LITMIR.BIZ

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snickered. “Okay. Don’t forget—I got what you need.”

      Leesa found another spot of trash and filled yet another bag. I hope she stays away. I don’t want any trouble. What an idiot. I hope Joe didn’t see us talking.

      She wiped the dripping sweat from her eyes and dragged herself to the van for water.

      Joe handed her an empty paper cup. “You need to drink lots. You don’t want to get dehydrated.”

      Leesa looked down. Feeling like a kid, she went to the orange cooler and filled her cup. She drank the tepid water and then started filling trash bags again. By three o’clock, she felt hot, sore, and dizzy. Joe called the women to get in the truck. “Hurry up. We gotta get back to town and check out. Meet me tomorrow: same time, same place.”

      When the van arrived at the courthouse, the women piled out of the van. Leesa waited for everyone to leave, then walked the block back to where the limo met her. She fell into the vehicle and told the driver to take her to the nearest Wendy’s drive-thru for a Diet Pepsi.

      She took a long suck on the straw. “Ah… So good.” She leaned back in the seat. “Now I want to go home and to that Jacuzzi.”

      It seemed like forever, but the driver finally pulled through the black iron security gates.

      Leesa stumbled into the house. “Cook, I’m home! I’m taking a bath and going to bed.”

      Cook poked her head around the corner. “Glad you’re home. Don’t you want something to eat?”

      Too tired to answer, Leesa headed upstairs.

      Half an hour and one bath later, Leesa returned, finding Cook in the family room off the kitchen. “I’m so tired and hungry. The bath helped; now I’m famished.”

      Cook placed a plate with salad and a turkey with Swiss cheese sandwich on the kitchen bar.

      Leesa grabbed the sandwich. After swallowing the first bite, she sighed. “This tastes so good.”

      Cook shook her head. “You poor girl. How long are they going to have you on the trash crew?”

      Leesa slowly chewed another bite before swallowing. “I don’t know. I should call Mr. Stern and see if he can help me get assigned somewhere else.”

      Cook set a glass of ice water next to Leesa’s plate. “I hope he can. I see you got some sun. You’re sunburned. Did you see your face and the back of your neck?”

      She rubbed the back of her neck. “No wonder I want to scratch it. I’d better get some cream on it. I’m going to bed. I have to leave early. I don’t even have time to call Mr. Stern. I’ll leave his card for you to call him in the morning.” She finished off the sandwich and pushed the plate away.

      Cook picked up the plate and rinsed it off. “What about Lyza? Did you ever call her back?”

      Like I have time to talk to her.

      ***

      Lyza leaned over baby Levi and kissed him good morning over the kitchen table, then turned to kiss David. “This week seems like it’s going on forever.”

      David put his arms around her. “It seems like it’s been a month.”

      Lyza kissed him again. “God works in mysterious ways. It wasn’t that long ago that all I wanted was fame and fortune. I looked forward to taking over L. L. Lane Unlimited and making my mark on the world. I worked all the time to outshine other agents on the real estate side. I tried to win Father over by negotiating huge deals. Anyone who got in my way got run over. Really, I was merciless. I have so much to unlearn.”

      David opened a loaf of bread. “I cannot imagine you being that tough nut. You want some toast?”

      Lyza poured herself coffee. “No, thanks.”

      David finished his toast and poured another cup of coffee. “I think I’m still in shock that your father left everything to Levi. He only saw him once, and that was the day he died.”

      “He had his investigators.” Lyza added cream to her coffee. “I think he softened when he saw that I was pregnant. When we went to see him after he first got so ill, he seemed surprised—and, I think, happy—that I was pregnant.”

      David drank his coffee. “Then you tripped and fell, and he couldn’t get out of bed to help. He went into shock. I’ll never forget the look on his face when the EMTs rolled you out of there. His doctor put the oxygen mask on him, and his eyes looked huge. But just before you fell, I thought I noticed a change in his attitude toward me. I think he’d been angry at me for taking the Lane name.”

      Lyza shook her head. “How could he know I begged you to let me keep my name and asked you to give up your name? We didn’t communicate, so I never got to tell him. I really wish I could have explained that to him.”

      David took his dish to the sink. “Have you forgiven him for the way he treated you at your mother’s funeral?”

      Lyza took a sip of coffee and paused. “Of course I have. Father had no idea about the changes taking place in my life. I’m glad he contacted us. I mean, he could have let me find out through the media that she got bitten by a viper in Ecuador. They shipped her remains back under extreme secrecy. I still blame myself for her being there. When Father disowned me, she couldn’t face it.” Lyza shrugged. “She went off on a hunt for rare orchids to get her mind off what was happening between Father and me. The part I didn’t like—but, mind you, I understood—was the fact that both she and Leesa stood firm with Father.”

      David started cleaning the rest of the dishes off the table. “It would be difficult to go against your father. I gave him plenty of distance when I was around him, which wasn’t much.” Then David’s tone changed. “But Lyza, what a gift we got. The Lord allowed us to see the moment of Lawrence’s conversion. What a blessing. It was amazing.”

      Tears rushed to Lyza’s eyes. “God is so good. Father looked like he was reaching out to touch Jesus. That moment is emblazoned on my heart forever. Remember what he said?”

      David paused. “You mean when he said the room was filled with beautiful angels? Or do you mean when he asked Jesus to forgive him for his unbelief and be his Lord and Savior?”

      She wiped the tears and sniffed. “Both.”

      David turned and put his arms around her. “We have been so blessed, beyond what we could think or imagine.”

      She mustered a smile. “I remember the first time I met you. We were at the memorial for the victims of Swiss Air Flight 688. I think it’s the first time I ever checked to see if a man was wearing a wedding ring.” She started laughing. “Then I found you were a pastor.”

      He took her face in his hands. “A mean old pastor.” He pulled her lips to his.

      She kissed him. “Well, of course. Now I’m the mean old pastor’s wife.”

      Lyza looked at the clock. “I just wanted to be a pastor’s wife. That’s all I wanted, and God blessed me with that honor for a few short months. Now I’m back in the corporate world. I have to leave my little family and head downtown because you…” She brushed Levi’s little nose. “Because you, my little man, are one of the richest men in the world.”

      David took Levi in his arms. “Lawrence left all his worldly possessions to you, and Mommy has to take care of it until you get big enough to take over.”

      Lyza pulled on her sweater and picked up her attaché case. “Not just me, David. You’re his father.”

      David grimaced. “Oh, but you’re the business woman.”

      Lyza started for the door, and then stopped. “Speaking of that, David, I think we’re going to have to move. Security isn’t what it needs to be here.”

      David’s brow furrowed slightly. “What do you mean? Levi’s with me all the time. He’s either

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