Page 177 of Sing with Me

Diehl knew he could never go back there. Now that he had a new life in Christ, his perspective must also change. He knew that much.

With great shame, he recalled that Saturday morning when Skye had found him sprawled out in the living room of Brinley’s beach house, surrounded by empty bottles. He remembered reaching out to Skye and asking her to stay with him because he had felt so lonely and abandoned.

Without making any facial gesture of disgust at his hangover, and in an even-keeled voice, Skye had told him something profound to him at that time—but now it all made sense.

Once you belong to God, He does not leave you nor forsake you.

Now, without Skye with him physically, he still felt the presence of God.

So this was part and parcel of what it meant to be saved. God was with him always.

I get it now, Lord. I get it.

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Southern Sunshine Food Festival baked in the noonday Florida sun on Miami Beach, multicolored awnings and beach umbrellas on booths providing little relief from the temperature hovering in a humid upper eighties. Waves of seas breeze offered no respite to Skye, wearing a sleeveless dress and slathered with plenty of sunblock.

Jared Urquhart had somehow found her in the crowd because he no doubt knew that she was judging booths today. All he had to do was walk from booth to booth until he ran into her.

“It’s hot today, isn’t it?” he announced, his Chopard sunglasses reflecting sunshine. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt over cotton shorts and a pair of sandals. All designer brands of some sort, but they didn’t impress Skye.

She tried to ignore him as she filled out the judge’s rubrics on her iPad.

Jared followed her to the next booth. “You don’t have to sell your shares. We work well together.”

Ah, he was referring to Saffron on Jekyll.

“I thought I mentioned it.” Skye drank from her water bottle. The water was almost gone. “I bought my brother’s shares as a favor to him. I thought that if he ever wanted them back, there they are. However, he has moved on.”

“You’re doing well, though.”

“It’s not what I want to do. Why don’t you buy my shares?” Skye asked.

“No.”

“Then I’ll sell them to someone else. Don’t say I didn’t give you first dibs.”

Jared looked like he didn’t take her seriously. “To whom would you sell?”

“I’ll ask around,” Skye said. “If there’s no one, then Diehl will take it off my hands.”

“Diehl Brooks?” He lifted his sunglasses. “You’re lying.”

“Am I? Call him yourself.” Skye checked her iPad to see how many booths she had to visit. Eleven more. Well, it was time to keep going.

Before she reached the sushi booth, she heard Jared speaking on his phone.

“Since when are you in the restaurant business?” Jared asked someone on the other end.

“I am now.” The fact that Skye could hear Diehl meant that Jared had put him on speakerphone.

“Why?” Jared asked in disbelief.

“What concerns Skye concerns me,” Diehl said.

“You two dating?”

All around them, the crowd thickened. Skye was listening with one ear, but her attention was divided now that she had picked up a spicy vegetarian sushi roll that tasted like a corn tamale gone wrong. Someone was trying to be clever about using anything else but rice for the roll.

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