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Hayden withdrew his arm from behind her chair. He rested his forearms on his thighs, head lowered, but she knew he listened.Is he disappointed in me?
“Jesus spent so much time eating with sinners the religious leaders accused Him ofbeinga sinner,” he said finally. “He didn’t encourage or condone their sins. Not that he was okay with their sin, but He was okay withthem.”
Hayden looked over at her. “You’re compassionate with your listeners. You tell them like it is, but you speak truth in love.”
“Thank you, Hayden.” This man’s opinion meant more to her than he could imagine. “May I ask you a question?”
“Lay it on me.” Sitting up, Hayden ran a hand over his beard.
“What brought you to KGOLD from St. Louis?”
She could almost feel the tension pour back into him.Great job, Violet.“If you’d rather not answer, I understand.”
“No, I’m glad you asked. I got a great job at the station right out of graduate school. I did grunt work—fill-in slots and weekend, middle-of-the-night shifts. I finally worked my way up to primetime but then blew it by being too vocal.”
“Too vocal?”
“About my faith. “It’s not a Christian station. I’d played by their rules and didn’t mention God, Jesus, church, religion, anything. I felt stifled, but if I wanted to keep my job, I couldn’t be myself. So, I tried to be funny and clean without resorting to lowbrow humor or crudeness.”
“Was it a call-in show?”
He shook his head. “I was nothing more than a glorified DJ spinning Top Forty hits. I hated being made to feel I had to ‘hide’ my faith. So, I started inserting subtle little things on-air. After only a week, the station manager called me in and threatened to fire me if I kept it up. I quit cold turkey. Even if it was the end of my radio career, it was worth it.”
Hayden took her hand, and it felt right in the moment. “I knew there was something better out there, a station where I could freely share my faith. A place where my true voice and thoughts were encouraged, not silenced. The day I walked out was one of the best days of my life. The crushing burden on my soul had lifted.”
Violet squeezed his hand. “Then what happened?”
“I’d made a good salary and had the foresight to live within my means, but then reality set in. The bills started to pile up, and no one in St. Louis would hire me, not even the Christian radio stations. Things started to get tight, and I kept praying. A week later I got a call out of the blue from a man in Goldenrod named Charles Barton.”
Still holding her hand, Hayden’s smile reached his eyes. “He told me about his Christian radio station in the Arcadia Valley. I’d never heard of KGOLD, or even Goldenrod, but I liked the sound of it all. And I liked Charles. Comingherewas one of the best decisions I ever made.”
“I rarely hear you call him Charles.” Violet smiled. “Maybe I should start calling him Chuck.”
Hayden laughed. “You do, and he might fall over.”
Lucy approached the table with Theo a few feet behind her. “Is it safe to come back now?” Her gaze landed on their hands then moved to Hayden. “Still think she’s out of your league?”
Violet winked at them. “You have your secrets, we have ours.”
Hayden still held her hand.
And you’re holding his.
Chapter Fifteen
“YOU’RE ON THE AIR with Hayden and Violet on KGOLD,” Violet said. “We’ve got Trace from Pilot Knob on the line. Hi, Trace. What’s on your mind tonight?”
“Um, yeah. Hey.” Grunt. “I’m calling about a girl—I mean, a woman. She’s all woman, all right. Her name is … Jamie.”
Violet exchanged a look with Hayden. After being on the air together a month, this was a first. The caller’s voice was a bit . . . squeaky. Bless his heart.
“Tell us, Trace. What’s going on with Jamie?” Hayden prompted.
“So, yeah. Jamie and I have been hanging out, er…seeing each other…for like three months now. There’s this other guy, Dustin, and he’s trying to make a move on her. He gave Jamie a gold necklace, and I can tell it’s real expensive. That made me so mad. Now, she acts like she wants to go out with him. Should I give up on her? I don’t have the money to give her things, but I can spend time with her. She used to like that, but maybe it’s not enough anymore.”
Poor kid, Hayden mouthed. “That’s a tricky situation, Trace, but my advice is this: don’t try to keep up with Dustin. Don’t feel like you need to give Jamie gifts just because that’s whathedoes. Trust me, competition about anything can get out of hand. My advice is to rise above.”
“Like I said, I can’t spend money, so taking her up in an airplane isn’t gonna happen.”
