Sabin hiked after her. It was no use. Abby wouldn’t turn around at his calls, and he was falling farther behind every minute. After fifteen minutes of brisk hiking, he settled into a maintainable pace. He’d catch up to her eventually. If she reached the top, she’d have to turn around and come back down.

After an hour of steady hiking, he came upon her. She was sitting on the grass just off the trail, surrounded by a glade of aspen trees.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” Her anger seemed to have dissipated, but she was distant.

He caught his breath, then sat beside her. “Look. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you what Lauren said. It’s just that…I’ve grown to care about you. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”

Her countenance softened. “I appreciate that, Sabin. And I’m the one who’s sorry for the way I responded. It wasn’t your fault. I think maybe my own confusion was coming out as frustration toward you.”

She looked back down the trail. “I don’t know for sure what to do. It’s true, what you said about my reasons. And it’s not like anyone’s interested in what I have to say. But after that funeral, I came away thinking how desperate these people are for the message of Christ. Now this inheritance thing comes up. Maybe God is providing funds for me to stay.” She looked at him. “I know this sounds like nonsense to you.”

He shook his head. “No, it makes a little sense. What doesn’t make sense is why God—if he existed—would want to use you here rather than in Papua New Guinea. No offense. It just seems like you’re a better fit there.”

She stared at the ground. “I know. It seems that way to me too.”

“Any word from God?” Sabin asked two days later.

Abby closed her Bible and watched as he crossed his living room and sat on the couch. He glanced at her Bible. “Well?”

She sighed. “I keep hoping for something in here to jump out at me—some concrete direction. A verse that says, ‘Abby, do this next.’” She gave a half smile. “But the Bible doesn’t really work that way.”

“Maybe I have some direction for you.”

Abby straightened up. “You? What is it?”

“Lauren’s assistant just forwarded a message to you.”

“From who?”

“Inland Tribes.”

“Inland Tribes? Another one?”

“I’ll retrieve it and let you watch it by yourself. No telling what God may want you to do this time.” He grinned warmly at her. She smiled back.

Sabin accessed the message and gave Abby instructions on starting it. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Good luck at that professor’s class, by the way.” He walked out the front door.

Abby started the message.

17