He looked as if he wanted to say something, but held it back. His face had become so easy to read. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”
It was an accusation. She was angry.
He shook his head, barely. Allowing the surge of shock and anger to overtake her discretion, she burst out, “You’re expecting God to step in with some divine intervention? That’s admirable, but frankly, it’s insane!”
“This is important to me, Kaylee. I can’t explain it any more than that.”
On her heel, she spun away from him to grab the dustpan. There was nothing left to say.
“Kaylee, I need to save my sister.”
She pursed her lips to fight the compassion. She’d tried to save Trisha, even going to the police after she escaped, secretly hoping that their investigation would somehow free her sister. But they didn’t take her claims seriously. “I tried to do the same.” Her whisper rose as she continued speaking. “But the police believed everyone except me. Because I’d willingly stayed in that cult for two years, they didn’t think I was held captive. And there was no evidence to back up my claim. All that I did to save my sister’s life ended up condemning her to death!”
He didn’t react to her outburst. “Do you go to the church in town? Is that where you were yesterday?”
Caught off guard by his question, she nodded. “I went because Lois, my neighbor, asked me to. She’s been inviting me to go since I came. I didn’t want to, believe me.”
“Why?”
She gaped with shock at him. “Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve had more than my share of religion lately.”
“No. You’ve had your share of a dangerous and evil man and his warped views.” He wet his lips and with a look of concern, he tilted his head. She could see the faint scar he’d shown her on Saturday.
“Kaylee, you have to replace a negative behavior with positive behavior, right away. You have to be proactive when changing those thought patterns that lead only to the wrong attitudes and crippling fear.”
“Like getting back on the horse when it throws you? No, thank you.”
“No, not like that. It’s important to replace negative thought patterns with positive thought patterns immediately, or else you risk being overwhelmed by your own fear and hatred. You can’t ignore that part of you that hates everything that reminds you of Noah’s cult. It’s unhealthy.”
When she said nothing, he asked, “What does your pastor say about suffering?”
“He’s not my pastor. I just went to the church to please Lois.” She bit her lip. “She said that we’ve all sinned. Yeah, except I didn’t deserve what I got and I know Trisha didn’t, either.”
“If you disagree with the church, then why did you go?”
She shrugged. “Lois kept asking me to go and caught me at a weak moment. And she’s been good to me since I came here to Riverline. But I think I should take a break from church for a while. Give myself time to heal.”
“That’s an odd thing to say,” he answered with a soft smile. “Churches are famous for their healing.”
She bristled at his little quip.
“Don’t give up on church, Kaylee,” he said softly. “That’s like saying that Noah was right to form his cult, his own religion to suit himself. Don’t let him win.”
Kaylee bit her lip. She wanted nothing to do with Noah, ever again. She didn’t want to think of him again, let alone face him. A shudder ran through her.
Eli leaned forward slightly. “What did your parents do when you stayed in that cult?”
“My parents are dead. My father worked on the oil rigs out in the Atlantic. One of them a few years back had an accident during a storm and he was swept overboard.”
“I’m sorry. And your mother?”
“She developed lung cancer. She’d worked in a restaurant for years, supplementing the income and trying to stave off boredom, only to have all the second-hand smoke kill her.”
“So no one missed you?”
“Only my aunt. But Trisha told me once that she wrote to her saying we were both fine and I’d seen the light and joined her group.” The very idea that Trisha had lied and not felt guilty about it cut deeply into her. “She told me it was for my own good and that I’d thank her some day.”
She pulled herself together. “Trisha was all I had left. But now she’s gone, too.” Her voice cracked and she hated the show of weakness.
Eli took her hand, as tenderly as his gaze held hers.
“You can help Phoebe. She needs you. You can save another from Noah. I know it’ll be the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but you’re my last hope. You couldn’t save Trisha, but you can save my sister.”
The armor she’d hardened crumbled as she stared in Eli’s handsome face.
And found herself nodding.
Two days later, exhilaration still surged through Eli. He’d spent the last seven years praying for this and while Kaylee had declined his invitation to lunch to discuss what needed to be done, she had agreed to go with him to the compound early Wednesday morning.
So now, pulling into her driveway to pick her up, he smiled to himself again. Thank You, Lord.
His smile wavered as another thought hit him. What would Phoebe say to him when they finally saw each other? That he was being selfish and jealous again? That any time Noah had something, Eli wanted it?
Kaylee’s appearance at her door dissolved the worry. She turned to check the lock, then trotted down the single step toward his car, carrying a small knapsacklike purse. Today, she wore the same jacket she’d worn on Saturday, but her pants were lighter, probably thanks to the warmer weather. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose, wavy ponytail, something he felt would slip away if a strong wind or hand slipped into it.
A hand like his?
No. He shoved away the notion in time for her to reach his car.
As she opened the passenger door, she peered inside. “Are you expecting to be able to drive right up to the compound in this thing? It’s too low to the ground.”
“We’ll go as far as possible, then walk in.”
With a doubtful bite of her lip, she settled in beside him. Her knapsack remained in her tight grip. “We have to be careful. After what happened to Trisha, some of the locals are nervous about the compound.”
“I imagine. They’re as valuable to the border patrol as the surveillance cameras. There have been some pretty unsavory characters sneaking over the border.” That was pretty much what his investigator reported. It was dangerous to live near the U.S.-Canadian border. Dangerous thanks
