Page 119 of To Believe In You
She waved air toward her face and huffed, struggling to catch her breath.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
The verse had upheld her during the struggle with Shane, but evil did roam the earth, and Lina couldn’t imagine navigating the danger at all, let alone without fear.
* * *
“I did a thing.”Tim balled his fists and crossed his arms.
Matt looked to Gannon and John, but the manager had focused on him, and both of his bandmates appeared clueless.
That morning, Tim had come to the studio to tell Gannon and John he’d turned his life over to Christ. After, he’d supervised as Matt figured out he’d have to play seated, with the bass resting on his thigh to avoid feeling like a knife was stuck in his side. Everyone agreed Matt would hold off on singing backup until the pain in his ribs subsided, and they got to work. Tim had left, returning only now as they wrapped up.
Did Tim intend to retell the story of his newfound faith?
“I was there, remember?” Matt laughed, but the sound came out nervous.
“It’s not that.” Tim cleared his throat. “I told you I would help out with Nadia.”
Matt shifted, embarrassed at his choices, their consequences. But what did he have to hide here? Everyone present knew exactly who he’d been, and now that Tim was a believer, everyone here also understood grace. Redemption. “What do you have in mind?”
“I reached out to her.”
Matt’s throat constricted until he could hardly get a response out. “What?”
“Yeah. Before you went and almost killed yourself. I explained how you’ve changed and how much good you’re going to do in the world, and I asked what her objections were to your meeting the kid.”
The kid. Axel.
Throat now thoroughly knotted, Matt rubbed his face. If only he could rub hard enough to remove the regret from his brain. His life. If his own pleading hadn’t softened Nadia, Tim’s negotiating had probably sealed her against the idea forever. Had Tim learned nothing from causing this problem in the first place?
“She said you’re recognizable and Axel’s smart. He’d have questions about randomly meeting a rock star. I think she’s overestimating an eight-year-old’s reasoning prowess, but that’s what I had to work with.”
“You didn’t have to work with anything—”
“I said, maybe you do tell the kid he’s meeting a rock star. Tell him you won a sweepstakes for a behind-the-scenes look at how Awestruck works.”
Behind-the-scenes with Awestruck? Now this involved everyone?
Gannon tipped his head, mouth skewed with skepticism.
John, seated, leaned his elbow on the edge of the soundboard and supported his head with one finger, looking poised to go either way—shoot Tim down or laugh him off.
“And here’s the thing.” Tim shoved his hands into his pockets. “She refused at first, but then she called back and accepted. Though she did have a condition—a few of them, actually. I paid travel, the husband came too, and under no circumstances is the kid to get any hint of any kind of relationship.”
Timpaid, and the husbandcame.
“Past tense.” At least, that was what Matt meant to say. His voice didn’t kick in until the second word. He cleared his throat. “When is this happening?”
“See, the thing is …” Tim freed his hands, splayed his fingers, then interlocked them. “You were upset when you came home from Texas. I reached out that afternoon—Monday. She said no. Then after we finished up here yesterday, she called back. Her husband’s work schedule suddenly opened up for a short window, but in the chaos of last night, telling you sort of fell by the wayside.”
“When are they coming?”
Tim’s skin flushed such a deep red that it showed even in his scalp, through his hair. “They’re in the driveway.”
Gannon yanked out his phone. A moment later, he turned the screen toward Matt. The security app showed a family of four clustered in the drive, straight ahead of the main entrance as if they’d been told to wait there.
Matt’s insides twisted, and his lungs burned. He drew in a breath that sounded like a gasp and caused a slicing sensation in his injured side. “This is a massive overstep.”
