Taking Faith by Shelby Fallon Page A

before." He shook his head slowly. " I've always been told that honoring your mother and father was first and foremost."
    Amy stiffened. She had never been so grateful for the wonderful parents she had , and felt Roger's misery and…shame. How could he feel that way after what his father had done to him? "He tried to choke you," she reasoned.
    "Doesn't matter. He's my father."
    "He hurt you and it's all right? You're telling me that God would want him to do that to you?"
    "Honor thy father and thy mother," he repeated bitterly.
    "The B ible says to honor them, not take all of their bullcrap!" she shrieked. He s tared stunned at her, t hen cracked a smile. Before she realized it, they were both laughing.
    When they quieted, he took her hand in his and rested them on his knee intertwined . "Thank you. I'm not sure I could have… If you hadn't knocked him out I’m not sure what would have happened."
    She looked at their skin touching and wondered why she felt no anger toward him anymore. It was like it all dissipated into nothing once he went after his father for her, o nce he did something he'd never done before . Once he pushed passed something that had been blocking him for years.
    She let her fingers move across the top of his hand. She felt the rough scars and the calluses on his fingers from hard work and dedication. She looked up at his face and saw something there she hadn't felt herself in weeks.
    Hope.
    She closed her eyes and leaned her head to the side to rest in the corner. She felt him move, his hand pulling away, and then her head was lifted. She look ed up to see him stuffing a big, soft, black coat under her head. Then he resumed his spot and took her hand in his again. She closed her eyes, accepting his gift with silent thanks.
    She slept peacefully that night. Whether it was the closet, or the company, or the mini-breakthrough they'd had that day she didn't know. But she'd take it nonetheless.

    * * *

    It was stupid to sleep in that closet, Roger thought, but that closet was allowing him to touch her right now. Her guard was down and he was thankful, but he could also tell that she was struggling with what she'd seen and with what she'd done. H e knew she was asleep by now so he let his fingers caress hers lightly just because…he had to.
    This girl - this woman - had saved his life whether she knew it or believed it or not. He'd seen his dad angry plenty of times. He'd seen his dad drunk more times than he could recall, but his mother was always there to pull him off. He'd never been drunk at Roger's house before because he never cared about Roger's house until Amy showed up. Roger would have just let his father kill him, because he couldn't have faced the consequences of the alternative. That's what fighting back would have been; to disobey, to betray them, to spit in the face of everything they'd taught him.
    He rubbed his face in the dark. Everyone he knew, even his friend Alex, was following the rules and lifestyle laid out for them. So why was he having such a hard time with it? He thought maybe he should ask Alex…but that thought made him gulp. Alex had been his friend his whole life, but something like this would be grounds for them to brand him a traitor. They'd kill him and give Amy to someone else. His father would probably be the one to pull the trigger.
    His father…God, please let him wake up and not remember, Roger begged.
    Please, God, if nothing else, don't let him remember that Amy was the one who did it.

Chapter 7

    Th e kitchen was exactly as she thought it would be . There were pots on the stove and blue plates on the counter. She peered inside and saw green beans in one and flank steak in the other.
    He had been making dinner for them last night.
    She sighed and leaned back on the counter to think. She'd woken before Roger. They had been exactly as she remembered following asleep in the floor of that closet, but he must not have slept at all during the night. When she woke, he was