Kicking Eternity Read Free Page A

was little he was, like, a Calvin and Hobbes freakazoid and changed his name to Calvin. Obviously, it stuck. One time he called from Circle K to ask if Dad knew where he was in the middle of the night—because Calvin did that to his dad.”
    “He really did that ?”
    Missy shrugged. “Family myth. I dunno. Hey, welcome to Triple S. It’s going to be an awesome summer. I’m going to the kitchen to see if I can score some Fruit Loops and maybe a peek at Jayson. Shh, don’t tell.”
    Raine smiled at herself in the mirror as she combed the knots out of her damp hair. In less than twenty-four hours at camp, she had a start on four friendships.
     
    #
     
    Drew dug his feet into shelly sand still warm from the sun. Sparks flew up from the fire behind Jesse who strummed his guitar and sang a quiet worship song. The surf crashed and receded beneath the music, a divine metronome reflecting a thousand pinpricks of starlight and a hooded moon. Teens and their counselors fanned around the fire in a semicircle.
    Drew’s gaze caught on a filmy bit of flowered material fluttering at Rainey’s shoulder. Her legs curled to one side. Three junior high girls huddled close to her. Firelight warmed her cheeks. For a moment, sadness seemed to cloak her. The corners of her lips turned up at the childr en vying for her attention. Now Rainey grinned at the girls who were shaking with suppressed laughter.
    Maybe he was projecting his own loneliness onto Rainey. The look he’d seen on her face nailed how he’d felt since Kurt told him about Japan.
    Kurt would get it out of his system and come home in a couple of years. Drew didn’t want to think about all the conversations they’d had about missions and giving God your all.
    As much as he resented his big brother’s psychoanalysis, maybe Kurt was right. He had been chewed up over Sam far too long. He’d check out her Facebook page—maybe. Still, a stubborn kernel of hope would not die. What if Sam was the woman God meant for him? He sighed. He always ended with the same question.
    The music faded, and Jesse spoke to the group. “You need to have three friends, one who is more mature, one who’s an equal, and one to mentor.”
    Jesse would be a good choice for a mature friend. Maybe they could start running together after campfire. And Keenan, his assistant, was a no-brainer for someone he could mentor. But an equal? That was probably what he needed most.
    God, show me who.
    He looked at Rainey. Her chin rested on her knees drawn up in front of her. She wiped a tear away with her pinkie.
    Lord, comfort Rainey.
    Rainey crying in a skit had been hilarious years ago, but the real thing tore at his gut.
     
    #
     
    Raine dusted the sand off her shorts and watched Missy herd girls together for the two-block walk back to camp from the beach. A storm clawed at the dark horizon. Somewhere far beyond the yellow-blue-white of the campfire, her brother, Eddie, struggled against phantoms she didn’t understand.
    Something was going very wrong with Eddie tonight. She could feel it. He never called at times like this, but it didn’t matter. She knew. Eddie’s trouble—whatever it was this time—had gnawed at her all evening, a visceral fear. Cords tying her to Eddie wound around her like the roots of a hundred-year-old redwood. She would hack free as soon as she could. Africa was freedom.
    Eddie’s black years had taught her there was only one relief—prayer. And prayer could mean hours of wrestling with God, like Jacob, except she was fighting for Eddie and not for herself. She didn’t know if you could wrestle for someone else’s soul, but she had to try.
    She ached for God to step in and take care of whatever evil Eddie had linked hands with—this time. She doubted Eddie knew or cared. When God answered, she would slump, exhausted like an airless tetherball.
    Rescue him. Protect him from other people, himself. Give him the desire to get help. Oh, Jesus. Please. Another bead on the string