“He did. Before I could find an attorney to set the divorce proceedings in motion and try to reclaim my jewelry, he was critically injured in a motorcycle crash after a night of drinking. He lingered in a coma for six weeks but never regained consciousness—and as his wife, I inherited all the debt . . . including his hospital bills. The jewelry was lost forever. The police were able to track down the woman in the phone message I saw on his cell, but she claimed she’d sold the piece he’d given her.”

She could almost hear the gears whirring in Jack’s brain.

“Did you consider filing for bankruptcy?”

“Briefly. I knew that would eliminate a portion of my debt. But in the end, I didn’t think it was fair to penalize others for my mistakes.”

“All of the mistakes weren’t yours.”

“I gave Wes control of my finances. Abdicated my responsibility to be a good steward of my dad’s inheritance. That was the first mistake—and it led to all the others.”

Silence fell between them as he regarded her. “Did you talk to an attorney after your husband died?”

“Yes. I couldn’t afford to hire him, but he did give me a bit of free advice.” She swiped a bead of condensation off the side of her glass. “I was able to negotiate the hospital costs down. The credit card companies wouldn’t budge. Everything we didn’t own outright—the house, cars, electronics—was repossessed.”

Jack tapped a finger against the table. “The Christi I knew wouldn’t have had a clue how to cope with that kind of catastrophe.”

“No, she wouldn’t have—but I’d already begun to change. I knew early on something was wrong in my marriage, and I began searching for help. I found it in God—and a church community.”

He gave her a dubious once-over. “I don’t recall you being interested in religion.”

“I wasn’t back then. After Mom died, Dad and I stopped going to church. But in my younger days we went as a family. Those memories, and hearing you talk about your faith, led me back to God—and to my best friend, who attended the church I found. Tasha stood by me through the entire mess. I could never repay her kindness. Without her and my faith, I don’t know if I would have survived.”

“Is the loan related to this friend?”

“Yes.”

He folded his arms. “Shouldn’t you take care of your own financial problems first?”

“I have—for the most part. I sold everything that wasn’t repossessed to help pay off the bills, took on two serving jobs that first year, and cut living expenses to the bone. My head was almost above water when—” Her voice faltered.

This was the hardest part.