Free This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury Page A

something in my heart, changing me. But finding this song today—it’s like the whole world looks different.”
    A sound came from Lindsay, but she wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or a cry. She put her fingers to her lips. “I’ve prayed for this moment for so long.” She walked toward the kitchen window and stared out at Pikes Peak in the distance. “With all your pain and the accident and the struggles you’ve had, I knew only God could bring you relief. And now—now look at you.”
    “You’re right. A week of days like this one and maybe my back will heal itself.” He sounded beyond upbeat, like he actually believed such a thing was possible. “If not, then I’ll wait for the surgery, but at least I won’t be walking under a dark cloud. Not anymore. I remembered this afternoon what Mom and Dad always told us: God has great plans for His people.” He laughed one more time. “Isn’t that great, Lindsay, because guess what? I finally believe it.”
    Lindsay told him again how happy she was for him and how she’d prayed for him and how different he sounded now that his faith was back in place. “The kids have a lot going on the rest of this week—piano, dance, football practice. Then there’s parents night at the elementary school. Bella won’t let me miss it. But Friday’s open.” Lindsay walked to the family computer and pulled up her iCalendar. “Come for dinner?”
    “I’m in court that day.” He didn’t sound weary or defeated the way he usually did when he talked about the hearings and depositions associated with his car accident. “Dinner would be perfect.”
    “Then on Saturday you can come to Ben’s football game. Mom and Dad will be there and we can go to church after.”
    “You might even be on time.”
    “Yeah.” She laughed at that. “Now that would be a miracle.” She was about to hang up when a thought hit her. “Hey, I’m running out to do a few errands. I have to take a dish by Mom’s house. Care if I come by? I’m not sure I can wait until Friday to hug you.”
    “I’ll be here.”
    Lindsay ran a brush through her hair and checked herself in the mirror. She and Larry worked out nearly every morning, sometimes running the hills around their home. Her hours at the Gazette were manageable, eight to four with Sundays and Tuesdays off. If she needed more time at home, the editors were flexible, as long as her stories were in by Saturday at five. Life was good and healthy and it ran like clockwork.
    Only Josh kept Lindsay awake at night, wondering how she could help her brother, and whether he would ever turn back to the faith they’d shared as kids. And now . . . She grabbed the baking dish from the kitchen, a bag of clothes for the cleaners, and a few packages for the mail and hurried to her Tahoe parked in the garage. Now Josh was finally having the turnaround they’d all wanted for him.
    She stopped at his place first. She couldn’t wait to see him. His eyes would tell her how deeply he was affected by this revelation that God was on his side, that He still had plans for Josh even if they’d been derailed for a season. Her brother’s eyes.
    The apartment complex where he lived wasn’t the finest, and the few times Lindsay had been here she’d always looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows. She’d talked to one of the news reporters at the Gazette once about whether the Garden Terrace Apartments were involved in higher crime than usual, and she was surprised when his check came back negative. “It’s in a questionable area,” the guy told her. “But that complex houses some physically disadvantaged adults. Most of them have been there for years, and that kind of stability usually makes a place safer.”
    Lindsay walked quickly, anyway. Fresh graffiti was spray-painted on the garbage Dumpster at the center of the parking lot, and one apartment had a broken window. But whatever she thought of the complex, she would need to spend