Page 166 of Christmas Under Fire

“I go where God calls me,” he says. “She needed a reminder then, just like you needed one now.”

“A reminder?” I stare up at him, unable to get my feet underneath me.

“That you aren’t alone, Maverick. You’ve never been alone. Even when you cannot see Him, He is there.” With one final smile, he leaves the chapel.

My gaze shifts back to the cross. I go where God calls me.

Emotion hits me in the chest like a heavy stone tossed off the side of a mountain. I can’t even breathe, can’t think. I fall forward onto my knees, right in the pew aisle, and clasp my hands together.

Samuel was here. He was in Georgia first, and now here. There is absolutely no logical reason why. Except—God.

And now, in this moment, I have no one else to cling to—except God.

Sadie did. In her darkest hours, she believed she wasn’t alone.

So don’t I owe it to her—to myself—to believe that now?

To know that, no matter what happens, I am blessed to have had the opportunity to know her at all?

“God, thank You for Sadie,” I start, my voice cracking. “But please don’t let her death today be Your plan. Please,” I choke on the word. “I am begging You, Lord, save her. I would gladly trade my life a million times over for her if that’s what it takes. Please, I—” I stop speaking, the lump in my throat so great that I can barely breathe.

A hand touches my shoulder, and I look over as Sawyer kneels to my right. Ryker drops a knee beside him, while Zane, Garrison, and Weston all file into the pew opposite us, all of them sinking to their knees.

I close my eyes, unable to even process the strength that them being here gives me.

And even though I don’t understand it, I know with all that I am, they were sent into this chapel by God. Just like Samuel was sent to that bench in Georgia, then sent here to this chapel.

“Lord,” Zane starts, “We ask that You be with Sadie in these hours of healing. We know that You are the Creator of all things and that You alone can heal her. Please guide the hands of her surgeons, of those fighting to save her life, and please, if it is Your will, let Sadie survive. In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen.”

“Amen,” the men say together.

“Amen,” I manage through tears.

The crushing pressure in my chest loosens a bit as peace settles over me.

Peace in His plan.

In the people He has surrounded me with.

Still, I remain on my knees because it’s the only way I can fight for her now.

And as long as we’re both breathing, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

SADIE

“Thank You, Lord. Thank You.” Maverick’s voice is the first thing I hear as I come out of the fog. I cling to it, his whispered prayers filling me with emotion before I can even fully process where I am.

We were at his bar…right?

I turn my head and see him sitting in a chair beside my bed. There’s an IV in my arm and guardrails on my bed.

A hospital.

When did we get to a hospital?

“Maverick?” I choke out.

His eyes fly open, and he lifts his head. The moment our gazes connect, his fills with tears, and he gets to his feet. But just as he’s about to reach for my hand, he pulls back. Why?