Safe Haven
Page 28
Dane looked so handsome, with silvery-blond hair that emphasized his craggy features. Cheyenne looked at peace with herself, and her dark brown eyes glowed with love as she gazed up into Dane’s face. She wore a knee-length cream silk dress that enhanced the olive tone of her skin and shining black hair. She carried a single red rose, which she handed to Karah Lee at the end of the ceremony as she and her new husband walked down the aisle between the chairs.
The band kicked into high gear and the wedding party became a dance party. Tom asked her to dance, and she declined, and so he offered his arm to Bertie and led her to the aisle. Karah Lee was watching them leave when she felt a touch on her shoulder. She glanced around to find Taylor looming over her, his bronze-red hair glowing with highlights from the hot sun. His serious, gray-hazel eyes bored past the polite smile with which she greeted him.
“I forgot to ask,” he said softly. “Do small-town church girls ever learn how to dance?”
“Sure they do, but they’re more accustomed to long walks along the shore, where they can talk without being disturbed.”
“To themselves?”
“Sometimes, if that’s the only intelligent form of conversation they can find.”
He held his hand out to her, and she looked at it.
“I don’t promise to be intelligent, but you’ll look silly out on the shore all alone talking to yourself while everyone else is dancing and having a good time.”
“You’re such a gentleman.” She didn’t take his hand, but she relented and strolled beside him across the lawn, sidestepping guests.
“What did you want to talk about?” Karah Lee asked.
“Well, let’s see,” Taylor said. “I have a good story. Hideaway City Council has decided to have an ambulance board, and they want me to be the director.”
“You’re kidding.”
“You don’t think I can do the job?” he asked.
“I know you can do that job, but I don’t believe they’re still going to try for an ambulance service now that Beaufont’s pulled out.”
“They may have pulled out, but they’ve sold out to the people who originally sold to them. Folks around here are tickled. They still want to be tourist oriented, but more laid-back. No condos, that’s for sure, and if you’ll notice, our tourist business hasn’t dropped, it’s just changed focus.”
“Bertie and Edith got their loan approval for the purchase of the land between their property and the church. They’ve got plans to start building ten more units.”
“Isn’t Fawn already working for them part-time?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, but she’s had to cut her hours back for the school year. I’ve made it a rule that homework comes first. So when are you going to clear up the big mystery?”
“What big mystery?”
“About why you’ve turned into a hermit the past two weeks.”
He strolled beside her in silence for a moment. “Leave it to Karah Lee to cut to the chase.”
“You have a problem with that?”
“No. In fact, it’s something I’ve always liked about you.”
“Oh, right. You were so complimentary the day we discussed your smoking.”
“But you allowed me to verbally abuse you without getting hot about it.”
“You didn’t verbally abuse me. You’re changing the subject.”
“I know. It’s because I’m a coward.”
She slowed her steps. Here it came. He was going to explain why he didn’t want to see her again.
“Three months of friendship is not enough time to tell if two people are right for one another.”
“Right?” She glanced at his profile. “In what way? Can’t a friendship just be a friendship without analyzing it to death?”
“Okay, look, I’m sorry. I’m saying this badly.” He stopped and touched her shoulder. “What I meant to say was that three months isn’t long enough to know for sure if you’re falling in love, but that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
For a moment, the rhythmic thrum of the dance music and the shouts and laughter of the crowd on the lawn seemed to fade to silence as Karah Lee stared into Taylor’s earnest eyes. “You are?”
“It’s hit me like that proverbial ton of bricks,” he said. “I’d almost forgotten what a brick looked like.”
“They come in different shapes and sizes.”
He grinned, shaking his head. “So you could recognize one if it hit you in the head?”
“I recognized the one that did.”
His grin broadened.
“So if we both know what’s happening, what’s the problem?” she asked.
“I don’t want to come into this relationship with a needy heart. You and I both have work to do in our relationships with others before we can build a solid foundation together.”
“And that’s what we’re doing. I’m making amends with my father and sister, and with God. You’ve even stopped smoking—I mean, talk about your major steps toward rehabilitation, that’s major.”
He chuckled at her lame joke.
“Seriously,” she said, “you told me yourself you’ve begun to come to terms with Clarice’s defection, and you’ve made amends with God. So what’s the problem?”
He turned once more and strolled toward the shimmering lake, and Karah Lee followed.
“You know what you told me the night we went walking in the cemetery?” she asked.
“That was June. This is September. You expect me to remember something like that?”
“You should,” she said. “You said you realized God was in control, but He didn’t control things the way you wanted Him to.”
He sighed, and his shoulders slumped a little, and he nodded.
“And you also said that you thought He was always with us, but He was just giving us a chance to get over ourselves and realize that what matters in life is really how we handle all the baggage.”
Taylor’s eyebrows rose, and he glanced around to study her face closely. “Have you memorized all our conversations like that?”
“Just the important ones. Look, Taylor, we’re always going to have baggage. Everybody gets hurt sometime by someone they love, and it colors the way they look at the world. I just don’t want that to be a permanent thing, okay? I know you don’t want to be hurt again. And I know you don’t want to hurt me.”
He touched her cheek, then cupped her chin in the palm of his hand. “I never want to hurt you.”
“You will, you know. But you can’t let that stop you from loving, because that would mean your fear is stopping you from living. Maybe we need to step back from the controls and allow God to handle things a little more often. If we do that, I think life will hurt a lot less.”
“Karah Lee Fletcher, when did you become so wise?”
She smiled at him, then gently kissed him. “I have some very wise friends.”
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Hideaway is a place where many people go to escape something in their lives, either a painful past, intrusive family or dangerous killers. Is there a place in your life that is a safe haven for you? Describe it.
Though Fawn Morrison has suffered awful abuse in her life, she still decides to do the right thing when it’s necessary. Have you ever had a time in your life when you did the right thing and suffered for it? Was there ever a time you didn’t do the right thing? Did you suffer for that?
Karah Lee isn’t afraid to pull over and check her directions before she gets lost. Are you one of those people who like to know where they are at all times, or do you prefer to explore new ways to get where you’re going—even if it means a lengthy detour? Would you be willing to try a seat-of-the-pants trip just for fun?
Karah Lee has a very embarrassing run-in with Taylor Jackson at their first meeting. What was your most embarrassing moment? How did it impact a relationship?
Karah Lee almost falls asleep at the wheel and has to fight to stay awake. Some studies now show that sleep deprivation is the number one
cause of vehicle accidents. How do you feel about physicians treating you when they are on the second half of a twenty-four-hour shift?
Fawn takes some drastic measures to keep from getting into trouble. What are some of the most drastic things you have ever done to stay out of trouble? Would you do them again?
Some Hideaway citizens worry that too much tourism and development will destroy the natural beauty the place is known for. Do you think such concerns are valid in our wilderness areas today? What should be done to maintain a proper balance?
Karah Lee is struggling to forgive her father, and Fawn can’t forgive her mother. Is there someone in your life you can’t seem to forgive? Can you imagine how your life would change if you could do it?
Have you ever felt, as Taylor does, that God isn’t listening to your prayers? Did you find out later He had been listening all along? Describe this experience.
Do you believe that your relationship with God must be right before any of your other relationships can flourish? How do you explain the apparently contradictory passage from the Bible that says you should first be reconciled with your brother before offering your gifts to God?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4726-4
SAFE HAVEN
Copyright © 2004 by Hannah Alexander
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