His pulse picked up speed. “Really? Great,” he said on a breath. “I’m leaving in the morning, but let me know. Call anytime.”

“I will.”

After he hung up the phone, he looked at it for several minutes. Why had he just done that? What had prompted him? Then he remembered his prayer and chuckled.

“Well, God, I sure hope that’s what You had in mind,” he said, heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth. “I’m game if You are.”

Chapter
Twenty-four

Theo toddled toward Cynthia with his arms raised, so she knelt down and scooped him up. His bright brown eyes danced in his face, and he patted her cheeks with his plump little hands. She pressed her lips against his black curls and inhaled the smell of baby shampoo while she looked at his mom.

She and Dahlia Nonaka had gone to medical school together. Now her friend worked as a substitute urgent-care doctor for just enough hours to keep up her skills while devoting as much time as possible to Theo and his coming sister. Dahlia had grown up in St. Thomas and met her husband when he traveled back there to help a friend open a sushi restaurant. Now he owned a restaurant in Alexandria. Dahlia had creamy brown skin, black hair she wore in braids that brushed her shoulders, and light-brown eyes.

“Let me tell you,” she said, her island accent more pronounced. She sat against the arm of the couch, took a sip of her tea, and pointed at Cynthia. “You need to get on a train or a plane or in a car and get thee down to Kentucky.”

Cynthia gasped. “You’ve never even met this man.”

Dahlia shook her head. “True. But I’ve seen the look on your face when you talk about him. And he sounds very sexy.”

Cynthia put her hand over her mouth. “That is the craziest thing I’ve heard in a long time.”

“Crazy doesn’t always mean bad.”

A giggle escaped before she could contain it. “True.”

“Plus he rescued you.” Dahlia put a hand over her heart. “You have to admit that is so romantic. And romantic can make all the difference.” As Cynthia opened her mouth to reply, Dahlia put a hand up. “Don’t you try to deny it or I’ll call you a liar.”

She chuckled and thought about Rick. What Andrew had done to her had ripped away her ability to trust. The long conversations she and Rick had in Katangela and here had been the best ones she’d ever had with anyone. They made her want to believe she could trust him. “I don’t want to be swept off my feet again.”