Page 80 of The Inn Dilemma

Dad glances over the shrubs toward Holt, who’s standing and talking with Des. “He did.” Dad turns back to face me. “There’s something else I wanted to tell you.”

My heart pounds in my ears. “Yeah?”

He nods, and the smile that lights up his face is so unexpected it almost takes my breath away. “They found me a donor.”

This isn’t news to me, but I act surprised anyway. “That’s wonderful!”

“If all goes to plan, I won’t need dialysis and I can live the rest of my life the way I should have lived it before my diagnosis—spending quality time with my wife, kids, and community.”

My heart overflows with the goodness of God. Dad has made a massive change over the last few weeks. Going to meet with the Christian counselor of our church and meeting with the marriage therapist has helped push him closer to Jesus. Our relationship is far from perfect, and I know we’ll have rocky days ahead. But we all have something we didn’t have last time—Jesus. And even though becoming Christians didn’t make our problemsdisappear, we have the King of Heaven walking with us and the Holy Spirit living in us to restore what has been long broken. Holt hit the nail on the head—God has restored and will continue to restore.

Tears fill my eyes. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our family.”

“I can’t either. Your brother has exceeded my expectations as CEO, and I will be taking a huge step back from the company from here on out. I have an adopted grandson, daughter-in-law, and daughter who I’d like to get to know better.”

A lone tear rolls down my cheek. Dad’s face falls when he spots it. The hardness I once saw in his eyes if he saw me cry is mostly gone. There’s still a hint of it, old habits die hard, but the tenderness of his touch when he wipes it away tells me we’re on the right path.

Holt makes his way over.

“Is everything okay?” Holt asks, looking from me to my dad. His expression tells me he’s ready to go to battle for me. And that makes me fall a little bit more in love with him.

I sit up straight, wanting to set Holt at ease as fast as possible. “Yeah, we were just talking about what life is going to look like ahead. And how grateful we are that God brought you to us when He did.”

Dad stands and shakes Holt’s hand. “I’m sorry she needed you so much as a kid because of my failures, but I’m grateful she had you then.”

“She’ll always have me,” Holt says with conviction. Then he looks at me. “Always.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Holt

“This looks awesome!” Axel’s enthusiasm brings a smile to my face.

We’ve been working on Roxy’s gift when our free time matches up. It’s been a slow process since that has been a rare occurrence, partly because of my selfishness and desire to spend as much time with Nova as I can. Even though I’ve known her a majority of my life, I learn something new about her each day.I can’t get enough of her.

“I kind of don’t want to wait until her birthday to give it to her.” Axel’s announcement brings me back to the task before us.

“You worked hard on it. Give it to her whenever you want.”

Axel nods. “I will.”

He sweeps up the sawdust and wood chips while I put all the tools back in place. After he leaves, I lift the tarp hiding the project I’ve been working on for Nova since she came home. It’s a small part of a very largeoffering, and I’m equal parts excited and terrified to give it to her.

Things with her have been absolutely incredible. Better than I ever imagined. But there’s a tiny part of me that questions if this is all too good to be true. My prayers are focused on asking God for me to follow His will above my own, but that’s what I think I fear the most. As much as I believe that I am walking the path God has for me, I wonder if it will all change in the future. Just like it did with the SEALs.

“Knock, knock, knock.” Nova’s voice drifts to where I stand at the back of the shed, and I quickly drop the cloth to hide my hard work from her sight.

“Hey, you,” I say, making my way to her before wrapping her in my arms and kissing her breathless.

Her face is flushed and her eyes are out of focus when I pull back. I keep her firmly in my arms.

Once she appears to get her bearings, she says, “Well, a girl could get used to that greeting.”

She’s wearing a jacket over her cleaning T-shirt with a stretched-out neck opening. In her apparent haste to see me, both her jacket and T-shirt hang off her shoulder. Unable to stop myself, I lean down and place a kiss on the exposed skin. This girl looks good in everything. From her Audrey Hepburn classy outfits to her painting clothes to her bumming around the house comfort wear, she always looks amazing.

“Hmm,” I hum from deep in my chest. “And a man could get used to looking at this stunner every day.”

She looks away shyly. I love that my compliments hit their mark and aren’t something she ignores or rolls her eyes at like she does with other people.

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