Page 36 of Running to You

It was a living area, though not nearly as elegant or formal as the living room. More like a den. Like the other rooms on this floor, one wall was windows. Drapes hung at the edges, ready to be pulled closed. A flat-screen TV was affixed to the wall over a long console table. Beside that, a stone fireplace rose to the ceiling. She recognized the sectional and coffee table from his other house.

This room reflected Sam. Framed photographs of his favorite teams hung on the walls, along with a giant motocross poster. More sports paraphernalia was displayed on narrow shelves, along with books he treasured. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Fahrenheit 451. She ran her hands along the titles, remembering them. Remembering conversations about them.

There was an autographed baseball in a clear acrylic box. A tiny replica of Gillette Stadium, complete with the Patriots logo at the fifty-yard line. A few photographs of Sam in a helmet and protective gear riding a dirt bike. A pocket watch. An old Swiss Army knife that had belonged to his grandfather. A painted ceramic eagle.

And photographs everywhere. His parents, his brothers, his niece and nephew. Friends, grandparents. They were on boats and ski lifts, in living rooms and backyards, fishing and swimming and laughing.

These were Sam’s treasures. Why did he hide them away?

An easy chair near the windows faced the fireplace and the view, not the television. On the table beside it, a thick book lay open.

She crossed the space and peered at the pages.

A Bible?

Sam read the Bible?

Since when?

His parents were religious, and his brothers, but he’d never talked to her about God. That must’ve happened after they’d broken up.

She set her coffee on the side table, settled in his chair, lifted the footrest, and then slid the Bible onto her lap.

Not only was it open, but he’d marked under a bunch of words, and there was writing in the margins. She read the verse beside it.

“Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.”

Beside that, he’d written, “But how?”

Eliza kept her finger there and flipped the pages. He’d underlined a lot of passages. And written more notes.

Was this really Sam’s Bible? Maybe he’d borrowed it.

She turned to the front, looking for an inscription. Sure enough…

Dear Sam,

May the words penetrate your heart and cause your eyes to seek your Savior. In Him, you’ll find peace.

Love, Mom and Dad

Wow. It was Sam’s Bible, and he was reading it. Studying it.

It obviously mattered to him.

“Comfortable?”

She startled, barely keeping the thick book from landing on the floor.

Sam stood in the entryway. Arms crossed. Brows lowered over angry eyes. Just like she’d imagined him a few minutes earlier.

She swallowed the fear that jumped to her throat. “Hey. Uh…” She closed the book, cringing as she did. She’d lost his place.

After setting it on the side table, she pressed the button to lower the footrest, cursing the time it took to go down.

Sam hadn’t moved.

“I shouldn’t have… Sorry. I just wanted to see. You mentioned yesterday that you’d had places—”