The Stone Family Heart - Taylor Hart Page 0,56
his life, he decided to trust. “Maybe we should say a prayer.”
Marshall gave him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? Is that your answer?” He ran a hand through his hair and paced the room. “I guess that would be your answer. You’re the kid of a pastor. But I don’t know if it’s the one we need right now.”
“Maybe it is, if you would just hold still and let me say a prayer. Don’t you think? That way, you wouldn’t just be pacing and talking to yourself with no answers.”
Marshall paused and gave him a withering glare. He folded his arms. “This better work.”
Tim bowed his head. “Dear Lord, we would ask for help.”
He thought of the prayers his uncle gave. He thought of all the times he’d taken part in family prayer with his aunt and uncle, whether to show gratitude for their blessings or to petition God for help. He hadn’t realized it then, but those words were coming back to him, along with the same feeling he’d felt growing up and having those family prayers.
“My friends are in jail, and it’s our fault. It was stupid. We shouldn’t have done it. But we need help. Please show us what to do. We can’t have the Stone brothers getting in trouble with their commanding officers. We can’t have this be a national incident for our little town. Please, Father, help us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
“Amen.” Marshall nodded, then said, “Well, is it working?”
It wasn’t two seconds later that there was a knock at his door. Tim’s heart raced as he went to answer it.
“Hold up. You don’t know who it is. They may just want to arrest me.”
Tim didn’t think so. When he opened the door, he wasn’t surprised at all to see the face of the man who had been there for him his whole life. “Hey, Uncle.” He pulled him into his arms.
His uncle let out a light laugh. “It was the strangest thing. I woke up about a half hour ago, and I didn’t know why. I said a prayer and asked God where he needed me. And I was led to coming here. Oh, and I have someone else with me in the car.”
Chapter 18
Kensi sat in a crowded cell, her chin resting on her propped-up fists. If nothing else, she could take comfort in knowing that South Port’s jail wasn’t too bad.
“What are we going to do, Kens?” Trent asked.
“What are we gonna do, Kens?” Brooks tapped his foot against the bars of the jail cell.
Dawn shot to her feet. “Why don’t you back off, Brooks?”
Brooks swerved to face her. “Funny, you telling me to back off.”
Dawn threw up her hands. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brooks, who never got ruffled, was clearly ruffled. “It means this feels a lot the same way it felt when I showed up at Julliard and saw you kissing that cheating husband of yours.”
“Don’t. Even. Talk. To. Me.” Dawn spun away from him.
Kensi pinched the bridge of her nose. The night had started out in light-hearted fun, until they’d gotten arrested.
“Seems my brother has a point,” Hunter said, moving to Brooks’s side.
“Yeah,” Trent said, agreeing.
Cheryse moved to Dawn’s side and pointed at both of them. “Why don’t you guys shut your traps.”
“Did you just tell two Navy SEALs to shut their traps?” Hunter looked mock offended.
Cheryse glared at them. “You think you could bring up the fact you’re a Navy SEAL one more time? Just in case someone forgot in the last thirty seconds.”
“Yeah,” Trent said, puffing his chest out. “Not that you would care.”
Cheryse glared at them. “Who said I didn’t care?”
“Everyone stop talking.” Kensi shot to her feet, moving between them. This whole thing could not explode more than it already had.
Luckily, Darla technically wasn’t a sheriff’s deputy. Kensi had pointed that out to her several times, once they’d all realized she had no authority to arrest them. In fact, Kensi had made quite a scene when she’d spurred Kat and Lucy and Cheryse to confront Darla about that fact.
The only thing in their favor was that Darla had agreed she would consult with Tim before taking the next step. But Darla had also made it very clear that this petroglyph thing was a big deal, and the fact that they took it out of the cave without the owner’s knowledge was a criminal offense.
Voices echoed from outside. The door to the building opened, and Tim rushed in. His face was