A Gift of Time (The Nine Minutes Trilogy Book 3) (34 page)

I didn’t
know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.

When she
spoke again, Sister Mary Katherine’s voice was full of joy.

“That man
asked her why or how she could love him, and she went on to share the Gospel of
a loving, forgiving God. And do you know that man now runs one of the biggest
prison ministries in the world? And he does it from a cell. That because of
him, the prison where he has been incarcerated and will spend the rest of his
natural life has seen a drastic reduction in inmate suicides and murders?”

“It’s a
beautiful story, Sister.” I paused then and tried to grasp the deeper meaning
of what she was trying to share with me. When she didn’t reply, I added, “You
told me when I visited that it’s not by coincidence that everything comes full
circle, back to the way it was meant to be. How do I know if loving Grizz is
the way it’s meant to be?”

“Ask Him and
search your heart, Guinevere. And while you’re looking for your answers, keep
in mind that if only three simple words like ‘I love you’ can change a man’s
heart forever and give him hope in a hopeless place, imagine what a woman who
loves the Lord and walks in His ways can do to a man who’s only known
darkness.” She sighed, and I heard the unmistakable creak of a rocking chair.
“I can’t tell you it’s okay for you to love and be with this man, Guinevere.
You will have to find your own answers, but you’re asking the wrong person, and
I know you already know that.”

I was quiet
for a minute and realized with a sudden flash of insight that maybe my
bitterness hadn’t been toward Grizz. Maybe it had been toward God.

“I only ever
asked God for one thing, Sister, and that was for Tommy not to die. That was
the miracle I needed, and He didn’t give it to me.” I tried not to cry.

“Oh, my dear
Guinevere. Just because He didn’t give you what you asked for doesn’t mean He
didn’t give you your miracle.”

As I drove
and remembered this conversation and the turmoil my heart was experiencing, I
quickly pulled my car over to the side of the road. I was in the middle of
nowhere. I could see lights far off in the distance, but no homes were nearby.
Just shrubs and brush.

I put my car
in park and jumped out, running in front of my headlights and off to the side.
I found a clear spot and knelt, tears streaming down my face.

“God,” I
said, looking up at the stars. “God, I’ve never asked for anything for myself
except for once, and that was for Tommy not to die. I know you didn’t cause it
to happen, but I know you allowed it, and I don’t know why. I don’t know that
I’ll ever know why. My heart has never felt so heavy as I struggle with what
Your will may be for my life. I’ve never felt so lost or uncertain. I need something,
God. I need to know that You hear me. I need to know Tommy is with You now. I
need to know that if I give Grizz a chance, it’s the right thing. I just need
something, anything. Please.”

My sobs
became heavy then, and my body shook. I kept my head tilted toward the stars
praying for a sign. I didn’t know what kind of sign I was looking for. I wasn’t
sure exactly how that worked, but if God had sent a shooting star at that
moment, I would’ve believed it to be from Him. But He didn’t.

I don’t know
how long I knelt there, but eventually with my shoulders slumped I lowered
myself into a crouch, defeated. I was just getting ready to wipe away my tears
when something startled me. Quicker than a flash, I saw movement to my right
and felt something as it ran up my right arm and perched on my shoulder.

Before I
could react, I realized it was a kitten. And it was licking away my tears.

To a
non-believer, I’m sure they would think I’d merely stumbled upon an abandoned
kitten that was thirsty. I can accept that. But I also know that I didn’t just
accidentally decide to stop in the middle of nowhere to speak to God.

It was
divine intervention that brought me and that helpless kitten together that
night under the stars. A cute and extremely thin little thing, it was all white
except for a brown and black mask. When I brought it home that night, Mimi and
Jason were tossing all kinds of names around—Bandit, Zorro, Swiper,
Rascal.

“No,” I told
them firmly. After discovering it was a little girl, I said, “I’m calling her Hope.”

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Grizz

2002,
Fort Lauderdale

Grizz watched from
the bench as the woman seated herself at
a small table by the restaurant window and perused the menu as she waited for
someone to join her. He held the newspaper up to block his face and would
occasionally lower it so he could see just over the edge. He didn’t know what
he wanted to see, needed to see. He just knew he felt compelled to watch Sarah
Jo.

He thought
about all the things that had happened in his life since before Christmas and
up until the anniversary of Tommy’s murder. He remembered being unsure as to
whether or not to accept an invitation to Ginny’s for Christmas dinner. He’d
made sure not to ever show up at her home uninvited like he’d done so many
months before, when he’d driven Mimi home from the grocery store. It was
probably for the best that he’d stayed away, yet he couldn’t resist the
invitation to spend Christmas with them. He knew Mimi and Jason were beginning
to accept him.

He smiled
when he thought about the confirmation he’d received that Christmas day.

“Hey, you
two are standing under the mistletoe!” Jason grinned. “You know what that
means.”

It was
Christmas night, and Grizz had been standing in their foyer getting ready to
leave when Jason’s words interrupted their goodbyes. His emotions were
scattered as he warred with wanting very much to kiss her, grateful that Jason
wanted him to and wondering how to pull it off without it being too awkward. He
was extremely mindful of the fact that this was their first Christmas without
Tommy, and the last thing he wanted to do was appear disrespectful in Tommy’s
home.

“What are
you waiting for?” Mimi had teased.

He took
Ginny gently by the shoulders and softly kissed her forehead.

“Thank you
for a delicious dinner,” he’d told her. “And a wonderful day.”

“Ah, that’s
no kiss,” Jason said, laughing.

Setting
memories of Christmas aside, he now watched as another woman made her way to
the table and Sarah Jo stood to give her a hug. Her name was April. She had
been married to a man named Stephen, and they had both been to his and Ginny’s
home in Shady Ranches many times back before Grizz’s arrest in 1985. They were
a nice couple, and he’d recently asked Ginny about them.

“I noticed
Stephen was at Tommy’s funeral, but he wasn’t with April. He was with some
redhead. What happened to April?”

“They divorced
a few years back. Nothing bad. I guess they just grew apart.” Ginny looked
thoughtful. “April’s settled down with someone new since then, but Stephen
hasn’t. She said he’s having too much fun being single. Apparently, he enjoys
chasing a certain body part around. It’s a new woman every month.”

“A certain
body part?” He gave her an odd look. “You mean his dick? He’s chasing his dick
around?”

“Yes, that’s
what I mean, and that’s what he’s been doing. They’ve stayed friends, but I
have to tell you, April is not only a natural beauty, but she’s a genuinely
sweet and caring person. He’s been seeing women that seem a little...I don’t
know...edgier. Just so different from her. They seem to have a different look,
too. It’s odd.”

“I have to
agree. I remember the woman from the funeral.” He paused before adding, “So how
long has his dick been vision-impaired?”

Ginny gently
scolded him and said Stephen’s new girlfriends weren’t unattractive, just
different. In characteristic Grizz fashion, he disagreed with her and told her
he thought the redhead was downright ugly.

He now laid
the newspaper aside and stood to leave. He had just ducked behind the side of a
brick building when he decided to look over his shoulder. Sarah Jo just
happened to glance up and quickly looked away. Her eyes returned to the spot
where she was certain she’d just seen something that couldn’t be.

It wasn’t
the first time since Christmas that her eyes had played tricks on her. She was
certain she’d spotted him several times, but she knew it was impossible. What
was wrong with her? Why was her brain screwing with her like this? Was it guilt
over the falling out she’d had with Tommy? Guilt over the subtle way she’d
drifted away from her tight friendship with Ginny?

Funny how
that had been Tommy’s goal and she’d resisted it, yet it’s what was happening
anyway. Whatever was behind the reason for her recent Grizz sightings, she
needed to shake it off before it drove her crazy. After saying goodbye to
April, she headed back to work.

Grizz drove
back toward his side of town, lost in thoughts about why he’d begun spying on
Sarah Jo in the first place. It wasn’t until Christmas night when he’d gone
home to Laurel Falls that something small and insignificant that Ginny had said
at Christmas dinner triggered a memory. The memory had been nagging at him
since reading Moe’s journal. He knew there was something lurking in the back of
his mind that kept poking at his subconscious, but he could never bring it to
the surface, like when a song lyric or movie line keeps replaying itself in
your mind but you can’t place the singer or the actor that said it. Then, one
day, when you’re doing something totally irrelevant, it lets itself be known.

That’s what
happened Christmas night. He was drifting off to sleep when he remembered who’d
used the term “tit for tat.” He hadn’t even caught it when she gave the eulogy
at Tommy’s funeral, but when he did remember it, it came on him like a steel
hammer to the head. He’d convinced himself all those years ago that it had been
Willow who had used that phrase. He’d been wrong—and he knew Tommy
must’ve been smart enough to have caught it when reading the journal.

He also knew
Tommy had died in the very hospital where Sarah Jo and her husband worked. Did
he really succumb to his injuries? Or was it something else?

He didn’t
have to think about whether or not Tommy’s shooting was planned or random.
Anthony Bear’s sources were too reliable. It was not a setup by Sarah Jo or
anyone else. But Tommy dying in Sarah Jo’s hospital—he couldn’t shake it.

And he
wouldn’t bring it up with Ginny. The few times he’d mentioned Sarah Jo, Ginny
talked fondly about her, though she confessed that they weren’t as close as
they used to be. He’d asked her if it was of her choosing or Sarah Jo’s. She
looked thoughtful when she said they’d started to grow apart after his
execution in 2000. Right afterward, Jo’s husband had started interviewing for
jobs outside the country.

He couldn’t
help but wonder.

He didn’t
know why he felt compelled to watch Jo. It must’ve been an instinct left over
from his old life. Would he allow himself to exact revenge on the woman? He
honestly hoped not, but the call of that old life occasionally taunted him.

He was
relieved when Ginny and the kids stoically made it through the one-year
anniversary of Tommy’s passing. He kept his distance, giving them the space he
thought they needed. He felt like he’d held his breath for the week after that
dreaded anniversary, but life continued. The one thing he couldn’t continue to
avoid and didn’t know how to handle was Jason’s constant invitations to public
events.

He was now
in his back yard throwing the ball for Rocky when the cell phone in his pocket
buzzed.

“Hey, baby,
I was just thinking about you,” he said into his flip phone.

“Hey,
yourself. What are you doing?” Ginny asked.

He smiled.
“Throwing the ball with Rocky. Well, I’m throwing. He’s retrieving it.”

“The kids
and I just drove through Dairy Queen. We were wondering if we could stop by.
They have something they want to ask you.”

Ten minutes
later, Jason was presenting Grizz with a vanilla milkshake that had obviously
suffered on the drive over.

“Mom said
she remembered vanilla was your favorite flavored milkshake,” Jason said,
handing over the tall cup. “You know, from when you used to be married to her.”

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Ginny

2002,
Fort Lauderdale

I watched as
Grizz froze while retrieving the melting
milkshake from Jason’s hand. I saw him swallow, and his eyes met mine. Grizz
may have been a man of few words, but he was never a man without words. He was
without them now.

I suggested
he put the milkshake in the freezer to let it harden up a bit. Without saying
anything, he did as I suggested, then seated himself in the overstuffed chair
in his living room. Jason, Mimi, and I sat on the couch. Mimi spoke first.

“Mom
explained to Jason and me that you two were married a long time ago, and how
after you went to jail, she married our dad.”

“My dad,”
Jason said.

Mimi looked
at her brother. “He was my father, too, Jason. Mom explained that.”

“I know, I
was just trying to tell James I know that part, too. I didn’t mean to hurt your
feelings, Mimi.” He looked at her with wide eyes, and she gave him a smile and
a quick hug.

Grizz swiped
his hand down his face. He took a big breath and sat on the edge of the chair.
I could see uncertainty in his eyes as he looked to me, then back at the kids.
I nodded for Mimi to continue.

“She thought
it was important for us to know we had a family,” Mimi said. “We’ve never had a
family before. It’s always just been Mom, Dad, me, and Jason. No grandparents
or aunts or uncles or cousins.”

“Aunt Carter
and Uncle Bill aren’t our real aunt and uncle,” Jason explained.

“Anyway,”
Mimi said, frowning at Jason for the interruption, “we’re going to meet our
family for spring break.”

“And we want
you to come with us because it’s your family, too!” Jason shouted the last
part, his excitement too much for him to contain.

Grizz nodded
numbly and excused himself to use the bathroom. I knew he was hiding, but he
couldn’t stay in there forever.

Ten minutes
later, we stood at the sliding glass doors and watched Jason play with Rocky in
the back yard. Mimi was sitting on the couch watching one of her favorite
television shows.

“I can’t
believe you told him,” Grizz said quietly.

“I couldn’t
keep it from him. He’s going to be twelve this year. He’s a sensitive child but
not stupid. He’s had to grow up awfully quick since Tommy died.” I cast him a
glance. “I’m taking the kids to meet your father whether you go with us or not.
I didn’t want to go there with the pretense that we were meeting an old family
friend. He is Mimi’s biological grandfather, and I don’t want to hide that
truth. I don’t want to hide any more truths, Grizz.”

“How did he
take it?”

“Jason is an
optimist. He was excited to find out they had a grandfather and lots of
cousins.” Before Grizz could ask, I said, “He understands that they are
biologically Mimi’s relatives, but he doesn’t care. He’s excited.”

“That’s not
the part I was wondering about. What did he think about us being married?” he
asked, his voice still low.

He didn’t
have to talk so quietly. Mimi knew everything and had even helped me by
pretending to learn these things for the first time along with Jason. She
didn’t want him to feel like he was the last to know. She had changed so much
over the past year and a half. My heart couldn’t have been prouder.

“He was
shocked. Had lots of questions, as you can imagine.”

Grizz
nodded.

“But the
thing that was most important to him was wanting to know if Mimi knew Tommy
loved her as much as he loved him. He was worried Mimi’s feelings were getting
hurt by finding out Tommy had married me when I was already pregnant with her.”
Tears filled my eyes. “My child has a huge heart.”

“Not as big
as his mother’s,” Grizz whispered.

The question
the kids wanted to ask Grizz that day was if he wanted to go with us. After
returning from his bathroom break I watched him seriously consider his answer,
and after a few moments of silence, he nodded.

**********

Four days later we found
ourselves on a road trip.

Jason
beamed. “Don’t be nervous, James. We’ll be there with you when you meet your
father for the first time.”

After making
sure Rocky, Hope, and Spooky were safely delivered into Carter’s care, we hit
the road. We were miles from the North Carolina border when I noticed Grizz’s
demeanor change. He looked tense.

I gently
touched his arm. “It’ll be fine,” I whispered. “Have some faith.”

We had just
crossed into North Carolina. The roads were curvy, and I thought I might be
getting a little motion sickness. The scenery was breathtaking. I’d visited
this little town the previous winter. It was a different type of beauty then.
Leafless trees with stark branches had been splayed against a backdrop of
brilliant white snow. It was now spring, and the trees and plants were coming
into full bloom and providing a canopy over the narrow road. The air even
smelled different here. We saw a sign that said, “Welcome to Pine Creek,
elevation 3,800 feet.”

We made a
left turn at a small coffee shop that had been the original schoolhouse back in
the 1800s. The school bell still hung proudly in its small steeple. Before we
knew it, we were turning onto a dirt road. We came upon a mailbox that said
“Hunter,” and we knew to make a right.

The gravel
crunched beneath the tires, and we all let out a collective sigh of wonder when
we reached the top of the long driveway. Green pastures spread out against a
breathtaking view of the mountains. A large two-story cabin sat right in the
middle, a red barn in the back. Cars and trucks were lined up on the right side
of the property, and people were spread out everywhere. The smell of barbecue
drifted through the open car windows.

I spotted
him immediately. Like his son, he would be a hard man to miss.

Micah Hunter
started walking toward our car, speeding up when Grizz put the car in park. I
watched as Grizz hesitated, then slowly opened the door and started to get out.
He had just slammed the car door shut when Micah reached him and pulled him
into a bear hug.

With his
voice quavering and his face buried in Grizz’s shoulder, I heard him say,
“Welcome home, son. Welcome home.”