“He was going to get the retreat going in that area, show his deacons here what a lovely place Blossom is, and then, in about four years, we would move there. He’s always dreamed of coming back to his hometown and building his own church. If some of our good friends here in the church family saw the place, he believed that they would fall in love with it and follow him—kind of like the people did with Jesus.” Cora sighed. “But your grandmother ruined it all. I will never understand why she did that, since Isaac is the only child that she could have put a bit of pride in. Rachel was a troubled child from the time she took her first steps, and Matthew was a complete disappointment. How Isaac could share DNA with those two is a mystery.”

“Daddy used to tell me that disappointments were good for the soul. They taught us to depend on God and to realize that He was in charge. I knew that wasn’t right because Daddy was the one in charge at our house, not God,” Nessa said.

“That’s downright mean.” Cora’s voice went all high and squeaky. “Your father’s disappointment is aggravating me. He’s moping around here like a six-year-old kid whose mama forgot all about his birthday. I’m glad we’re going to the Holy Land next month. That’s the only thing that’s keeping him going. I wish you’d go with us. Samuel has agreed to take that last ticket we had to use to get the group rate. I’m sure he’d be delighted to have you along.”

Nessa shivered at the very idea of spending two weeks with Samuel right beside her. He was the guy her dad had insisted that she marry when she was just eighteen years old. Six years older than she was, he had already finished college and was a successful pharmaceutical rep. He was as vanilla as a guy could be. Nessa craved someone with at least a little bit of wildness in him. He didn’t have to ride motorcycles or have tattoos, but he did have to make her want a kiss from him instead of want to run away from one.

“Are you still there, Vanessa?” Cora asked.

“I’m here, and thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Samuel wasn’t the man for me more than ten years ago, and he’s still not,” Nessa answered.

“Poor thing,” Cora sighed. “He loved you so much, but he realized that you weren’t the one for him at that young age when you . . . Well, you did get wild after you made that decision to go to college”—another sigh—“and then Samuel married Ruth Ann that very next year and lost her four years later. I’ve always thought that he was just waiting for you to grow up and come back into his life.”