A Moment of Weakness

  “Alicia Harris? Anyone here by the name of Alicia Harris?”

  She must’ve heard him, too, because Wendell felt Alicia gasp. Her arm tight around Wendell, she spoke up. “Here. I’m . . . Alicia.”

  The officer approached her. “Mrs. Harris. We need to talk with you.” He motioned for Alicia and Wendell to follow him to the far side of the steps. Wendell watched four different officers begin escorting people into the parking lot, away from the scene.

  When they were removed from the rest of the crowd, the officer looked straight at Alicia. “Mrs. Harris, has anyone been stalking you lately? To your knowledge?”

  Wendell felt Alicia’s knees grow weak. Her breathing became slightly irregular. “Yes. I thought someone might’ve been following me. It happened . . . several times.”

  The man nodded, deeply serious. “You wouldn’t know his name, would you?”

  Nothing was making sense. Wendell couldn’t believe the direction of the conversation. He turned to Alicia. “Tell them about Jack.”

  “Yes.” Alicia looked like she might drop to the ground from the shock. But she clung to Wendell instead. “I was stalked for a long time by a man named Jack Renton. But . . . he got married. I thought things were different.”

  “Well, looks like he didn’t change.” The officer clenched his jaw. “I’m afraid Jack Renton followed you to the courthouse. He tried to enter the building with a loaded gun, but our guards stopped him.” The man hesitated. “That’s when Jack aimed his weapon at the officers.” Wendell looked toward an ambulance being loaded with a body bag. “One of our own fired and killed him.”

  Wendell couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Jack Renton had been following Alicia all this time? So his was the car they’d seen leaving the parking lot the day before and he was the one she thought had followed her home? A terrible queasy feeling worked its way through Wendell.

  What if . . . what if Jack Renton had made his way into the courthouse?

  Alicia wasn’t talking. She turned her face toward Wendell’s chest and clung to him. The officer was still standing there, patient, waiting. Wendell held up his hand. “Just give her a minute. This is . . . it’s a lot for her.”

  “No problem.” The officer had a notepad. “What’s your name, sir?”

  “Wendell Quinn. I’m . . . Ms. Harris and I are friends.”

  The officer nodded. “Do you know anything about Jack Renton?”

  Did he know anything? Wendell had no idea where to begin, but he was about to start with the slashed tire when Alicia straightened. She looked at the officer. “I’ll tell you. Jack and I used to date, but he got very controlling.”

  It took her five minutes to explain the entire situation. Then she was quiet for a moment before asking the question that was clearly on her mind. “Do you think . . . he came here to kill me?”

  The officer frowned. “I think there’s a good chance.” He looked over his shoulder. “I can say this much. Jack Renton won’t bother you ever again.”

  “If it’s okay, we need to get going.” Wendell thanked the police officer. He and Alicia both gave the man their contact information and then they were free to leave.

  All the way to the car, neither Wendell nor Alicia said anything.

  Not until they were inside with the doors shut and locked did Alicia fall into his arms and cry. But her tears didn’t last long. After a few minutes she looked at Wendell. “I knew he would kill me.” She searched his eyes. “He would’ve killed you, too.”

  Wendell had a feeling Alicia was right. If Jack had made it all the way to the courtroom he would’ve killed them both. Why else bring a gun here? He had to know he’d be caught or shot immediately. He must’ve been intent on going down in a big blaze of gunfire.

  “I felt it, the panic attack. It was taking over, and then I whispered the name ‘Jesus.’ ” She wiped her tears. “And instantly I wasn’t afraid. That’s why I could talk to that officer.” She managed the slightest smile. “Thank you, Wendell.” Her eyes locked on to his. “For protecting me.”

  “Thank you . . . for being here.” He had never wanted to kiss her more than right now. But Wendell knew better. The time would come, he was almost certain. But not now. There was too much to process.

  Over the next few days Wendell and Alicia would learn that Jack’s marriage had fallen apart only weeks after it had started. And that in the past month or so his obsession with Alicia had gotten so great, he no longer went to work.

  The man was certifiably insane.

  Wendell prayed with Alicia about the matter, and they both felt peace. And while it would take some time for Alicia to stop looking over her shoulder, Jack would never threaten her again. Those days were behind them. It was time to move on, time to stop thinking about the past.

  And start dreaming about the future.

  • • •

  LUKE COULDN’T BELIEVE the drama that had played out in front of the courthouse moments after he left the building. If the timing had been different, anything might’ve happened.

  It didn’t take long for the media to report with near certainty that Jack Renton had been headed for the courtroom. Based on notes they’d found on his computer, he intended to kill both Alicia Harris and her male friend. Luke’s client. Wendell Quinn.

  Crazy world, Luke told himself more than once. If not for God’s protection, anything could’ve happened.

  Especially if the man had gotten that far with his loaded gun. Luke had been in the courtroom, too, after all. He and his father. Reagan had struggled to fall asleep the first few nights after learning what had happened. Any threat by Jack Renton was obviously behind them.

  Still, it made Luke grateful that he’d been spending more time at home. If the gunman had made it into the courtroom, he could’ve died. But he would’ve died knowing he’d made the right decision.

  Putting Reagan and the kids first. The way he would do forevermore.

  Of course, Luke’s resolve didn’t stop the mountain of cases that wound up on his desk Monday following the verdict. Luke was inundated with offers to defend every sort of religious freedom violation he could imagine.

  A football player who had always pointed to the sky after a touchdown, now being asked by his athletic director to no longer make the motion. A school where a teacher was being sued for having a Christmas tree in the corner of her room, and a school with a pending lawsuit over the existence of a memorial rock. The rock had been placed on one side of the football field in memory of a teacher who had been killed in a car accident.

  But the rock had a cross on it.

  Now an atheist group in Ohio wanted it gone, or else.

  So many cases, more than Luke could ever fight alone. And the good news was, he never would. God would go before him.

  The way he had with Wendell Quinn.

  • • •

  REAGAN COULD BARELY breathe as she and Luke and the kids walked up the steps to Landon and Ashley’s house the Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving. Tommy knew what was happening, but the other kids had no idea.

  Tommy shared a smile with Reagan as Luke rang the doorbell.

  Shadows moved beyond the glass on either side of the front door, but Luke missed it. The door opened and they were hit by the loudest, most joyous chorus of voices ever.

  “Surprise!” Lights flew on and standing there just inside the house were all the people who loved Luke.

  Not just the entire Baxter family, all his siblings and their kids, and John and Elaine, of course. But their friends the Flanigans, along with former basketball and baseball coaches who still knew Luke. Friends from high school and the church youth group.

  More than seventy people filled the house.

  Luke stood there, looking stunned, taking it in. For a minute or so he kept muttering. “What? I can’t believe this.” Then he turned and looked at Reagan.

  At the same moment the entire group began to sing. “Happy birthday to you . . . happy birthday to you . . .”

/>   The voices of the adults and children blended together in the most beautiful song. Even before they were finished, Luke came to his wife and took her in his arms. In a whisper only Reagan could hear, he spoke straight to her heart. “You did this . . . all of this?”

  “I did.” She felt tears in her eyes. “I love you, Luke. I wanted you to know.”

  He kissed her then. The sort of kiss that took her breath and made everyone break into cheers and applause. He looked at her again, the moment still theirs alone. “You are God’s greatest gift, Reagan. I love you with all my life.”

  They kissed again and in that moment every minute of planning, every delayed concern about his work hours, every time she had taken the situation to God instead of complaining to Luke paid off completely.

  Because Luke’s expression wasn’t just one of surprise or gratitude. It was one of love.

  Beautiful, unconditional, forever and ever love.

  • • •

  LUKE WAS STILL taking it all in, trying to get his mind around the fact that Reagan had planned this surprise party for him. All the work and time and effort. The way his entire family had come together.

  How was it God loved him so much, that He would give him a wife like Reagan? Someone who stood by him even when his hours at work had been completely unreasonable? Luke stepped back from his precious Reagan, his arm still around her. As he did, his dad and Elaine and then the others started calling out. “Speech, speech, speech!”

  Luke chuckled, blinking back tears. “Okay, first . . .” He looked around the room at the people he loved so much. “This is incredible.” He turned to Reagan. “I never had a clue.”

  “Well . . . I had a lot of help.” Reagan grinned at Ashley and Kari and Brooke.

  “Still . . .” Luke felt his smile fade. “I’ve been really busy lately. Too busy.” He paused. “I’ve let the late hours become a habit.” He drew Reagan gently to his side. Then he looked at Tommy and Malin and Johnny. “At the expense of my family.”

  The looks on the faces of his family were a mix of compassion and understanding. Luke pressed on. “I know better now. This”—he looked at each of them—“all of you. You’re the reason I’m here. God wants me to balance my time better.” He turned to Reagan. “And I will. From now on.” He kissed her again. “I promise.”

  Another round of cheers and applause came from his family and friends.

  Luke wanted to freeze how he felt right now, memorize it. Because in this moment, here and now, he could feel God’s grace. This wasn’t the response he deserved from the people he loved. But starting with Reagan, they had cared enough to stand beside him. To love him through the busiest season of his life.

  Which maybe shouldn’t have surprised him, after all. Because like his dad said, standing by each other was what the Baxter family did. Whatever the situation.

  Now and always.

  • • •

  AFTER THE GUESTS had left and it was just the Baxters at the house, the conversation shifted to Luke’s cases.

  “People are running scared.” Luke set his fork down and leaned his forearms on the table. “They truly believe it’s against the law to be a Christian except behind closed doors.”

  His dad sat at the head of the table with Elaine on one side and Brooke and Peter on the other. A sad look crossed his dad’s face. “Which is the opposite of how Jesus tells us to live. Sharing our faith and making it a light to everyone.”

  Landon nodded. “Exactly.”

  Next to Landon, Cole—Ashley and Landon’s older son—seemed to pay particular attention. He shot a look at Tommy, in the chair beside Luke. “Tommy and I have a plan.” Cole smiled at his cousin. “Sure we’re only in high school now. But in a few years we’ll be in college and then law school.” Cole looked at his dad and then at Luke. “We want to work for your law firm. So we can do what you do.”

  Luke smiled. “I’ll look forward to it.” He put his arm around Tommy’s shoulders. “Couldn’t have won the Wendell Quinn case without God’s providence and a lot of help from this guy.”

  A grin flashed across Tommy’s face. “That’s what I told Cole.”

  The conversation continued; talk of how it was harder this past year for Brooke to renew her operating license at the crisis pregnancy center she ran in town. Something she did in addition to being a doctor. All of them agreed it was becoming more difficult to be a Christian. More difficult to live out their faith.

  “We have to love people.” Kari looked at her husband, Ryan, and then at the others. “But we have to protect the truth, too. The Gospel deserves defending. That’s our calling.”

  “Hard times are promised to people who believe.” Dayne set his napkin beside his plate and glanced at Katy. Luke’s older brother reminded them how he had struggled to find support for his faith-based films. “But now we have a good story for the investor. The one looking for a religious freedom tale.” He winked at Luke. “Inspired by a very real story.”

  Katy smiled. “The day before we flew home, the team at Hobby Lobby agreed to help us with funding.” She looked at Luke and then the others around the table. “There will be hard times, but God is over it all. And we have to remember, this is just earth. That’s what my dad used to say.”

  Luke listened as the conversation shifted to Ryan’s coaching and how the whole family planned to be at his football playoff game next weekend. Then the next afternoon everyone was going to help paint the crisis pregnancy center in Bloomington. Even the kids were excited about that.

  The sounds of his family around him filled Luke’s soul. This night was just what he needed. No one was like the Baxters, which was always how it had been. It was why he and Reagan came here so often. They wanted their kids to know the love of this group of people, too.

  Luke thought again about the many people that would need his legal help in the months to come. None of it felt overwhelming. Not with the support of his family. Whatever case he took on, he would not fight it alone. He would have his dad in the back of the courtroom . . . his family behind him all the way and God at his side.

  What more could he ask for?

  24

  It was early February, the spring semester well under way. Finally the media circus surrounding Wendell’s lawsuit and Bible study club had waned. Sure, he was still contacted to do interviews for magazines or newspapers.

  But the tone of the articles was different now. TRAILBLAZER STANDS BY HIS FAITH, a recent headline read. Or HAMILTON WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF HAMILTON HIGH. Wendell had smiled at that one. In the most recent story, a reporter referred to him as a champion for his students.

  Wendell looked at a stack of articles on his office desk. He didn’t pay much heed to what reporters said about him. Not then and not now. It was nice to be off the public’s most-hated list, but all of it was temporary.

  Like Judge Wells said, he was always just one lawsuit away from losing the right to talk about Jesus here at Hamilton. Wendell stood and walked to the window. No matter what happened, no one could take away his faith. And no one could take away the faith of the students here.

  The ones whose lives had been changed.

  Wendell smiled. God was with them all. Wendell could feel the Spirit deep within him. And because of that, he would never be reliant on happy circumstances or held captive by difficult ones.

  This world was not his home.

  A wave of anticipation came over him. Heaven was waiting for him, but he hoped not for a very long time. Especially in light of what this day held. The day he’d been looking forward to for what felt like a lifetime.

  Wendell put his hand in his pocket and felt the small velvet box.

  Today was the day.

  Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring Wendell had ever seen. It was the same one Alicia had remarked about more than a year ago, when they were at the mall. She hadn’t meant her comment to serve as a hint, still Wendell had made a note to himself. A note he remembered.

  It had taken h
im most of the last month to find the ring again.

  He checked the clock on his wall. Just a few more minutes. He sucked in a quick breath. Lord, please let her say yes. I can’t imagine my life without her. My kids and I . . . we need her.

  Alicia was teaching here again. The last transfer she ever wanted, she had told him. Wendell’s joy knew no bounds as he headed to work each day knowing she was here. Knowing they’d be together.

  Which was how it had been since the trial.

  Alicia joined them at the house for dinner most nights, and the kids had come to love her dearly. It was Jordy who had pulled him aside after Christmas. He and Cami had made their dating relationship official by then. Cami and her sisters had moved back home. Jordy spent time there, too, now, and he and Cami’s dad were finding a friendship.

  “Dad, you’re moving pretty slow here.” Jordy had grinned at him. “I thought you’d get her a ring for Christmas.”

  Marrying Alicia was all Wendell could think about, but he hadn’t talked to the kids yet. After Jordy’s comment, Wendell waited a few days and then held a family meeting before bedtime.

  “I’m thinking . . . about asking Alicia to marry me.” He told the four of them. Before he could ask them what they thought about the idea, Leah and Alexandria were in his arms.

  “Oh, Daddy, please ask her . . . please!” Alexandria hugged his neck so hard Wendell could barely breathe. “Everything’s better when she’s here.”

  “Yeah.” Darrell danced around and pumped his fists in the air. “We love her, Dad!”

  When the merriment settled down a bit, Leah cuddled up next to Wendell and lifted her sweet eyes to his. “If we can’t have Mom, then we want Alicia.” She smiled. “I think Mom would want that, too.”

  From a few feet away, Jordy grinned and shrugged. “What did I tell you?”

  Wendell loved Alicia more every day. Just last night after dinner when the kids were in bed, Alicia sat beside him on the sofa and shared the most intimate thoughts of her heart. The way she often did.