Free One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

Susie's mommy didn't do that.”
    “Well … then you're right. Mommy is Super-Mommy.”
    Sierra leaned close, placing her nose up against his. “Butterfly kisses?”
    “For my best girl!” He rubbed his nose against hers, then turned his face and blinked in time with her so that their lashes brushed up against each other three times. Butterfly kisses were part of their morning routine. He stood up and caught another strand of her hair. “Go play in your room. I'll call you when I'm ready to curl, okay?”
    She clasped her hands, her blue eyes wide and innocent. “Horsie ride?”
    She could have asked him for the moon, and he'd have broken his neck to get it. Something about her sweet spirit and fresh-faced beauty had that effect on him. He had no idea how he'd survive her wedding. “Okay, pumpkin pie …” He turned around and bent over. “Hop aboard.”
    Sierra's giggle rang out again, her laughter playing across his soul like music from a favorite song. She climbed onto Jake's back and gave him a gentle tap with her heels. “Giddyap!”
    Jake reared his head back and made a few realistic snorting sounds. “Where to, Princess Sierra?” He used a deep voice, the one he always used when he was the horse and Sierra the rider.
    “To my palace!” She patted his head. “You should grow your hair long, Daddy. Horsies are 'posed to have long hair.”
    “Sorry.” Jake whinnied and began galloping down the hallway toward Sierra's room. “This horsie has to keep his hair short, princess.”
    “That's okay, horsie,” she said, then leaned close and kissed the back of his head. “I still love you.”
    Jake rounded the corner and pulled up sharp next to Sierra's bed. “Your palace, dear princess.”
    Sierra slid down and did her best impression of a royal curtsy. “Thank you.” She patted Jake's head once more. “Do you like my pretty dress, horsie?”
    Leaping and pawing the air like a wild stallion, Jake gave three exaggerated nods of his head. “Who made you so pretty, Princess Sierra?”
    The princess persona faded. Sierra tilted her face, brought her lips together, and gave him a guileless smile. “Jesus did.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I'm gonna read my Bible book, Daddy. See you in a few minutes.”
    Jake pranced around in a small circle, then back down the hall toward his and Jamie's bedroom. He took his shower, dressed, and found his razor in the cupboard beneath the bathroom sink. As he shaved, a sadness settled in his gut. Why couldn't Jamie miss her painting class and come with them? Just once?
    He ran the blade over the angles of his face. God … how long will this go on? How long until she sees the light and wants what Sierra and I have?
    Remember, my son, I began a good work in her, and I'll be faithful to see it through .
    Jake froze, his razor poised beneath his right cheekbone. He'd felt similar nudges almost daily in the past month. Responses from somewhere inside him, all with a similar message so clear it was almost audible. And the silent whispers in his soul always brought about the same memory. He and Jamie at the Young Life high school summer camp the summer after he graduated. Jake couldn't exactly remember what they'd learned that week, but whatever it was, Jamie had felt it.
    Felt it all the way to her soul.
    When the camp leaders asked people to come forward if they wanted to live for Jesus, Jamie was one of the first campers on her feet.
    Before they came home, she explained her feelings to Jake. “For the first time life means something. Like I don't have to worry that something bad's going to happen. Because God has it all figured out.”
    Jake had been certain that Jamie's decision would be life-changing. His own decision—made back when he was eight years old—certainly had been. Instead, she had questions from the beginning. Questions and doubts and an immediate return to the aversion she'd always had regarding faith and church and God in general. A few years later,