Chapter 10 Lauren
Lauren
Sunday lunch at Asa and Lyric’s house had become a tradition over the last few years. Friends came if they could, and everyone was welcome. Lauren was just as comfortable in Lyric’s kitchen as her own at this point.
Lauren grabbed potholders, pulled a sheet of rolls out of the oven, and placed them on the counter. Lyric secured her dark hair into a high ponytail as she slid behind Lauren toward a crying baby Nora.
“I’m really considering cutting my hair short. All she wants to do is pull on it when she nurses.”
“You’d look adorable with short hair,” Bella said as she bounced baby Ariana in her arms. “I’ve been thinking of doing the same thing.”
Asa walked in still wearing the collared shirt and khakis he’d worn to church. “Sorry I’m late.” He pressed a kiss to Lyric’s temple. “What can I do?”
Lyric patted his shoulder, already stepping around him. “Can you grab the slaw out of the fridge? Don’t wait on me. I have to feed Nora.”
Asa took hold of Lyric’s arm, gently tugging her back to him. “Can I give her a bottle so you can eat?”
“I’m okay. She’ll fall right asleep after she eats.” She reached around Asa and grabbed a warm roll. “This will hold me over.”
Lauren turned to Asa as she moved the rolls to a wooden bowl. “How was the deacons’ meeting?”
Asa pulled the slaw out of the fridge and moved it to the center of the table that was already covered in platters of food. “Good. Thankfully, it was short. I’m starving.”
Lauren passed him the rolls and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “I’m going to let the others know lunch is ready.”
Sunday was always Lauren’s favorite day of the week, but it was also the busiest with Sunday School before the worship service in the morning and lunch with her friends after. Hopefully, she’d get a chance to talk to Travis about a job for Zach.
When everyone was seated around Asa and Lyric’s kitchen table, Travis prayed over the food and bowls were passed around as everyone filled their plates.
Asa and Lyric’s teenage son, Jacob, didn’t look up from his mound of food as he asked, “Who’s that guy you were with at Grady’s, Miss Lauren?”
Lovely. It had taken all of five seconds for the subject to turn to Zach.
Lauren ladled a spoonful of mashed potatoes onto her plate. “He’s staying in my rental house and helping me with some repairs and remodeling.”
Asa pointed a fork at his son. “You’re not allowed to hang out with him unless another adult we trust is around.”
“He’s not dangerous,” Lauren said, lowering her spoon as her defenses rose.
“Could have fooled me,” Travis said.
Well, that wasn’t the way she’d wanted to kick things off. “Yes, he’s done some bad things, but I’m hoping he’s changing.”
“Hopes and reality aren’t always the same,” Asa said.
So Asa wasn’t on her side either. Without Lyric around, Lauren was on her own. “He’s been helping a lot, and he hasn’t caused any trouble.”
“Yet. It’s only been a few days,” Asa pointed out.
Bella patted baby Ariana’s back as she rested her head on Bella’s shoulder. “Why are you doing this?” She held up her hand. “I’m not attacking you. I’m curious. Why are you helping him after what he did?”
That was the question of the week. Sure, he was helping her in a way she hadn’t expected, but her original plan had fallen through.
“I need a laborer, and he needs a place to live.” It sounded more hollow every time she said it.
Asa put down his fork and propped his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together. “I know you’re still looking for Anthony.”
And now it was time for the other topic she’d hoped to avoid. Her friends were the best, but they’d never understood her need to find Anthony.
“Yeah. You’ve known that all this time. In fact, I called the police department this week for an update on his case.”
“We still don’t have any leads. You know that,” Asa said.
It was a good thing she hadn’t eaten yet because her gut was twisted in a knot. “Because I’m the only one looking for him. I’m the only one who recognizes that he’s really missing.”
Asa held up his hands. “Whoa. That’s not fair.
We’re using every resource we have at the department.
It’s just that he’s not showing up anywhere.
Every law enforcement agency within three hundred miles is looking for him, but no one has seen him in over three years.
At some point, we have to put our energy toward other cases. ”
Lauren’s breaths grew shallow, and she forced her shoulders to relax. “I know, but I’m the only person he has in this entire world. It’s my responsibility to find him.”
“You’re not the only one,” Asa assured her. “We’re looking for him. It’s just hard to locate a missing person without any leads.”
Lauren’s jaw clenched. It was always the same. No hope and no leads.
“But Zach isn’t the answer,” Asa said. “We tried that before his sentencing, but he wouldn’t cooperate. We don’t have anything to offer him in exchange for information now.”
Her chin fell to her chest. “I know. I already asked him to help, and he wouldn’t.”
Bella passed Ariana to Travis and reached for Lauren’s hand. Bella’s eyes were full of fire and love as she turned all of her attention to Lauren. “I know you miss him. You’ve lost so much, and I don’t want you to lose anyone or anything else.”
Of all the people at the table, Bella had lost the most. She’d lost as much or more than Lauren, and she still kept her head up.
She’d shown them all how to be strong in the darkest of times.
From homeless and lost to loved and saved, Bella was a walking example of how Jesus and the kindness of strangers could put anyone on a path paved with goodness.
Asa glanced from Jacob to Lauren. Of course the man had a right to be scared. The criminal who’d been an accomplice to his shooting was living right down the road. Asa had a family to consider.
Lauren understood all of it, but that didn’t mean Anthony mattered to her any less.
She also knew in her gut that she needed to help Zach.
It wasn’t just about her. If he gave up his old ways, then no one needed to fear him anymore.
A criminal could become a model citizen. She’d seen it happen more than once.
When Asa settled his gaze on Lauren, there was a plea in his eyes she couldn’t ignore. “Zach is a wild card. He’s not the answer.”
“But he hasn’t caused any problems, and none of his crimes included harming people. I’m just trying to help him.”
Travis looked up from his daughter’s eyes and brushed a hand through his hair. “We want to trust him because we trust you. It’s just that a guy like that is unpredictable.”
“How can you say that?” Lauren squared her shoulders and met Travis’s gaze. “Aren’t you friends with Gage? In fact, weren’t you friends with him before he decided to get his act together? Wasn’t he stuck in the same darkness as Zach only a few years ago? Gage isn’t that guy anymore.”
The room fell silent. They were all thinking of the price Gage paid for his freedom. He’d literally fought to the death for it. He’d killed Zach’s brother, Rome, to protect Hadley, and now the weight of a life snuffed out sat on his shoulders every day.
Asa defended Lyric, a former criminal. Travis fought for Bella, a homeless stranger. Why couldn’t she choose to help someone when she saw a need?
Lyric walked into the room and halted when she saw all of her friends locked in a tense face-off. “What’s going on in here?”
Lauren couldn’t lose the opportunity. She fisted her hands on the table and turned to Travis. “I need you to get Zach a job at the ranch. Please.”
The silence choked her as Travis glanced at his wife, contemplating the risks of bringing this man so close to their home. “Let me think about it.”
Lauren asked. “Would Gage be able to work with Zach?”
Travis shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“If he doesn’t want to, then I’ll let it go,” Lauren promised. She turned to Bella and took her hand again. “And if you don’t want him at the ranch, then I’ll find somewhere else for him to work.”
“Why can’t he find his own job?” Jacob innocently asked.
“That’s a good question,” Asa mumbled.
Lauren directed her answer to Jacob. “Because he doesn’t have a car, money, or even a phone. It’s hard to apply for jobs when you can’t get there or when nobody will give you a chance.”
Lyric sat between Asa and Jacob. “I’m glad you’re helping him.”
Asa lifted his chin to his wife with a wide-eyed look that could have knocked them all to the ground. “What?”
“I know what it’s like to have nothing. I also know that I would still be stuck at rock bottom if someone hadn’t reached down and helped me up.”
Lyric looked around the table at her friends and family. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Lauren’s breath caught in her throat. Jesus’s words from the book of Matthew. She knew them well, but for the first time, they were coming from the mouth of her sweet friend. The command was living and breathing right in front of her, changing lives two thousand years after they were recorded.
“I’m okay with it,” Bella said.
Lauren released Bella’s hand and looked at Lyric. With her head held high and her heart made known, Lyric was a force that couldn’t be stopped—a woman who knew exactly where she stood and why.
Lyric picked up her fork and turned her attention to the plate in front of her—one carefully prepared by her loving husband—and the tension at the table faded away.
It was too soon to tell if Lauren could make a difference, but she had to keep trying.