32
“Party’s over, Josh. We’ve been up all night, but no way could I sleep right now.” She looked up into Josh’s tired eyes hoping…
“Coffee sounds good.”
Katie nodded. “Very good.”
Jennifer slung her purse over her shoulder. “Well, I can sleep…if Lee will watch the twins. Come on, you two, I’ll drive you home so Katie can get her car.” She looked at Josh. “I heard yours got a little shot up.”
“Yeah.” He gave Jennifer a weak smile. “Good thing it was only a little.”
“Mom, he saved my life. The bullets—”
“This story is sounding eerily familiar.” Jennifer’s gaze moved from Katie to Josh. “I don’t think I want to hear the details. But thanks for taking care of her, Josh.”
“Familiar? You mean like you and Lee in the cave?” Katie used the place Lee and Jennifer fell in love to probe her mom’s feelings about Josh and her.
“Is this something I need to know about?” Josh asked.
Katie gave him her enigmatic smile. “That remains to be seen.”
Jennifer didn’t respond.
A half an hour later Katie sat beside Josh on the patio outside a coffee shop. It was 10:00 AM and the sun was warm on this second day of July.
“Mom is very impressed with you.” Katie yawned.
“Obviously more impressed than you.” Josh yawned too, and then laughed. “Impressed. She has a funny way of showing it.”
“Sometimes. But she was probably thinking about how close you and I came to being killed. It frightened her. She’s faced death several times. That changes a person.”
“Tell me about it.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.” She paused and reflected on the events from five years ago. “Twice I thought Mom was dead. I couldn’t stop crying. But she was alive. Both times. And so are we, despite that car chase.”
Josh shook his head. “And if we had been killed, Kate—”
“If we had been killed…I…I would never be able to see you again.”
“That’s obvious. We’d both be dead.”
“That’s not what I mean…”
“So it’s that Christian, non-Christian thing again?”
“Yes, but for the Christians there’s a resurrection. Death loses.”
Josh’s serious frown was back. “How can you know that, Kate?”
“Look, Josh. Hundreds of people—people who actually saw Jesus alive after His crucifixion—died horrible deaths rather than deny His resurrection.”
“Is that what your Bible says?”
“And history.”
“What if the Bible, well…changed over time?”
“Not likely. We have too many manuscripts. The manuscript evidence alone proves the Bible we have today is what was originally written.”
“But what if the writers lied?”
“The writers were some of the same people who were tortured to death because they wouldn’t recant their beliefs, the beliefs stated in their own writings. Would you let someone torture you to death, rather admit you lied, when the admission would set you free?”
“You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“No, Josh. But in the end, the truth prevails. It’s time you started looking for the truth with an open mind or you’ll regret it for eternity.”
“Eternity. That’s a long time, Kate.”
“I know. I…I wish I could plan on you being there with me.”
The combative expression on Josh’s face softened. “Why don’t we plan something that we can do together?”
“After all we’ve been through I—”
“You mean after all you stirred up, don’t you?” He forced a smile. He’d also changed the subject.
“It wasn’t like I made you come with me, Josh.”
“How could I have turned you down?”
The look in Josh’s eyes and the expression on his face were entirely new to her. Together they shredded Katie’s heart even more than his puppy dog look. Something was going on in that stubborn mind of his and he wasn’t telling her. She decided to wait and see if he volunteered it. Maybe she could make it easier to talk about.
“So …” he took her hand, “…what do you want to do tomorrow?”
Some down time would be nice. “We can’t take a real vacation. Or go to that South Pacific island and live off coconuts. But there’s a spot on the outer Peninsula, near Rialto Beach, that I would like to see on a sunny day.”
“That’s a long drive for a day trip.”
“Yes, but it’s where Jennifer and Lee rescued me and some other girls from the traffickers. Josh, if we left early we could spend the entire day on the beach. And if we hike in a mile, we can have a big sandy shore all to ourselves.”
“A beach all to ourselves. Are you sure, Kate?”
“Positive.”
“What time would we have to leave?”
“How about 5:00 AM? We could be on the beach by 9:30.”
“My family has way more cars than we need. I can borrow my father’s car and I’ll drive tomorrow.”
The coffee wasn’t having much effect. And the warm sun was only increasing Katie’s drowsiness. She yawned and leaned her head on Josh’s shoulder.
He put an arm around her, making it a very comfortable place to lean. So very comfortable…
Katie awoke with a start. She couldn’t move her head. Josh’s sleeping head had pinned hers to his shoulder.
Two teenage girls stood in front of them and one girl pointed the camera side of her iPhone at them. She pushed the button and the two hurried away giggling.
Josh raised his head and looked at his watch. “It’s noon, Kate.”
“Yes, it’s noon. And by 12:30 our picture will probably go viral on Facebook.”
“If they can see your face, I’m sure it’ll go viral.”
Katie yawned. “You should probably take me home now. We need some rest if we’re going to leave at 5:00 AM.”
Josh was looking at her in a strange, new way. Or maybe his eyes looked different to her. Something about him had changed. Or maybe it was changing.
“Another day, another adventure with Kate Brandt. I can’t wait.”