Her Christmas Protector

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Faith blinked. “His children?”

Dottie nodded. “He looks at all of us as His children. And as any parent wants to do, He wants to comfort and protect. That’s not to say He’ll rescue us from all our troubles, but He promises to be with us, offering wisdom and guidance.”

The thought of God as a benevolent and loving parent boggled Faith’s mind and opposed everything she’d been taught.

Hadn’t grandfather often claimed that God sat in judgment of each individual and that His righteous wrath would fall upon the heads of those who opposed Him?

A dull ache started at her temple. Was what Dottie said fact or fiction? How did she go about finding the truth? Faith rubbed her eyes.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Here I am yapping away when you need your rest.”

“That’s okay, Dottie.” Faith managed to smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Quickly, she left the room.

In the dimly lit hallway, a hand touched Faith’s arm. She gasped. Her heart slammed against her chest. She jerked back. And focused on Luke.

She sagged against the wall. The sudden fear went spiraling through her abdomen where it landed in her stomach with a burning crash. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” He had the grace to look sheepish. “We need to talk.”

A heaviness swept over her, weighing her down. The urge to run and hide streaked through her, but she couldn’t make her feet move. Deep inside she knew her only real option was to stay and face his curiosity. But did it have to be right now?

“Can’t this wait until morning?” she asked.

“No, we need to discuss what happened in the barn and what, exactly, you’re running from.”

The tightness in her chest spread, and her breathing turned shallow. I’m running from the outside world, her mind screamed.

The mere thought of what waited for her out there made her head spin and lights explode in her vision.

“Faith, what’s wrong?”

She heard his voice, heard the concern in his tone. The words echoed inside her head, making the already dull ache grow and sharpen. She really should have eaten more.

Between her low blood sugar, the unexpected fright of moments ago and Luke’s probing, Faith was helpless against the inevitable.

She tried to answer, her mouth opened, but no words formed. The hall grew dim and her vision closed in upon itself while the world faded away.

She heard Luke anxiously call her name.

Luke caught Faith before she crumpled into a heap at his feet. He checked her pulse. The beat steady. The slow rise and fall of her chest showed she was breathing.

“Faith? Faith. Honey, wake up.” Patting her cheeks didn’t seem to help any.

Scooping one arm beneath Faith’s legs and the other under her back, he lifted her. She was soft and light in his arms as he carried her to her room. A faint, pleasing smell of flowers scented her hair.

Trying not to jostle her much, Luke laid her on the bed then sat on the edge and rubbed her hands.

She stirred, her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.

Unexpected tenderness grabbed a hold of him. He tucked a lock of blond hair behind her ear, his fingers brushed across her cheek, the skin satin smooth and warm to his touch. Her eyes widened slightly and he withdrew his hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Wh—what happened?”

“You fainted.”

Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.” She smiled, weakly.