God's Gift. Dee Henderson
chuckled. “Okay, I won’t.”
Lace somehow managed to turn around without tipping the canoe over. “Want to catch up with them?” James asked.
Rae shook her head. “They are probably debating the ethics of civil litigation again. I’ll pass.”
“What does Lace do for a living, anyway?”
Rae resumed paddling, her movements sure and smooth. It added a slight sway to her back. “It’s more a question of what she hasn’t done. She’s the daughter of a federal judge and a district attorney. She’s got a law degree, but more because it’s what the family does than anything else. She’s forgotten more law than most lawyers ever learn. She doesn’t like to settle down. She’s worked in international banking, edited textbooks, worked for Senator White. She’s currently doing some consulting work for a sports management firm downtown.”
“Was that where you three met? College?”
“I’ve known Lace since I was nine. We met Dave and Leo at Northwestern. We made an awesome foursome. Dave the fighter for justice, Leo the energy, Lace the constant new interests, and me the practical planner.”
James smiled. “You’re also the hub they revolve around.”
“That’s because I’m always there doing the same thing,” Rae replied with a smile. “I’m a creature of habit.”
“You grew up with your grandmother?”
“My parents died in a car wreck when I was nine. We were living in Texas at the time. The next day this wonderful lady in her fifties appeared and said, ‘Don’t worry. You’ve still got me.’ I had heard about her all my life, got Christmas presents and birthday gifts, but not seen her since I was about five. The day we arrived at her house in Chicago, five inches of snow fell. I thought I had moved to another planet.”
James smiled. She had loved her grandmother a lot, he could hear it in her voice. He caught a glimpse of golden brown and dipped his paddle deep, turned the canoe twenty degrees to the left. “Look behind that fallen tree.” A deer had come down to the water’s edge to drink.
“She’s beautiful,” Rae whispered.
The animal raised its head, paused, then went back to drinking.
They watched for several minutes. The animal picked its way over driftwood, then slipped back into the woods.
“Want to try out those sandwiches Patricia sent?” There was a clearing up ahead of them.
Rae picked up her paddle. “Sure.”
“So, did you have a good time?”
Rae rolled onto her side in the spacious bed, half smiled at the question from the other side of the dark room. “I can’t believe you set me up.”
“He’s a nice guy.”
Rae smiled in the darkness. “Yes, he is. He’s also leaving the country in less than three months,” she pointed out, being practical.
“That’s tomorrow’s problem,” Lace replied. “It was good to see you enjoying yourself.”
“Lace, I always enjoy a vacation.”
“Not since Leo died.”
Rae bit her bottom lip. “I really miss him, Lace.”
“I know you do,” came the soft reply. “You okay?”
It had been a nice day, but it had been hard. The cabin was yet another place filled with memories of Leo. She had missed Leo’s tap on the door, waking her up at 5:00 a.m. to go fishing, missed having him fix breakfast for them. She had enjoyed the afternoon with James. He didn’t seem to mind the silence or the space she preferred. It was almost better, knowing he was going back to Africa—easier at least. The last thing she wanted to even consider was risking getting hurt again. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She would be. When God helped her fix the hole in her heart. “Remember those canoe races Leo and Dave used to have?”
“Holding that rope across the water for a finish line was not one of our more well thought out actions,” Lace replied.
Rae laughed softly. They had both been pulled into the water when the guys reached up and grabbed the rope. “They had to have been planning that one for weeks ahead of time.”
“You got Dave good last night, by the way.”
“Thanks. Watch my back for me, okay? I have no idea how he’s going to retaliate.”
“I’ll do my best,” Lace promised. “’Night, Rae.”
“’Night, Lace.”
Rae wished she had brought her jacket. It was late afternoon. The breeze coming up from the lake made it cool in the shade. She had hiked to the highest point near the cabin, a hill that let her look out over the water. They had been at the cabin for three days, and the slow, easy pace had taken away a sense of strain that she had not been aware she was carrying.
God, You know what Psalm 37 says. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. I feel like that promise got broken.
The prayer was a soft one. Rae settled back against the trunk of a tree and watched the water.
…the desires of your heart… That’s what she felt had been taken from her with Leo’s death. She’d had a relationship with him, a deep one, a relationship that had been heading somewhere. Leo knew her, inside, where she rarely let many people in.
God, why did You rip away what was the desire of my heart?
She tilted her head back and watched puffy clouds drift across the blue sky. For the first time in over a year, she felt a sense of peace settle inside.
“What’s wrong? You’re frowning.”
A cold soda appeared at her elbow. Rae looked up from her laptop. James had begun to join her most afternoons on the patio, and while she would not admit it to Lace, she had begun to look forward to his company.
“I think I need to rewrite chapter eighteen.”
“Rae, the story is fine.” He’d been up until 2:00 a.m. reading the manuscript. It was more than fine, it was wonderful. She just needed the courage to finish it.
“I think it’s slow.”
He pulled over a chair. “Give me the printout. Let me see.”
She shifted the book holding down the manuscript pages and gave him the last four chapters. She gratefully drank the soda as she watched him read.
It was odd, how far their relationship had come in five days. She’d never expected to be so comfortable around him. She’d relaxed, and he’d turned into a very good friend.
“Read it again without page 314, I bet that’s what you’re sensing is wrong.”
She paged back and forth in the on-line text. “That’s it. It’s too technical.”
He picked up his own drink. “I want an autographed copy when it’s published.”
“James, it may never get finished, let alone find a publisher.”
He smiled. “You’ll finish it. You’ve got, what, another five hundred pages to go?”
She laughed. “Trust me to choose a big story to tell.”
“I like the fact you think big.”
She blinked. Smiled. “The kids catching any fish?”
“Emily’s got six and Dave’s only caught two. Emily’s decided it is time to start giving him pointers, he’s letting the team down.”
Rae laughed. “How are Lace and Tom doing?”
“Scheming. They disappeared about an hour ago