Katherine. He had spent hours looking for her the other day, a day he would have preferred spending with the kids at church and with Maggie. But he couldn't leave a friend in the gutter. Katherine deserved a second chance, a chance like the one God had given him.
That would be step three. And then would be the final step. That would come when everything else was taken care of. Making amends with Maggie.
As Maggie crossed the parking lot, she rummaged in her purse for her keys. Behind her a car started, the church secretary leaving for the day. Maggie turned to wave and then she turned her attention back to the search for her keys.
She felt a little moment of sickness as she looked over her shoulder at the locked building. A mental image of her keys lying on her desk made her groan. Now what would she do? She leaned against the car and considered crying. After a long day, that option really appealed to her.
The ringing of her cell phone intruded into her moment of crisis.
"Hello?"
"You sound happy." Michael's voice was the answer to her silent prayers for help.
"Happy, of course I am. I'm standing in the parking lot of the church, it's hot and I'm tired."
"So get in your car and meet me somewhere cool for dinner."
"Sounds like a great idea, but I would need keys to do that. And I can't eat, I have to go to the mall."
Laughter carried over the lines and Maggie pulled the phone away from her ear. She made a face at the piece of plastic and then held it back up to her ear.
"Where's your extra key?" Michael asked.
"On my key ring." She spoke quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear.
"Good place for it. Isn't Pastor Banks at home?"
"No, they went to visit his sister." She brushed perspiration-dampened hair back from her face. "Could we save chatting for later, when I'm not melting into a puddle on the pavement?"
He laughed again. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Hang tight and don't talk to strangers."
Maggie looked at her watch as she hung up and dropped the phone back into her purse. She could have gone all day without him reminding her not to talk to strangers. Just the mention of it meant that he was still thinking of Curt and what had happened a few days ago. It almost made her worry that someone could be watching. She glanced around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
If she had been thinking, she would have told him she would just walk home. It was only a few blocks and the exercise would have done her good. Instead she was stuck here, waiting. And she was thirsty.
She shoved through the clutter inside her leather bag and pulled out a mint left over from her last trip to a pizza place.
The motorcycle pulling into the parking lot ten minutes later sent a rush of conflicting emotions through her. Aggravation seemed first and foremost. He
would
be the one to rescue her from a humiliating situation.
Then another emotion surfaced, feeling a lot like happiness. She figured both reactions were allowed.
He pulled up next to her and took off his helmet. He turned to where the other was attached to the backrest. "Here you go, your chariot awaits."
"You want me to ride on that thing again?"
In answer he pushed the helmet into her hands and shoved his own back on his head. His gaze melted her reserve. "Yes, I want you to ride this thing again. Don't worry, I'm very safe."
She didn't know how to take the safety comment.
"I can't believe this day." She climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He leaned slightly, pulling her forward with him.
"Where do you want to eat?" He asked the question as he pulled from the driveway.
"I thought you were just here to open the building so I could get my keys." She had to yell so that he could hear over the engine as he gunned it and pulled onto the road. "Besides, I really do have to go to the mall."
A few minutes later they pulled up to a light. Michael leaned back and turned slightly.
"I wanted to make up for the other day. I let you down and I'm sorry."
"I forgive you." Her simple words restored his smile. "And you did sort of come to my rescue later. Remember?"
"Purely by accident." He smiled and then turned back around. "Where do you want to eat?"
"Somewhere quiet."
"You wanted to go to the mall and yet you request quiet?"
"Okay, you're right. We can eat at the mall. Go, the light's green."
Michael accelerated through the intersection and made the turn that would take them the few blocks to the mall. Momentarily distracted by Maggie's hands clutching his shirt, he forgot about his fears and the earlier conversation with Jimmy.
But he couldn't let himself forget, not when careless moves like this one could very easily put Maggie in danger. What if Vince saw them together?
What if? What if? He had to get his life back. Regrets swarmed him and doubts circled through his mind. If he had never made the move to talk to Vince, he could have gone on with his life, pretending that that world of darkness and destruction didn't exist. But if he hadn't taken a stand, how many more kids would have fallen victim to meth addiction?
He couldn't let that happen.
He turned into the mall parking lot. Maggie leaned with him as they made the turn, her hands tightening their hold on his waist.
"I really don't like riding this thing." She spoke close to his ear.
He parked and they climbed off. Maggie unbuckled her helmet strap with fingers that shook. He reached to help her and their fingers connected, startling him with a thread of emotion too strong.
"I can do it," she whispered.
"Good idea."
Ten minutes after the helmet incident, Maggie still imagined she could feel Michael's fingers touching hers. Funny how that had happened. It wasn't as if they hadn't touched before. So why had a simple touch like that one seemed to undo them both?
Or maybe she had imagined it? Maybe she had only thought it felt like something more than friendship at that moment. She let go of the thought as they walked out of a sports shop. Whatever had happened, it was best forgotten.
Her cell phone rang as she walked through a shoe store looking for slippers that her grandmother had been wanting for ages. She picked up a pair but they were a size too small.
She put them down and reached into her purse for her phone. The number on the caller ID had become familiar to her over the past couple of weeks. She lifted the phone to her ear, afraid of what his excuse would be this time.
"Hi." She still paused, unsure of what to call him. "Dad" didn't seem to fit.
"Maggie, I'm going to be in town in the morning. I know that's a couple of days early, but I thought it might be good to have more time together."
When they had first started talking, Maggie hadn't expected her father to keep his promise. She especially hadn't considered he would show up early. She sat on a bench meant for trying on shoes. Michael dropped down next to her, stretching his legs and turning his feet so that she could see the tennis shoes he had tried on.
She gave him the thumbs-up.
"What time will you be here?" What else could she say?
Michael sat up, obviously listening in.
"Early afternoon. I thought we might get together in the evening. Maybe after dinner?"
Maggie found her voice. "Where do you want to meet?"
"Could we meet at my hotel? We can have more privacy there." He gave her the name and room number.
She dug through her purse for a pen, but couldn't find one. Michael held one out to her. She took it, offering a smile as she jotted the number down on the back of a grocery list she had pulled out of her purse.
"Fine, we'll meet tomorrow at seven." Maggie said goodbye and dropped the phone back into her purse. Looking up, she met Michael's questioning gaze. "My father wants to see me tomorrow."
"And I'm going to be there with you."
"You don't have to."
"I want to, if you want me."
Did she want him to be with her? She was so used to doing things on her own. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to have him there with her. But could she let him take this step with her? How would this bind them together if he was there with her for one of the most important events of her life? And did she really want to go through it alone?
Maggie stuck his pen back in his pocket and then she rested her hand on his shoulder, his very broad and capable shoulder.
"Yes, I want you there with me."
Just don't let me down. She met his gaze, wondering if he heard her silent pleading.
T
he blue car followed Michael as he left his dad's office the next afternoon. It slowed when he slowed, took the turns he took and then proceeded to tail him down the quiet paved lane to the lake. He pushed aside the moment of doubt. He had to do this. There was no backing out now.
This was the only way to find Katherine, to get her back for her family.
He pulled to a stop and the blue car pulled in next to him. Michael didn't bother getting out of his car. He waited and the passenger door of his car opened. The man that slid into the seat smiled a greeting.
"You won't regret this, Michael."
That was probably meant as encouragement. Michael had a sneaking suspicion he
would
regret his actions. It seemed as if his entire adult life had been spent regretting. Now he was trying to do the right thing and he even found regret in that. Not because he didn't want to do the right thing, but because he knew it could mean losing the trust of people he cared about.
"Michael, don't back out on us now." Officer Conway pulled a pack of gum from his pocket and took out a stick, offering it to Michael. "I know you have concerns."
Michael took a deep breath and exhaled. "Yes, I have concerns, but I'm not backing out on you. I just want to make sure people I care about won't be hurt."
"We can't guarantee that."
"You have to." Michael looked up, sighing to relieve pent-up emotions. "You have to make sure this goes off without them being hurt."
"Then you're going to have to start distancing yourself from the people you want to protect."
The words sank like weights into Michael's heart. Distance himself from church, from Maggie and the kids? He didn't want to consider that, but he knew that he had to.
"Make it look like you're slipping, like you're falling back into drug use," Officer Conway said, making it sound easy.
"I don't…"
"If you want to protect your church and your friends, you have to. This has to look real, to everyone. Michael, you're an informant, we can't guarantee your safety or anyone else's."
"Fine, I will. But not until tomorrow." Tonight he had to be with Maggie. He needed to see her through this meeting with her dad.
"Okay, I'll give you tomorrow. But then you have to. If we're going to find Katherine, if we're going to get Vince, you have to do this. And make it look good."
For the next ten minutes they discussed the plan. Michael listened, tried to remember all of the details as Officer Conway looked at the pictures in his phone and took the few that Michael had developed. When Conway stepped out of the car, Michael leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
He still had prayer. God knew the truth, He knew Michael's heart. Now if God could just convince Maggie to give him a chance and to not give up on him.
The hotel where her dad was staying was located on the south edge of town in an area not yet built up. The parking lot was freshly paved and there were only a few cars. Michael pulled into a space near the office and turned off the engine.
At least he had driven the car today.
"Are you ready for this?"
Maggie turned to look at Michael as she reached to unlatch her seat belt. Glancing away from him, toward the hotel, she nodded.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Just try to think of it as a blessing, a long-awaited answer to prayer." Michael reached for her hand.
"You hold on to that optimism for me, will you?"
"Maggie, this is a good thing. This is a beginning for you and your dad."
"I know." She licked lips that were suddenly dry. "Michael, before I forget, thank you for doing this. At first I was mad at you for interfering. Now, well…I should have done this a long time ago."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I should have talked it over with you. I shouldn't have gone behind your back."
She laughed at that. "Like I would have agreed?"
And then she opened the door and stepped out of the car.
"Is it too late to change my mind?" she asked Michael when he joined her.
Michael laughed but held tight to her hand, as if he feared she might bolt. She wondered if that might be his reason for locking his car. But then, he always locked it and set the alarm. And he never failed to put his keys in his pocket.
The temporary distraction for her thoughts ended. She glanced toward the hotel and the man waiting at the front door.
"What am I going to say to him?"
"Start with hello." Michael leaned to whisper, his breath soft on her ear.
They walked through the front door of the hotel and stood in the lobby. Jacob Simmons stood off to the side. It had to be him because he had her hair, her smile. He wore a wary smile on his face as he approached them.
Maggie's throat tightened and she somehow managed to hold back her tears. She couldn't hold back the sob that escaped.
"Maggie." He spoke her name in a low voice, making it sound strained. His lips tightened as he shook his head. "You're beautiful."
"I…" She bit down on her bottom lip. "I don't know what to call you."
He nodded his head, as if he understood that she couldn't call him Dad or even Father. Not yet. But where did that leave them? They were two strangers who just happened to share the same DNA, the same blood.
She looked to Michael, hoping he could help. He smiled his encouragement and patted her arm. "The two of you need time alone to get acquainted. Maybe in your father's room? I'll wait down here in the lobby."