“I want to remake the visual I did for the Grid.”

“You want to say something different?”

“I want to say something more complete.”

Sabin saw the car pull up and Abby get out. He walked down the steps from a platform overlooking the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, one of his favorite places to visit. “Abby!”

Her face broke into a wide smile, and she walked briskly to him. They hugged.

“It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” She looked around the gardens. “This is beautiful.”

“I thought you might like it.”

He motioned to their right, and they began walking down a path lined with red and yellow flowers. They talked of events that had transpired over the previous days. Sabin could tell she was grieving over her grandfather.

“Abby, I’m so sorry about Ray. I know you wanted to know him better.”

“Thanks.” She slowed and looked at Sabin. “I feel like I learned a lifetime of lessons from him in just a few days.”

“About God, you mean?”

She nodded. “And myself.”

They sat on a green lawn next to a bed of white roses. Abby leaned over and inhaled the fragrance, then gently fingered a petal. A broad smile crossed her face. “I love these. I’ve never smelled roses before, only read about them.”

They sat silently for a moment. Sabin felt a bit awkward bringing up a certain question, even though he knew Abby would welcome it. “I’ve been thinking…about God…since you left our place. I was wondering…Could you teach me what you know? About God, that is.”

Abby grinned. “Of course. I’ve love to do that. I have to tell you, though—I’m just learning myself.”

He shrugged. “You’re much farther down the path than I am.”

“I’d be happy to get you started. Once God moves in, though, the Spirit becomes your teacher. I’ll just be a mouthpiece.”

“Well, you’re the only one I know.”

Over dinner Abby told me about her afternoon with Sabin. “I’m going back over to Fort Worth tomorrow,” she said, watching for my reaction. “He has a couple of friends who are interested in meeting me.”

“I can set you up to conference on the Grid, you know. It’s kind of a long ride over there.”

She shook her head. “Maybe later. But I’d like to meet them in person first.”

I went into the kitchen and brought out salmon and rice. We ate silently for a few moments before Abby set her fork on her plate.

I looked up. “What is it?”

She looked uncomfortable. “Creighton, when Lauren spoke to me at her place…”

“Before we went to the airport?”

“Yes.” She hesitated. “Lauren said the attorney general was going to indict me shortly.”