CHAPTER 7
“Elizabeth dear, you arrived just in time!” Tami called out, as the office door opened.
“Steve and I are having the hardest time remembering the proper coffee ratio. This is our second attempt. The first pot was so weak I could read the paper through it! Coffee-making certainly isn’t a gift God gave me—and I’m a pastor’s wife, no less. But He definitely gave it to you!”
“Actually, you should ask Bryce to make it. His coffee puts mine to shame,” Beth said, smiling as she accepted warm embraces from Tami and Pastor Steve. Then she stepped back to Bryce’s side.
“Bryce, I’d like you to meet my pastors, Steve Ambrose, and his wife, Tami. Pastor, Tami, this is Doctor Bryce Jensen.”
Bryce nodded politely and took in the older couple as Beth introduced them. He couldn’t help but think Pastor Steve could pass for Santa Claus if he had a beard. Tami, with her silver-streaked bun and short, round frame, looked every bit the part of Mrs. Claus.
After a pause, Bryce extended his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Lizzy’s talked about this church and both of you countless times over the past three years.”
“It’s a pleasure, son. I guess I didn’t realize you’ve known our Elizabeth that long. Three years, you said?”
“Yes, sir. We met during her first interview at Penrose Hospital.”
“We did? I don’t remember that,” Beth said, surprised.
Bryce grinned. “You may not remember, but I certainly won’t forget. You left a lasting impression with your two-inch heels and business suit that matched the color of your eyes.”
Beth blushed. “When did we meet? I didn’t talk to anyone at the hospital that day.”
“I was observing the process before I officially joined the team, so I was sitting off to the side.”
Beth’s mouth dropped open. “You were the quiet guy in the corner!”
“Guilty.” Bryce smiled, something fond flickering in his eyes. “You were so nervous—but so sure of yourself, too. You had this fire in your answers, like you knew exactly why you were supposed to be there.”
Beth blinked at him, surprised. “I don’t even remember what I said.”
“I do.” His tone was quiet, thoughtful. “You talked about nursing like it was a calling, not a job. Said you wanted to be the kind of nurse patients could trust with their mind, body, and soul. That stuck with me.”
They locked eyes for a moment longer than either expected.
Tami, smiling warmly, linked her arm through Bryce’s, bringing the moment to an end.
“Now, Bryce dear, you’ll have to make us some of your coffee. For Beth to recommend it so highly, it must be divine.”
Pastor Steve leaned toward Beth and said in a low voice, “He seems quite taken with you.”
Beth nodded softly. “So it seems.”
Pastor Steve looked at her with a thoughtful gaze. “Ah, but how does Elizabeth feel about the good doctor?”
Beth looked away. “I’m not sure anymore. He’s made it clear he won’t let me walk away from this without a fight.”
“What if you’re not supposed to walk away?”
Beth blinked at him. “How can you ask that? You know how this marriage happened.”
“I do. More importantly, so does God. He wasn’t taken by surprise by any of this, and His views on marriage are pretty clear. It’s sacred. You rushed into this marriage, but rushing out might be an even bigger mistake.”
“Bryce said the same thing yesterday morning.” She sighed. “Has it really only been one day?”
Pastor Steve rested a hand on her arm. “All I’m suggesting is to open your heart to the Lord before you make up your mind. See where He leads after we talk and pray, and don’t let fear keep you from walking down the path He has laid out for you.”
Bryce and Tami returned, and Pastor Steve gestured for everyone to sit. The older couple took the settee, leaving the wingback chairs for Beth and Bryce.
Pastor Steve looked to Bryce. “Let’s start simple. Tell us a little about yourself—your background, family, how old you are, what led you to become a doctor. Things like that.”
Bryce nodded. “Sure. I was born in California but raised in Canton, Ohio. Got my undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, Santa Barbara, then went on to the University of Colorado School of Medicine. One of my professors invited me to do my residency with him in Colorado Springs, so I completed that at Memorial. Afterward, I joined the trauma department at Penrose Hospital and now I’ve just hit my six-year mark.
I’m currently co-head of the Emergency Room. I’m thirty-five.”
Beth offered him a soft smile, gently steering the conversation. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Just one full—my younger brother, Brock. It was just the two of us and our mom growing up. My dad died in a car accident when I was twenty-five.”
Beth reached out and touched his hand. “I’m so sorry, Bryce. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. How could you? I never talk about it.” He gave a faint, almost self-conscious smile. “Time heals all wounds… or so they say.”
“I’ve always preferred the saying, ‘God will heal your pain,’” Beth replied gently.
Bryce glanced at her, quiet for a beat before responding. “Only if you let Him.”
The room stilled.
Pastor Steve’s gaze softened.
Tami blinked, surprised but thoughtful, and Beth turned toward Bryce slightly, her expression unreadable—though something flickered behind her eyes. For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Tami tilted her head, her voice kind. “How did your mother take the news of your marriage?”
Bryce hesitated. “I haven’t told her yet. She won’t be happy I got married without telling her—but she won’t be surprised, either. She hasn’t approved of how I’ve lived my life since med school. I’m hoping I can just say I got married… and leave it at that.”
Pastor Steve gave a thoughtful nod. “What part of your lifestyle has she struggled with, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, sir, my mom was raised in a very… legalistic church. Her father was a minister, and when my dad divorced her, she was asked to step down from leadership because they didn’t
believe a divorcée could serve in the church. She tried not to raise us with the same rigidity, but… she’s never been tolerant of anyone living outside the Christian faith—especially when that someone is her own son.”
“That must put quite a strain on your relationship,” Pastor Steve said gently. “From what I gather, you were a believer at one point?”
Bryce sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“Most life-changing ones are,” Beth said softly. “Will you share?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “My first year of med school, I was engaged to a woman from my church—Abigail. She was six years older, divorced, and had a five-year-old son, Levi. I loved her—and I adored that little boy.
I’d always planned to be a missionary doctor, and she supported that. We had time—six years before we could head to the field—but we were preparing.
My dad, also a doctor, was paying for school and didn’t support any of it.
Not the mission work. Not the marriage. He said he disapproved because she was divorced—but later, I realized that wasn’t the real reason.
At the time, I didn’t understand his opposition.
He’d been divorced three times himself.” Bryce’s jaw tensed.
“Looking back, it’s clear—he didn’t disapprove of the relationship. He wanted it.”
Beth blinked. “Wait… your dad wanted Abigail?”
Bryce nodded. “I was in Belize that summer, volunteering at a hospital. She encouraged me to go—even though things
between us were rocky. When I got back, two weeks before classes started, I found out they had gotten married while I was gone.”
The room fell silent.
“I thought it was a sick joke. But it wasn’t. They were really married.”
Pastor Steve leaned forward, voice low. “How did you respond?”
“I shut down. Stopped going to church. Stopped praying. I was angry—at Abigail, at my dad… at God.” Bryce stared at his coffee.
“They kept inviting me over, said Levi missed me, and acted like nothing was wrong. Eventually, my dad showed up at school and wanted to talk. I told him he’d betrayed me—that neither of them had the decency to apologize.
He said love doesn’t need an apology. He told me if I claimed to be a Christian, I had no choice but to forgive him. ”
He let out a bitter laugh. “That was it. I told God I was done. And I walked away from anything that had to do with Christianity.”
Beth sat motionless, the sorrow in her eyes deepening.
Bryce’s voice dropped—quieter now, almost detached.
“Six months into the marriage, Abigail gave birth to a full-term baby girl. She was already pregnant with their child before I left… before they got married. Then one night a couple of years later, my dad drove home drunk. He crossed the center line, hit a guardrail. Flipped the car. Abigail wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and died on impact.
My dad was pinned. Levi got unbuckled but couldn’t get the baby out before the car caught fire.
The autopsy said all three were still alive when it did. ”
Tami covered her mouth. Pastor Steve bowed his head, lips
moving in silent prayer.
“Levi would’ve graduated high school this year.”
Beth reached out, her hand resting on his. “Bryce…”
“Other than my full brother, Brock, Levi was the only one of my dad’s kids I ever really knew.
” Bryce’s voice cracked. “My dad had seven children total. Levi was the only one he adopted. I have four half-siblings I’ve never met.
One I saw once, briefly. The other three… I’ve never even seen in person.”
He gave a faint, bitter laugh. “That’s what my dad did. He married, started families, and left. Over and over again.”
His eyes finally lifted to meet Beth’s. “That’s why I said I’d never get divorced—especially if kids were involved. I’ve lived through the wreckage it leaves behind.”
He looked at her then, really looked. Her sorrow for him was raw and open, and it stirred something deep—something long buried—in him. He reached over and gently wiped a tear from her cheek.