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“Yep. Not a one.” Ruby bobbed her head in unison with Liz.
Annie wasn’t sure whether to be happy that these ladies saw nothing happening between Ian and his coworker or jealous that the ladies wished something was happening. She shouldn’t be happy or jealous, but she couldn’t ignore the sparks that flitted through her mind when Ian was around. They were hard to ignore even if they were one-sided.
“Maybe that poor girl still needs time to get over the death of her fiancé.” Ruby’s statement brought Annie back to the ladies’ conversation.
“Such a tragedy.” Cora shook her head as she looked at Annie. “He was in Afghanistan delivering aid with a Christian group and was killed days before they were scheduled to come home.”
Annie didn’t know what to say. How did one respond to such a senseless death? Everything she thought of saying sounded inadequate, but she had to say something. “I can’t begin to imagine her sorrow.”
“None of us can, and I think that’s why she throws herself into her work here.” Cora rocked in her chair. “She’s trying to forget.”
Annie had a lot to forget about her past, but her own self-inflicted troubles faded in comparison. She would never look at Melody in the same way again. “That’s hard to do.”
“You’re so right.” Ruby reached over and patted Annie’s arm. “Tell us about yourself, dear.”
After these ladies had extoled Melody’s virtues, how could Annie talk about the bad stuff she had done? There was nothing virtuous about her life. “You don’t want to hear about me.”
“Sure we do. We want to pray for you. So we need to know what to pray about.” A knowing smile curved Cora’s thin lips, making every wrinkle in her kind face smile. “We know you came to The Village to get help. We’re all here for some kind of help, and we can help each other with prayer.”
Cora’s warm brown eyes beckoned Annie to make a prayer request. “I’m here because I’m trying to get my kids back. Please pray that the court will see that I’m clean and sober for good and deserve to have my children again.”
Liz clapped her hands. “Then that’s what we’ll be praying about—for your little ones’ return to you.”
“Thank you.” Annie blinked back tears, so thankful that Pastor John had sent her here.
All these people at The Village of Hope doing good for others made Annie want to be a better person. She could be a better person, but could she ever be good enough to make up for her past?
* * *
Melody pulled her car away from the curb. “How was your time with Annie?”
“Okay. She filled out your papers, and I put them through the mail slot.”
“I know. I read them, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
Ian narrowed his gaze and wondered where this was going. “What about them?”
“Don’t you see how she can help us?”
“Help us?”
“Did you read her information? Her job experience?”
Ian nodded. “I know her job experience.”
Melody cast him a sideways glance as she parked her car. “Then you should realize what a godsend she is.”
Ian shook his head and tried to wrap his mind around what Melody was saying. “How so?”
“She was a financial consultant.”
“I still don’t know what that has to do with us.”
“In order to satisfy the naysayers on the board, we need to put a new financial plan in place. We’re going to have to get this place in the black. What better person to help us than someone like Annie.”
Ian gritted his teeth in order not to say what he was thinking about his ex-wife. There was no way they could let her near the finances of this ministry. She couldn’t be trusted. The time had come to tell Melody everything about Annie and him. “We have to talk about this. Your office or mine?”
Melody opened her car door. “Yours is closer.”
As they walked to the administration building in silence, Ian tried to figure out how he would start the conversation. Why had he ever thought he’d never have to talk about his former life?
After Ian unlocked the door and let it swing open, he stood aside for Melody to enter. “Have a seat.”
Melody sat on one of two black leather guest chairs in front of Ian’s desk. “I’m glad you’re at least going to consider using Annie’s expertise.”
Ian sat on the other chair. “I haven’t changed my mind. I have reservations about having her involved with the money.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Melody had just handed him an opening. He should jump right in, but he took a few moments to pray. He couldn’t do this without God’s help.
“Why so hesitant?” Melody’s brow furrowed. “You know something about her that I don’t. Tell me what it is.”
“It’s not only about Annie. It’s about me, too.” Ian took a deep breath. “I’m not going to represent Annie in her efforts to get her kids back.”
“Why?”
“It’s not a good idea because we have a rather rancorous story. Annie and I were once married.”
Mouth dropping open, Melody leaned forward. After several seconds of silence, she eased back in her chair. “Wow! So this is what you wanted to talk about?”
Ian shrugged. “Not exactly, but it has to be done.”
“How long were you married?”
“A little over a year, but our relationship goes back to high school.”
“You were high school sweethearts?”
“I guess you could say that.” Ian wondered how much he should reveal. He didn’t have to go into the details about how they’d experimented with sex and drugs at her house while her parents were away. “Anyway, I’m going to ask Scott Bartlett to represent her. It’ll work out better that way.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Melody sighed. “Annie never said a thing to me about your relationship. What does she think about your being here?”
Ian shook his head. “I don’t think it matters to her. She walked out on the marriage because she wanted the party life more than she wanted me.”
“Is that why you don’t trust her?”
Ian stared at Melody’s expectant expression. How much did he tell her? How much had Annie told her? “What do you know about Annie’s history?”
“I know she was in rehab for a year and that her kids are in foster care. She hasn’t said much more than that. Is there more I should know besides the fact that you were married to her?”
Releasing a harsh breath, Ian stared at his desk and prayed for wisdom before looking up at Melody again. “I’m going to tell you what turned my life around, but I’m going to let Annie tell you her own story. I think that’s the fair thing to do.”
“Did you and Annie talk about this?” Melody raised her eyebrows.
“We discussed the fact that I’ve never volunteered any information about my past. Adam knows, but he’s the only one.”
Melody leaned forward. “Ian, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”
Ian waved off her suggestion. “I appreciate that, but I think you might as well know my story. Otherwise, you’ll always be wondering.”
“You’re probably right.”
“As I mentioned, Annie and I started dating in high school. We went to college in Florida to get away from our parents. We studied hard during the week, but we partied harder on the weekends. A pattern we established in high school although to a lesser extent.”
Melody frowned. “And your parents had no clue?”
“I’m sure if they had, my dad would’ve put an end to it, but both sets of parents were too busy with their own pursuits to notice.”
“Did your parents approve of your relationship with Annie?”
“Yeah. My parents loved Annie. They thought two good Christian kids were right for each other. They never imagined what we were doing.”
“They never questioned anything?”
Ian shrugged. “How was your date with Annie? That’s about the extent of it.
“After college graduation we both got good jobs in Orlando. When we eloped without telling our parents, they weren’t very happy, but we didn’t care. We were living the high life. At least that’s what we thought.”
“What happened?”
“About six months after we were married, I had a business meeting one night and had a lot to drink. No one was keeping track, or they wouldn’t have let me drive home. I could hold my liquor and didn’t appear to be drunk, but I was. Way over the limit.”
“So you drove drunk?”
Ian nodded. “Not something I like to admit. Thankfully, I was the only one involved in the accident. On the way home, I was going too fast and failed to negotiate a curve. I slammed into a tree on a remote road. Someone finally drove by and saw my car lights in the woods. Somehow I managed to survive, and the accident served as a wake-up call.”
“Did your parents finally know how you’d been living?”
“Yeah, I confessed everything, expecting my dad to blow through the roof, but instead, he actually cried. He prayed for me and took time off from his pulpit. He stayed in Orlando until I’d recovered enough to go back to Atlanta at his insistence.”
“What about Annie? Where was she during all this?”
“I think the whole episode scared her, too. She was there for me. She quit partying on the weekends with our friends and moved back to Atlanta with me and got a good job. She helped me while I was going through the grueling physical therapy. She couldn’t have been more supportive.”
Melody’s brow wrinkled. “So how did everything fall apart, or is this the part you don’t want to talk about?”
“I feel responsible for her not staying sober.”
“Why?
“When I fully recovered, I decided to go to law school. My parents encouraged it, and even Annie seemed to think it was a good idea and said we could live on her salary. We even started going to church together.”
“Sounds like things were going well.”
Ian stared at the floor, then finally looked up. “Yeah, for a while. I think my going back to school was partly to blame for Annie falling back into her old ways. Those first few months of law school, I spent a lot of time studying with my study group. Annie was at loose ends and started going out with her coworkers after work. Pretty soon she was drinking again, but I wasn’t paying attention to her activities.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what she did. She made her own decisions.”
“I know, but if I’d paid more attention to my wife, things might have been different.”
Melody shook her head. “You don’t know that. How do you feel about Annie being here?”
Ian wondered how he could explain the emotions he was feeling. He didn’t want to reveal the hurt, the humiliation or the sense of failure Annie’s presence produced. “Let’s just say it’s complicated. I want to help her, but her broken promises over the years don’t inspire my trust.”
“I’m beginning to see a lot of things.” Melody scooted forward in her chair. “After hearing about your relationship with Annie, I know this is a lot to ask, but I still think we need to give her a chance to prove herself.”
“With our finances?”
“Yes. I believe it will give her a sense of purpose and help with her recovery.”
Ian gritted his teeth as he got up and walked over to his office window and looked out at this place he loved. Could Annie’s financial knowledge help save The Village, or would it only lead to more trouble? What a miserable set of circumstances he faced in an effort to put this ministry on a solid footing—dealing with his father and his ex-wife. Ian turned back to Melody. “You know I’ll do just about anything to keep The Village going. So I’ll go along with your suggestion about Annie, but you can believe I’ll be watching her every move.”
Chapter Three (#ulink_b19a5478-ad8a-513c-b7e8-2b78dd44a3a8)
The quiet of the massive church auditorium enveloped Ian as he walked down the carpeted aisle, his footsteps barely making a sound. The plush stadium seats reminded him of a theater. Thousands came to worship here each Sunday and hear his dad preach. Many people had come to know the Lord through this church, but Ian had never felt at home here while he was growing up. He wished he had. Then maybe he and Annie wouldn’t have drifted away from the church and wound up living ungodly lives.
As a preacher’s kid, he should’ve been someone who led her away from the devastating behavior, but instead, he had joined her—both of them trying to escape the unhappiness with their family situations. She didn’t think her family cared about her, because her parents were too consumed with their jobs and were never home. He, on the other hand, hated being a preacher’s kid because everyone expected him to be faultless, like his two older brothers.
Ian found the perfect companion in Annie. They shared a feeling of disinterest from their parents and siblings. Annie’s solution was to engage in risky activities. Ian had loved her as much as a sixteen-year-old boy could love a girl, and he feared losing her love if he tried to persuade her not to do those things. Maybe he could’ve saved her from self-destruction, but he never tried. Instead, he had joined her, and eventually they’d brought each other down.
Annie’s reappearance brought back all those guilty feelings. She seemed to be on his mind at every turn. Maybe after he got her connected with another attorney and let his dad know that she was at The Village, he could quit thinking about her.
Every Friday Ian and his dad had a lunch meeting. They’d been doing this ever since Ian had finished law school. He liked meeting with his dad, but Ian always wondered whether getting together was just an excuse for his dad to make sure Ian hadn’t fallen off the wagon. He could never quite shake the idea that he still hadn’t won his dad’s approval even after all this time.
The suspicions were groundless, but they remained in the back of Ian’s mind like pesky dandelions that reappeared in the lawn every spring. During these lunches, he kept the conversation light because he wanted to avoid subjects where there was a clear disagreement. But today’s lunch would force him to discuss two of those subjects—Annie and The Village.
Ian usually went straight to his dad’s office, but today he’d chosen to walk through the auditorium. He wasn’t sure why, but despite the immensity of the place, it offered a place of solitude where he could figure out how he was going to tell his dad about Annie.
After all, his dad was the one who had suggested giving Annie the ultimatum that made her leave. How many times had Ian wished he hadn’t told her that she had to quit drinking or move out? She’d packed her bags right then and there. He had always regretted the decision to follow his dad’s advice. Annie might not have left if he’d tried to help her more.
Ian sighed. He sank into one of the chairs in the rows near the front. Putting his head in his hands, he began to pray for Annie. Pray for his dad. Pray for himself. Lord, help me find my way. Please give me the guidance and wisdom I need with my dad and Annie.
“Ian.” The sound of Jordan Montgomery’s voice echoed through the auditorium.
Ian scrambled to his feet. “Dad, what are you doing here?”
“I came looking for you. I saw your car in the parking lot and wondered where you were.” Jordan knit his eyebrows together above his gray eyes so similar to his own. “What are you doing in here?”
