Lighting the Darkness

*** Based on Christian Morals--Christian Romance ***

Second grade teacher, Rebecca Albertson, lost her daughter and husband on the same date, two years ago. Grief now consumes her life.

On the anniversary of her family's death, she finds herself at a dinner party at her brother's home, right along with the new single minister, Reverend Mark Andrews, from her brother's church.

Mark tries to get her to live again, but she keeps the wall up in her heart, holding God accountable for her family's deaths. However, it seems that God has a plan, and no outside force—including all the single women vying for Mark's attention at the church—can hurt this budding romance.

Excerpt

Two years of loneliness while waiting for a prayer to be answered was a long time. Rebecca Albertson had given up hope on that prayer ever being answered, certain it was never to be fulfilled.

Rebecca lifted her eyes to see the giant oak tree filled with colorful leaves waving in the late-afternoon sunshine. Events from the past two years consumed her. Everything wonderful had ended on this exact date in October.

The swing attached to the tree swayed in the wind. She imagined her beautiful daughter, Abigail, on that swing, for she would've turned six a week ago. The image from two years ago, of her little four-year-old daughter lying in a hospital bed attached to tubes filled her mind. Rebecca had lost everything in her life the instant her daughter died. As soon as she'd died, Rebecca's husband, Rob, had left the room in anger, only to die in an automobile accident while heading home. Two lives lost, less than an hour apart. The thought of the two-year anniversary was too much for Rebecca to bear. God had abandoned her, so she'd turned away from everything. Two long years of loneliness walled away from anything happy.

With the overwhelming sadness weighing on her shoulders, she sat on the swing while the autumn leaves drifted down around her. She lowered her head into her hands, the tears finally making their way onto her lashes. Why did God take everything from her? He must really hate her, but she didn't know why.

"Rebecca," she heard, knowing it was her brother Will. "We're ready to eat." She felt a hand on her arm, helping her to her feet. She couldn't stop crying as Will hugged her. Cruel fate dictated that she'd end up at this very spot on her daughter's death date. It was Abigail's favorite place in the world…that swing.

"I'm always here if you want to talk about this," he said.

She took a breath and tried to stop crying, but tears trickled down her cheek. "I can't burden you." She backed away and wiped her cheeks. "Besides, you have three wonderful children to concentrate on, and with Eloise expecting your fourth…" She tried to hold back her tears, but as she took in her breath, a sob escaped, making way for many more gasps between the tears. "Your family will be wonderful," she managed to eke out.

From the way Will lowered his eyes to his shoes, Rebecca knew she'd said something wrong.

"I'm sorry," she said, sucking up her tears. "I don't mean anything by it."

"It's been a tough two years." He lifted his eyes to hers and she could see the tears he tried to hold back. "We all miss them, but we have company and I don't want them waiting for dinner."

"Company?" She had to concentrate on the present. "You didn't tell me you were having company. Maybe I should just go home."

"You need to be here. These are fun people." He put his arm over her shoulder and guided her up the hill toward the house.

"Don't tell anyone what today means," she said, wiping her cheeks. "I don't want pity."

"I won't tell if you won't tell."

As soon as they entered through the sliding glass door to the dining room, Rebecca headed off to the bathroom to wash her face. No one needed to know she'd been crying. She took time to pull herself together, but really wanted to be alone. Now she had to be nice to people she probably didn't even know. Will could've warned her.

Her stomach fell, imagining the worst. What if her brother was trying to fix her up with some lonely guy who lived in his parents' basement? She really hated being single. Maybe she should call their parents from their Florida retirement home and tell them to come back to Indiana to get Will in trouble. She loved having that power.

Even though she was determined to eat and run, she walked out of the bathroom and slammed right into the chest of some man. Single, no doubt. She glanced upward…blue eyes, brown hair, and about five or six inches taller than she was. He was also incredibly handsome, looking like a model. There was no way this guy was single, either. He was too beautiful—probably a playboy type. He definitely didn't live in anyone's basement.

"I'm sorry," she said, backing off. "I didn't know you were there."

A soft smile lifted his lips. Slight dimples graced his cheeks, making him even more attractive. "It's okay." He shook her hand. "I'm Reverend Mark Andrews, the preacher at Will and Eloise's church. You can call me Mark."

A preacher? Oh brother. Now she even had to play the game of being a Christian. However, he definitely wasn't a playboy even if he was just too good-looking to be a man of the cloth. He was the type of guy she could hardly speak to because of his looks. A preacher, though? It was almost as if she'd been set up.

Since her dad was a preacher, she didn't put any of them on a pedestal—not even model preachers like this guy.

She had to be nice. "I'm Rebecca, Will's sister." She shook his hand.

"Blonde hair and blue eyes. I should've noticed the family resemblance." He dropped her hand. "I've heard good things about you."

What a liar. She even crossed her arms in disbelief. "Seriously?" Her tone was sarcastic, because she doubted her brother had told him anything other than sad stories.

His blue eyes smiled right along with his lips as he leaned closer. "According to Will, you're one of the best second grade teachers they have in the entire district. What he told me is very good and nothing about how you used to tease him when he was younger."

The thought surprised her. "Will told you that?"

The man laughed. "He didn't have to. That's usually how it goes." He backed away. "Save me a seat."