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Looking thoughtful, she picked up her silverware and hacked her waffle into pieces.
Simon’s admonition broke the tension. “We forgot to say grace.”
Amos shot him a grateful look. If he ever met Emma Moulton again, he would shake her hand for instilling Simon with healthy habits. “Aye, let’s say a prayer.” He closed his eyes while peeking through his lashes to see what Grace would do. “Heavenly Father, thank You for this opportunity to share a breakfast with our friend, Grace—” The woman in question was staring at her plate with empty eyes— “and to spend this day together having fun. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and keep us always in Your loving-kindness.”
At least she didn’t scoff at the prayer outright.Baby steps, he assured himself. God wasn’t going to let the enemy claim her. Not on Amos’s watch. And not as long as she still hoped, in her own words, for God’s help.
* * *
“Makos are the only species of shark that are warm-blooded, allowing them to inhabit the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.”
Pondering the narrator’s words as they all sat glued to the screen in the aquarium’s IMAX theater, Grace realized how accurately Amos’s code name suited him. As a Navy SEAL, he was the ultimate predator, seemingly ruthless. But, having gotten to know him better, she’d discovered him surprisingly warm-hearted, and not just to Simon.
He’d offered her a place to live while she leased out her condo. Guilt pinched her at the thought of accepting his offer. She would only be there for a few days before taking off for Venezuela. And she didn’t dare tell Amos exactly when she was leaving because he would try to stop her. But after she was gone, he would have to get Simon up hours before sunrise to drop him off at daycare, after all. Maybe staying with Amos wasn’t the best idea.
Yet it felt like they were on a family outing, and the feeling was something she had anticipated all her life, most especially when she’d been pregnant. They blended in with all the other families. At the stingray pool, while Simon had stuck his hands into the water and lit up with delight every time a stingray glossed his palm, Grace had taken out her cell phone and made a video so Simon could watch it later.
As another little boy had joined him, that boy’s mother looked over at her and Amos and asked, “How old is your son?”
“Six,” they said in unison. Grace glanced self-consciously at Amos, who merely grinned at her.
Smiling, he seemed younger and more carefree than she’d ever seen him. She’d realized she knew nothing whatsoever about him.
“Where are you from, Amos? I know it’s New England but…”
“Maine.”
Like the mako shark that swam off the Maine coast. “Are you an only child?”
“Aye. My mother had me when she was still in high school. Her boyfriend split on her, and my grandparents helped her raise me. Sadly, she drowned one day when she took the skiff out in the sound.”
Horror and pity had wrapped around her heart. “I’m so sorry. How old were you?”
“Just two. I don’t remember her.”
She surprised herself by offering him a consoling hug. It felt like the right thing to do. Immediately, his arms closed around her, pulling her so close she could hear the quick cadence of his heart. Her own pulse had ticked upward as she discovered that his embrace was heavenly. It made her want to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. But that would put their relationship on a whole new level, one she wasn’t strong enough to survive.
With reluctance, she squirmed free. After Doug’s betrayal, she could never trust another man—especially not a man’s man like Amos—with her heart.
But after watching him join Simon in pressing his face to the glass of the otter tank, her resolve was slipping. She’d found herself taking pictures of them discreetly. She thought she might put the best one in a frame and give it to Amos for Christmas. Unlike Doug, who had always put himself first and never seemed the least bit interested in the baby they were going to have, Amos hoisted Simon onto the ledge so he could see the otters better. Grace had moved to one side and captured the perfect profile picture of the two of them grinning at the otters’ playfulness.
She realized as she put her camera away that, over the course of the last three years, she’d lost her own zest for life. Everything she’d ever dreamed of—a husband and a baby—had ended in ruin. No wonder she’d sunk into depression and raised her fist at the God who’d looked out for her until then.
What if both Amos and Faith were right, and God was holding onto her, even then—perhaps even carrying her through this valley? If that were true, maybe Amos and Simon were meant to be part of her healing.
But what about Mateo? A sharp yearning seared her. She would not give up on adopting him. If God really was invested in the process, He would find a way.
The IMAX movie ended abruptly. Amos slanted her a smile and stood. “Well, that was fun. Shall we swing by your condo and pack up what you need?”
Uneasiness gripped her. “I don’t need to lease the place until Monday,”—and that was if the military family hadn’t found another short-term rental.
Amos’s smile faded. “I’m going back to work on Monday. If you don’t want me taking Simon to daycare, then we should move you in this weekend.”
“I hear you.” Grace wiped her suddenly moist hands on her slacks. “Can you just drop me off at my condo?” They’d left her car there when stopping in for a change of clothing and a pair of shoes. “I’ll pack my car with everything I need,” she envisioned Mateo’s dossier, “and then I’ll show up tomorrow some time.”
Everyone in the theater was filing out. Amos grabbed her hand wordlessly and toted her along behind him, even as he guided Simon out ahead of him.
“What about your visions?” he asked her quietly once they exited into the lobby.
