Free Through His Grace by Kelly Eileen Hake Page A

all?”
    “You pray.” Grace knew the answer to that one. She stretched her arms so they held hands, forming a circle. “When you think you can’t do something on your own, when you need to remember God is always with you, helping you be strong, you pray. Go ahead.”
    “Dear God,” Lizzie began, “I don’t want to go to a new school, but Auntie Grace says it’s important. Jake will be there with me since he’s old enough now. Please keep us safe—and Auntie Grace, too.” Her voice grew stronger. “And bless Mommy and Daddy in heaven. Amen.”
    “Amen.” Grace continued holding their hands for another moment. “That was beautiful, Lizzie.”
    “Okay.” The little girl sat up straight. “I think I’m ready now.”

    The smell of fried chicken filled the cab of Nickels’s truck as he drove. Thursday nights were his time to visit his grandpa. At seventy-two Aaron Nichols had a spring in his step untouched by his many years. Nickels watched him walk to the driveway.
    “Lookin’ good, Gramps.” Nickels swung his door open and grabbed the bucket of chicken.
    “Smellin’ good, Eric.” Gramps sniffed appreciatively.
    “I thought so.” Nickels grinned. “What do you say we sit on the porch and eat like kings?” They climbed the three short steps to the porch and settled into a pair of rocking chairs, their smooth surfaces attesting to many fine nights such as this.
    “I’d say pass the bucket.” Gramps accepted the drumstick— his favorite piece—and they ate in contented silence for a while.
    “Stars are out in force,” Nickels noted. “Seem even brighter than usual.”
    “Oh?” Gramps lifted his brow.
    “What?”
    “Stars don’t often change their outlook, son.” The older man observed his grandson intently. “But we do. What’s got you seein’ things in a whole new light?”
    “Good company and a full belly make the world a brighter place.” Nickels hoped to distract his grandpa with flattery. No sense delving into things better left alone.
    “So who’ve you been keepin’ company with?” Gramps saw right through him.
    “Lasso’s a small town, Gramps.” Nickels knew he was being evasive, but Gramps had been on him for years about how it was—
    “High time you found yourself the wife God planned for you. Man wasn’t meant to walk this earth alone.” He cast a glance toward the copse of trees to the east. “My Rosie Lou made my days brighter and my faith sweeter and fills my future with the anticipation of bein’ at her side again.”
    “She was an incredible woman.” Nickels put his hands behind his head. “You were blessed to find her.”
    “Funny thing about finding things, Eric.” Gramps rocked forward, planting his feet on the porch and fixing his grandson with a steady stare. “It’s hard to keep your eyes open when your heart’s closed.”
    Nickels sucked in a slow breath. “My heart’s not closed, Gramps.” Things’d be easier if it were.
    “Too closed for my comfort.” Gramps clapped his hands on his knees. “Every woman out there isn’t like Cassandra.”
    “I know.” Nickels rolled his shoulders to ease the tension her very name caused inside him. How could she? Over five years had passed, and he still didn’t understand.
    Lord, why? Are the lives of others worth so little that she could destroy mine without a single regret for possibilities denied?
    “I know the subject touches a nerve for you, but I’m gonna have to ask. After half a decade you’ve yet to move on. Does she still carry part of you?”
    “No.” Nickels swallowed his bitterness. “The memories remain, though.”
    “That’s the nature of memories, m’boy. They remain. The question is, do they fester?”
    “Time heals all wounds.” Nickels felt his jaw clench.
    “Ah, but there’s the problem. You’re putting your faith in the wrong place.”
    “I’m a believer now,” Nickels reminded his grandfather. “And by now you should’ve figured out the truth. Time