The Nature of Love (Love in the Spotlight #3)

Chapter 14

Fourteen

Chris

I’m not sure there are enough prayers in the world to get me through this road trip.

Tuck

A baby and a five-year-old keeping you on your toes?

Chris

Ashlynn hasn’t stopped crying.

Lamont

A crying baby would have me jumping out of the vehicle and taking chances with the other cars.

Tuck

It’s that serious?

Chris

YES!

Lamont

Have you never heard a baby crying?

Tuck

My bad. I’ll double up my prayers.

“Why are we stopped again?” Cheyenne asked from the back seat.

C hris put his cell down and turned to look at her. “Your aunt is trying to get Ashlynn comfortable enough to stop crying.”

They’d fed her, changed her diaper, and attempted to rock her to sleep. Chris had even found a kids’ playlist on Spotify to try to soothe the little one. Nothing worked. Nothing.

Lord God, despite what I said about prayers in my text, I know they work . But I’m so exhausted from the noise. I can only imagine how Erykah feels. Please help us.

He blew out a breath. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“I went last time.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes.

“That was thirty minutes ago.”

“I haven’t drank anything.”

“Drunk.”

“Huh?”

He sighed. It didn’t matter if she spoke properly. All that mattered was getting Ashlynn through this first leg of travel. They still had six more hours of driving before they reached their hotel for the night. Chris didn’t think they’d make it.

“Can you play ‘Baby Shark’ again? Maybe that will help her.”

Absolutely not. If he had to hear that song one more time...

Chris’s phone pinged. “I think we’ll try a different song when they get back in the car.” He picked up his phone, glancing outside toward where Erykah had disappeared. They’d stopped at a coffee shop for her to grab some liquid fuel and take Ashlynn to the restroom.

Lamont

Nevaeh says try white noise. You can find a video on YouTube to play.

Tuck

My mom also said try hanging a mirror in the back.

C hris checked Ashlynn’s car seat. There wasn’t a mirror. “Hey, Cheyenne, does your sister have a car seat mirror?”

“Yes.”

He blinked. “Where?”

The little girl reached over and pulled a mirror that was tucked at the top. “It’s supposed to go here.” She tried to put it across from where Ashlynn would lie but couldn’t reach. “I need out.”

“I’ll do it.” Chris unbuckled himself, then came around to the back seat and set the mirror on the empty Velcro spot. “Will that help her not cry?”

“Probably. That and Mama always plays Frozen songs to keep Ashlynn from crying.” Her eyes welled. “I want my mommy,” she wailed.

Tears ran down her face. Chris glanced out the car, but there was still no sign of Erykah, which meant he had to calm Cheyenne himself. “I know I’m not your mommy, but I can give you a hug. Would that help any?” Lord, I don’t know what to do. How do you help a five-year-old recover from the loss of her parents? Chris felt so ill-equipped.

“I want Charlie,” she whimpered.

As if understanding he was needed, the dog whined from his crate. Chris unlocked the kennel at Cheyenne’s feet and took the guy out. He immediately settled in the little girl’s lap, and her cries slowly subsided.

A minute later, Erykah returned to the car, looking harried and close to weeping herself. She settled Ashlynn into the car seat. Her tears stopped when she noticed the mirror.

“What just happened?”

Chris pointed to the mirror. “Cheyenne also said we need to play the Frozen soundtrack.”

“One or two?” she asked.

“ There’s more than one?”

“Yes,” she and Cheyenne spoke simultaneously.

“Mama plays them all.”

Chris didn’t know if Frozen was better than “Baby Shark,” but he’d take anything else at this point.

“Hey, Cheyenne, I need to put Charlie back in his crate. Will you be okay?”

She brushed the tears away. “Yes.”

He settled Charlie back in, then walked around to where Erykah stood outside the truck. “You okay?” He lowered his voice, hoping the kids couldn’t hear him through the closed doors.

“I’m tired.” She sounded so defeated.

“Hang in there. You’re doing great.”

“Am I?” A lone tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, averting her gaze.

Saying nothing, Chris tugged her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. She fit so perfectly. A sigh left her lips, and she burrowed closer. He wasn’t sure how long they stood out there, but it was enough that Ashlynn started crying again.

“I’ll go turn on some music. Let’s see if we can keep driving.”

“All right,” Erykah murmured.

Chris opened the door for her, then rounded the front. He quickly found the soundtrack and pressed play. Ashlynn’s cries settled to a whimper, then stopped altogether. Blessed relief filled his heart as his mind cleared of her cries. He quickly put the gear in drive and headed for the freeway. If the music worked, they could drive another hour or two before the baby would need to be fed again.

Cheyenne soon fell asleep, and after her, Ashlynn did too.

Erykah reached over and squeezed his arm. “Have I thanked you yet?”

“ Pretty sure you did that yesterday.”

“It’s a new day, and you deserve more thanks,” she said.

“I’m not sure that’s true. You’re the one who needs to be thanked.” He glanced at her and winked.

“No, sir. I’m this close”—she held up her thumb and pointer close together—“to losing it. I want to cry constantly. I feel like a failure because I can’t get my niece to stop crying. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“But you’re doing it. You’ve given all of your attention to them and made sure they’re clothed, fed, and not alone. They know you love them and want nothing more than to take care of them. You’re amazing.”

“I’m a terrible aunt. Maybe if I’d lived closer, this wouldn’t be so hard.” She sniffed, staring out of the passenger side window.

“Erykah.” He laid his palm on top of her hand. “You’re grieving. Give yourself grace.”

“I have a question for you.” She shifted to face him.

“Sure, what’s up?” He glanced at her, then returned his gaze to the road.

“You believe in a higher power, right?”

“Well, not just a higher power. I believe in the one true God and His Son, Jesus.” And now he was just getting the idea that she didn’t. Sadness filled his heart. How could she go through this loss without knowing the Lord? No wonder she felt all the things with such a heaviness. “Your sister believed in Him, right?”

Her pastor had officiated the ceremony, and a lot of the visitors had known Ellynn and Asher from church. Hopefully that meant they’d accepted the salvation of Jesus before and had the comfort of eternal life.

“She did. Even sent me a Bible, though I never read it.” Erykah blew out a breath. “I regret that. I regret not giving h er faith more thought simply because she asked me to consider it.”

“Are you considering it now?” Hope lit in him like the smallest of flames.

“Yes, but I know nothing. I don’t know where to start. The Bible is huge. But you keep praying and...” She sighed. “Something happens inside of me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I want to know more. The thought that heaven could be real, that I could potentially see Ellynn again...”

Chris glanced over in time to see her shrug. “I’ll help.” He’d do anything to ease her burden. He wasn’t sure what that meant in the long run, but Chris knew he couldn’t leave her to deal with life’s lemons all alone. He’d once been abandoned, and he never wanted anyone to feel the burden of being forsaken.

“Thank you ... again .” She chuckled.

“Well, here’s what we’ll do. You read the Bible, and I’ll answer your questions.”

“Where do I start? And I don’t have it with me.”

“That’s not a problem. I have an app on my phone you could read from, or you could download one on your phone.”

“Okay.”

He gave her an app suggestion, which she immediately downloaded.

“Now what?”

“Start at the book of John. It’s the fourth book in the New Testament.” He explained the difference between the Old and the New Testaments, then how the first four books in the New Testament were known as the Gospels. “John is a good place to start because he loved explaining who Jesus was and why He’s so important to the faith.”

“All right.”

Silence filled the cab. As she read, Chris prayed. He prayed that Erykah would come to know Jesus and accept the gift o f His sacrifice. He wanted nothing more than for her to live a life with God. Chris had been through a lot in his forty-two years, and he couldn’t imagine getting through any of it without having God on his side.

When Tracey left him standing at the altar alone, something had cracked in his chest. Chris had felt a little less-than ever since. After that day, his self-worth had plummeted. Out of all the years he’d been single, that had been the worst. The one that had him questioning everything. But one thing he knew for certain: God had been with him. Bit by bit, He’d healed Chris and helped him learn forgiveness. Even so, Chris had never wanted to dive back into a relationship until he saw how happy Lamont and Tuck were with their fiancées. Now Chris knew Erykah, could call her friend, and a small part of him wanted more with her.

But he didn’t need a psychology degree to know the timing was awful. She was going through something traumatic, which meant he needed to remain firmly in the friend zone. Erykah needed Chris in that role more than a romantic relationship.

This morning she took up his offer of a place to stay with the kids and mentioned moving into his basement with the girls while looking for a more suitable family home. Her condo building had some larger apartments, but she wasn’t sure that a condo was the best place to raise two girls. She wanted a yard for Charlie and the girls to play in.

If she was moving in, that meant there was no way he could ask her out on a date.

Timing is everything, Gamble. She needs to heal. She needs Jesus. Quite literally, in fact.

So yeah. As much as it stunk, he could logically see the friend zone was the only place for him to be. Now he just had to accept the fact.