Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

--

Typing furiously at her keyboard, tears poured down Erica's cheeks. The words she wrote were bittersweet, speaking of the love they could have had and the future denied by a single choice. The choice of one of them to give up on their love. They had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Torn apart so young, just as their love had begun to blossom, that they then found their way back to one another after so many years of pain apart was nothing short of a miracle.

She wrote of their stormy reunion, the words of anger back and forth, and then the faint glimmer of hope. Finally they'd kissed. Not much in itself, but the kisses after were so full of fire and passion that it threatened to consume them both. They'd wanted each other and admitted it, but it was doomed from the start. The things they wanted out of life just wouldn't mesh with the reality of one another. She'd been willing to give up everything and everyone for the girl she'd known her whole life, but it wasn't enough.

Standing at the doorway, a bag over her shoulder and a suitcase in her other hand, April's heart ached at the sight. "Erica? I..." She could see the tears flowing down the writer's face, landing in drops on her desk. She knew better than to try and say anything now, but she did anyway. "I... I'm going to take these down to my car. All packed." Erica didn't even seem to hear her. April turned and left, wishing there was some way to ease Erica's pain, but knew it would be futile. She would just have to work it out for herself.

Erica was only vaguely aware of April's departure. All there was in the world right then was her writing, and into this she buried herself. She continued to type away furiously, wiping tears from her cheeks as she went. Finally, she had said all there was to be said. She was done and it was done. There was nothing left but to hit send and move on.

A few minutes after she'd sent it, while Erica was wiping the tears away, her cell phone rang. The caller ID told her it was her aunt Heather. Grabbing a tissue, she blew her nose and tried to finish drying her eyes, answering the call as she did so.

"Hi, Mamma!" she said, barely able to hide the sound of her recent tears.

Heather knew her too well. "Sweetheart? Have you been crying? I got a message, well Franchesca got it on her computer. What's the problem? What's wrong?"

Suddenly April came back in, slamming the door behind her. "Erica!" she screamed, enough to make the weeping woman jump.

"Jaysus!" Erica exclaimed. "Hold on a second, Mamma! April! What?"

Her first love was fuming. "Erica! We're going to be late! It takes four hours to drive up to Mom's house! Your cousin will be there before we are if we don't leave now! You can finish that story of yours later! You only have one cousin and she only has one twenty-first birthday! I sent a message to your mom that we were leaving and you're making a liar out of me!"

Remembering that her aunt was on the phone, she put it back up to her ear. "Mamma? Sorry, April is champing at the bit to get us out of here. We're leaving right now! Love you!"

"Tell April to drive carefully, sweetie!" Heather sighed in exasperation. "I'd rather you be late than hurt... or worse!"

Erica stood and grabbed her purse. "Mamma says not to rush." She walked quickly up to April and kissed her. "Thank you for being patient with me!"

Grabbing Erica's phone out of her hand, April headed out the door. "Hello, Mom? We're just leaving now. I... I promise, Mom! We'll be fine! I can get us there on time and... Mom! I'm an excellent driver!" She shifted the heavy bundle in her hands again. Fast walking toward the car, she continued to listen to Heather as Erica took the things from her hands and put them in the back seat for her. "Yes, Mom! I... I know other drivers get crazy this time of year. What?... Oh Mom, she's fine! I swear! She was just writing! Look, I'm getting in the car right now. Here's Erica again." Shoving the phone back into Erica's hand, she ordered, "You talk to her!"

Heather listened as the daughter of her heart took the phone. "Erica! You tell that girl she needs to drive carefully! Precious cargo!"

"I will, Mamma." Erica replied as she sat in the passenger seat and looked in the back seat to check that everything was there and settled. "Good to go, love." Turning back to talk to her aunt, she sighed. "Mamma, don't worry! You know April! She wouldn't take any chances! She knows you'd kill her! OK, Mamma, I'm hanging up now so I can navigate for April. Love you! Call you when we're close! Bye!"

Disconnecting the call, she took a cleansing breath, closed her eyes, and slowly let it out.

While April headed for the freeway, she smiled at her wife. "Get it all out of your system, honey?"

"I'm sorry I made us run late, love. I was just so close to finishing..."

April finished for her. "Yeah, yeah... so close you just had to finish it right now! You have a tablet! You could have done the last of the work in the car and then sent it to editing!"

Erica shook her head. "I can't write in the car! I get carsick! You know that, love! Besides, I have other duties." She placed her hand on April's knee.

"Know what Mom would say if she saw you doing that while I'm driving?"

"Mmm, hmm!" Erica smiled. "But Mamma's not here!"

"Hands on your side, honey. I think they're needed elsewhere."

As if on cue, a cry arose from the back seat. "Sounds like she's hungry again." Erica noted.

"She's always hungry! I swear that kid can drink half my body weight every day!" April suddenly felt a familiar feeling. "Better give her the bottle quick or I'm gonna ruin my blouse!"

Erica rummaged through the diaper bag until she found the bottle of breast milk. Leaning over the back of her seat, she handed the screaming child what she wanted. "It's a'right." Erica soothed. "There ya go, babaí. Tá Mamaí anseo."

The baby girl settled down with her bottle and the sound of Erica's brogue, April waiting until she was turned back around. "You keep talking to her like that and everyone will think the Dempseys have a new daughter! You're going to ruin her speech patterns!"

"Hush now!" Erica chided. "An' what air wrong wi' a bit o' th' Irish tongue, A rúnsearc?"

Trying to be mad, April just couldn't stay that way when Erica was being so sweet. "You... are beautiful!" she replied.

Shaking her head, Erica looked out the window. "Matter of opinion." After a few moments, she turned to April. "Thank you, again."

"For what?"

"For putting up with my crazy hobby."

"I love you... all of you." she admitted. "Besides, that 'crazy hobby' puts meat on the table and a roof over our heads. Though sometimes I wish you could learn to settle back and let the other writers keep things going. You have enough of them now that you don't have to write anymore."

"See, that's where you're wrong dear." Erica shook her head. "I didn't create Reflection Publishing just to publish stories, I created it to publish my stories. The rest is just bonus. I write because I have to."

"But you get so emotional over them!" April whined. "Like this last one, you were pouring tears as you finished it! I thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital for severe dehydration!"

"I'm not that bad!" she looked away. "Besides, this hit really close to home."

"How close?" April asked, stealing a glance at her wife.

"Too close." Erica wiped a tear from her eye just thinking about it.

"Well... I hope you're taking a good long break this time. Having you hole up in your office for two weeks is murder on my sex life!"

Not listening, Erica turned back to look at her. "What, dear?"

"Never mind, honey. You still upset about your story?"

Sighing, Erica looked back out the window again. "Yeah. I hope it does some good for somebody."

"I'm sure it will, honey. It nearly always does."

Hours later as they got close to her mother's house, Erica called. "Mamma? We're about ten minutes out. Wanted to call before we lose service."

Heather breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I'm glad you called, sweetie. I get so worried with you, April, and the baby on the road." Looking down at her watch, she scowled. "You made really good time. Too good! I wasn't expecting you for another twenty minutes! When April gets here I'm going to..."

"...tell her you love her, missed her, and are glad to see her. Right, Mamma?" Erica interrupted.

"Yes, sweetie." Taking a deep breath, she let it go. "I'll just be glad when you're all three here and safe at home! Oh... wait a minute... Alright. Sweetie? Franchesca just got a message from Faith. She's about ten minutes behind you."

"Faith is ten minutes behind us." she echoed to April.

"I'll stretch that to twelve before we get there." April replied, pressing the gas a little harder.

"Love, ten minutes is more than enough! Back off please? For the baby?"

"Alright, fine! We wouldn't be in this mess if..."

"...I could get out of the house on time. Yes... I know, love."

Heather listened to their exchange over the phone as it started to break up. "Sweetie? I think I'm losing you!"

Erica looked at her phone before putting it in her purse. "No signal."

Driving quietly for a minute, April realized something. "Hey, honey? How did Mom know Faith is ten minutes behind us?"

"She sent Franchesca a message."

"Well... how can she do that if she's driving?"

Erica paused a moment, considering the options. "Maybe she took a cab. It's been known to happen. We Hargraves are used to being driven around by our chauffeurs! The only reason Eddie isn't driving us is because this Sunday is Easter and he asked for the week off to be with his family in Philly... so you'll just have to do!"

"I am not your bloody chauffeur!" April shouted and laughed at the same time. "You just drive like my dead grandma! If you drove us instead of Eddie, we wouldn't be there until next week!"

Several minutes later they pulled up the driveway and stopped in front of the garage, Fredrick there waiting to open it as they pulled up. "Looks like Mamma wants us to park inside so Faith doesn't get suspicious."

"She was born suspicious!" April quipped.

"No, she was born stubborn, she learned suspicious from me!"

Pulling into the garage, April shut off the engine. "Can you get the baby and her things, honey? I'll get the rest."

Opening the rear passenger door, Erica saw their angel sleeping peacefully, an empty bottle crooked in her arm as though she was carrying it. Sighing with contentment, she lifted the entire car seat out and opened the handle, carrying it in along with the diaper bag and a small suitcase.

Coming through the front door, she paused a moment and smiled at all the people she knew who were there waiting for Faith. "Hi, everyone! Faith's just a few minutes behind us, so get ready!"

Mike walked up and took the diaper bag from her. "Here, let an expert git that, ya' ol' bean phósta!" Looking down at Erica and April's sleeping baby, he grinned before shaking his head in disbelief. "She shurin' takes after ya' both! Ah don't know how ye managed it deirfiúr, but Ah think she's grand!"

Smiling secretively, the twenty-year-old knew that Mike and the others had never known her as anything but Erica, and she had no intention of changing their perceptions. Unable to resist, she answered, "Careful selection at the sperm bank!"

"Ach!" Mike shuddered. "I dinna need ta be knowin' tha' much, eejit!"

Coming in with Fredrick, April was carrying their bags and presents for Faith. "Think you could stop gabbing and lend a hand, honey?"

She blushed and took one of the bags from April, carting them off to the library for the moment. When they finally joined the rest of the well-wishers, taking their newborn back from Mike so he could go back to his own child, Erica got a moment to take in the decorations. She smiled at the sign that read, 'Happy Birthday Faith!' and the one that hung under it saying, 'Happy Graduation!'

Noticing the signs as well, April tapped Erica on the shoulder. "Honey? I thought Faith got her Nursing Degree last semester?"

"She did, but she hasn't been home since then. Remember Thanksgiving and Christmas? Something about her being too busy. Nurses, you know."

Just then, they all heard a car pull up out front, making everyone get quiet. Sitting in the silence waiting, Erica looked at April and kissed her quickly. "I figured I should do that now. Faith might not give me a chance later!"

Faith stepped out of the car and went around to the trunk, waiting for it to be opened before pulling the suitcases out. Looking at her mother's house, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Home!" she sighed happily, if nervously.

Walking up to the door, she wasn't surprised when Fredrick opened it for her with his monotone, "Welcome home, Miss Faith." in the same even voice she'd been hearing her entire life.

"Thanks, Freddie!" she said as she walked in the door. "This..."

"Surprise!" everyone shouted. The cacophony of "Happy Birthday!"s mixed with "Happy Graduation!"s created a kind of bedlam that Faith could hardly understand any of the shouts. She stood in shock as a sea of family, friends, and loved ones smiled back at her gaping mouth.

Her mother was the first to reach her. "Happy Birthday, dear!" she said, hugging her tightly. "Were you surprised?"

Half-grinning, a quirk she'd picked up from Erica that she in turn inherited from her father Jack, Faith nodded. "You could say that, Mamma!"

Standing behind her aunt, Erica waited for Faith to see her, which took all of a single heartbeat. Suddenly the room seemed almost silent, Erica's heart beating as fast and hard as if she'd just run a marathon. April having taken the baby, Erica stepped forward and held Faith tightly. "Happy Birthday, love." she whispered in her ear. "I missed you so much!"

Near to tears at the sight of Erica, Faith held her desperately. It had been nearly nine months since they'd last seen each other over the Labor Day weekend. Since then, she'd not been able to get away to see Erica for several reasons; first on Thanksgiving with studying for finals, then with her new nursing job over Christmas. Now finally here, she was in Erica's arms and she had to hold back her desire in front of so many people.

She finally managed to squeak out, "Congratulations to you too... Mom!" When they'd last seen each other, April had just found out she was pregnant, and the two cousins had celebrated the news in their own private way.

Smiling, Erica corrected her slightly. "Uh-uh. April is Mom, I'm Mamaí!"

They held their embrace for just a moment longer than appropriate, finally separating so Faith could greet all her other guests. She immediately spotted Brooke and Jenny, Michael and Emma, Mike and his wife Marylyn, Greg and Betty, and a dozen others who she couldn't make out through the crowd. Turning to Erica, Faith took both her hands in her own. "Erica, I... I have something to tell you and it can't wait."

Even as she spoke, Erica looked over Faith's shoulder to see the timid girl still standing in the doorway. She was short, but trim and athletic looking. Her long dark hair seemed so black it took on an almost blue hue, her skin tan, but not dark, and her eyes seeming to be the darkest shade of brown Erica had ever seen. Looking back at Faith, she could see in her ever-vibrant blue eyes just who this young lady was to her love.

A lump rose in her throat at the thought that their relationship was now complicated by a fourth party; one who Erica didn't know and would likely spell the end of their time together. She found someone! Before that moment, Erica thought she knew what bittersweet meant, until she looked into Faith's elated and sad eyes reflecting the feeling of joy and sorrow in both of their hearts.

Taking Erica by the hand, Faith led her to the doorway as the crowd stopped shouting and cheering. "Erica? I'd like you to meet Cassey Walters. Cassey? This is my cousin, Erica!"

Cassey was more than nervous. She and Faith had been dating for six months and she'd gotten the idea that Erica was more than just a cousin to Faith. She seemed to be the girl's entire world until the two had met. It was always 'Erica says this' or 'Erica's done that', which started to make Cassey believe that Erica couldn't be a real person, or if she was she was some sort of angel descended from heaven.

Making her way over to the three standing in her open doorway, Heather stood next to Erica as Faith continued introductions. "And this is my mother, Heather Hargrave. Mamma? I'd like you to meet Cassey!"

Looking the young girl over, Heather guessed her to be younger than Faith, possibly only eighteen. Glancing at Faith, she saw a light in her daughter's eyes and smiled. Approaching Cassey to give her a warm welcome, she was shocked at the fear in Cassey's eyes, as though Heather were about to beat her with a yardstick. Gently extending her hand graciously, Heather waited for the girl to take it. "Welcome to Hargrave House, Cassey. Won't you come in?"

Over the next hour, Erica showed everyone but Faith and Cassey her and April's baby, the opportunity to introduce her cousin to her daughter never materializing. Frustrated and upset, she decided to take a short walk outside to clear her head. Walking around her 'mother's' front yard, she looked up at the stars with her hands shivering in her coat pockets.

The night was cold and completely clear. The first day of spring had come and gone nearly a month ago, but Coös County wouldn't know it for a few more weeks. While she gazed up at the crystal clear night sky, she heard the front door open and then close quickly. Turning, she saw Faith coming down the marble steps, walking slowly toward her with the sound of frosty gravel crunching beneath her feet. Turning back to look up at the stars, Erica shivered against the cold, as well as the empty feeling in her heart.

Cautiously, Faith walked up to the cousin who had become her sister in all but fact, and her love before that. Seeing no response, she just stood with her, staring into the night sky as Erica was doing, the frost tickling her nose. After a moment, Faith broke the silence.

"Sure is cold out tonight."

When Erica didn't respond, Faith looked down and sighed. "Erica? Please talk to me."

Erica sighed, mirroring Faith. "I've been trying for an hour. I never even got to say congratulations... for Cassey, I mean." Erica looked at her and tried her best to smile genuinely. "Does she make you happy?" Seeing Faith simply nod in reply, Erica did the same in return. "Well, then I can only wish all the best for you two. I... I truly mean that, Faith."

"Walk with me?"

The two started walking idly, looking at the yard, the stars, and everything except each other. Erica smiled as she saw the side yard where they'd made snow angels and their freakishly comical snowman so long ago. Laughing, she reminisced about it with Faith.

"I swear! I thought you were going to explode when you saw snow for the first time!" Faith laughed along with her.

"And that snowman! God! It was so pathetic looking!" Erica added.

Making their way through the side yard, their laughter slowed and Erica reached out a hand to Faith. Taking it, Faith walked hand in hand with her first love. "The baby looks adorable!" she commented. "She has your eyes!"

Erica stopped. "You saw the baby?"

"April showed her to me!" she nodded with a smile. "She's beautiful!"

"Oh." Erica started walking again.

"I'm sorry, Erica! You probably wanted to be the one to introduce me to my niece, didn't you?"

Nodding, Erica breathed out and watched her breath form a momentary cloud ahead of them. "It's alright. Today is your day. I just... I wanted... oh God, sometimes it's impossible to think around you! You have that effect on me!"

Giggling, Faith wrapped her arm around Erica's. "I know the feeling!"

Reaching the wooden bench in the corner of the yard, they sat and huddled together. "Look at us!" Erica mused. "House full of happy guests, happy about your birthday, happy about your graduation, April's baby, warmth and love everywhere, and where are we? Outside freezing in the cold!"

Looking at Erica warmly, Faith smiled contentedly. "Funny. It doesn't seem so cold when I look at you."

They sat back and held each other, looking at the stars. "I... I..." Erica sighed heavily in exasperation. "I was a little upset that you met someone and I didn't find out for so long."

Nodding, Faith clung to Erica tighter. "I know. I'm sorry. I... I just... I didn't know what to tell you at first, then I was too busy to tell you, then it was too late to tell you."

"It's alright, Faith. I understand. I really am happy for you! You deserve to be loved. May I ask something? Why does she seem so... timid? She acts like we're going to gang up on her at any minute and beat the tar out of her!"

Faith didn't answer right away. They sat in silence before she finally spoke.

"Cassey is... well, she comes from Florida. She came here to live with her uncle after her parents were killed in a car accident. She was in the car, but she survived with only minor injuries. Her uncle wasn't like Mamma was to you, though. He hated her... resented having her around. He... he did things to her, Erica. Bad things. Evil things."

"Oh God, Faith!"

"Yeah... I know. When we met, she'd just left home, a little like the way April did. She was taking night classes at the college and cleaning campus floors during the day. That's how I met her. She and I would talk occasionally, but she always ran off with some excuse when it got to asking about her. It took a while, but eventually I got her to open up."

"After a while, as we started to get closer, before I even knew it, I... I was falling in love with her." She looked away and laughed. "Was I relieved when she told me that she was, too!"

"You mean she was falling in love with herself, too?" Erica quipped.

Faith pushed against Erica's shoulder, laughing. "You know what I mean!"

Laughing along with Faith a moment, when at last their laughter died, Erica reached out and turned Faith to face her. "I still love you, Faith. I don't think that will ever change, but I know that this... changes things... between us."

Reaching out her cold hand, Faith ran her fingers across Erica's soft cheek. "I... I still love you too, Erica... and I don't think that will ever change either. I just... I don't want us to lose what we have with each other! So I'm afraid to tell her about us. About our... relationship. I'm afraid... afraid she'll..."

"Afraid she'll leave you?"

She shook her head sadly. "When you came back, I learned how to let you go, but you keep coming back to me! I'll always love you for that. I... I need it, maybe more than you know."

"But?"

"But that's not what I'm afraid of! I... I'm afraid that I'll lose you! I don't know what to do. I... I don't think I could stand to lose her... but... I don't want to lose you, either... and if I had to choose... I... I just couldn't!"

Erica held her hand, warming it with her own. "Well, you're going to have to tell her something eventually, right? Or were you planning on keeping this big of a secret from the woman you love for the rest of your lives?"

"One of the women I love, Erica."

"You know what I mean."

Faith took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "How... how did you tell April? About us, I mean."

"It wasn't easy." Erica explained. "I was telling her about my life at Hargrave House and... well... it just sort of came out. I told her about the day I left for school... and... um... the night before."

Swallowing hard, Faith asked, "How did she take it?"

"Not well." Erica answered. "At first she thought we were pervs, then she thought maybe just you were! It was why she went back to Arizona, but we kept talking. She kept asking about you, and I think eventually she realized that the heart wants what the heart wants and you just can't change it. That if after five years apart I was still in love with you, it probably was never going to go away and wasn't just physical attraction."

"In the end," Erica continued, "she accepted that you and I love each other and convinced me I had to come back, to find out what I really wanted."

"What if Cassey doesn't understand?"

"That's not really up to you, is it Faith? Unless you want to lie to your partner for the rest of your lives, she's going to either have to accept that there's a part of your heart that belongs to me, or move on to someone that suits her. Either that or you're going to have to choose. I... I don't envy you that. I know I never had to, but I got lucky. You and April never made me choose."

Shivering against the cold, Faith knew Erica was right.

"Come on. Let's go in the kitchen." Erica suggested. "I'll make you a warm cup of tea, and then you can figure out what you want to do."

Slowly, the two walked back to the house. "I love talking to you, Erica! You make everything make sense."

"Writer's gift. Everything's a story to me. My life, your life, all full of plots, subplots, foreshadowing, allusion, and subtext."

Sighing sadly as they approached the laundry room door that led to the kitchen, Faith's teeth chattered. "I miss Cook."

"Me too." Erica repressed a tear. "It must have been murder trying to find someone to replace her. I'm sorry I wasn't here for that part, that I couldn't be there for you and Mamma to help. The funeral was just... just too hard."

"We understood, love." Faith comforted. "She... she was the reason you got to stay who you are. She stood up for you, even against Mamma."

Erica wiped away a cold tear. "I just wish she could have lived to see the baby. She was so looking forward to it after April and I got married."

Suddenly, Faith stopped and gasped just outside the door. "The baby! I... April never told me her name! Or if she did, I missed it!"

Opening the door for her cousin, Erica laughed. "You couldn't have missed it Faith. Her name's Hope. Hope Theresa Dunning!"

Blushing, she smiled. "That's beautiful, Erica!"

Entering the kitchen, the sound of the party just beyond the swinging door, Faith warmed her hands at the sink while Erica readied two cups of tea. After a few minutes, they sat together at the kitchen table, just looking into each other's eyes, lovingly and wantonly, and sipping their tea while they warmed their hands on their cups.

Perking up, Faith exhaled her worries away. "So, any books coming out?"

Erica nodded and smiled. "A special one."

"Oh?" she asked curiously. "What's it about?"

Looking at her, she smiled and looked down at her cup. "It's a love story. About a girl who moves in with her distant relations, and falls desperately in love with her cousin. She risks everything to be with her."

Her eyes growing wide, Faith looked at Erica in shock. "Isn't that a little..."

"Risky?" she completed her thought. "Yes, but it needs to be told. It's different enough that no one could make the connection, but same enough that the story still gets told. April already gave her nod of approval, but I... I won't publish it if you say I can't. Of course, now I need to change the ending!"

Biting her lower lip, Faith looked away. "Why? How did it end?"

Reaching out, Erica took Faith's hand. "They loved happily ever after."

Looking back with a weak smile, Faith sighed. "I think they still might. One way or the other, her cousin just can't stop loving her back, even if it means losing... losing everything. I mean, they'll still love each other, even... even if they can't be together anymore." Looking toward the kitchen door, she then turned back to Erica. "I... I'm ready to tell Cassey. Would you get her for me?"

Standing slowly, Erica made her way around the table. Leaning down, she gently brushed her lips against Faith's. "For you, Faith? Anything!"

Heading back out into the party, Erica spotted Cassey standing next to her wife by the fireplace, April seeming to be almost standing guard over the young girl. Acknowledging a few congratulations, she made her way to the two. "Hey, love!" Erica said to April. "Having a good time?"

"Ha!" April nearly snorted. "Just keeping the jackals from scaring the life out of poor Cassey, here! This mob can be a little overwhelming at times!"

"Really, April!" Cassey insisted. "You don't need to concern yourself with me! You should go have a good time with Erica!" Turning to Faith's cousin, she managed to stammer out, "H-have you seen Faith, E-Erica?"

Nodding, she slipped an arm around April. "She's in the kitchen. She needed a break from the crowd, too. Just go right through the archway into the dining room, then through the swinging door on the right."

"Thanks!" Cassey looked relieved. "I... I think I'll join her! If... if you'll both excuse me?" Moving quickly, the girl not quite nineteen hurried out of the crowded living room as fast as possible.

"What's going on, honey?" April asked, half knowing already.

"Faith hasn't told her... about she and I, that is." Erica explained. "Faith's waiting in the kitchen to tell her." Erica's voice beginning to tremble, she lowered it to a near whisper. "Looks like you may be stuck with me all the time now! No more having to share!"

April shook her head and wrapped her arms around Erica's neck. "Don't be so sure! Cassey knows a lot more than Faith thinks. While you two were out shivering in the cold, Cassey told me quite a lot. I don't know if she's open to the idea or not, but it's not settled yet!"

Looking at April, Erica smiled. "Either way, I think it'll all work out the way it's supposed to. He knows best!"

--

If you have enjoyed this story, I would ask that you pay a small amount for the entertainment it has provided you. Nothing worthwhile in life is free. A one-time donation of $5 to the site makes it cost less than most paperbacks. Even if you regularly donate, this is the price I ask you to pay to see to it that this and stories like it can remain available.

Thank you and may God bless,
Roberta Elder