“The Gaines need my room. There’s no way child services will let them keep the kids if they don’t prove they have sufficient room for them. They need that space.”
Garrett laughed again. “You don’t know this town very well, do you?” He pulled out his phone. “Give me a moment.”
Bekah watched him as he pressed a button and was soon talking. “Hey, Bonnie. Remember that conversation we had the other day? ... Yep, that’s the one ... No, not me ... Well, I think I have the solution to your problem ... absolutely, I’ll call you in a bit with the details ... Sure, Bonnie. Glad to help.” Garrett hung up the phone and grinned at Bekah. “All set.”
“Wait!” Bekah stared at him, trying to figure out what had just happened. “What was that all about?”
“Bonnie’s husband Jim got his hours cut at work. They’re a little short on cash at the moment, and the other day we were talking about how they could possibly make up some of the difference. She’d mentioned she had room in her house to take on a renter, but so far there’d been no interest. She asked me to pray for them, and well, maybe you are the answer?”
Bekah loved Bonnie. She was the sweet church secretary who had given her that bag of clothes when Bekah had been soaking wet. She had no idea that Bonnie and her husband were hurting for money, and yet the woman had given to Bekah freely and lovingly. Never once had the woman poured out her need on Bekah. She’d been sweet to her from the day she’d walked into the office in that skimpy outfit. The thought that she’d actually worn that into a church made her blush. It seemed like so long ago. And now was her chance to make a difference. To shine her light.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
The thought of how it could all work out if she stayed contended with her resolve to leave. Maybe there was nothing out there for her, but what if there was. What if that big break into stardom was just waiting for her to show up? The town of Sunshine had taught her that with a little hard work and a lot of faith, she could do anything.
Now the question was, what did she want? Immediately, she knew the answer.
Chapter 32 — Ezekiel
Ezekiel got Jack tucked into the bed that Bekah had slept in only the night before. His heart hurt knowing Bekah was probably already a hundred miles away. Did she even care that she had ripped his heart out? That was a mute question. Of course she cared. Bekah was nothing like how he’d first imagined her. She was not the spawn of the devil as he’d first believed when she’d walked into that church office barely dressed. No matter what he’d thought of her that first day, he knew at that moment, she was hurting. He knew because he loved her. And as stubborn as she was, she loved him too.
Embarrassment hit him that he’d even tried to get Garrett to find her before she left and convince her to stay. It had been a stupid idea, and Garret hadn’t gone for it.
“Can’t do it, buddy. You’re gonna have to chase her down on your own,” he’d said.
Garrett was right. It wasn’t his job to chase Bekah down and talk some sense into her.
“Thanks for letting us stay,” Jack said. “I’m sorry we caused so much trouble.”
“You didn’t cause any trouble, Jack.” Ezekiel pulled the cover over the boy. “You were scared and looking out for your sister. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Where’s Bekah going to sleep?” Jack asked.
Ezekiel hadn’t had the heart to tell them that Bekah had left for good. “We’ll figure it out, buddy. Don’t worry about that.”
“She could stay in the garage with you. That place is cool.”
Ezekiel chuckled. Wouldn’t that be something? His mother would have a heart attack at the very thought. “We’ll get it figured out. You don't have to worry about that right now. Get some sleep.”
“Okay.” Jack rolled over on his side. “I love you, Mr. Gaines.” His words were barely audible, but Ezekiel heard them. Jack was one tough boy, and expressing his love for someone didn’t come easy.
“I love you, too,” Ezekiel whispered back as tears burned in his eyes.
Jack may be safe now, but no shelter could take away the pain he’d endured in his young life. Ezekiel would do everything he could to fill the hole in the boy’s heart. His own shattered heart didn’t matter as much anymore. He could take it. He would withstand and endure, but Jack and Ruby, they needed all the love Ezekiel’s family had to offer.
Ezekiel closed the door until it was only opened a crack and went out to the living room. He wanted to be there for the kids in case they needed him in the night, so he decided he would sleep on the couch. It was silly, really. His parents were both in the house, and both of them were well equipped to comfort either of them if they awoke in the night. Yet, he wanted to be in the house on the off chance that Bekah returned. She wouldn’t go to the garage apartment. She would come to the front door. And if she did, he would be there waiting for her.
Over the last couple of hours, he’d thought about calling her and begging her to talk to him, but his father was right. Bekah needed time to think things through. Nothing good would come from him trying to convince her just how wrong she was when she was upset. And she was wrong. She just didn’t know it yet. He’d give her time to cool off and think and then he would call her. He just hoped his silence didn’t make her think he didn’t care.
Ezekiel flopped down onto the couch when the familiar sound of a guitar strumming sounded from the front porch. Jumping up, his breath caught, his heart beating to the tune of — My Eyes Adored You? Or was that the guitar playing outside the window?
Tripping over his feet to make it to the door, Ezekiel all but fell outside, caught himself on the wall, and stood face to face with the woman of his dreams. Bekah stared into his eye as she continued to play. Soon the most beautiful melody came from her mouth. She was singing to him. Tears welled in his eyes. Oh, how he adored this woman.
When she sang the second verse about the man who had left his love for fortune and fame, her eyes teared up, and she could continue no more.
She stopped. Just like that. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever, before she finally spoke. “Ezekiel, I don’t want to be like that guy in the song. I don’t want to miss the opportunity for us.” Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t want any sad regrets. Or to think about what might have been if only —” Bekah sniffled. “I ... Ezekiel, I love you.”
Bekah’s guitar fell to the swing as Ezekiel took the distance between them. Wrapping her into his arms, his throat closed. “I love you too, baby.”
He sang softly to her, his voice cracking and off key, but this time, she didn’t make him stop. They held onto each other as Ezekiel thanked God for bringing her home.
“I really do have to leave, though.” Bekah wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke.
“No. We’ll figure everything out.”
“I won’t go far this time, I promise. Bonnie is renting me a room.”
Ezekiel sighed loudly. “Oh.” He kissed her sweet lips. “I suppose I could deal with that.”
“Thank you for sending Garret. He really has a way with words.” Her smile was contagious.
“I didn’t think he would go. I’m glad he did.”
“Me too.” Bekah nodded. “Me too.”
Epilogue — Garrett
Garrett Perkins stood at the back of Sunshine Community Church, his eyes tearing with laughter. He’d been the designated security slash ticket checker and therefore didn’t have to purchase one himself, but he’d spent more time watching the play than patrolling.
The first show had gone off without a hitch, and the children were so adorable that they’d ended up doing an encore presentation a second night which had also sold out. People came from several of the surrounding cities to see the performance.
The school was preparing to add a high school portion, and the community was ecstatic to find out that all grades from sixth through twelfth would be able to take th
e elective courses of home ec, sewing, woodshop, and auto class on top of the already offered drama classes. Not just the parents, who had taken those electives as kids and found them very beneficial, but the kids were interested too.
“Jack makes an excellent Captain Hook, doesn’t he?” Ezekiel handed Garrett a bag of popcorn and leaned against the wall beside him.
“He was born for this. I can’t wait to get my DVD copy.”
“All the parents want one. With the money we earned through tickets, food sales, and DVDs alone we’ll be able to bring the church out of the red. We’ve had so much interest in the school that we had to start a waiting list for next year.”
“She sure is something.” Garrett watched Bekah, who stood just behind the curtain, encouraging the children with her brilliant smile. “You are one lucky guy.”
“I owe a lot to you, Garrett. Why didn’t you tell me that you found her after you told me you wouldn’t go?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could convince her, and even after we talked, I wasn’t sure she would stay. But it wasn’t me, Zeke, it was God.”
“Did you just call me Zeke?” Ezekiel rolled his eyes.
“You’re stuck with it, man.”
Ezekiel smiled, proving he didn’t mind the nickname as much as he protested. “Did you get a chance to meet her mother?”
“I did. She came for both plays. It’s amazing how bad we think things are for us until we see how bad other people have it. Did I ever tell you the story of the man who had no shoes?”
Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me — he lived on the top of a mountain?”
Garrett laughed. “Nope. Not this guy.” Admittedly, Garrett came up with some doozies, but if nothing else, he knew how to make people smile, and that was something. “He cried until he met a man who had no feet.”
Ezekiel chuckled. “Never gets old. Hey, so what about your police academy dream?”
“I was accepted. I leave in the summer to start my training.”
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to wait to see how things went with this play. If it turned out to be a total bomb, I planned to stay on.”
“You can’t put your life on hold for us, Garrett. We’d have figured it out without you.”
Garrett raised a brow. “Am I that expendable?”
“Of course not. But you’ve spent so much time since ... well, you know ... it’s time to get out there, buddy. There’s some woman just dying to meet you.”
Garrett let out a guffaw that made the people in the back row turn around. Garrett put his hands up. “Sorry!” he whispered.
“Dying?” He laughed again. This time a little quieter. “That doesn’t go well with the occupation. Maybe something a little less intense?”
Ezekiel laughed. “As long as you aren’t the one who tries to kill her, we’ll be alright.”
It had been so long since Jaden had left him, and all that time, he’d pretended he didn’t need another soul, but he did. Seeing Ezekiel and Bekah with so much love in their eyes made him want to have what they had.
“Hey, did I tell you the good news?” Ezekiel broke into his thoughts.
“You proposed?”
“Well, no.” Ezekiel shuffled. “Not yet, but I will.”
“What then?”
“Mr. Wilford has been going to substance abuse meetings and counseling. After agreeing to give my parents temporary guardianship, he’s gotten himself together. It didn’t hurt that it was court-ordered, but I think he’s going to be okay. Jack and Ruby have their first supervised visit with their father this weekend.”
“That’s great, man.” He pat Ezekiel on the back. “Sometimes, it takes the threat of losing everything before you realize what they mean to you.”
“Yeah.”
The crowd roared as the cast came out one by one and bowed to the audience. Garrett would be sad to leave them all behind, but there was someone out there for him, and he would find her if he had to hold her at gunpoint to do it.
The Act of Falling Page 17