Leaving the 99

24~Deliver us from temptation

Annie was crying.

The sound of her tears crushed him. Folding his arms around her, Ty pulled her close.

"We love God. We obey Him. It isn't fair," she whispered, the words tickling his chest.

The same thoughts tormented him. What more did God want from them? "Have faith, sweetheart."

"Why is God punishing us?"

"He's not.

"Captain Jones' men could have killed you!" Annie cried. "Your acceptance into the seminary program will be revoked. No one thinks we belong together."

She was right. Anger and resentment settled like burning stones in his gut. He put the Lord first, asked for forgiveness when he failed, and always tried to do His will. Why wasn't that enough?

Rolling over, she reached up and cupped the back of his head lowering his head to hers. Her lips caught his. She felt different. "Love me, Ty."

"Annie, I do. More than you know."

He kissed her, unleashing the passion he usually kept under control.

Her arms encircled him, cool fingers threading in his hair. "Do you love me more than Him?"

Yes.

She was the other half of his soul. "Annie, I—" Ty froze. Something about her was different.

Flee!

Her lips brushed his ear. "Tell me you love me more than your God."

She meant everything to him, but he couldn't say those words. He shifted, needing to see her face but she buried it in his chest, pressing her body along his."

"You love me more than Him. I know you do," she purred insistently.

Flee!

Fear sliced through him.

"Say it, Ty! Tell me you love me most of all!" she screamed.

"No!" Ty's eyes opened and he shot up in bed, drenched in sweat, heart racing.

Shaking, he fought to catch his breath. None of it was real. It was just a nightmare.

His Annie would never say those things to him. She put God before everything, even him.

Shoving the covers aside, he got out of bed, fell to his knees and prayed. Ty turned it all over to God. When he was done, he found a piece of stationary paper in his desk drawer and pen. Once he was done writing, he slid the note under Annie's door.

After he showered and dressed, his gaze landed on the duffle bag full of money. He knew what he needed to do.

An hour later his muscles burned for exertion, but he had a nice size hole to bury the money. The manual labor soothed him. It helped him forget. Why he felt the urgent need to hide the money, Ty didn't know but he wasn't questioning it.

Soon the sun was peeking over the horizon, painting the sky. Vibrant colors of orange, blue, yellow, and red mingled to create a magnificent sunrise—God's work.

Ty's skin tingled with awareness. He knew she was here even before she spoke the single word.

"Breathtaking."

His gaze flicked to Annie. She wore shorts and a hoodie, her hair pulled into a messy bun and not a smidge of makeup. Ty thought she was the most breathtaking sight he'd ever beheld.

"Yes."

Her cheeks went hot and soft laugher fell from her lips. "I'm serious."

"So am I. I've never seen anything on earth as beautiful as you."

She glanced up at him shyly. "That's how I feel about you."

"You think I'm beautiful," he said with amusement. "You need glasses."

Annie laughed.

"You'd look cute in glasses," he said, teasing. "You're right about the sunrise. I feel God's presence every time I see one."

"I feel Him now. God is amazing. He used us to help Josh." She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, and a frown formed between her delicately shaped brows. "I can't imagine what Dani must be going through. I wish we'd had a chance to talk to her."

"I don't think God is done with Dani yet." He played with a strand of her hair. "Or us."

Her heart lifted with joy. "Your faith is extraordinary. You make me want to be more like Christ."

He made a face like he was uncomfortable with her praise. "You make me sound perfect, Annie. I'm not."

"Not perfect. Just perfect for me." She glanced away, but not before he caught the shadows in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that I—" Annie let out a soft sigh, and shook her head. "It's silly, but I had this weird dream."

Ty stiffened, suddenly alert.

"You and I were... in bed." A fierce blush stained her cheeks. "You'd never believe it."

"Did I ask you if you loved me more than God?"

Her lips parted and surprised eyes flew to his. "How did you know?"

"I think we had the same dream."

"It scared me, Ty," she admitted, folding her arms over her middle. "When I saw your note, I was relieved. I needed to see you."

Closing the distance between them, he gently pulled her into his arms. "It's alright. I'm not the monster in the dream."

"I know that." She traced a heart on his chest. "I guess that's why we should take spiritual warfare seriously. It felt so real. Is that how it was for you?"

"Yeah." His knuckles lightly grazed her cheek. "This is real, Annie." He gestured to the sunrise. "God. You and me."

"Your faith is stronger than anyone I know. I want to love and obey the Lord like you, Ty."

He lifted her chin with his fingers, their gazes tangling. "I'm not always strong. I make mistakes. I have doubts. Every day I fall short of God's glory."

"We all do, Ty."

"Annie, I've prayed. I asked God to show me His will." Ty's voice was husky and intense. "My admission to the seminary program will probably be revoked," he said in a matter-of-fact tone as if whatever happened had no lasting effect on him.

"If that happens, He will show you what to do."

"Annie, I—" He let out a deep chuckle. "I'm nervous," he admitted with an endearing smile.

Pain flashed in her eyes. "As much as I want us to be together, I know God comes before all."

"You're right," Ty agreed. He felt in his pocket for the ring. His heartfelt like it might burst with love. He'd never been more sure about anything in his life. "Annie—"

"Ty, I think we have company."

Following her gaze, he saw Josh, his expression stricken as he watched Dani get into a car.

"She's leaving, Ty. We have to stop her." Annie jogged through the sand.

Ty did the same, but the cab was pulling away when they reached them. From the look of devastation on Josh's face, it was clear Dani wasn't coming back. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Annie's gaze swung from the car driving away then to Josh. "She didn't have an abortion," Josh said, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Thank goodness."

"She still wants to do it."

"Oh, Josh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too. But it's in God's hands." Josh's eyes lifted to the sky. "I'm learning that's how everything is."