Perfect Shelter (excerpt)

Excerpt, part 2

"Elaine, the bus is here."

Elaine started and tore her gaze away from the television set behind the convenience store counter. How long had she been here, staring at the Weather Channel? She glanced at her watch. Almost two hours.

"Elaine, darlin'? Did you hear me?"

She nodded, stood, and stretched. "Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Simon. I'm ready."

When she turned for the door, she almost ran right into Justin.

"I was hoping I'd make it before the bus got here."

For a second the breath caught in her chest and she couldn't tear her gaze from his. His eyes always looked so startlingly blue, but they seemed particularly intense just now. Maybe it was the way they contrasted with his dark hair and lashes. Or maybe it was something about the tan of his uniform. Maybe it was the now cloudless blue sky visible through the clear glass door behind him. Maybe she could get lost in those eyes and forget everything that had happened up until this moment. He loved her. That was something she still had.

"Where are you gonna go?" The sound of his voice drew her unwillingly back to reality.

Elaine shrugged, looking down to fidget with the ticket in her hand. "The bus is going to Dallas."

He swallowed. "What's in Dallas?"

"Guess I'll find out when I get there." She tried to smile. "I have a few friends..."

"You have friends here." Justin's voice sounded hoarse. "Stay."

She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose to stem the coming flow of tears. "I don't want to stay here." She forced the words past her constricted throat. "I don't want to live here anymore. I never wanted to come back here, anyway..." She let her voice trail off with another shake of her head. "I'm gonna find another place." She took a deep breath and made up her mind for good, steeling herself against the look of desolation on Justin's face. "Maybe in Dallas, maybe somewhere else entirely. But not here. I just can't stay here anymore."

"Elaine..." He took a few steps toward her. "I know you've had a bad time these last few weeks..." He stopped and shook his head as if he knew the words were totally insufficient. "Since Richard..." His voice broke and he drew in a deep shuddering breath, dropping his gaze to his boots. "You've got friends here, too. There are people who love you here. What about your aunt and everybody at church. They'll take care of you." He met her gaze again. "I'll take care of you. God will take care of you."

"You think?" Even when he dropped his gaze to the floor, she didn't regret the bitter sentiment. But she did regret directing it at him. She laid an apologetic hand on his arm, then started to move past him, but he took hold of her hand and turned her to face him.

"Elaine, don't go." Before she could pull herself free, he drew her close and wrapped his arms around her. "Please don't go," he whispered against her hair.

She stiffened and raised her hands to his chest to push him away, but as he held her tightly all the fight drained out of her. Her eyelids drifted closed and she breathed deeply, finally leaning into him, letting him hold her. Her arms slid around him and she laid her head against his shoulder, feeling comfort for the first time since Richard's death.

Oh, Justin. She nearly sighed his name. Maybe she could stay. Maybe she should. Justin would take care of her, even if she never loved him the way she'd loved Richard...

Richard. No. She shook her head and pushed away from him.

Justin might take care of her, but she had her doubts as to whether God would. And she would not stay here, the place to which He had so clearly called her and Richard, and subject herself to more heartache at the hands of a God whom she had spent her life trying to please.

"I won't stay here." She took a big step back, shaking her head. Then she turned and walked quickly away from him. Tears threatened, and she couldn't let them get the better of her again. If she started crying now, she feared she'd never stop.

Outside the bus waited. She climbed aboard, fighting the impulse to look back. Knowing that if she did, she might regret leaving, and leaving was something she needed to do now. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed deeply. But as the bus lurched forward Justin's name drifted through her mind and she turned to look out the window despite her intention not to.

Justin stood, hands on his hips, head hung in dejection. Glancing up as the bus turned to leave the parking lot, he noticed her watching him. He took one step, then another toward the bus. Elaine pressed her palm to the window in farewell then turned away as the bus pulled onto the highway.

Want to read more? Check out the links in my bio.