Far Country (33 page)

           
Richard stared after him in disgust.
These Christians were insane!

           
 “Luke 13, chapter 6,” he mimicked in an ugly tone.  Well, he’d had
enough. Instead of hurrying around to join the audience, Richard turned and
stalked out the door. He was pulling in the driveway when he recalled that his
bouquet of daisies was still sitting on the shelf in the kitchen of the church.

           
 Richard was sitting in his recliner, flipping through the news channels
when Gracie and Lee Ann cam home an hour later. He glowered at the screen,
unable to find a program that could hold his interest. Lee Ann smiled at her
husband in concern, as she set her Bible and purse down on the table. “You left
early, are you feeling okay,
hon
?” She asked
solicitously.

           
“Yeah, just great,” Richard replied moodily, punching the remote button yet
again.

           
“Only one more night,” she reminded him with an encouraging smile.  When
he didn’t respond, she hesitated, and then looking at the brooding face, she
wisely decided it would be better to leave him alone until he was ready to
talk.

           
She stretched her arms. “I’m really tired,” she told him. “I think I’ll take a
long hot bath tonight – maybe wait until morning to do my Bible
readings.”  When Richard didn’t reply she sighed and wished him a good
night.

           
“’Night,” he replied indifferently, flipping at last to the weather and
concentrating on their latest predictions for the weekend. Lee Ann hesitated a
moment longer, then headed upstairs to help Gracie get ready for bed. 

           
Richard watched the end of the local forecast, and then started flipping
channels randomly again.  When a T.V. preacher appeared on the screen, he
moved his thumb to press the up button, but the preacher’s text, superimposed
on the bottom of the screen, caught
is
attention. Luke
13:6. Almost against his will, he read the words along with the preacher and
listened as the man spoke.

           
“And the landowner said, why waste time on that tree anymore? It never bears
any fruit. It just takes nourishment from the soil and never gives anything
back.  But the gardener restrained the landowner, saying, “Sir, give me
leave to tend this tree.  I will loosen the soil, spread manure and prune
back the deadwood.  If it still bears no fruit, then I shall destroy it.”

           
“Brethren, we live in the time of Grace.  Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross
marks the beginning of His efforts to revive your lives.  He is loosening
the soil, feeding your soul and heart with the Word.” He lifted the Bible. “He
will trim back the distractions in your life, to force you to focus on what is
important!” Again, he shook the Bible at them, emphasizing the word
‘important’.  “He wants to see what you will do! But it is still your
choice.  Will you produce good fruit? Or just take up space in the
garden?  You may be getting away with it right now, like a weed,
flourishing among the flowers, but someday, my friend, the Master Gardener will
return to the garden, and woe to you who have choked the good plants and
thrived only for your own pleasure. The Bible is clear! Jesus will return, and
on that day, he will clear away the deadwood and burn it in the fire! And who
will stop him? It is his garden and he will do with it as seems good to him.
None
will stop him, because it is written that
all
will know him as Lord
on that Day of Judgment! Every knee will bow before the King on the Great and
Terrible Day of the Lord! Every tongue will confess before their God and King!
To some, he will grant eternal life and a place in his kingdom, but to others,
he will say “I never knew you,” and they shall be thrown into the pit. 
How will he know us, my friends? By the fruit we produce here on earth!”

           
Richard had heard enough.  He turned off the television and sat there in
the dark room. So this was what Steve had been telling him today. What were the
chances that he would flip to a television preacher speaking about the same
passage that he had so completely rejected only a few hours ago?

           
Restlessly, he stood and wandered toward the stairs, with half a mind to go up
to bed, but bright splashes of color on the dining room table caught his
eye.  Lee Ann had brought home his bouquet of daisies. But next to it was
Lee Ann’s bouquet.  Every night she had worked with the children, teaching
them, laughing with them, patiently playing the songs on the piano over and
over again as the children learned the words and tunes. Why should he be so
stunned that her rainbow bouquet was stuffed into two huge glass jars? The
evangelist’s words played again in his head.
“He will know you by the fruit
you bear.”
  His little glass of flowers that has so touched him looked
pitiful next to Lee Ann’s huge collection. 
He will destroy the
deadwood.

           
“I don’t stand a chance,” he muttered.  His gaze fell on Lee Ann’s new study
Bible.  Hesitantly, he picked up the book, rifling through the
pages.  Names flashed by: Kings, Isaiah, Psalms, Matthew, Luke,
Corinthians, Revelation.  He flipped back to Luke, turning the pages
slowly until he found chapter 13. He read the verses through, then went back
and read it again from the beginning of the chapter.  Frowning, he flipped
back to the beginning of the book. Pulling out a chair, he sat down resolutely,
and began to read.

           
“So what does Gracie think about suddenly having a real father?” Beth asked
nonchalantly, as she stowed her air tank on the rack.

           
Steve pulled off his flippers, and then looked up at Beth.  Her blonde
hair fell in wet ringlets to her shoulders.  She’d recently had it cut and
styled in a way that really complimented her blue eyes. He’d forgotten how
pretty she was.

           
Steve smiled and shrugged.  “She doesn’t know yet.”

           
Beth stared at Steve, her eyebrows raised in surprise.   “You’re
kidding,” she said incredulously.

           
Steve shook his head. “We all agreed on that point.  We don’t want to just
drop it on her. They’d always told her I was dead, you see.  Now, not only
am I alive, I’m about to leave for Hanging Rock in a few weeks, and I can’t
take her with me.”  Steve sighed. “It’s complicated, but Richard and Lee
Ann are arranging plenty of opportunities for Gracie and me to get to spend
time together, and for right now, that’s enough.”

           
Beth whistled in amazement, shaking her head.  “Wow.  They’re moving
slow enough. Why do you think they are holding off telling her the truth?”

           
Steve chose his words carefully, remembering again Deborah’s warning.  He
didn’t want to tell Beth that David’s lie had caused all of this.  What if
she was still in contact with him? That was a question he had chosen not to ask
her back in May.  Now, he wished he knew the answer. 

           
“It was a bad time, right after the accident,” he told her finally.  “There
were several misunderstandings on both sides that caused a lot of anger and
hurt feelings. Once I left for college, I never really came back home, it was
all just too painful.  I thought that they hated me, so I stayed away from
them when I was in town.  So, of course, they concluded that I’d gone on
with my life and didn’t care about the mess I left behind.” Steve laughed
ironically.  “If I hadn’t fallen off a cliff and then re-injured my leg, I
might never have found out the truth.”

           
“And you believe the Bolton’s are sincerely happy that you finally do know the
truth?”  Beth asked, raising an eyebrow.

           
Steve nodded, wondering at her questions. “They actually seemed relieved. 
I think that they were worried about being able to raise Gracie down the road,
especially when Lee Ann thought that she was dying of cancer.”

           
Beth was silent a moment.  “What about David?” she asked at last.

           
“What about him?” Steve replied evenly.

           
“Well, you say that his parents were worried about Gracie’s future…but why?
Wouldn’t they have let David raise her?”

           
Because he’s volatile, and restless, and he’s always deployed. They know it
would be the wrong life for Gracie! 
Steve wanted to tell her. 
But he only said, “He loves the marines, and that’s a difficult enough life
without saddling him with raising a child.  He’s not even married.”

           
“That could change.”  Beth sounded strangely defiant.  The words hung
in the air for several moments.
She is waiting for him to return for her!
Steve realized in dawning comprehension.

           
“Yes,” Steve agreed with her gently. “That could change, but that’s not the
point now. I am her father.  Not David.  And I do want to be the one
to take care of her.”

           
“Well, it might not be that easy,” Beth replied in a low voice, not looking at
Steve.  “Gracie means the world to David.  He’s not just going to
give her up to you without a fight.”

           
Steve looked at Beth strangely, suddenly wondering how much she really
knew.  “Beth, I am not taking her away.  David’s her uncle. Why would
he think that I would take her away from him?”

           
“Because you took Sarah away,” she answered softly.

           
Steve closed his eyes for a moment.  They had never discussed his
relationship with David before. Steve knew that, beyond a doubt, her words were
not her own, but beliefs that David must have shared with her.  “Beth,” he
began slowly, “you don’t believe that, do you?”

           
Beth looked away. “David believes it,” she replied quietly.

           
Steve sat quietly for a moment, watching Beth’s profile. She could not seem to
meet his eye, and there was a strange tautness in her face. Steve felt heaviness
in his chest. Deborah had been right. She did know David, and for all Steve
knew, Beth might be in contact with him still. She might have even told David
that Steve now knew the truth about Gracie.

           
“You were the nurse that David was seeing after he broke up with Deborah,” he
said finally.

           
Beth said nothing, but she didn’t seem surprised that Steve knew about her
relationship with David.

           
“Beth, we’ve hung out all summer,” Steve reasoned with her. “You know me. You
must know that David’s anger at me is obsessive! Yes, I was driving the car
when the accident happened, but that’s the point, it was an accident! I didn’t
wreck the car on purpose. I didn't want to hurt Sarah.”

           
Beth shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to David. In his eyes, you are not fit to
raise Gracie.” She told him bluntly.  “Maybe you didn’t know, but this was
going to be his last deployment. He always intended to settle down when his
parents got too old or sick to care for her properly, and with his mother’s
cancer, he’d put in for a local assignment. You can’t expect him to be pleased
that you’re back and taking his place.” 

           
“And you think he should get custody of her, not me?” Steve asked her
incredulously.

           
“It’s not what
I think
, it’s what he believes is his right!  It’ll
be like you’re taking his sister away from him again.” She explained.

           
“I didn’t take his sister away!” He exploded in frustration. “He was the one
who shut
me
out! I lost six years with Gracie, and Sarah! I can never
get that time back!”

           
Beth did not seem moved by his outburst. “I just thought you should know,
that’s all,” she said, her voice obstinate, and Steve knew that if he asked
her, Beth would side with David’s desires, not his rights. “He’s not going to
be happy when he finds out that you know about Gracie.”

           
“You haven’t told him?” Steve asked her sharply.

Beth shook her head. The
silence stretched uncomfortably.

  “It’s time we get
back,” he said dully.

           
The trip back to the dock was quieter than usual. Of course, the roar of the
boat’s motor precluded any but the most determined conversation, but in the
past there had always been a camaraderie that was missing now.  Steve was
shocked to learn that, even after spending so much time together this spring
and summer, Beth was choosing to see him through David’s eyes.  Steve felt
a true sense of loss.  Unless he and David should somehow reconcile, he supposed
his friendship with Beth was drawing to an end.

           
David.  Steve stirred uneasily.  He would be home in a couple of
weeks, and then what?  Steve had told no one the truth about the incident
on the cliff. No one knew just how far David was willing to go to destroy him.
Even so, Steve had made up his mind to stay. Running back to Hanging Rock would
solve nothing. And he wasn’t going to give Gracie up so easily.

           
At least one thing had changed in his favor, he mused. Through several long
talks with Pastor Graham and his mother, the Bolton’s were now aware how David
had lied about Steve. They knew that David had forged a false order to keep him
away from Sarah at the hospital, and then later at the facility in Wilmington.
With Lee Ann and Richard so devastated by the accident, followed by the shock
of Sarah’s pregnancy, it had been easy for David to step in to the breach, and
arrange so many things in his parents’ names.  He had even stopped giving
out the home phone number and had all calls routed to his cell phone. 
David had successfully cut Lee Ann and Richard off from Steve and his parents,
as well as from the one Pastor who was in touch with the Williams family, and
knew Steve’s heart. Over the course of the last few weeks the four of them had
retraced the sad past and discovered that so many of the old hurts had derived
from David’s determination to cut Steve out of their lives completely.