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“How are you doing?” he asked when she released him. She wore a dark-blue wrap dress, cinched tight around her narrow waist. She’d always been slender, but she looked a little worn. A little frail.
He wasn’t the only one who struggled with trials.
She let out a groan. “I’ll be glad when this is all behind me.” She gestured toward her cropped hair. “But I’m doing okay. Today’s sermon was a timely reminder for me.”
Oh. The words dug into Grayson’s heart.
His face must have spoken louder than his silence.
She let out a soft laugh. “I assure you, I’ve had lengthy conversations with God—and it’s scary. Cancer is scary. But I have to look at the kind of faith I can have, the person I can be. I can let it separate me from God, or I can let Him use it to draw me near. To deepen my faith. God is good. I can trust Him.”
Grayson chewed on her words. Silenced.
“I’m going to camp next week,” Eli announced, “and Mr. Grayson and Aunt Beth are going to let me ride.”
Marie ruffled Eli’s hair. “I know. Pretty awesome, huh?”
Eli nodded. “Only eight more days!” He grinned, then headed straight for the growing spread of dishes on the buffet table without another word.
“I heard you got Beth riding this morning,” Dylan said. “Wow—I’m surprised.”
Marie laughed. “It was all she talked about when she sat down in the pew. She said she planned to drag Vivien to Duluth to go shopping for new boots.”
There went that ache in his chest again.Dad rehomed those with Chase.
“Once she got past her fear, she did fine,” Grayson said.
Dylan lifted his shoulder. “But none of us ever expected her to get past that.”
“And if you couldn’t tell, Eli’s so excited. He’s got a calendar and has been marking off each day as a countdown,” Marie said.
“Hi, everyone.” Beth joined the group.
Unlike the ponytail and old jeans she’d worn to ride, she now wore her ashy waves loose, brushing past her shoulders. She’d changed into a jade green, summery dress with a fitted top and swishy skirt that hit right above her knees. It highlighted her…everything.
Grayson pulled his eyes away, meeting Dylan’s raised brows. The man pinned Grayson with a look, then his glance shifted to Beth, back to Grayson.
Oh. He knew that look.
Don’t ever look at my sister like that again.
Nope. No girl was worth putting a friendship at risk again. Especially since his romantic relationships had never been the kind that lasted.
Harper Pennington’s face flashed in his mind. Her easy smile. The way she’d run up and grab his hand. Drag him onto the dance floor.
Whatever might have been, cut short by tragedy—so, yeah. Still not the kind that lasted.
He rubbed the knot in his chest.
“Are you contemplating the beef stroganoff or the spicy meatballs?” Beth asked.
Grayson shook his head to clear away the debris field Harper’s memory left. He returned his focus to Beth. “Hi. How’s it going?”
She met his eyes. Smiled. “I’m a little sore from our ride.”
Marie laughed. “I bet! But oh my goodness, how cute you look!”
“Thanks.” A rosy blush crept up Beth’s cheeks.
