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.Dylan scowled at her, disappointment spiraling tightly through him.How could she so casually dismiss what had just happened? Hadn’t she felt it, as well?“I’m going to freshen up my lipstick,” she said, taking a step back.“Thanks for the dance.”As she turned and walked away, annoyance twisted through him.Lately little satisfied him anymore.Chapter SixA sliver of light played across Lisa’s eyelids, pulling her out of the half-sleeping state she had drifted in and out of for the past hour.She glanced at the clock beside her bed.Six-thirty.She wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore, even though fatigue still pressed down on her.The party last night hadn’t wound down until three-thirty.Then she had stayed with the rest of the family, cleaning up what they could and loading up the presents in the van hired for the purpose.She was still tired, but hoped to spend some time this morning without Dylan around.Hoped to ease the jangling in her nerves that had started last night when Dylan had held her in his arms.She had tried to rationalize her reaction, but couldn’t get past the part of her that had responded to him.Thankfully the bathroom was unoccupied, so she had a quick shower.She slipped on a pair of loose-fitting pants and topped it with a T-shirt.Dylan had declared that they would take the morning off, but she hoped to get in a few undisturbed hours of work in spite of that.It would remind her why she was here.She crept down the carpeted stairs, pausing a moment outside the study.The lonely echo of a dripping kitchen tap was the only sound to break the utter stillness of a house asleep.She felt like a burglar.Suppressing a shiver of guilt, Lisa let herself into the study.In a matter of moments she had the computer booted up and the files she needed laid out on the table.She glanced at her careful notes to get herself up to speed and started the methodical work she had begun before the wedding.In spite of the emotional investment she had tied up in this work, she found a peculiar serenity in the tediousness of the matching process, and soon her agitated spirits were soothed.The muted bonging of the grandfather clock in the corner marked off the hour.Startled, Lisa looked up at the time.Eight o’clock and still no sounds drifted down from the bedrooms upstairs.Lisa rolled her shoulders, and as she looked around the room she gave in to the lure of the bookshelves crammed full.Just a moment, she promised herself.A break.But as her fingers trailed along the spines of the novels, she felt the pull of familiar titles—classics and modern novels that had at one time granted her solace either from the tedium of a boring job or the stress of the responsibility of raising Gabe.She moved along and was confronted by a section of nonfiction books.And from the sounds of the titles, all of them Christian books.Books by theologians jostled modern books promising help and guidance for life’s various circumstances.A Bible lay on its side on one of the shelves and Lisa picked it up.To put it away, she told herself.But she couldn’t find an empty space for it.So she held it, her fingers lightly tracing the embossing on the cover.She flipped it open and glanced down the pages, the familiar words drawing up memories from another period in her life.Lisa ran her finger down the pages as if touching the words made them more real.She knew the patterns and rhythms.Once they had been a part of her life; once they had given her comfort.She started reading.“’How lovely is Your dwelling place….’” She whispered the words of Psalm eighty-four, the phrases part of a life left behind when she and Gabe had walked away from the graveyard as orphans.But the words created a yearning she had long suppressed.“’Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.’” The language was dated, but it dived deep into her heart.And she remembered the promise she had made when she’d prayed her foolish prayer in Dylan’s office.To attend church.“Excuse me.”The voice at the door scattered the emotions of the moment and she slapped the Bible shut, laying it on the shelf in front of her.She turned to face Dylan’s father as he entered the study, her heart fluttering with guilt.“I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to intrude.”“Don’t apologize.” Alex smiled carefully at her and lowered himself into one of the leather chairs flanking the fireplace.“Our home is yours as long as you are here.” He indicated the sofa diagonally across from him.“Sit down a moment.” Alex let his head drop against the back of the chair, but kept his eyes on Lisa.“Are you enjoying your stay here?”She nodded as she sank into the soft leather of the couch, once again aware of the kindly warmth this man exuded.“You and Dylan…” He paused, then smiled at her.“How long have you been dating?”Lisa held Alex’s gaze, her emotions in turmoil.Though this man had been involved in what had happened with her brother, she remembered his warm welcome.The connection she felt with him that she couldn’t simply pass off.She was surprised no one had asked the question sooner.But the ruse she and Dylan were playing was Dylan’s secret to keep and to divulge.“Our relationship has been somewhat ephemeral,” she said, the vagueness of her words making her wince inwardly.Nerves always brought out the long words.“I see.” Alex nodded, a smile playing around lips identical in shape to those of his son’s.“In spite of that, Dylan seemed quite attentive to you when you were dancing.”Lisa couldn’t stop the flush that warmed her cheeks.She chose silence as her answer.Anything she said would either accuse her or make her look as if she was making excuses.“You’ll have to excuse my bluntness,” Alex said, his fingers doing a light dance on the armrest of his chair.“Though we’ve just met, I have a good feeling about you
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