Lakeside Sweetheart by Lenora Worth

me there, Kandi,” he said. “I’ve had some bad things happen in my life and...it’s not easy. I turned on God, ranted at Him. And then I made some bad choices to prove my point.”
    â€œHow’d you become a preacher then?” someone else asked.
    Rory’s gaze locked on Vanessa. “I kind of went into a bad spot, and then I went to war.”
    Vanessa tried to remain passive. Marla had mentioned Rory had served as an army chaplain, but it sounded as if he’d gone to war to fight. Or maybe to escape?
    Kandi lifted her gaze to Vanessa. “Have you had anything bad happen to you, besides your mother dying?”
    Still reeling from Rory’s candid admission, Vanessa nodded. “Yes. I’ve been hurt by people. At times I feel as if God has abandoned me.” Because she didn’t like being pinned to the spot, she shrugged. “But I’ve managed to take care of myself for a very long time.”
    â€œDon’t we need God in our lives?” another teen asked, his eyes wide with hope. “To help us through the tough times?”
    â€œYes,” Rory said. “Yes, we do. But it’s hard sometimes to see that. Christ offers us comfort when we feel alone and abandoned, even if we can’t understand how it all works.”
    â€œI pray,” someone else said. “I pray and hope...and I wait.”
    A petite blonde bobbed her head. “Me, too.”
    Kandi rolled her eyes and sliced her fingers through her hair, her gaze still on Vanessa. “I’m tired of waiting.”
    Vanessa certainly knew that feeling. But maybe waiting was all part of the process. Maybe she needed to be still and listen. And wait.
    * * *
    â€œYou went to war,” Vanessa whispered to Rory a while later, her gaze full of questions. “Marla mentioned you were a chaplain, but I didn’t think of that as being dangerous. I mean, it is dangerous but I didn’t understand why you joined up. It sounded as if you were pretty angry about a lot of things.”
    Rory wasn’t ready to talk about this. He rarely talked about his past to anyone. But this was Vanessa. It wouldn’t be fair to her that he’d tried so hard to draw her into his world without telling her a little about himself.
    â€œI should have explained it to you.”
    And he should have explained things when that kid had asked, but he’d managed to get by with a vague response about joining the army and really seeing what life and death were all about. It wasn’t enough and it didn’t give anyone any answers. Rory didn’t have all the answers. Who did?
    He needed to tell Vanessa the truth, at least. But not yet. “I had some issues,” he said, hoping to leave it at that.
    â€œSo you were mad at God?”
    â€œYep. I was so mad at the world and at God that I up and joined the army. I’d finished seminary, and I thought I was ready to find my first church home and I did. But I kind of messed up things from the get-go.”
    â€œWhy were you so angry?” she asked, surprise in every word.
    Rory guided her toward her house. Everyone else had left, including Miss Fanny. He’d offered to walk Vanessa home and she’d accepted, but only because she obviously wanted him to finish his story.
    â€œThat’s for another night,” he said, not ready to bare his soul. He glanced back toward the church. “I hear you and Kandi plan to meet up at Wanda’s house once you’re all cleared to become a mentor.”
    â€œYes.” She looked uncertain and maybe a little disappointed that he wasn’t telling all. “I’m nervous.”
    â€œListening is key when you’re a mentor to a troubled teen.”
    â€œI don’t know if I can do that. What if I mess up?”
    â€œYou can’t mess up. Wanda will monitor you two and help you out.” He shifted on his dock shoes. “But we made progress tonight, don’t