Whisper a Prayer

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

When breast cancer survivor, Pam Humphrey, learns that her real mother had to give her up for adoption out of fear, Pam travels from Colorado Springs to Austin, Texas, to find her heritage.

She gets nowhere in her search until she meets Jake Marshall, a Christian private investigator. When Jake finds out more about Pam's past, the news is scary.

Pam has to whisper a prayer to really understand who she's related to. It's up to her to walk away from her real family and return to Colorado, or to stay with Jake, the one man who ever cared, willing to protect her from her heritage.

Excerpt

The young girl in the front row of the classroom raised her hand. "Who are your ancestors?"

Pam Humphrey tried to keep the sadness off her face as she watched Becca, who was a freshman in her history class. Pam had been asking herself the same question all her life. "Well, I'm not sure. I was adopted."

All 30 students in the classroom stared at her—even the boys in the back who never listened. What was wrong with being adopted? It wasn't as if Pam could control it or had a choice.

"You were adopted?" Becca asked. "You never found out who your real mom or dad are?"

"No." Pam shook her head. "I can't. I've been told the records are sealed and never investigated it myself." In reality, her adoptive parents didn't want her researching it. "I'd rather think my adoptive parents are my real parents, because they're my family. My adoptive father died five years ago, but my mom is still around. I'm part of her family."

Pam felt more like the mother in the relationship, and her mother was her child. Alzheimer's disease was horrible.

Becca wouldn't let it drop. "What about medical records and who you're related to?" She gasped, as if something suddenly hit her. "What if you marry your brother?"

Titters filled the classroom, but before the girl could ask more, school was over.

Saved by the bell.

"Have a great summer vacation," Pam said. "Think about your ancestors." But it was too late. The kids were out the door and couldn't care less, because school was now officially over for the year.

Ah, June in the empty high school. There was nothing like it. Now Pam had to figure out what she'd do for the summer break. She considered writing a book on ancestors, but if she couldn't even figure out her own ancestry, what good would that serve? Maybe she'd see what classes were available at the local community college. Regardless, she had about three months to do as she pleased, since she'd fulfilled all her teacher in-service days for the year.

Pam didn't currently have a boyfriend, so she had a secret desire to find a date for the summer. She didn't want to date just any man, but a man who was a man, not a child. He would have goals in life, have a good job, and go to church. She was so tired of dating men who had no faith and acted like children. It was as if they lacked direction and compassion in their lives—definitely not what she was looking for. If she could find a man ready to settle down and he was a good match, she'd have her dreams fulfilled. Even meeting someone like that was like finding a needle in a haystack. Dream men didn't just run into her and become her date. Pam would have a lot of work to do to find a man worthy of marriage.

She stepped behind the desk and took a seat. With only some paperwork to finish, she, too, could have a summer vacation.

Becca's question haunted her. She always wanted to know about her real family. Becca was right. She certainly didn't want to marry her brother, and given her medical history, she'd really like to know what conditions ran in her family.

She worked for a bit longer, the question about her ancestors and dating her brother still bugging her. Maybe she'd have a DNA test performed on her and her date to make sure they weren't related. It might work, but what man in his right mind would agree to such a thing? If they were in love, could she just turn that love off if they were related?

The whole idea seemed like a cruel joke, because she was afraid to even get to know a man in case they were related. She also didn't want any man like her adoptive father in her life. That meant she couldn't date either her real or her adoptive family's relatives, which seemed like a small percentage of people. Given all the families in the world, chances were she'd never marry someone related to her or her adoptive family.