, though, it was more than that. It was about the roof, sure, but not due to a desperate fear of being kicked out. Instead, it was out of gratitude for the chance they’d been given. They showed him honor when they called him Boss, kind of in the same way — but on a much smaller scale — that he showed Jesus honor when he called Him Savior. Not out of fear, but out of gratitude.
These men looked up to him. His influence on them never failed to remind him of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
May he never forget the importance of leading these men in the right direction.
“I have coffee and breakfast in the office. After that, we’re going to hit the road and go to every known homeless site in and around Rainbow Falls.”
Both men nodded to him as they ambled toward the siren call of caffeine.
Sam followed them and appreciated the improvement they’d shown in the months they’d been with him. Their clothes had seen better days, but they were clean. The same could be said for the men. Shadows still lurked in their eyes, but those same eyes got a bit clearer each day. Some of the shadows came from their time in the service, and some came from their time on the street. Both were war zones in their own right.
Franco’s yells had woken Sam twice the night before. His nightmares were getting better, though. Less frequent. Maybe even less ferocious.
Sam empathized. He still sometimes went to war at night, too. There had been days when the nightmares had been so vivid he would wake up hoarse from all the screaming he’d done while asleep.
Only twice was a remarkable improvement for Franco. His first two weeks at the shelter, they’d all crawled out of bed in the mornings with bags under their eyes.
The intense need for privacy because of those nightmares was one of the reasons he put new residents in a room with an established resident — and held out the promise of a private room after three months if the new resident attended all the assigned classes and counseling sessions.
Sam nodded to the man sitting behind the office’s only desk. “Baxter. Thanks for coming in.”
The retired Gunnery Sergeant acknowledged him with an absent-minded wave. “Gotta love this online school stuff. Can keep an eye on your sorry place while I earn my master’s degree.”
Sam snorted. Sure, Baxter would spend an hour or two doing his schoolwork, but he’d pass even more time playing solitaire. Assuming none of the residents needed him. “You’ve been working on this degree since you left the Marines what, eight years ago? Are you sure it’s supposed to take that long?”
Baxter quelled him with a single glance. “Don’t mock your seniors, son. Especially when they’re volunteering their time to help you out.”
“You know I appreciate it.” Sam stretched an arm across the desk to fist bump his longtime friend. He had paid staff, but the volunteers were the lifeblood that kept Samaritan’s Reach running.
Even when all the residents were off-site, the city wanted the shelter manned. It made sense, in case they got a walk-in. It wasn’t always convenient, though. On days when they were short-staffed, for example. Mack Baxter made a great volunteer. He’d put in over twenty years with the Marines before calling it done and heading back to civilian life. Like too many vets, though, he’d found ordinary life harder to adjust to than he’d expected. It didn’t help that his wife wasn’t ready to retire. Spending day after day kicking around his house with no one to talk to had headed him in the direction of stir-crazy.
Come to think of it, a lot of Sam’s volunteers were former military. Their boredom benefited him.
Sam, with Franco and Gideon close on his heels, entered the fifth homeless camp of the day. This one was ten miles west of town and hidden far off the beaten path. The only way to find it was on accident. Or by getting directions from someone who’d been there before.
Each camp they’d visited that day had been abandoned... until now.
Eyes watched them warily from every direction as the trio stepped around the men and women. Sam climbed up on a rickety picnic table. He looked at the crowd, took a deep breath, and sent a quick prayer heavenward. Then he spoke.
“My name is Sam Madison. I run Samaritan’s Reach in Rainbow Falls. We help homeless vets get off the street. I have room if anyone would like to come with us. Whether you want to stay for a night, a week, or longer, our doors are open.”
Sam had learned early on that telling people about the leadership program and educational opportunities didn’t matter. People cared about their immediate needs and what would be required of them in return. Interest in the other programs didn’t come till much later.
“We provide two squares a day and hook you up with the food bank so you can take care of the third meal. You have to share a room, but the bedding’s clean, and the roof doesn’t leak. All we require in return is that you attend a daily Bible study. It’s forty-five minutes out of your day, tops.”
Sam nodded to Gideon and Franco before continuing. “My men here are handing out sandwiches and water. Please take them. No strings attached. Taped to the outside of each sandwich bag is a business card that lists the location of our shelter and
includes all our contact information. We’ll be down by our van…” He indicated the direction they’d hiked into camp from. “…for an hour. If you’d like to come to Samaritan’s Reach, be at the van before we pull out. Even if you don’t want to come, though, or you can’t because you’re not a vet, please keep the business card. Use it or pass it on to someone else who can.”
He started to climb down but paused. “If you’re not a vet, or if you’re a woman, you can’t come to our shelter, but we can drop you off at the other one in town. They’ll feed you and put a roof over your head, too.” Sam stepped off the table and watched his men at work. Franco passed out the water bottles, avoiding eye contact, and hurrying from one person to the next. Gideon, on the other hand, chatted with each individual as he gave them their sandwich. Some of his words carried across camp enough for Sam to catch bits and pieces. “Hot water… Shower… Three squares… Washer machine…”
For a man normally reticent to speak, Gideon said plenty to the people in camp. One of these days, Sam would ask Gideon about what he’d done in the service. The shadows in his eyes bore a distinct texture. Franco had seen action. He’d been in firefights and had witnessed the devastation of IEDs. Gideon, though… There was something different about his scars.
Like Skye. Shadows haunted her eyes, too. He doubted she’d ever been in the service, but she carried herself like someone battle-weary. She never did clarify what she was doing in Rainbow Falls, but her answer of ‘running away’ had stayed with him.
Was she running from someone? Or something?
Her ring finger had been empty, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t fleeing a spouse. Her story might remain a mystery to him, but he could still talk about her to someone in the know.
I don’t know what the deal is with Skye, Lord, but please watch over her. Whatever she’s running from, work it out for Your glory. Help her find her way through the darkness.
CHAPTER 5
April
She’d done it.