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“You’re pretty a, you know that?”

Brooke held up a bottle of squirt mustard “Because I make a mean sandwich?”

Gabe’s mouth quirked “Well, there is that, but no What you did for Macy”

She was glad he was here, glad he’d taken the day off from his busy schedule to be here for Macy For her, too She needed hi shoulder, his quiet confidence, his absolute faith were exactly what she needed today

Telling Macy about Lucy, especially in front of Gabe, had not been easy To her relief, there had been no censure in Gabe, only co

Emotionally drained, Brooke had stayed at the house while Gabe and Macy shopped for Darlene’s flowers While they were gone she’d prayed, she’d looked at Lucy’s photos and she’d finally let go Thank God she’d recognized the parallel between her own tenacious guilt and Macy’s Setting Macy free had freed her, too

Now the little girl and AJ played in the backyard while Brooke and Gabe fixed sandwiches for a picnic after the hospital visit Considering the stress of last night and this , they needed a diversion

She slapped two pieces of bread together and slid the sandwich in a baggie “You helped I’lad you were here”

“Why didn’t I know about Lucy’s death?” he asked quietly

“I thought I told you she died”

“If you did, you left out the major details” He put aside the pack of cheese and reached for the lettuce

“Sharief Those are hard to talk about” She stuffed the finished sandwich into a picnic basket “All these years I felt responsible, and then thisthat was” She tapped her chest and fought back tears “For the first tiht, I feel free”

Gabe pushed away from the counter to kiss her forehead “You helped her She helped you God sure knoork things out, doesn’t He?”

“When we let Him”