Submit to His Passion

Chapter One

Lindsay Dunn stood in the entryway of her parents' house, ready to head out for drinks with her best friend. Cassie was staying with her mom for the weekend so she could see Lindsay.

After a short guilt trip, Cassie convinced her best friend to go out for drinks. It would be the first time Lindsay left the house without her daughter in two months. The only time she'd been away from Faith since her marriage blew up in her face.

Lindsay paused with one hand on the doorknob to the outside world. Her daughter, Faith, and mom, Lillian stared at her. "Are you sure you'll be okay if I go tonight?"

"Mom, I'm fine. Grandma is letting me paint her nails." Faith stood in her pink pajamas with a pony on the front, hands on her hips. How had her tiny baby girl grown to such a big girl? Ready for elementary school.

"We have popcorn, root beer floats, and our movie," Lillian said, brushing dirt off her sweatpants. She'd come in from the backyard garden just before Lindsay was ready to leave.

"I hate asking you for more than I have." Lindsay sagged as her thoughts spiraled. She looked past her skirt to her bare legs. Was her outfit too dressy for a small town bar? She should change.

Sure, she scoffed. Into what? All her outfits were formal per her ex-husband's dress code, except the sweatpants and hoodies she purchased after he left. A dress was too formal for the Carburg bar. Maybe canceling was a better idea. She could put on her pajamas and enjoy a girl's movie night on the sofa. Even a Princess cartoon sounded better than leaving her haven.

"I told you to go. You and Faith don't bother Dad and I. Now go. You'll barely be out past bedtime." Her mom's gaze all but pushed her out the door. "You've been locked up since you got here."

"I am trying to sort out what went wrong."

"It wasn't you."

Lindsay wanted to scream: It had to be me. He left me. But that wasn't acceptable. Except emotions were acceptable here. It was Kevin's coil around her throat that suppressed everything Lindsay.

"When did you last see Cassie?" her mom added.

Years since she saw her high school best friend. "You make a good point. One last hug and I'll go."

Faith hugged Lindsay. "Have fun with Auntie Cassie!" The tiny girl pushed at Lindsay. Six going on sixteen.

"Tomorrow we'll get ice cream." Entertainment was hard to come by in town, the corner store for ice cream and the small playground at the school. Lindsay looked over her shoulder, but they already walked away, giggling.

Lindsay's shoulders drooped, but she remembered Cassie and it gave her energy to exit the house and walked toward downtown. Could anyone really call the dozen or so businesses that lined a two-block radius downtown? Carburg was too small. You could cross from one side of town to the other in less than fifteen minutes. Walking.

It was the one place she never wanted to return. As much as she detested Carburg, her hometown was better than being homeless.

She walked past familiar houses and turned onto Main Street. One car passed, Lindsay didn't turn to see who was driving, but she waved and smiled out of habit. By tomorrow, anyone who didn't already know she was back in town would hear her name. If she were lucky she'd get out without anyone knowing why. It was bad enough being the town pariah in high school. No one looked favorably upon the sixteen-year-old who chose abortion over raising a kid. "Murderer," they called her. The last thing she needed was for anyone to find out her husband left her for a younger, prettier woman.

She stopped on the street corner, ready to turn back, but she arrived at Carburg Bar. Imaginative business names didn't rank high on the priority list here. She stared at the door, summoning her courage to ignore the stares. Cassie would be here any minute if she wasn't inside already. The door opened and Lindsay smiled brightly as she stepped out of the way. Damn, Barb Alves and her husband Les.