Out of Heaven's Grasp Read Free Page B

so, I found myself standing outside of the RV in the Costco parking lot. I could hear the muffled sounds of laughter from within the RV, and I didn’t know what exactly my brother and Carla were doing in there, but I had some vague idea that it was whatever men and women did together after they were married. No one really talked about it, but I knew that it confused me.
    As I stared out over the parking lot, large streetlights burning in the darkness, blocking out the stars overhead, I hugged myself. From what I understood, the feelings that women and men had for each other were sinful and wrong. At least, they were before you were married. But after you were married… well, I was unclear. Many of the elders seemed to say that it was an evil that must be endured for married people. But other married people seemed to, well, enjoy it.
    Was it like the French fries from earlier? Tasty and wondrous, but bad for you just the same?
    I spotted a truck across the parking lot, and I recognized it.
    It looked an awful lot like Jesse’s truck.
    Could it be that Jesse was here? If so, that would make a certain kind of sick sense. I was contemplating temptation, and the person who tempted me more than anything was right across the parking lot, just when I’d been given money and an order to “go wild.”
    I gulped.
    Something inside me, something I was powerless to resist, dragged me across the parking lot to the truck.
    As I walked, I tried to convince myself that there was no way it was Jesse’s. There had to be lots of other trucks that looked liked his, and the odds that he’d be here in Lebenet at the same time as me were long.
    But as I got closer, I could see that the bed of the truck had a tangle of blankets in it, because someone was planning to sleep there. There was a cover over the bed, but the back was open, and I could see inside.
    And then Jesse wandered around the truck, sandwich in hand. When he saw me, he was startled. He dropped the sandwich on the pavement.
    “Oh,” I said, rushing forward. “I’m sorry. I made you drop your food.” I picked up the sandwich, but it was ruined. Too dirty to eat. I stared down at it, feeling awful.
    “You really need to stop apologizing, Abigail London,” said Jesse.
    I gulped again, and I raised my gaze to meet his. All at once, my body seemed kick into a higher gear. My heart sped up, my breath grew shallow, and my face flushed.
    He smiled. “What are you doing here?”
    “Um… shopping at Costco for the family.”
    “Me too,” he said. He looked around. “You alone?”
    I pointed at the RV. “I’m with my brother Thomas and his wife. But they, um, wanted privacy.”
    Now Jesse blushed. He quickly looked away from me.
    I squeezed my eyes shut. Why had I mentioned that? That was the last thing I should talk about in front of Jesse. I shouldn’t be talking to him at all, in fact. We were alone, and it was against the rules for unmarried men and women to be alone. Actually, it was against the rules for me to be out here alone without a chaperone. Everything was topsy-turvy and confusing. I was still holding Jesse’s dirty sandwich. I flung it on the ground.
    Out of nowhere, courage surged through me. I tossed my hair back. “My brother gave me some money. I should buy you dinner. It’s my fault you lost your food.”
    A sly grin crept over his features. “You want to buy me worldly food?”
    “Well,” I said, “unless you think ravens are going to come down like they did for Elijah. You can’t starve.”
    He scanned the night sky. “Yeah, I’m not seeing any ravens.”
    “Look, if you think it would be too sinful—”
    “I never said that.” He grinned at me. “Besides, who’s going to know?”
    That was what my brother had said. I felt guilt shoot through me, but it was tinged with a rush of excitement, and I couldn’t tell which was stronger. I felt giddy and free. I could stare at Jesse as long as I wanted here, and there was no one to tell me it