Page 157 of Running to You

Of course. His son, their nephew, was in danger. Of course they were.

He was being ridiculous.

He’d been battling irrational thoughts since the moment he’d walked into the sunroom. Most were the same irrational thoughts that’d kept him alone for so long. They were the reason he had few friends, rarely saw his family, and almost never left the house except to meet clients.

He’d told himself a million times how much he liked to be alone. How he worked all the time because nothing gave him greater pleasure. It was a lie.

Eliza. She gave him greater pleasure. And if he were honest, spending time with his family did too. And friends. All the things he pretended he didn’t need.

“Sir?” The checkout girl in the gift shop held out the receipt. “You need a bag?”

“No. Thanks.”

Purchases in hand, he headed out of the gift shop, wrestling with himself. He was terrified, no question. All this anger was just hiding what lay behind it. Fear.

Pure, deep-seated fear.

Fear of rejection. Fear of being left alone.

And how stupid was that, to spend his life alone because he was afraid of being alone?

Amazing how pervasive and, frankly, effective the enemy’s lies had been.

But Sam was done with all that. Sure, people would reject him sometimes. Maybe even Eliza, but was Sam really going to walk away from her because he feared she’d someday walk away from him?

No.

Sam was accepted and loved by the One who mattered. He could love others because God loved him. And if people didn’t, that was okay. He’d survive because God’s love would never fail.

Sam had missed too much of life by keeping people at bay. His fear of rejection, of being unloved and left alone, had nearly destroyed the life he craved. But he had a chance to fix it.

He prayed he wasn’t too late.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

She wasn’t going to cry.

Eliza splashed water on her face and stared in the mirror. “You can do this.”

Her reflection didn’t seem sure.

It was hard enough to face what was coming, but to do it without Sam’s blessing? How could she leave things like this? How could he?

She grabbed her plastic shopping bags, filled with the collection of clothes and toiletries she’d gathered in the last few days, and opened the hotel room door.

Sam was there.

She barely had a moment to register the agony on his face before he took her into his arms and kissed her. Deep and desperate, he wrapped his arm around her back, arching her closer.

He smelled like soap and tasted of mint and was everything she wanted. She dropped the bags and slid her hands around his neck, holding on as if he were her only link to safety.

And in a way, he was. He’d keep her safe. If it were up to Sam, she’d stay tucked right here in this hotel and let everybody else risk their lives to save the people she loved. He’d be her shield.

How she wished she could let him.

But she had to go.

She pushed her palms against his chest, trying to force herself to end the kiss, to lean away.