And escorting Emily herself would never work. No, she'd made the decision that it would take a professional to convince Emily to go, and Trish had to be the one to escort her.
She had to stop thinking of Emily as that same little girl she'd raised. She had changed, and Barbara didn't like the person who'd replaced her. If only this rehab could exorcise the addiction within her and return Emily home in her former condition ...
It would be a miraculous answer to prayer.
But what if this failed too, and she never saw that little girl again?
Blinking back tears, she took the exit that was near her home. The hotel sign loomed up ahead. "I hope the room is okay. I went ahead and checked you in." She handed her the key card.
"It'll be fine. You should see some of the places I've had to stay." As Barbara pulled into the parking lot, Trish shifted in her seat to look at her. "So, did you write the letters?"
Barbara nodded. "Yes, I have them with me." She dug into her purse. "Here they are."
Trish took them and turned on the overhead light. "And who is Lance?"
"My son. He's fourteen."
"What about her father?"
"He died four years ago. When Emily was twelve."
"Oh." The word almost thudded between them. "Is that when Emily's problems started?"
"Not right away. But over the next year she got in with the wrong crowd. Bunch of thugs and criminals." She paused, letting Trish read. Those dreaded tears rimmed her eyes, spilled over.
"We're not like this. There was never even alcohol in our home. I've taken her to church every Sunday of her life ..." Her voice faded out. Trish probably heard this same song and dance from every parent she dealt with.
"It's not your fault."
Then whose fault was it? Pursing her lips, she let Trish finish reading.
Finally, Trish looked up. "Is there anyone else who'll be there? Grandparents?"
"They're too far away, and they're not in good health. I've kept them in the dark about all this."
"Friends? A boss?"
"Her friends are like her. They don't want her sober. And she lost her job three weeks ago. Hasn't been sober enough to get another one, so there's not a boss who can get through to her." Barbara glanced at her in the shadows of the car. "Is it a problem that it's only my son and me?"
"No, we can work with that." She handed the letters back. "You both did a good job with the letters. The main thing is that you stick to your guns about what will happen if she refuses to go. You have to be willing to throw her out with no resources, to precipitate change in her."
Barbara said nothing. She had grappled with that issue for months now, and lain awake for the past three nights, begging God to give her a way out. Why couldn't he sweep down and deliver Emily, before Barbara had to send her away for help or throw her out on the street?
"Are you ready for that? Putting her out if she refuses to go?"
Barbara swallowed. "I don't know."
"Well, do you think she'll agree to go to treatment?"
Barbara's spine stiffened. "I thought you were here to convince her."
"I can only do so much."
So what had this extra thirty-five hundred dollar fee paid for? A free vacation for this woman? "She has to go with you. If she doesn't, she'll wind up in jail."
"Or dead."
Dead. No, she couldn't survive burying anyone else. "I can't let that happen. This has to work."
"Do you think she's sick of her disease yet?"
Barbara fought the urge to argue semantics. She hated the AA words like disease and relapse, like it was some kind of virus she had caught somewhere.
"I don't think she's at the end of her rope yet, like I am."
"Well, maybe she won't have to be at the end to want help." Trish opened her car door. "What time will you pick me up?"
Barbara tried to think. The flight was at three, and this whole thing could take hours. They had to start early. "Eight a.m. I'll get her up while you're there."
"Tonight, you need to take her car to a friend's house. Park it there and hide the keys. If it's not in the driveway, she can't talk you into giving her the keys. If she leaves, it'll have to be without the car."
That shouldn't be too hard. She could have one of her drug buddies there in minutes.
"Hopefully her connection with you and her brother will be enough to make her go. And I'll do my part to make her see the possibilities." She got out her cigarettes, pulled one out. "It'll be okay. Most of the interventions I do are successful."
"But there's no guarantee."
"I'm afraid not."
She'd have to pay her whether Emily went with her or not. Success was the only option.
Double Minds
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
As talented singer/songwriter Parker James struggles to make her mark on the Nashville music scene, she finds the competition can be fierce--even deadly.
When a young woman is murdered at the recording studio where Parker works, Parker is drawn into a mystery where nothing is as it seems. Unraveling the truth puts her own life at risk when she uncovers high-level industry corruption and is terrorized by a menacing stalker. As the danger escalates, Parker begins to question her dreams, her future, and even her faith. Does stardom even matter anymore?
Double Minds is a compelling suspense novel that unfolds in the middle of the Christian music industry in Nashville. Terri Blackstock, known for her Up All Night Fiction, grabs readers at page one and keeps them riveted until the final plot twist is untangled. This well-turned mystery is Blackstock's first stand-alone title in several years, and it was worth waiting for.
Hardcover: 978-0-310-31842-2
Softcover: 978-0-310-25063-0
Unabridged Audio CD: 978-0-310-28812-1
Audio Download, Unabridged: 978-0-310-28813-8
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
A RESTORATION NOVEL
Last Light
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
Today, the world as you know it will end. No need to turn off the lights.
Your car suddenly stalls and won't restart. You can't call for help because your cell phone is dead.
Everyone around you is having the same problem ... and it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Your city is in a blackout. Communication is cut off. Hospital equipment won't operate. And airplanes are falling from the sky.
Is it a terrorist attack ... or something far worse?
In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, your family faces a choice. Will you hoard your possessions to survive--or trust God to provide as you offer your resources and your hearts to others?
Yesterday's world is gone. Now all you've got is your family and community. You stand or fall together. Like never before, you must rely on each other.
But one of you is a killer.
Number one bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if novel in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts--and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world. Last Light is the first book in an exciting new series.
Softcover: 978-0-310-25767-7
Unabridged Audio CD: 978-0-310-26880-2
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
A RESTORATION NOVEL
Night Light
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, the Brannings face a choice. Will they hoard their possessions to survive--or trust God to provide as they offer their resources to others?
Number one bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts--and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.
/>
An era unlike any in modern civilization is descending--one without lights, electronics, running water, or automobiles. As a global blackout lengthens into months, the neighbors of Oak Hollow grapple with a chilling realization: the power may never return.
Survival has become a lifestyle. When two young thieves break into the Brannings' home and clean out the food in their pantry, Jeff Branning tracks them to a filthy apartment and discovers a family of children living alone, stealing to stay alive. Where is their mother? The search for answers uncovers a trail of desperation and murder ... and for the Brannings, a powerful new purpose that can transform their entire community--and above all, themselves.
Softcover: 978-0-310-25768-4
Unabridged Audio CD: 978-0-310-26921-2
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
A RESTORATION NOVEL
True Light
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
The darkness deepens in a world without power.
But, daring to defend a young outcast, one family strikes a light.
In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, the Brannings face a choice. Will they hoard their possessions to survive--or trust God to provide as they offer their resources to others?
Number one bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts--and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.
Now eight months into a global blackout, the residents of Oak Hollow are coping with the deep winter nights. But the struggle to survive can bring out the worst in a person--or a community.
A teenager has been shot and the suspect sits in jail. As the son of a convicted murderer, Mark Green already has one strike against him. Now he faces the wrath of all Oak Hollow--except for one person. Deni Branning has known Mark since high school and is convinced he is no killer.
When Mark finds himself at large with a host of other prisoners released upon the unsuspecting community, Deni and her family attempt to help him find the person who really pulled the trigger. But clearing Mark's reputation is only part of his battle. Protecting the neighbors who ostracized him is just as difficult.
And forgiving them may be the hardest part of all.
Softcover: 978-0-310-25769-1
Unabridged Audio CD: 978-0-310-26922-9
A RESTORATION NOVEL
Dawn's Light
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, the Brannings face a choice. Will they hoard their possessions to survive--or trust God to provide as they offer their resources to others?
Number one bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts--and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.
As the Pulses that caused the outage are finally coming to an end, thirteen-year-old Beth Branning witnesses a murder. Threatened by the killer, she keeps the matter to herself. But her silence could cost her life.
Meanwhile, as Deni's ex-fiance returns to Crockett with a newfound faith and the influence to get things done, Deni is torn between the man who can fulfill all her dreams and Mark Green, the man who inhabits them.
As the world slowly emerges from the crisis, the Brannings face their toughest crisis yet. Will God require more of them than they've already given? How will they keep their faith if he doesn't answer their prayers?
Softcover: 978-0-310-25770-7
Unabridged Audio CD: 978-0-310-26923-6
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
CAPE REFUGE SERIES
Cape Refuge
Terri Blackstock,
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
Mystery and suspense combine in this first book in this exciting four-book series by bestselling author Terri Blackstock. Thelma and Wayne Owens run a bed and breakfast in Cape Refuge, Georgia. They minister to the seamen on the nearby docks and prisoners just out of nearby jails, holding services in an old warehouse and taking many of the "down-and-outers" into their home. They have two daughters: the dutiful Morgan who is married to Jonathan, a fisherman, and helps them out at the B & B, and Blair, the still-single town librarian, who would be beautiful if it weren't for the serious scar on the side of her face.
After a heated, public argument with his in-laws, Jonathan discovers Thelma and Wayne murdered in the warehouse where they held their church services. Considered the prime suspect, Jonathan is arrested. Grief-stricken, Morgan and Blair launch their own investigation to help Matthew Cade, the town's young police chief, find the real killer. Shady characters and a raft of suspects keep the plot twisting and the suspense building as we learn not only who murdered Thelma and Wayne, but also the secrets about their family's past and the true reason for Blair's disfigurement.
Softcover: 978-0-310-23592-7
Audio Download, Unabridged: 978-0-310-30429-6
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terri Blackstock is an award- winning novelist who has written for severalmajor publishers including Harper Collins, Dell, Harlequin, and Silhouette. Her books have sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
With her success in secular publishingat its peak, Blackstock had what she calls "a spiritual awakening." A Christian since the age of fourteen, she realized she had not been using her gift as God intended. It was at that point that she recommitted her life to Christ, gave up her secular career, and made the decision to write only books that would point her readers to him.
"I wanted to be able to tell the truth in my stories," she said, "and not just be politically correct. It doesn't matter how many readers I have if I can't tell them what I know about the roots of their problems and the solutions that have literally saved my own life."
Her books are about flawed Christians in crisis and God's provisions for their mistakes and wrong choices. She claims to be extremely qualified to write such books, since she's had years of personal experience.
A native of nowhere, since she was raised in the Air Force, Blackstock makes Mississippi her home. She and her husband are the parents of three adult children--a blended family which she considers one more of God's provisions.
Terri Blackstock (www.terriblackstock.com) is the #1 bestselling author
of the Cape Refuge, Sun Coast Chronicles, Second Chances, and
Newpointe 911 suspense series, and other books.
With Beverly LaHaye, she wrote Seasons Under Heaven,
Times and Seasons, Showers in Season, and Season of Blessing.
Share Your Thoughts
With the Author: Your comments will be forwarded to
the author when you send them to
[email protected].
With Zondervan: Submit your review of this book
by writing to
[email protected].
Free Online Resources at
www.zondervan.com/hello
Zondervan Author Tracker: Be notified whenever your favorite authors publish new books, go on tour, or post an update about what's happening in their lives.
Daily Bible Verses and Devotions: Enrich your life with daily Bible verses or devotions that help you start every morning focused on God.
Free Email Publications: Sign up for newsleers on fiction, Christian living, church ministry, parenting, and more.
Zondervan Bible Search: Find and compare Bible passages in a variety of translations at www.zondervanbiblesearch.com.
Other Benefits: Register yourself to receive online benefits like coupons and special offers, or to participate in research.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
>
Terri Blackstock, Double Minds
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends