Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman

sin.”
    “That’s what I hear.”
    They pulled into the driveway. And not soon enough.

    Kade prepared a cup of hot tea, shuffled in his socks to the front window of the cottage, and gazed across the snow-covered space that separated the cottage from the main house. For the first time in weeks, he wouldn’t mind some company. But the farmhouse was dark. He supposed Sadie wouldn’t join him for a cup of late-night tea anyway. As a matter of fact, she’d probably be appalled by the idea.
    He couldn’t fathom what her life must be like. It looked like all work and no play to him, and without the modern conveniences. But the woman sure enjoyed music. There was a time when a great melody would quiet Kade’s loneliness, take him away from all that plagued him, even invoke a sense of spiritual well-being. But not anymore. He still enjoyed a good tune, but any sense of spiritual calm eluded him. God had dealt him a rough blow three years ago. And his life continued to be a mess.
    After Monica left, Kade had struggled to move forward without her in his life. Three years of marriage, and she’d split. No divorce. Only separation. Divorce wasn’t a concept he’d ever been comfortable with. If two people vowed to love each other forever, then that’s what it should be—forever. He’d loved Monica. Despite their problems, Kade would have never considered leaving, especially after the baby came. But three years had passed, and he’d lost hope that they would ever go back to being a family.
    Monica, who was ten years Kade’s junior, hadn’t wanted children. Tyler was a surprise in so many ways. And Kade knew the only reason his wife fought so hard for custody of Tyler was for the money. When Kade thought a relationship might develop with Alicia, he’d called his attorney to draw up divorce papers, knowing that he should be legally divorced before he started dating anyone. But Alicia carted her gifts away before anything serious evolved. He halted the divorce proceedings. He didn’t have the energy right now to follow through. There were no other prospects on the horizon, and divorce represented failure in his eyes.
    Why hunt him down all the way in Lancaster County?
    During the separation, she’d played as mean as any person Kade had ever known. He still loved Monica in his own way, but over time she’d stripped him of the love he once felt for her. During their phone calls, her voice was always laced with anger and resentment, despite the hefty check that she received every month. Kade could still recall her pulling out of the driveway, Tyler strapped in his car seat, only two years old. It was the only time Kade could remember crying as an adult.
    He’d thought about fighting for custody, or at least joint custody. But in the end, he didn’t. He convinced himself that his choice to forgo a split arrangement was because a boy needs his mother. That thought was more comforting than the truth.
    Kade knew that raising Tyler full-time, or even half of the time, was more than he could handle, and the job took a toll on Monica. Sometimes, she’d call him in the middle of the night, hysterical, complaining about what a bad hand she’d been dealt. But she was the one who left with their son, moved to North Carolina, and often refused to work with his schedule for planned visits. The first year she was gone, Kade traveled to North Carolina several times for his monthly weekend with Tyler, only to show up at an empty house. Monica later said that Kade’s refusal to take Tyler overnight didn’t provide her with any reprieve, so she didn’t feel the need to accommodate him. She was breaking the law by denying Kade access to his son, and he could have pushed the issue. But again, he didn’t.
    In the rare times he did see Tyler, they spent a few hours at the park before Kade returned him to his mother. He just didn’t know what to do with the boy. Tyler was hard to entertain. He wasn’t like other kids.
    Kade was eaten up