Redemption Read Free

bullet into what remained of the man he'd once been.
    There in the darkness, with Angela curled up beside him, lost in sleep, the sadness within him grew. He cried for Kari, the sweet young woman to whom he'd promised a lifetime. He cried for the children they'd never have and for the growing old they'd never do together.
    Tim swallowed back a lump in his throat and tried again to clear the tears from his eyes. Where were these feelings coming from? Why were they hitting him now?
    His love for Kari had cooled long before he met Angela. Still, Kari was his wife. As much as he longed to be with Angela, Kari deserved better.
    Why have I let things get so bad? What's happened to me? What have I become?
    The answers were ugly and came as quickly as the questions, forming a stranglehold on Tim's heart. As strong and capable as Tim thought himself to be, the depth of sorrow that surrounded him now was enough to destroy him. It was a moment that would normally be accompanied by the voice of guilt, assuring him that even now redemption was his for the asking.
    But as Tim cried quietly into Angela's pillow, mourning for the first time the man he'd once been, the marriage he was about to lose, and the fact that he had no intention of changing his mind, he realized something that was more heartbreaking than the other losses combined.
    The words on the plaque Kari had given him were right. Without God he wasn't as strong as he'd thought. Not at all. And that's why the tears flowed so easily these days. Because in its hardened state, his brittle heart had done something he'd never expected when he first took up with Angela Manning.
    It had broken in two.
    9
----
    The phone rang as Kari Baxter Jacobs was washing the makeup from her face that night. She dropped the washcloth in the bathroom sink and quickly patted a towel across her cheeks and forehead.
    It was a gorgeous fall night in Bloomington, Indiana, the type of night that inspired artists to paint masterpieces of moonlit farms and rolling hills. As busy as Kari and Tim were these days, as tired and ill as she often felt lately, she welcomed the change of seasons. The shorter days and coloring leaves seemed to promise the coming of quieter times, long, dark evenings when she and Tim could catch up and talk about the idea that had been nearly bursting in Kari's heart for the past six months.
    The idea of helping minister to other married couples.
    It wouldn't be anything full-time or all-encompassing, she thought-maybe a midweek meeting for couples wanting a closer walk with God and each other.
    Couples like her and-
    The phone rang a third time as she picked it up. It's probably Jim, calling to check in. Tim was attending a conference three hours away and wouldn't be home until Sunday afternoon.
    10
    "Hello." She sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at the clock. Ten-thirty.
    Just about the time Tim usually called when he was away. She waited for his voice, but there was only the faint sound of breathing on the other end. Kari lowered her eyebrows and wondered if they had a bad connection. "Tim?"
    "Uh ..." The voice was raspy and belonged to a younger man. Kari's smile faded.
    He didn't sound professional enough to be a salesman. And even across the phone lines Kari could hear something odd in his tone. Fear, maybe. She rolled her eyes. Prank call. She was leaning over to hang up when the man cleared his throat. "Look, I have something to tell you."
    Kari's breath caught in her throat, and she chided herself. There was nothing to worry about. Tim would have been safely registered at his hotel the night before. Her parents and siblings were all well according to this morning's conversation with her mother. She exhaled, forcing herself to be calm, professional. "Is this a sales call?"
    "No." The man's answer was quick. Too quick. "Like I said, I have something I got to tell you."
    Kari sighed, and her mind raced. She barely noticed that her breathing had quickened. "Look, I'm busy."