Because of Him: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 2) Read online

  Because of Him

  By

  Copyright ©2019

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Cover design by Carpe Librum Book Design

  ISBN-13: 978-1-988409-32-0

  A man, a woman & their God.

  Three Strand Press publishes Christian Romance stories

  that intertwine love, faith and family.

  Always clean. Always heartwarming. Always uplifting.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations being used in reviews or articles about the book.

  This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or transferred via any method to any other individual. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please respect the hard work of the author who has spent many hours creating this story for your enjoyment and purchase your own copy of this eBook. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials by illegally downloading or sharing this eBook. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  EPILOGUE

  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

  the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

  who comforts us in all our tribulation,

  that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,

  with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

  II Corinthians 1: 3-4 NKJV

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kieran Sutherland only just managed to keep from lifting his arm and elbowing the detective seated beside him in the face. The only thing stopping him was knowing that, in the long run, such an action would do more harm than good, especially for the man seated across from them.

  “A relationship between a teenage boy and girl, and the girl is the one pressuring for sex? Yeah, that’s a likely story.” The detective didn’t bother to keep the sneer from his tone. “You really expect me to believe that?”

  Elijah McNamara shrugged. “I don’t expect you to believe anything. You asked me about my relationship with Sheila and why it was deteriorating. That was one of the reasons.”

  “Okay. Let’s say I believe you.” The detective clicked the pen in his hand in a rhythm that was just off enough that Kieran couldn’t predict when he’d click it again. It made him want to grab the pen and snap it in two. “What’s the other reason?”

  “She wanted to leave New Hope.”

  “And you didn’t?”

  “No.”

  “Again, I find that hard to believe. Aren’t most kids eager to get out of this podunk town?”

  Kieran clenched his fists, but still, he didn’t say anything. He absolutely had to keep his mouth shut. He knew without a doubt that the detective was waiting for him to breathe wrong, so he’d have the excuse to kick Kieran out of the interview room. The man had made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want Kieran there and only tolerated his presence because his boss had told him he had to.

  For Eli’s sake—as well as the others they’d be interviewing—Kieran needed to make sure that he could continue to be present when the detective questioned them. So he bit his tongue and hoped that Eli would understand.

  “Sure, some kids were eager to leave, but not me.”

  “What made you the exception?”

  Eli shifted in his seat and reached for his glass of water. After a sip, he cleared his throat. “A short time before Sheila disappeared, my dad took off. Even if I’d wanted to leave New Hope, I couldn’t have. My mom and sisters needed me.”

  “So she wanted sex, and you didn’t. She wanted to leave, you didn’t. Any other things she wanted that you didn’t that were causing your relationship to fall apart?”

  “We were young,” Eli said. “I don’t think either of us really knew what love was, so at the first signs of trouble, we began to struggle.”

  “So where were you the night Sheila disappeared?” the detective asked. Click. Click. Click-click.

  Eli’s gaze dropped to the detective’s hands, obviously as annoyed by the noise as Kieran was. “I was at the house of one of my friends. Four of us were there.”

  “And you were there all night?”

  “Yep. We were having a sleepover. Playing video games. Watching movies.”

  “Were the other three guys awake all night with you?” the detective asked. “Could they verify that you were in that house the whole night?”

  “I don’t know if the others were awake all night. I fell asleep during the second movie, so I’m not sure when the other guys did. When I woke up the next morning, a couple of them were up already. We were having breakfast when Coral called to ask if we’d seen Sheila.”

  “And what did you tell her?”

  “We all told her the same thing. The last time we’d seen her was at the Festival when she and I met up with the guys. She wasn’t happy that I was going to spend time with them.”

  “Oh…yet another reason why things were ending between you guys?”

  “I guess.” Eli leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. “She usually didn’t mind me spending time with the boys, so I’m not sure why she was so upset that night. We’d planned to meet up the next afternoon to go on the rides.”

  “And she never showed?”

  “No.”

  “And she didn’t answer her phone?”

  “She didn’t have one,” Eli said. “Her parents had said she didn’t need one. My folks hadn’t gotten me one either, for that matter. Honestly, most of our friend group didn’t have phones then.”

  “You wouldn’t survive in this day and age,” the detective scoffed.

  “It was a different time back then,” Eli replied.

  Kieran hoped that the interview was almost over because he needed a coffee in the worst way. Instead, it dragged on for another hour, and by the end, he was ready to strangle someone. Preferably the detective. He was glad for Eli’s sake that the interview was over, but unfortuna
tely, another round of questions was just beginning. Only this time, they were directed at him.

  “So, do you really believe the stuff he was spouting?” the detective said as he walked toward the coffee pot after Eli left the police station.

  “What are you having trouble believing?” Kieran asked. He poured himself a cup of coffee as well and took a sip. Usually, he was fine with the coffee at the station, but right then, it tasted like swill.

  “That crap about her pressuring him to have sex.” The man shook his head as they walked into Kieran’s office. “I mean, really? He expected us to buy that?”

  “It might not make sense to you, but to anyone aware of Eli’s religious background, it would.”

  “How’s that relevant?” the detective asked as he sat down in the chair across the desk from Kieran. He slouched back in his chair, his stomach bulging out from between the edges of his brown suit coat. Setting his cup of coffee on Kieran’s desk, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his inside pocket and took one out.

  Kieran kinda hoped the guy was dumb enough to light up so he could tell him to take it outside. Instead, the guy just returned the pack to his pocket and settled back in the chair after picking up his coffee. He stuck the cigarette between his lips, but he didn’t make any move to light it, just pulled it out long enough to take a sip of coffee before putting it back in his mouth.

  “The church Eli and Sheila attended as teens taught the youth that they shouldn’t have sex before marriage.”

  “Religious nuts, eh?”

  “They’re not nuts,” Kieran said, trying to keep his voice calm.

  The detective gave him a curious look over his coffee mug. “Is that how you were raised as well?”

  Kieran wanted to deny it, but instead, he gave a quick nod. “And I attended the same church for awhile.”

  The detective’s brows drew together as he lowered his mug. “Were the two of you friends? Because if you were, your presence at the questioning shouldn’t have been allowed.”

  “No. We weren’t friends. I’m a few years older than Eli. By the time he was in high school, I was long gone.”

  The detective’s frown faded and was replaced with a curious look. “So, are you married, Sutherland?”

  “Me?” Kieran asked. “Nope.”

  “So, you’re still a virgin?”

  “What?” Kieran stared at him. “Why would you even ask that?”

  “Just following the course of logic. You said that Eli and Sheila were taught that sex outside marriage was wrong, then you said that you were taught the same thing. Ergo, if you aren’t married, you must still be a virgin.”

  “That is none of your business,” Kieran said through clenched teeth. “And it has absolutely no bearing on this case.”

  The detective laughed. “I’m not sure I believe that, but I’ll let it go for now.”

  He went on to touch on a few other issues he had with Eli’s interview. Nothing Eli had said had made Kieran reconsider his earlier opinion—and also that of his uncle who had been the police chief at the time—that Eli hadn’t played a role in Sheila’s disappearance.

  His irritation with the detective continued to mount as the man blathered on and on about the theories he had pertaining to the case. By the time he finally gathered up his stuff and left the station, Kieran was beyond happy to see him gone, but the irritation lingered like an itch under his skin because he knew his relief was only short-lived. The man would be back in a couple of days for more interviews.

  That thought had Kieran storming out of the station. Right then, his focus was on getting something to hopefully improve his day and stop the anger that was coursing through his bloodstream.

  He was heading toward the bakery to grab something that would sweeten his day when he spotted Eli leaving his aunt’s restaurant. Jogging across the street, he called the man’s name, catching up to him when he stopped and turned around.

  “You doing okay?” Kieran asked as he came to a stop in front of him.

  Eli shrugged, the strain showing on his face. “As good as I can be when I’m being forced to relive stuff from ten years ago. Stuff that I’ve tried not to think about in all those years.”

  “I was told that I could observe but not participate in the interview, and if I tried, they would boot me out. I wanted to make sure that I could stay, so that’s why I didn’t say anything.”

  “I thought that was probably the case,” Eli said. “Thanks for explaining, though. Do you think I’ll need to be interviewed again?”

  “No clue. This detective is playing it close to his chest on certain things.”

  “I guess I’d better just anticipate it.”

  “I would say that’s probably for the best.”

  The frown on Eli’s face deepened. “Is there any more news on the vandalism?”

  “Nope.” And that admission added to the frustration already eating at him. “There’s been nothing more?”

  “Nothing since Anna moved into the lodge.”

  “I suppose that’s a good thing,” Kieran said. “But until something more happens, we have nothing to help us determine who is responsible.”

  “I don’t really want anything more to happen, but I also don’t like the idea that someone isn’t being held responsible for what they’ve done.”

  When Kieran’s phone rang, he pulled it out and looked at the screen. “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” He began to walk away as he answered the call. “Lisa? What’s up?”

  “Mary Albridge just called. Apparently she had a break-in at her place.”

  “Her house?”

  “No, her shop.”

  Kieran glanced across the street to the antique shop that Mary Albridge owned. “Okay. I’m heading over right now.”

  After looking both ways, Kieran jogged across the street and knocked on the glass door of the shop. Mary appeared and quickly unlocked the door.

  “Hello there, Kieran.” She greeted him with a warm smile. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

  “I was just across the street talking to Eli when Lisa called me.” Kieran stepped inside and let her lock the door behind him. “She said you had a break-in.”

  “I did,” Mary said as she began to walk toward the back of the store. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “You know I’m more of a coffee person, but thank you.” Kieran looked around the shop as he followed her. It was even more crowded than the last time he’d been in there. Antique furniture filled every corner of the shop. “What all is missing?”

  She glanced over her shoulder as she moved gracefully through the shop, the loose caftan she wore flowing around her. “So far, I think it was just the cash from the safe.”

  “They broke into your safe?”

  “Yes.” She turned on her kettle then reached for a teacup and a mug. “Or no? I mean, is it a break-in if they knew the code?”

  “They knew the code?” Kieran asked as he sat down on one of the antique chairs at the small table in the kitchen Mary had in the back of her shop. “That should help to narrow down the list of suspects.”

  “Uh…maybe?”

  “How many people have you given your safe code to?” Kieran asked. He’d known the older woman for most of his life, so he was well acquainted with her quirks. “Have you ever changed it? Or the code for your security alarm?”

  Mary let out a sigh as she set a mug of coffee down in front of him. “You know how I am, Kieran, sweetheart. I forget numbers so easily, and you told me not to write the passwords down.”

  “So you’ve never changed your codes at all?” Kieran asked, not really surprised at that revelation. “Can you remember who you gave them to?”

  Carrying over a dainty teacup, she settled onto the chair across from him. “Maybe. I can try and give you a list.”

  “That would be great. In the meantime, I’ll have someone come by to take fingerprints.” Normally, Kieran would have asked more questions, but at this point, he’d be
lucky to get the list of names from Mary.

  It angered him to think that someone she might previously have trusted, had taken advantage of her. She was one of the sweetest women he knew, and he hoped he could figure this out for her.

  “I’m going to change your security alarm code,” Kieran said.

  “Oh, but Kieran, you know I’ll never remember a new one.”

  “What we’ll do is we’ll pick another code that will be easy for you to remember.” Kieran paused to consider then said, “Do you remember your mother’s birthday?”

  “Well, of course,” Mary said indignantly.

  “Perfect. We’re going to change it all to numerals and use those as your new code.” At her nod, he gave her a stern look. “This time, you won’t give it to anyone. And if someone asks you for it, you call me and let me speak to them. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Mary smiled and held her hand out.

  Kieran gently took it in his, feeling the frailty of her fingers. “Are you going to be here for a few more hours this afternoon so that the tech can come to check for fingerprints?”

  “Sure thing,” Mary said with a nod.

  “In the meantime, let me know if you notice anything else missing.”

  Mary laughed. “It might take me a little while to figure that out. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a lot of stuff in this shop.”

  “Oh, I’ve noticed.” Kieran gave a shake of his head as he got to his feet. “Start with looking through the stuff that would be easily transported.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  She trailed him as he headed toward the entrance to the shop. “Take care of yourself, Kieran, darling.”

  Kieran opened the door then turned, bending to place a kiss on the older woman’s cheek. She smelled of lilacs, reminding him of warm spring days. And his mom.

  “You take care of yourself, too, Mary. And call me if anything else suspicious pops up, okay?”

  “I will.”

  Kieran stepped out of the shop then turned around long enough to watch her lock the door. With a final smile and nod at the woman, he headed down the street, back toward the station to continue the day that just never seemed to end.