Page 39 of Someone Like You
She didn’t know what to tell him. “My world’s falling apart. I need to be alone.” She reached out and put her hand over his. “That’s all.” Her words felt hollow, but she wanted to get away from here. What else could she say?
Connor turned to her. “So I blew it tonight. Okay.” He opened the car door and put one foot on the curb. “But I stand by what I said, Maddie. Your family loves you. This news today … it doesn’t change anything.”
Words wouldn’t come. The silent scream inside her grew and all Maddie could do was nod. “Goodbye, Connor.”
“I love you, Maddie West. I loved you yesterday same as today. I’ll love you tomorrow and always. Nothing has changed.” He slid his other leg out of the car. “Don’t forget that.”
“Sure.” She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry, Connor. I have to go.” She should tell him she loved him, too. But she no longer knew who she was, let alone how she felt about Connor Flanigan.
Everything was upside down.
After a few seconds, Connor gave her a final look and he walked back to his apartment.
Only then could she finally breathe.
Where am I supposed to go, God?She stared into the night.And how come You let this happen? Why didn’t they tell me when I was little?It was the first time she’d thought about the Lord, and His role in all this. She had followedHim, believed in Him since she could talk. Her parents’ faith had been a daily example for her.
Until now.
She drove for half an hour up and down the streets of Bloomington. Every few minutes her phone buzzed in her purse, but Maddie didn’t care. There was no one she wanted to talk to now.Help me, God. I don’t know who I am.She pulled over and parked along Main Street.
Again her phone buzzed, and this time she took it from her purse. Eight texts from her mom, three from her dad. One from Connor. She read his first.
I can’t get my mind around what just happened between us. You found out you were adopted as an embryo and now you don’t tell me you love me? I’m worried, Maddie. Call me tomorrow and tell me you’re okay. We can work through this together. But you’re a Baxter, no matter what you think right now. I love you.
Her heart warmed. She didn’t have to take it out on Connor. He had nothing to do with what happened. From his perspective nothing had truly changed. He loved her whether she had biological parents in Portland or not. No difference.
She texted back her response.
I love you, too, Connor. I’m sorry about earlier. You don’t understand what I’m going through, but that’s okay. Just pray for me.
There was no hesitation before she hit send. She didn’t want to leave Connor wondering about their relationship or the wedding they were planning. She still wanted to marry him, but she had no idea how long it would take before she’d feel like herself.
Or if she’d ever feel that way again.
Never mind the texts from her parents. She didn’t want to read them. What could they say at this point? She remembered her younger sister. Poor Hayley. How would Hayley feel once she knew that Maddie wasn’t her actual sister? The blame could go nowhere except to their parents.
She looked at her passenger seat. The information the guy had given her was still there. Crumpled up and overlooked. The way she felt about herself tonight. What was it he had wanted to tell her about her biological sister? A person Maddie hadn’t known existed until today?
The scrap of paper called to her. On the other side of the lies her parents had told her was a real flesh-and-blood family. Parents who had leftover embryos and gave them to someone who gave them to the people she thought were her parents.
She’d never heard of something like this. But it had happened to her. She picked up the small handwritten note. Then before she could change her mind, she dialed the number. Because in this moment she wanted to talk to just one person. The guy who had braved her outrage to give her the last thing she’d expected from him: the truth. The only person kind enough, bold enough to explain her past was a stranger from Portland, Oregon.
Dawson Gage.
14
The voice of God had been loud for the past twenty-four hours and John Baxter was doing his best to heed it. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening or whom it was happening to, but someone in his family was in trouble. John knew that much.
Because as far back as he could remember, there was an unsettling in his soul, a persistent push to pray down on his knees whenever one of his kids most needed help. Last night he had told Elaine about the feeling. “God wants us to pray. Something’s wrong.”
Not that they only talked to Him then. He and Elaine had built their marriage around praying for their kids and grandchildren, their friends and their community. Even the nation. “I might be getting older,” he would tell his wife. “But as long as I draw breath I can pray. And prayer changes things.”
That’s how he felt now. Sunshine spread as far as the eye could see over Bloomington that day, and he and Elaine had taken their usual early Saturday morning trip to the farmers’ market. Blueberries and apples, fresh eggs and milk. But through every step, every few minutes he heard it.
Pray, John … pray for your family. Pray without ceasing.
And John’s response was as easy as his next breath.Yes,Lord. Whatever You ask of me, I’ll do. Please guard and protect my family. Whoever is in need, help them. Surround them with Your loving protection.
