Deceived: Lured from the Truth (Secrets) Read Free

voice.
    “Out with it,” he urges. Then he places his hand on my forearm and turns me around to face him. “I can tell something’s not right. What’s troubling you?”
    I look into his face, which looks honestly concerned, and despite my resolve to be strong, tears fill my eyes. Then I’m telling him about my mom’s wake-up call. “And she announces that my parents’ marriage is over as of today.” I sigh. “It’s completely dissolved. Just like that.”
    “I’m sorry. That’s really rough.”
    I nod as I reach for an organic napkin. “I mean, I realize that lots of people go through this.” I wipe my nose with rough paper. “It’s just that I never thought it would happen to my family. I mean, we were so normal. I thought we were happy. And we always went to church together and — and — ” My voice cracks with emotion, and I realize this is way too much information to share with someone I hope to get to know better.
    Just mentioning my church is like opening a fresh wound. And now I’m crying even harder. How can I possibly explain that watching my beloved church when it split and fell apart last year hurt nearly as much as seeing my parents’ marriage crumble?

[CHAPTER 2]
    I want you to sit right here.” Josiah pulls out the chrome kitchen stool with the pink vinyl seat and eases me onto it. And the next thing I know, he’s unloading the ice cream cartons from the crate and putting them away in the freezer, which is actually my job. But I feel helpless to stop him as I blot my tears with my handful of organic napkins. Feeling guilty, I glance up at the clock and am relieved to see that I don’t have to officially open for business for nearly twenty minutes.
    “How did all this happen?” he asks as he rearranges the cartons in the case. “Start at the beginning.”
    Suddenly I hear myself telling Josiah about how my dad lost his job in real estate when the economy fell apart, how he got really depressed, and how my mom got angry because she had to work harder than ever and it was like my dad was completely paralyzed.
    “I know it was really hard on their marriage.” I pause to blow my nose. “Even when my dad started to get better, he couldn’t find work.” I toss the wad of napkins into the trash and take in a deep breath. “Instead he found himself a girlfriend. That was about the same time that our church pretty much fell apart. It started with a disagreement over the budget and turned into this big theological debate that split the church in two.” I hold up my hands in a helpless gesture. “So just when we needed it most … at least I needed it most — poof — the church was gone.”
    “That’s rough.” He nods as he puts the last carton into the case.
    “I’m sorry to be such a baby.” I reach for a fresh napkin. “I didn’t mean to go to pieces on you like that.”
    Now he places both his hands firmly on my shoulders — again looking directly into my eyes. I feel like my stomach’s doing a flip as I look back into his — they are exactly the same color as the espresso gelato. “I asked you to tell me your troubles,” he says seriously. “I’m truly glad you did. I care about you, Rachel.”
    “Really?” My chin trembles, and I’m afraid that I’m going to cry all over again.
    “I could tell as soon as I met you that you’re a good person, and I’ve been wanting to know you better.”
    “Really?” I say again, wishing I could think of a more intelligent response.
    He nods. “I’m truly sorry about your parents’ divorce, and I know how you feel. My parents split when I was just a kid. It’s rough. And I’m sorry about your church letting you down like that.” His lips curve into a smile. “But if you’d like to visit a church sometime, you’d be more than welcome to come to ours.”
    “You have a church?” I don’t know why this surprises me, but it does. Maybe it’s because the resort workers I’ve been around so much lately all seem to