“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing much, just that I’d known you and your daddy for years and what a wonderful man he was and how smart you are.”
“I haven’t felt very smart.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Bernice sighed. “But I’d like to go home. I’m completely drained.”
“Sure,” Tom said.
Shortly after Bernice left, Tom’s cell phone rang, and he took it from his pocket. It was Rose Addington.
“Where are you?” he asked before Rose could say anything.
“At home with my mum. And you?”
“Leaving my father’s office. When did you get out of jail?”
“Just before noon. I’ve been home for a couple of hours.”
“When can I see you?”
“Come now if you’d like. That’s why I phoned. Have you been watching the news reports?”
“No.”
“It’s a bit hard to take it all in.”
“I’m on my way.”
As he drove through town, Tom saw a TV truck set up near the courthouse. A camera crew was shooting a street scene near the Chickamauga Diner, probably as background about Bethel.
Turning onto Rose’s street, Tom saw two unfamiliar cars parked in front of the Addington residence. When Tom drove past and slowed down, a man in one of the cars took his picture. Three other people got out of the other car when he pulled up to the Addington house.
“Will you answer a few questions?” a blond-haired woman called out.
Tom held up his hand and shook his head. He rang the front doorbell. A moment later he saw Rose peeking through the leaded-glass sidelight.
“Come in,” she said, opening the door just far enough to let him inside.
“Did you talk to any reporters?” Tom asked, motioning toward the street.
“No. I don’t know enough to answer any questions.”
Tom looked down at Rose, his face serious. “Will you ever be able to forgive me for dragging you into this?” he asked.
“I don’t think I have a choice.”
“I mean in your heart.” Tom put his hand to his chest.
Rose closed her eyes for a moment. “Yes, that’s already happened. Come in and sit down.”
“Where’s your mother?”
“Resting upstairs. As soon as I can, I’m going to get her away from Bethel. My sister is on her way and should be here tomorrow. Come into the kitchen. I have a teapot on.”
A copper kettle was rattling on the stove. Tom sat at the kitchen table while Rose poured two cups of tea.
“How are you doing?” Tom asked when she placed the tea in front of him.
“Still in shock. Do you have any idea what’s going to happen next?”
“How much do you know?”
“Nothing except what I’ve heard on the news.”
As Tom talked, he inwardly debated whether to let Rose know that her father was still under suspicion. He paused when he reached the part about Williams and Keller coming to Elias’s house.
“What?” Rose asked. “Are you going to edit what you tell me?”
“No,” Tom said, making up his mind. “I’m never going to do that again.”
Rose took the news about her father without breaking down.
“I don’t buy that part of Crusan’s story about your papa luring my father to the pond and believe the federal investigation will clear him of any financial wrongdoing,” Tom said. “In the end—”
“The truth may or may not come out,” Rose cut in. “I’m convinced Papa was trying to do the right thing. I just wish”—a tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away—“none of this had happened.”
Rose sipped her tea. When she lowered her cup, Tom saw another tear roll down her cheek. This one she left alone. Rose looked at him and smiled. “But in the midst of all this tragedy, God touched your heart, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” Tom answered.
“Evil’s opportunity will end. But what God has done in your life will last forever.”
They finished the tea, then did something Tom had never done with a woman. They held hands and prayed. Rose went first, and as she spoke, Tom felt the slime of the past weeks fall away from his spirit. Rose’s confident words emboldened him, and he prayed for her and her family without holding anything back.
When they finished, their hardships no longer reigned supreme.
epilogue
The brown colors of a north Georgia winter have a unique beauty when bare trees stand like sentinels along the ridges and the views from the hilltops are unrestricted by green leaves. The crisp clear days are a time for vision to expand. Sound carries farther. The cool air makes every sense keener.
When Tom got up to make Sunday morning coffee, a thick frost covered the broken soybean stalks in the fields near Elias’s house. By afternoon, the sun had banished the frost, but the water in the creek that flowed by Rocky River Church hadn’t forgotten the chill of night.
Tom stood near the creek with Rev. Lane Conner beside him. A small crowd of people watched from the bank. Elias, a pair of stents helping the blood flow more easily through his heart, leaned on a cane. Next to him stood Bernice and her husband, Carl. Bernice already had a tissue in her hand. When Tom told Bernice he’d decided to stay in Bethel and reopen his father’s office, her eyes lit up, and she declared the news made her feel ten years younger.
Behind Bernice, Tom saw Judge Nathan Caldwell, Lamar Sponcler, Charlie Williams, and a few other members of the local legal community. Sponcler was making good on his promise to help if Tom chose to remain in Bethel. The older lawyer had referred two good cases to Tom and brought him in as associate counsel on four others. And as news of Tom’s decision to stay in Etowah County spread, the phone volume at the Crane law office began picking up.
Two weeks earlier Charlie Williams confirmed that all charges against Rose and Tom had been dropped. The DA had recently asked the local grand jury to indict Arthur Pelham and Owen Harrelson on state criminal charges. The men, along with four other Pelham executives, had already been arrested by federal authorities. George Nettles was in custody in Britain.
Next to Williams were Reverend England and Sister Tamara from the Ebenezer Church. Their enthusiastic faces lit up the crowd. Tom and Reverend England were going to have lunch the following week. He wanted to talk to Tom about another Christian mediation opportunity.
Standing off by themselves were Rick and Tiffany Pelham. Tiffany looked sad but wiser. The wrath of the local community against Arthur was great, and even though Rick hadn’t done anything wrong, his last name was an irritant to some. As Tom watched, Hal Millsap moved over and put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. Hal had finally admitted to Tom that Rick put up $90,000 of the $100,000 bond fee and would have paid it all except Hal insisted others wanted to play a part as well. Because of his cooperation with the authorities, Rick would be able to keep enough of his property to grow a few trees; Tiffany could keep a couple of horses. And they would have a chance to resurrect their marriage.
Hal, like everyone else who worked for Pelham Financial, lost his job, but he’d received an offer from a small company in Chattanooga. It was less money than he made at Pelham, but the owner liked to give away turkeys to needy families at Thanksgiving and shared Hal’s fondness for chewing tobacco.
Tom’s eyes returned to the front of the group. He looked at Rose. Each day brought them closer together. There was a small smile on her face, and the joy within her exploded with light that reflected the glory of God himself.
Lane Conner held up his hand to get everyone’s attention.
“Tom would like to say a few words before we go into the water.”
Speaking before people wasn’t one of Tom’s phobias, but more than any other time in his life, he wanted to say the right thing. He’d rehearsed a brief speech and received Elias’s blessing, but the beginning line of his prepared message suddenly left his mind.
And he thought abo
ut his mother and father.
Tears stung the corners of Tom’s eyes. He pressed his lips together to keep them from trembling. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and cleared his throat. His voice shook slightly as he spoke.
“I just thought about how happy my parents would be to see this day,” he said. “Elias tells me they may get to watch from heaven. If that’s true, I want to welcome and thank them for all the good things they poured into my life.”
Bernice had tissues pressed against both eyes.
“And I want to thank all of you,” Tom said, his voice getting stronger. “I’m learning that God placed me in this world, not so other people can serve me, but so I can serve them. Only when we focus our attention on others can we become who we’re intended to be ourselves. Many of you did that for me, and I want to follow in your footsteps.”
Tom opened the Bible. “The other day I was taking my dog Rover for a walk in the fields near the house. I’d brought a Bible along and sat down on a tree stump to read for a few minutes. Turning to Jeremiah 6:16, I read this: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”
Tom closed the book and looked up. “That’s what’s happened to me. I came to Bethel to shut down my father’s law practice as fast as possible so I could return to Atlanta. Instead, I found myself at a crossroads, with a chance to encounter Jesus Christ. At that crossroads, I took the ancient path. I’ve stumbled some, but I’ve found rest for my soul.”
Tom paused to make eye contact with as many people as he could. Every fiber in his being especially wanted to reach out to Rick and Tiffany. Rick’s face was serious; Tiffany was teary-eyed.
“If you’re at a crossroads, will you consider the ancient path?” he asked. “It’s an opportunity not to be wasted or ignored. Only on that path will you find forgiveness and freedom.”
Tom turned to Lane Conner and nodded. The minister led him into the cold water. They turned around when it was waist deep. Conner lifted his hand in the air. “Joshua Thomas Crane, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
The minister laid him back in the water. Tom came up sputtering. Sister Tamara shouted. Conner gave Tom a soggy hug and patted him on the back. The two men waded out of the water. Rose, her face still beaming, handed Tom a towel. He kissed her on the cheek, then leaned over and hugged Elias.
“Don’t hug me, Tom!” Hal called out. “I’m afraid of cold water!”
______
At the end of a brief reception in the church fellowship hall, Hal offered to give Elias a ride home from the church.
“I want to ask him a few questions,” Hal said. “And he doesn’t scare me as much as you do.”
Tom chuckled. “That’s because you don’t know him yet.”
After everyone left, Tom and Rose stood in front of the church beside his car. They faced each other. Tom took both her hands in his. “This was a good day, wasn’t it?” Tom asked.
“Yes.”
“And we’ve had a wonderful time together while confined to Etowah County by order of Judge Caldwell.”
“Yes, we have,” she said softly.
“And we’d like to continue to spend a lot of time together in the future.”
“Absolutely.”
“Would you say we’re at a crossroads in our relationship?”
“Yes.”
Without a doubt, Rose Addington was the most beautiful woman, inside and out, he’d ever met. Tom leaned over and their lips met. When they parted, Tom looked down at Rose and smiled. “Are you going to say yes to any question I ask?”
Rose, her eyes sparkling, looked deep into his. “You’ll find out on the journey we take together.”
reading group guide
1. After Tom loses his job and his girlfriend at the beginning of the book, Elias responds to Tom with, “God is good.” What did you think of Tom’s response? Have you ever experienced a huge, unexpected change in your life, and someone spoke similar words to you? How did that make you feel? Encouraged? Angry? Confused?
2. Though for years Tom held himself back from truly grieving his mother’s death, upon returning home he is overcome with emotion while visiting Austin’s Pond. Why do you think Tom held those tears back for so long? How did his mother’s death forever affect Tom and his father’s relationship? Have you ever stored up grieving and then had it triggered by an unrelated incident?
3. Why do you think Elias wanted Tom to read the Bible story of Balaam and his donkey?
4. Elias points out that Tom’s first name is Joshua, which means “God rescues” or “Jehovah is salvation.” How does the meaning of Tom’s name enter into his story?
5. Many people in Bethel urge Tom to stay and continue his father’s work. What do you think Tom believes about the kind of man his father was? About the kind of attorney he was? Do you think he considers himself a chip off the old block?
6. Elias is a man of prayer and intercession. Have you ever known someone who was a prayer warrior? How has his or her intercession affected your life and the lives of others?
7. Psalm 78:72 says, “So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” Why do you think this was one of John Crane’s favorite verses? How did reading this verse open Tom’s eyes and heart?
8. Rose is convinced that there are “thin places” in this world— physical places where one can better hear from God. Do you believe in thin places? Have you ever experienced a thin place?
9. Do you agree with Elias that Christians can sometimes have “divided hearts”—that they can know the love of God, yet still live with dark secrets and deceptions? Elias says that “people are like houses. Most of the rooms may be filled with light, but there can still be a dark corner.” Which characters fit this description? Have you experienced this duality in your own heart? Do we sometimes compartmentalize our lives so that we can legitimize our vices?
10. Have you, like Tom, ever felt that you were caught in a situation where you weren’t sure who, if anyone, you could trust? What did you do? Where did you turn?
11. After his arrest, Tom’s world crashes down on him, and he feels that he has nowhere to turn. He doesn’t trust that God can resolve his situation, and he is ready to take his own life. How can desperation skew our perceptions of our situations? How does God step in and assure Tom that he is present and in control?
12. What do you think about the verse John Crane wrote down after his wife’s death: “The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death” (Isaiah 57:1–2). Have you lost someone important in your world? How does this verse affect the way you feel about his or her passing?
13. At his baptism Tom looks around at his friends and supporters and says, “I’m learning that God placed me in this world, not so other people can serve me, but so I can serve them. Only when we focus our attention on others can we become who we’re intended to be ourselves.” What value do you place on community? Do you serve, and allow yourself to be served by, others who care about you?
14. In the epilogue, Tom claims the verse Jeremiah 6:16: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” How does the wisdom of this verse affect Tom’s decisions about moving forward with his life? Are you at a crossroads in your life? How does this verse speak to you?
acknowledgments
Many thanks to those who advised and inspired me. My wife, Kathy. Allen Arnold, Natalie Hanemann, and Deborah Wiseman, my publishing partners at Thomas Nelson. And my sister, Annette Davis.
“Writes in the tradtion of John Grisham,
combining compelling legal and ethical plotlines
; . . . but Whitlow has explicit spiritual themes.”
—WORLD Magazine
about the author
Photo by Stephen Dey
Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal dramas in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four adult children. They make their home in North Carolina.
Water's Edge Page 35