Page 152 of Sing with Me

Diehl nodded. “Whatever happens, I will still worship God.”

“You’re learning a lot.”

“Matt’s teaching me how to study the Bible.”

“He’s a good Bible study teacher.” Skye didn’t go into the other things, like her having gone out with Matt once. He had been single for a very long time and hadn’t dated anyone for at least eight years, so Avery set them up on a blind date.

When Skye showed up and saw who it was, both she and Matt had a good laugh through dinner. Might as well, since the reservation took a few days to set up.

“Not just a Bible study teacher,” Diehl said. “He’s my accountability partner.”

“That’s great, Diehl. He’s so busy, so for him to do this for you… It’s amazing. Matt’s a mature Christian. I know he wants God’s perfect will to be done in your life.”

Diehl put down his bottle of mineral water on the side table. “I told him about you.”

“Me?” Skye wondered what they could be talking about.

“Us.”

“What about us?”

Diehl grinned. “I wanted to know if it’s okay for me to pursue a relationship with you while I’m having all those problems in my family.”

“What did he say?” Skye asked.

“He said the most important thing right now is to get Elisa back.”

“But you could have told yourself that. It’s obvious.”

“However, talking with you helped take the sting off my stress.” Diehl drew a deep breath. “You know that you’re my silver lining and the sun rays above heavy rain clouds.”

“Be careful, Diehl.” Skye wanted to prevent a misplaced focal point. “God is the one who brings you sunshine and rain.”

“Yes, I know that God is the source of all things good—including sending an encourager to be with me through my tough times. If you hadn’t shown up at the beach house on Saturday morning, I would have failed as a father. You covered for me, helped me through the day so I could at least muddle my way through. You didn’t say a word to anyone so that I wasn’t embarrassed in front of my family. Most of all, you were there for Ethan when I wasn’t all there.”

He had noticed.

In her heart, Skye thanked God. “To God be the glory.”

“I know I’m not out of the woods yet, but we’ve all prayed with great expectations that God will bring Elisa home safely,” Diehl said.

“Any word from Detective Jeong?”

“He’s working around the clock with the GBI and FBI, and now the DHS is involved.”

The Department of Homeland Security could only mean one thing to Skye. “So they think it might be child trafficking?”

“They’re trying to rule it out.” Diehl’s voice was even.

He looked calm on the screen. Skye believed that God had given him internal fortitude to endure this. At this time, it could go either way.

“Of course, we will pray that all is well,” Skye said.

“Fortunately, Dad’s holding up the company so I can focus on Elisa,” Diehl said. “I don’t need to worry about what goes on at the office in Atlanta until all this is over.”

Atlanta.

Five hours of driving away.

---