Page 12 of Echoes of Eternity

“What? Are they seeing each other again?” Ryan fired off right away.

“No.” Tina started to cry, covering her mouth as she shook her head. “Well, they were.”

“What?” Emily shook her head as she touched her brow. “What do you mean, they were?”

“They never broke up last year. They kept seeing each other. I caught him sneaking in late several times months ago. He admitted they were meeting up at night. Then they broke up like a month ago.”

Adjusting in his chair, Ryan shook his head. “Okay . . .”

Tina opened her hands out on the table, leaning in as she continued. “The problem is that Randy won’t let it go. He started stalking her after school and harassing her since you guys came back from Washington.”

Ryan stood up, his anger bubbling as he connected his gaze with his wife. “We need to call the cops, Emily! She’s only fifteen!”

Reaching a hand out, Tina touched Emily’s hand on the table. “Please don’t! That’s why I didn’t come to you sooner. I don’t want his life to be ruined.”

Emily appeared lost in thought. “This explains why she’s been so distant and crying so much since we got back . . .”

“What?” Ryan stopped, touching Emily’s shoulder.

“I noticed it, but I didn’t want to bother you. She’s been crying all the time in her room and hardly coming to the dinner table.”

Rubbing his neck, Ryan nodded slowly. “I guess I’ve missed some dinners lately . . .”

Tina leaned in. “So, you won’t call the cops?”

Emily turned, looking up at her husband. Ryan felt his wife’s eyes begging for grace for this young man. Then his gaze shifted to Tina, his heart moved with compassion for her in the moment. He knew it wasn’t him, but God. The only thing he wanted to do was kill the punk, and if not murder, call the police. It was the right thing to do in his mind. Yet there was something else he sensed within himself. A sensing for the need to act in grace. With how far God had felt to him lately, he couldn’t go against the one thing he felt was from God.

“Can you guarantee he’ll stay away? If he doesn’t, we won’t have an option.”

“I’ll let him know you guys are aware of the situation now and will call the cops if he doesn’t leave her alone. I think that will stop him.” She rose to her feet, wiping her cheeks of tears as she thanked them both repeatedly.

That night at home, Ryan and Emily went to confront Elizabeth. After explaining the conversation they had with Tina, they waited for a response from their daughter. After a few moments of crying and her mother comforting her with an arm around her shoulders, Elizabeth finally calmed down enough to speak.

“What if we move in with Grandma?”

Emily stood from the bed and took a step back. “What do you mean? Leave our home and life here? Just run away from our problems?”

“No. It doesn’t have to be viewed like running away from problems.” Elizabeth wiped her eyes. “A fresh start. A do-over for me.”

Ryan took a step closer to Emily and took her hand in his hand. Then he looked at Elizabeth and shook his head. “Our life is here. Your other grandparents are here too.”

Emily gave his hand a squeeze as she shook her head. “No. We can move. I have been wrestling with the fear of moving since we came home from Washington . . . but everything keeps pointing toward it.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan shook his head as he looked at her. “I thought it was out of the question.”

“I know, but that was because I was scared, Ryan. I had already thought of it, and I just wanted to fight against it and have been doing so ever since.” She let out a sigh. “When we were in Cedarwood Creek, I saw a help wanted ad in the newspaper for a second grade teacher at a Christian school. I also saw the way you and Jason were together. There’s a part of me that really does want to move there. I’m just scared of the unknown, you know? It’s a lot of change for our family and moving away from my parents will be hard, but I want to do it.”

Taking a step closer to his wife, he wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER 3

Emily’s uneasiness over breaking the news to her parents they were relocating to Washington grew stronger with each hour leading up to the dinner. She didn’t doubt her parents’ love for her, but she did doubt their ability to support any idea that didn’t originate with them.

“You okay?” Ryan’s question came as he walked into their bedroom and sat on the bed to put his shoes on.

She was sitting on the bed, her hands folded and tears running down her cheeks. Wiping her eyes, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m just worried about how they’ll react to the news.”

“Maybe a little distance from their dysfunction will be good for you, for us.”