Mary O'Connor is lost in a series of dead-end jobs with no idea what she wants to do when she grows up. While her friends are getting on with their lives, she is only going through the motions of hers. She wonders if her dreams may offer some insight into her future. After her most recent nightmare, she decides that it's time to move on. She will go back to college, a decision her best friend Susan believes will change Mary's life for the better. But they have no idea how much Mary going back to finish college is about to turn their lives upside down. As her new college career unfolds, she learns of the reason St. Anthony's College recruited her: she has psychic abilities and hidden powers. Little does she know that lives now depend upon these abilities-along with her choices. And the fate of a betrayer lies in her hands. Labeled a "quitter" at a young age, Mary must face her inner demons, along with the outer ones who are closing in on her. An evil plague is spreading. It is almost too much for her to handle. Will her "touch of faith" be enough to save the man she loves, or is his tortured soul primed for the taking?

A Touch of Faith

THE ANGEL'S ADVOCATE GROUP: BOOK ONEBy KATHLEEN SCHIPPER

Abbott Press

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Schipper
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-0207-9

Contents

1. A Quitter's Touch............................12. The Dream....................................83. Friends and Family...........................134. A Cup of Joe.................................175. The Necklace.................................226. The Messenger................................287. A Toast Farewell.............................338. Back to School...............................389. Mind Games...................................4810. Have We Met?................................5711. The Truth...................................6112. Cafeteria Food..............................6513. The Teacher's Pet...........................7014. God's Gift to Them..........................7315. Better Late Than Never......................8016. A Crash Course..............................8517. Bonding.....................................8918. The First Date..............................9519. Not Just Another Dream......................10220. Raindrops and Lightning.....................10621. Arresting Developments......................11222. The Getaway.................................11623. Evil Lurks in the Halls.....................12524. The Reunion.................................13525. Paper Airplanes.............................14026. A Plan......................................14827. The Plot Sickens............................15228. The Secret Prize............................15929. Visitors....................................16330. The Hosts...................................16931. Big Betty...................................17432. Tunnel Vision...............................17933. A New Rivalry...............................18434. The Storm...................................18835. Choices.....................................19336. Saying Good-Bye.............................19737. Bad Cop, Good Cop...........................20338. Hindsight...................................20839. Giveth and Taketh Away......................21440. Perspectives................................22041. A Decent Proposal...........................22642. Puzzle Pieces...............................23443. A Touch of Faith............................23944. Before and Afters...........................24545. A Revelation................................250

Chapter One

A Quitter's Touch

As she hiked up the last of the metal stairs to the fifth floor of her apartment building, Mary thought to herself, "Just a couple more steps to go." She could not wait to plop down on her comfy couch and close the door to the rest of the world. For such a social, caring girl, it was unusual for her to want to be alone. Mary loved people of every kind. No matter their race, age, looks, status, or religion, she befriended them all. She didn't judge people, and she would give the shoes off her feet to help someone in need. But days like today were becoming a little more common, which really bothered her.

Mary walked through the door, threw her keys on the coffee table, and laid her coat on the arm of the couch. She dropped herself backward into her overstuffed couch, making a whoosh-like sound; it mimicked her mood, as if to give out a big sigh. She grabbed the remote and pointed it toward the TV. With her finger over the power button, she froze, staring at the blank screen. Her mind took her back to a memory from fifth grade, and she lowered the remote to her side.

She remembered carrying her violin case to the band room, worrying about how she was going to face Mr. Stilp. The truth was that he was a rigid, bitter man with very little compassion for children—or anyone, for that matter. Looking back, it was a mystery why he had ever wanted to work with children. He didn't even seem to like them. As she walked to the band room, she wondered how on earth she was going to break the news to him that she had no desire to keep taking lessons.

Mary's parents had always encouraged her to explore new things. If she didn't like something, she could always move on to something else.

"You'll never know unless you try," they'd always said..

Mr. Stilp could not have disagreed more. "Once a quitter, always a quitter," he scolded her after she broke the news to him. "You are setting the tone for the rest of your life. You will never be successful at anything if you quit every time things get hard. If you walk out that door, you will always be a quitter in my mind."

If that was some kind of pep talk to convince her to stay, it had sure backfired. Mary couldn't have left the room fast enough. She was trembling inside as she walked down the hall.

Mary was snapped out of her trance by the familiar ringtone of her phone. It was her best friend, Susan.

"Mary, what happened today? I stopped in, and you weren't there. Tim told me you quit."

It was not as if it had been some big career opportunity. She had been a clerk at a gas station. In the beginning, Mary thought it sounded like a fun job. She could meet different people each day and get to know the regulars; even if it wasn't that challenging, at least she wouldn't get bored. Truth be told, on most days she really liked it.

Mary replied, "Two words: Weird Tony."

Susan gasped, "Him again? That guy is so creepy! I don't blame you. What did he do?"

"Um, nothing really; I can't explain it. He just made me so uneasy—I hated it. I probably sound paranoid, but when he came into the station, I couldn't handle it. I felt I was being stalked. Today, when I was giving him change, he actually stroked my hand as he took the money from me. I just froze. He smiled that eerie smile and walked out. I feel bad quitting like that—Tim was a great boss—but I didn't see any reason to keep working there. I wasn't willing to risk it."

Mary had never been any good at confrontation or standing up for herself. She was always more flight than fight.

"Hey, Susan, do you think that there are defining moments in a child's life that set the tone for who they become when they grow up?"

"Oh, Mary, not the violin lesson story again. You're killing me! All of those years of straight As—and teachers who loved you and believed in you—and what do you cling to? Something that jerk said to you over twenty years ago. Why give Stilp the satisfaction of being right? You are one of the smartest, most genuine, and most talented people I know, and you have a heart of gold too, babe. Please don't do this to yourself."

"I know. You're right," Mary said. "I just wonder sometimes where I'd be if I had finished college."

Mary had dropped out during her sophomore year at Penn State when her parents, Jack and Beverly O'Connor, died suddenly in a plane crash. Mary was an only child, and between grieving and handling the estate, continuing her classes had been more than she could manage. She had decided to put her education on hold. Now, six years and a streak of dead-end jobs later, that goal seemed further away than ever.

One thing Mary avoided talking about was the night her parents died. She never claimed to be psychic, because she didn't predict their plane crash, but she did see it happen in her sleep at the exact time of the crash. She had dreamed of their faces and the panic and horror they felt, clinging to each other in their last moments. A second before the impact, Mary sat straight up in bed, screaming, waking...