âI used to love coming up here.â
Ahead of them stars twinkled and glittered like diamonds tossed onto a black velvet quilt. Nick kept his grip on Shayâs hand, just to make sure she was okay.
In truth, standing there with her, sharing this moment made his own breathing uneven. Beautiful Shay, so near he wanted to draw her into the protection of his arms, and ensure she knew she never had to fear again. But that would betray her trust in him. Besides, though he was her friend, he had no future to offer this wonderful woman.
Nothing more than friendship.
âOur star show is starting. See that?â She pointed upward, tracking a meteor as it flew across the sky. âAnd that. Itâs like God is lighting the sky especially for us.â Shayâs eyes blazed with excitement.
She tilted her head sideways to rest it on his shoulder for a brief moment before she stepped away. âYouâre the best friend I ever had, Nick.â
Who then can ever keep Christâs love from us? When we have trouble or calamity,
when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because He doesnât love us anymore? And if we are hungry, or penniless, or in danger, or threatened with death, has God deserted us? No.
âRomans 8:35
Chapter One
âI hurt, Uncle Nick.â
âAw, Iâm sorry, sweetheart.â Nick Green tenderly shifted the weight of the little girl clinging to his neck as he stepped into the hospital hallway. âIs that better, honey?â
Maggie sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. âItâs okay.â
It was so not okay that a five-year-old accepted pain as part of her world. A blaze of anger seared his insides, quickly joined by uselessness and frustration. One drunken driver had inflicted so much pain on Nickâs family, leaving Maggie bereft of her parents and physically damaged. Not only had she sustained a host of internal injuries, but her legs had also been crushed in the accident. Sheâd endured many surgeries but she still couldnât walk.
âYou did very well with the doctors, darlinâ,â he encouraged. âNow letâs go get some ice cream.â He needed it, to wash away the aftertaste of their unappetizing hospital lunch.
âNick?â A voice with faint vestiges of an English accent made him stop.
âYeah?â He turned around and blinked at the woman striding down the hall toward him. The hair gave her awayâa glorious tumble of copper-colored waves and curls. But if the hair hadnât done it, the famous emerald-green eyes in that heart-shaped face would have. He grinned. âShay Parkerâs back in town.â
âI always told you I would be back. But what are you doing here in Hope?â Shay tapped him playfully against the chest, her smile dazzling him. âYou insisted Seattle was your home, yet here you are in New Mexico, and with such a beautiful lady.â Shay touched a finger to the end of the little girlâs tipped-up nose. âWho is this?â
âThis is my niece, Magdalena. We call her Maggie.â
âHello, Maggie. Iâm Shay.â She held out a slender hand for the child to shake.
âHi.â Maggie kept her hands tucked around Nickâs neck. But she did risk a smile before shyly pressing her head into her uncleâs shoulder.
âMaggie and I are going for ice cream,â Nick explained. âWant to join us?â
He knew she would. For as long as heâd known Shay, sheâd never been able to resist ice cream. Theyâd met when they were twelve, the year sheâd moved with her dad from England. When their friend Jessica had died, their shared grief had turned into a close friendship. Taller than most of their classmates, theyâd played basketball, picked pecans on her grandfatherâs farm and gone together to their senior prom. Shay had become an ardent supporter of Nickâs football prowess, and sheâd actually encouraged his love of inventing and tinkering with machines while most of their peers scoffed.