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  The food arrived and the two of them enjoyed the rest of the evening eating and talking about their lives.

  By the end of the night, Connor was ready to ask Hayley on a second date, but refrained, knowing he didn’t want to form a romantic relationship with someone who was a nonbeliever. Tomorrow would be a big day, because it would either make or break a future for Hayley and Connor.

  Ten

  The atmosphere of Clear Mountain Assembly was warm and inviting as Hayley entered through the front doors. She glanced over at Connor, who had a wide grin on his face, and his eyes were twinkling with excitement. He looked handsome in his grey pants, blue button-up shirt, and black coat.

  Several people waved to them and greeted them, telling Connor how glad they were to see him and to meet Hayley. Surprisingly, no one made her feel out of place.

  They made their way further into the lobby, and Deanna greeted them. “You made it, Hayley. I’m so glad you came.”

  “Thanks for inviting me. Between you and Connor, I decided it was worth checking out.”

  “You made the right decision,” Deanna assured her.

  Hayley heard a squeal of delight followed by, “Oh, my gosh, is that you, Hayley Hall?”

  Hayley’s head snapped to the side to find Erica Cruz rushing up to her. “I can’t believe you’re here! I haven’t seen you since graduation.”

  Erica and Hayley were on the yearbook staff together at Clear Mountain High School. They had been paired together, using their talents and personalities to the team’s advantage. Hayley took photos, being comfortable hiding behind the lens of the camera. Erica, being bubbly and outgoing, got quotes from students.

  A pretty blonde woman came to stand next to Erica. She had a friendly smile and easy nature.

  Erica gestured to the other woman and asked, “You remember Lindsay Wright—I mean Lindsay O’Connell now—from high school? She was pretty busy working on her dad’s ranch, but she graduated with us.”

  Hayley racked her brain, trying to place the other woman. Finally, it dawned on her why she had looked familiar. “We had A.P. Bio together, right?”

  Lindsay nodded her head. “We sure did. Mr. Henley’s class.”

  “That’s right. You sat a seat in front of me and one row over.”

  “And you always had your head buried in a book. I thought I was quiet, but you had me beat by a landslide,” Lindsay observed. “It’s nice to have someone around who gets being introverted, unlike Miss Social over here,” Lindsay shrugged her head towards Erica and winked.

  “Hey, I resent that. I can’t help that I’m a friendly person.”

  Lindsay reached out and rubbed the side of her friend’s arm. “I meant nothing bad by it. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

  “Ah, stop it. You’ll make me blush,” Erica teased. Turning her attention back to Hayley, she said, “I saw from your social media pages, you’ve been all over the world hunting historical treasures,” Erica said with awe. “You have such an adventurous life.”

  “It keeps me busy, that’s for sure.”

  A man approached them and stopped next to Lindsay, placing his arm around her shoulders. Hayley recognized him from the police standoff as a Clear Mountain officer.

  “This is my husband, Aiden O’Connell,” Lindsay said to both of them. “He works with Deanna at the police department.”

  “We met the other night at work,” Connor stated. “Hello, Aiden.”

  “Hi, Connor, good to see you again,” Aiden greeted. “I’m surprised you’re here at Clear Mountain Assembly. Isn’t it out of your way?”

  Connor shrugged. “It is, but I used to come here before I left Clear Mountain. Since Hayley is staying in town, I thought it made sense to come here.”

  Aiden nodded. “That does.” He turned his attention to Hayley and added, “I’m glad you’re both here.” He reached out his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Hayley.”

  “Thanks,” she said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. “I recognize you from the other night at the SWAT standoff. I was there covering the situation for the Gazette.”

  “Ah, I heard a few of the guys talking about a new reporter at that call,” Aiden stated. “Now I have a face to put with the information. How did you end up in Clear Mountain?”

  “We all attended Clear Mountain High School together,” Erica explained.

  “All of you?” Aiden asked, looking around the group of five people with a surprised look.

  They all nodded in agreement except Deanna, who shook her head.

  “Not me, but we were roommates at Boulder University,” Deanna explained.

  “Wow, I feel like I’m at a class reunion or something,” Aiden joked.

  Everyone laughed as the music inside the sanctuary started to play.

  “Sounds like it’s time to find seats,” Connor suggested. “We should all go inside.”

  “Why don’t you both sit with all of us,” Lindsay offered.

  “That would be nice,” Hayley agreed.

  The group made their way through the double doors and down the aisle of the church. About halfway down, they picked a set of seats just as the singers belted out the words to the song.

  The music had a contemporary beat which Hayley enjoyed. The musicians and singers were excellent, and though she didn’t feel comfortable to sing along, it didn’t bother her that everyone else did. There were five songs before the congregation took their seats and a man wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater made his way to the center of the stage.

  Connor leaned over and whispered, “That’s Pastor Steve. He speaks most Sundays and is the Senior Pastor at Clear Mountain Assembly.”

  Hayley didn’t go to church growing up since her family wasn’t religious. In college, she was too busy studying and interning to do anything else. Working as an archaeological photographer for Victor, she figured she had all the religion she needed while they were tracking down Christian artifacts and ruins.

  “Good morning, Clear Mountain Assembly. It’s so good to see all of you. Can you believe it’s fall already? Where did the summer go? Soon, we’ll be having our first snow, which I can’t wait for. Today, I want to talk about the difference between knowing facts about God and having a relationship with Him.

  “Many of us have become experts in the Bible. We memorize Scriptures to quote for every situation. We know the rules to follow and what to say, but that doesn’t mean we’re connecting with God. You can know all sorts of things about someone, but that doesn’t mean you know who they are. For example, you might be able to recite lots of facts about your favorite movie star, but does that mean you have a relationship with him or her? No, you would have to meet that movie star, spend time with them, and become a part of each other’s lives for that to happen. It’s the same with God. If you don’t take the time to get to know Him, you will never have a relationship deeper than a list of facts with your Creator.”

  Hayley contemplated what the pastor said. She realized it struck a chord with her because she had been spending the last two years collecting many facts about Christianity, the God they believed in, and the early church, yet she had not let it penetrate her heart. Why was that? What was she afraid of?

  That’s easy, being hurt again. When William died and Dad left, it crushed me. If I let God in that means I have to give up control and be vulnerable. Doing that, scares me.

  But what if she was missing out? If she gave Christianity a chance, could she finally have peace and not need to keep running from everything?

  “When you make the jump from facts to relationship, when you make that connection, everything else falls into place. If you’ve been sitting back collecting facts about God, but have never formed a relationship with Him, you can change that today. All you have to do is repeat this prayer in your seat. Dear Lord, I want to know You…”

  Without Hayley even realizing it, she repeated the words of the pastor. By the end of the prayer, a burden was lifted from her shoulders
and a peace cascaded over her. Tears slipped down her cheeks as happiness filled her heart.

  Was this why she was brought back to Clear Mountain? Did God plan all of this so she would finally accept the truth about His existence? In her heart, she knew it to be true.

  The group stood and made their way back out into the lobby. They discussed where they would go for lunch, but Hayley needed to share with the group the decision she made during the service.

  “I need to tell all of you something.”

  Everyone stopped talking. All their eyes fell upon Hayley as they waited for her to continue.

  “This is hard for me. I’m not even sure what happened, or what it means, but just now, while the pastor was saying the prayer at the end, I did too.”

  “Really?” Erica said as her arms shot out and she gathered Hayley into them. “That’s such great news.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” Deanna stated with a smile. She also hugged her friend.

  “Congratulations,” both Aiden and Lindsay said one after the other.

  “How do you feel?” Erica inquired.

  Hayley tried to explain. “I feel… like I’m not alone anymore, like I’m finally complete.”

  “That’s wonderful, Hayley,” Connor said with an appreciative smile. “I can’t tell you how happy I am for you.”

  “We need to go grab our kids from the children’s wing of the church. Can we catch up with you guys at the restaurant?” Lindsay asked the rest of the group.

  Everyone nodded as the O’Connells took off. Erica reached out and squeezed Hayley’s hand. “I’m so excited for the decision you made today. I can’t wait to celebrate with you during lunch. Right now though, I need to go talk to a couple of people about the junior high group I help run here at the church. I’ll meet you guys at the restaurant too.”

  “Wait up, Erica. I’ll go with you,” Deanna said with a wink. “We’ll catch up with you later.”

  Once Connor and Hayley were by themselves, she turned to him and said, “Thank you for inviting me today. Considering everything that happened, I now realize, this was God’s plan all along. He wanted me to come today so I would hear what your pastor had to say and realize the truth had surrounded me for two years, but I refused to let the evidence convince me. It was a mistake which I rectified today.”

  “I agree with everyone. We have a lot to celebrate today,” he pulled her into an embrace. Hayley let his warmth wrap around her along with his arms. It felt good to be held by Connor.

  He whispered against her ear, “Welcome to the family, Hayley Hall.”

  Eleven

  The adrenaline from the last ten presses was still pumping through Connor as he set the barbell down in its cradle. He had just moved up five pounds and felt the burn in his biceps.

  Connor’s SWAT team was working out together. Keeping physically fit was a necessary part of training and required to keep a position on the team. He glanced at Jim, who was working out across the way half-heartedly. He realized some officers took it more serious than others.

  As if on cue, Jim finished his slow jog on the treadmill, and slung his towel around his neck as he sauntered over to Connor on the weight bench.

  “You sure work out a lot harder than the rest of us,” Jim stated with a smirk. “Still trying to impress that pixie from the small-town newspaper?”

  Connor tried to ignore Jim’s barb as he wiped his forehead with a towel, then took a drink from his water bottle.

  The truth was, he had been thinking about Hayley. She stirred strong feelings in him; feelings he had avoided in order to focus on his career rather than a relationship. Yet, somehow she had gotten past all of his defenses and made him turn his attention to something more than being a cop.

  Intent on distracting himself, he glanced around the substation’s gym, trying to decide what he would do next for the last fifteen minutes of his work out.

  Maybe some planking to strengthen his core would be good. He moved over to some mats on the floor and got down in the correct position. He placed his arms on the ground and pressed his weight on them, tightening his body’s muscles as he did it.

  “All right, boys, someone tipped the department off that there is a wanted person in a suspected murder,” Sergeant Winger told the team. “He’s holed up at a motel. He is considered armed and dangerous. We’re being called in to execute the search warrant at the hotel in hopes of locating and detaining the suspect. Get changed, grab your gear, and head to the truck.”

  The officers did as directed, changing out of their work-out clothes and into their uniforms and tactical vests. They each grabbed their go-bags filled with their preferred special weapons and supplies, then loaded up into the SWAT vehicle.

  Twenty minutes later, the team arrived at the Budget Motel. Connor was the first to jump out of the back of the truck, wanting to take in his surroundings and figure out what they were dealing with. The place was rundown. The only reason it was busy was the fact it was on the corner where two major roads intersected on the outskirts of Boulder.

  Sergeant Winger went into the motel office to show the night manager the search warrant. After a short time, he returned with a key in hand for the room they were going to search.

  “It’s confirmed the man staying inside room 223 fits the description of our suspect. He was checked in two nights ago by the manager on duty. We will do a standard breach. There is only one way in and out of the room, so when we’re sure the suspect is disoriented, we will enter the room and take him into custody.”

  The team headed up the stairs and lined up on the right side of the door for room 223.

  Connor remembered the mistake from last time when the man from the attic surprised them. Apprehension stirred inside him as he tried to block out the concern that something could go wrong again. Silently, he said a prayer, asking God to keep them safe and to help them capture the wanted criminal without a mishap.

  Ben raised his hand in the air and gestured for Troy to get ready with flashbang grenades in hand—a non-lethal device that delivered a loud noise and bright light. The senior officer softly placed the key in the door, then nodded to the window where Jim was standing with a glass breaking mechanism. Ben counted down on his hand, 3…2…1. Jim broke the window and Troy threw in the grenade.

  There was a loud explosion followed by painful moaning from inside the room. Ben turned the key and pushed the door open. The team entered the room with their guns raised high and their senses on high alert. They scanned the small area and found the suspect—a shaved-headed man with several tattoos—on the ground writhing in pain with his eyes squinted shut.

  “Roll over on to your stomach. Put your hands on the back of your head now,” shouted Ben. “Interlace your fingers, then don’t move.”

  The suspect was still groaning, but did as ordered.

  Jim pulled his handcuffs from his duty belt and moved over to place them on the suspect in custody, but before he could get the second cuff on the other man’s wrist, the suspect twisted over, knocking Jim backwards.

  The criminal reached for a gun in his waistband.

  Ben yelled, “Gun, gun, gun.”

  Connor and Troy were the closest officers. They rushed towards the suspect, both trying to get to him before he could pull the weapon free. Troy kicked out with his foot, knocking the gun out of the suspect’s hand, just before Connor jumped on top of him.

  They wrestled for a few seconds before Connor could subdue the suspect. He pushed him back over on top of his stomach, then grabbed the other man’s arms, pinning them behind his back. Jim regained his footing and joined Connor, putting the remaining handcuff on his wrist.

  Once the suspect was in the back of one of the cop cars downstairs, the team gathered together to go over the night’s events.

  “I want to say good job everyone,” Sergeant Winger said. “I know that these types of assignments are some of the most difficult and dangerous, but we pulled it off with no one getting hurt.”

&
nbsp; As Connor loaded up into the SWAT truck, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was a text from Hayley.

  I was working on a story

  when I got this feeling

  you needed me to pray for you.

  Hope you’re all right.

  Text me when you get this.

  Gratitude filled Connor’s heart, knowing her prayers helped to protect him during their search of the hotel room.

  He texted her back.

  Thank you for doing what

  God prompted you to do.

  I was in a sticky situation

  and your prayers helped.

  I will call you later

  And give you the details.

  Connor put away his phone, sat back, and leaned his head against the wall of the truck. He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift to thoughts of the pretty brown-haired woman taking up more and more residency in his heart.

  Twelve

  Hayley was excited for her second date with Connor. Lindsay and Aiden offered her time at their ranch and to use their horses to go riding. Though Hayley hadn’t grown up the same way as Lindsay, something drew her to nature and animals. She looked forward to enjoying both.

  Connor arrived at her mother’s house at the agreed upon time. Hayley was already waiting for him outside, not wanting to deal with her mother giving him the third degree.

  He got out of the car and met her at the bottom of the steps. His physique looked good in a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. He also had on his black wool jacket due to the cool weather that was more common every day the deeper they got into fall.

  “Are you ready for a fun afternoon?”

  She nodded as he took her hand and guided her over towards his truck. He opened the door for her and helped her inside, then moved around to take his spot on the driver’s side.

  On their way out of town, they passed the time talking about the different stories the Gazette was working on and the SWAT training Connor and his team had been working on over the past few days.