A Forgotten Truth by Havig Chautona

Author:Havig, Chautona [Havig, Chautona]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Wynneword House
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Annie’s eyes followed him as he read the letter. He felt them at every turn of his feet, every turn of the page. Distracted, he retraced his mental steps and reread the words. But Annie interrupted him.

“Keith?”

“Hmm…”

“Claire said your girlfriend isn’t a Christian—isn’t religious at all. Is that true?”

Oh, boy. Here we go. If I’ve turned someone off Jesus because of my hypocrisy here… Lord, help! He shoved the letter in his pocket and dropped to the chair opposite her. “Yeah. It’s true.”

“Christians I’ve been around—Ralph and the others—they think that’s wrong. I’ve heard them. I mean, one couple is getting a lot of grief because she’s one brand and he’s another.” Despite her studied nonchalance, Annie’s intensity almost radiated. “You don’t think it’s wrong or stupid or whatever?”

“It’s not forbidden,” Keith admitted. “But it’s discouraged because the relationship can’t go anywhere. I’m in love with a woman I can’t marry, because that is forbidden.”

“Is that really fair? Maybe my friends have it right.”

As he chewed the inside of his lip, Keith worked to keep his hands from fidgeting, his heart from racing. The weight of the responsibility he felt in presenting truth while not force-feeding his faith into someone who only asked for a taster bite—paralyzing. “It’s not fair, Annie.” He took a drink, giving himself time to pray and decide how to respond, but her piercing eyes forced him to give up. Better start talking…

“Look, don’t give me a—”

“I’m not. I…” He opted for raw honesty, hoping it would help. “Look, I love her. She knows it. She also knows I can’t ever commit to this relationship. She knew it before we went on our first date. And if I tried to compromise and said, ‘I don’t care. I want what I want,’ she’d dump me in a heartbeat.”

Annie’s snort amused him as she muttered, “Doubt it.”

Eagerness overrode his reticence. “Well, she dumped me when I had a small crisis of faith—” Keith stopped himself mid-sentence and shook his head. “That’s a lie. I’m just beginning to grasp how huge of a crisis it really was. I’m used to thinking of it as small, but it wasn’t.”

Everything in Annie’s posture changed. She sat up, taking note, and leaned forward with the classic signs of engagement. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What’ll you do if she never chooses God?”

The question that had plagued him since the day he admitted to himself that he wanted a relationship now presented itself from the lips of a woman whose opinion of Jesus could be molded by his answer. The stress—insane. “Keep loving her and praying. It’s all I can do.”

“Seems unsatisfying to me.”

A lump welled in his throat as he considered her words. It took a couple of swallows to choke it down, but eventually, he nodded. “It might be, but I can’t think that way. It’s too depressing.”

Claire interrupted Annie’s response, and as he watched her leave the room, Keith almost growled out his frustration. “Did it have to be this second, Claire? Really?”

“Mark has a question for her—something’s up.

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