As the song ended, Zack spotted Kelly Morgan’s husband and kids in the front section of the audience. Beside them were two older people, a woman and a frail-looking man. Kelly’s parents, no doubt. Last Zack heard, Kelly’s father was still in remission. So much had happened in the last three months, not all of it bad.
When the show ended, the audience was ushered out and the finalists and judges and production team gathered onstage. The celebration continued, everyone congratulating Zoey and wishing one another well. Zack thought about approaching her, congratulating her or telling her that he’d been praying for her. But she was surrounded by far too many people, already being pulled into the life she would live from this day on.
Zoey Davis, superstar.
Zack slipped through the door to the backstage. He was ready to leave, but there was one thing he had to do first. He found a quiet corner and pulled out his phone. In no time he was on Zoey’s personal Facebook page. Through private message he wrote her a note that said what he hadn’t said earlier, what he hadn’t found time to say.
Hey, it’s me. Zack. You were busy tonight, so I thought I’d tell you congratulations this way. Mostly because I have something else to tell you. First, I owe you an apology, Zoey. I didn’t want to wait another day before I said so. I’m sorry. How I acted over the last few months was wrong, and it wasn’t me. I should’ve been a better friend to you. A better boyfriend to Reese.
Also, you asked me a couple times about Jesus—how to pray and all. I told you it’s easy. You just talk to Him like you’d talk to a friend. But I guess I wanted to be more specific. Talking to God isn’t the biggest part of it. The biggest part is getting right with Him, asking Him to be your Savior. Basically none of us can get to heaven on our own. We’re too messed up—I’m proof of that. So we need to admit the things we’ve done wrong and ask Jesus to forgive us. Then we need to ask Him to be our Savior.
That’s what I should’ve told you when we were together.
Living for God is a little more complicated—that’s why it’s good to find a church and a Bible. It’s a journey, for sure. Along the way you can talk to God whenever you want. I hope that makes sense. I’ll pray that you’ll look into it. Jesus is the only way out of here alive.
That’s all, really. Again, I’m sorry. Be careful with all that’s ahead. And remember this—no one loves you as much as Jesus does.
Your friend, Zack
He read the note again before he sent it. As he did, a weight lifted from his shoulders. He pulled a beanie from his backpack and slipped it on. Then quietly he stepped out the side door onto West Fifty-seventh Street. He blended into the crowds as he walked in the other direction. A few blocks away he hailed a cab. “LaGuardia, please,” he told the driver. He would be home before midnight, which was good. Tomorrow would be a busy day.
He had breakfast scheduled on the front porch with Grandpa Dan.
chapter
31
ONE YEAR LATER
Zack pulled into the Kroger parking lot and killed the engine. It was his turn to make dinner—chicken and rice with steamed broccoli. One of the few meals he knew how to cook.
He had moved into the house at the back of the farm, but he still shared meals with his family. Their time together was more special now—the way it had remained since his time on
Every now and then Grandpa Dan asked Zack the question he dreaded most. “What do you hear from Reese?”
The answer was always the same. “Nothing, Grandpa.”
“Keep believing. She’ll come home someday.”
The conversation was part of their routine, but it made Zack sad. Believing Reese might be part of his life again was more difficult all the time. Clearly she had moved on. Whether he ever heard what happened to her, whether she’d fallen in love with someone in Europe, her silence spoke louder than anything she might’ve said. She wasn’t interested. Period.
Zack missed her still. Especially when he took AJ to the Lowell Center for her riding lessons. They’d hired someone to replace Reese, a guy with a decade of experience. AJ loved him, but even she brought up Reese once in a while. “She said she’d come back.” AJ remembered details like that.
Always he tried to explain. “Sometimes people change their minds.”
“Sometimes.” AJ didn’t stay sad long. She loved being around Zack, and she loved that he was leading worship for the youth group at church again. Now that she was healthier, his sister was in the front row every week.
Zack didn’t take a single day for granted.
He headed into the store and found a bag of broccoli and a few pounds of apples and bananas. He was trying to remember what else his mother needed when it happened.
He spotted her halfway down the canned-food aisle.
She had her back to him, but he would know her pretty dark hair, her graceful walk anywhere. For a moment he stopped, not sure if maybe he was dreaming. Could it really be? Was this happening? She was reaching the end of the aisle when he jolted into action. He couldn’t miss this moment. Not after a year had gone by.
“Reese!” He left his cart and jogged toward her. “Reese, wait!”
She hesitated before turning around. As she did, their eyes met and Zack froze. It was her . . . it really was. She had returned home and she was here at Kroger. As if no time had passed. As if she hadn’t spent the last twelve months in London. “You . . . you’re back.” He walked slowly toward her.
As he did, he saw something that gave him the slightest bit of hope. Her eyes looked damp. “Zack.”
“I . . . I can’t believe you’re here.” He went to her and slowly took her in his arms. The hug didn’t last long enough, but the feeling brought back yesterday. Maybe for both of them. He allowed distance between them again and searched her eyes. She looked different, more beautiful, if that were possible. The walls that had been there a year ago were gone now. And an alluring confidence shone from her soul. Zack wondered if he could even breathe, standing this close.
She spoke first. “You look good. I hear your song everywhere.”
He hesitated, not breaking eye contact. “It’s your song.”
She smiled. “Keith Urban’s song, right?”
“No.” He shook his head. He could feel a smile starting in his eyes. “It’ll always be yours, Reese. I wrote it for you.”
“Well . . . I think of you when I hear it.” She looked at the time on her phone. “I’m sorry. I have to be somewhere.”
Panic coursed through his veins. She couldn’t leave him again, not this soon. “When . . . when did you get back?”
“A few weeks ago.” She angled her head. “London was wonderful. I might move there for good.” She shrugged one shoulder. Everything about her looked irresistible. “I’m still praying about it.”
He wanted to shout that she could never move there. Not forever. Not when he still loved her. He had so much to tell her, so much to know about her time away. But she needed to leave. So he did the only thing he could. “I have the same number.”
“Me, too.” Her eyes looked to the places in his heart that would never forget her. “We should get coffee.”
