It's been two years since a tornado struck the town of Reyport, Missouri, and God made his voice heard to several residents. Now that the town has rebuilt, people have moved on with their lives. Annie Stockton enjoys high school volleyball and has taken a new interest in boys. Carolyn and Eric's "golden" son Andrew is away at college on a baseball scholarship, but has found himself in a sticky situation. Katie and Bob's toddler daughter, Tiffany, is helping them find joy again after the loss of their first baby. Ralph Parks even works at the Second Chances Treatment Center that gave him a new start on life. Everyone is dealing with the stresses of daily life when some bigger challenges arise. A house fire, a drug arrest, and a parking lot accident cause their lives to become surprisingly intertwined. Personal crossroads are faced, but through it all, God is there, watching over them and guiding them. Will they have the courage to choose the path of truth and growth, or will they take the easy way out? This novel explores the choices made when facing the crossroads of life, but ultimately, it is a story about how people find and receive God, and how he sustains them through tough times.

COURAGE AT THE CROSSROADS

A "Second Chances" NovelBy Lori Givan

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Lori Givan
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-0516-4

Chapter One

Annie tossed her long brunette hair over her shoulder as she walked with Kendra, wagering a backward glance every so often to see if anyone was following on the sidewalk behind them. Since the beginning of their sophomore year, they'd been walking to Kendra's house after school on the days that Annie didn't have volleyball practice.

"See anyone?" Kendra asked, looking straight ahead.

"Nope," Annie said.

"Well, maybe they'll come by later on."

"Yeah, maybe."

Annie wasn't boy-crazy, at least not like some of the girls, but lately she'd been finding it hard to keep her mind off Will. She saw him several times at school each day, and they constantly texted each other. Her parents wouldn't let her go out yet, but when she turned sixteen in a few months, she hoped he'd ask her out. He was already sixteen and had a car, and sometimes Annie felt like such a little kid around him.

Kendra took a cigarette pack from her purse. "Want one?" she said, holding it out to Annie.

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself," Kendra said, lighting it.

Annie had tried smoking a few times, but it made her cough and sometimes even gag, which was embarrassing and very uncool, so she'd stopped trying. She didn't care if Kendra wanted to smoke, except that Annie ended up smelling like smoke, and her mother sometimes noticed it.

"Wanna go hang at the park for a while?" Kendra asked.

"Okay. But I can't stay long. I've got a ton of homework." Annie wished she could spend the rest of the afternoon at the park, since it was so warm and she knew Indian summer wouldn't last forever. They chattered about their day and their homework, and who was going out with whom.

As they approached the park, Kendra leaned in to Annie and pointed with her cigarette, "Check that out."

"Oh!" Annie tried to act nonchalant, but she could feel her heart beating faster. Will was tossing a football with a few other guys from school. She and Kendra perched on a picnic table and watched them from the corners of their eyes.

"Look who else is here," Kendra said, taking a long drag.

"Who?"

"Charlie."

They tried not to act like they'd even noticed the guys, and Kendra took out a brush and pulled it through her long, blonde hair. A minute later, someone missed a catch and the football took an odd bounce, rolling to a stop near their table. Both girls looked up as if they had just now noticed anyone else there.

"Hello, ladies," Charlie said with a half-grin as he jogged over to retrieve the ball.

"Hey," Kendra said flirtatiously, blowing smoke above her head.

The other guys started moving closer to the table. Charlie short-tossed the ball to Will, and climbed up to sit next to Kendra.

"Hey," Will said, with a little wave to Annie as he walked up.

"Hey," Annie smiled, wondering if she looked as nervous as she felt. She tried to calm her thumping heart.

They all chatted for a few minutes, and then Will asked Annie, "You wanna go for a walk around the park or something?"

"I don't know. I've got homework," Annie said.

"Oh, go on," Kendra encouraged. "You can do that later."

"Well, okay," she said, jumping off the table. She grabbed her backpack, and they headed down the walking trail away from the others. For the first few steps neither of them spoke, and then they both began at once.

Will said, "You go. Ladies first."

"Oh, I was just gonna ask you what kind of music you like." It sounded so stupid, but she couldn't think of anything else to get the conversation going. It was so much easier at school when other people were around, or when they texted each other and she had time to think of something clever.

"All kinds, I guess, but especially some of the new Christian rock."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said, rattling off some of the bands he liked. "So, what music do you like?" he asked.

"I like a lot of different stuff too, but especially classical guitar."

As they walked, they chatted about school and sports, but finally they were quiet again. He was the first to break the silence this time.

"You know, I've been wanting to ask you something, Annie. I hope you don't think this is weird, but I've wondered about it for a long time."

"Sure. What?"

He hesitated, and then said, "Can you tell me about when you heard God ... out loud, that time?"

Her stomach instantly knotted. Was he going to make fun of her? It seemed like everyone else had almost forgotten about her fifteen minutes of fame on The Hailey Show, but here he was, two years later, bringing it up.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," he added quickly, noticing her discomfort.

"I guess I'd rather not." That sounded so lame. What would he think of her now?

They walked in silence a few more paces.

"I didn't mean to offend you or anything. It's just that I was hoping we could talk about it," Will said. She stared down as they walked. "Because I heard him during the tornado too, but I never told anyone."

She looked over at him to see if he was just joking around or if he was really being serious. He looked serious, but she still wasn't sure. Finally, she said, "A lot of people think the whole thing sounded crazy."

"I know. That's why I never told anyone it happened to me, too. But if you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

After a few more steps, Annie said, "I guess we could talk about it."

Chapter Two

Katie added the final touches to her floral arrangement, and stood back to take a critical look. She rearranged some of the baby's breath and filler leaves once more before she was satisfied. She brushed off her hands, slid the small card into the plastic holder, and placed it in the vase.

She heard Carl coming in the back door and called out, "One more!" He walked over to carry the arrangement out to the delivery van. Martha was on the phone with a customer, and Katie waited for her to finish the call. When she hung up, Martha glanced at the clock and said, "Oh my, where has this day gone? It's been crazy, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, but I think we're finally caught up," Katie said. "I'm gonna take off now. I need to run by the grocery store before I pick up Tiffany. See you tomorrow."

"Okay. Have a nice evening, hon."

"You too, Martha."

Katie went to the back, and got her jacket and purse. As she walked out to her car, she was glad it was warm, and she didn't even need the jacket. She tried to remember everything on the list that she'd left on the counter at home. She felt like she was always forgetting something. There was so much to keep track of-bills, insurance companies, Tiffany's doctor appointments, her work schedule, and of course, groceries.

She loved being a mom as much as she'd always thought she would, but she just wished she had more time with Tiffany. She was glad to have three days off every week, but they were always filled with errands, cleaning and just trying to catch up. Where was the time to just sit and play with her little girl? Thankfully, Tiffany was an easy-going child, except when she got one of her frequent ear infections, which meant a trip to the doctor or the urgent care center. The doctor had said that Tiffany might need to get tubes in her ears, but Katie hoped she'd outgrow the infections.

Now, what was on the list? Milk,...