Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson Page B

fact.”
    “Did your mother die from the heart attack?”
    “Not right away. It destroyed a good portion of her heart. She was supposed to have a transplant but never made it that far.”
    “Well, that is hardly your fault. You can own a lot of responsibility for various things in your life, but I hardly think your mother’s faulty heart is one of them.”
    “But I broke her heart. She would never have gotten sick to begin with if I hadn’t run away. Kathy said she didn’t eat or sleep. She was just devastated and it killed her. Kathy blames me.”
    “Look, you no doubt hurt her in leaving. You did wrong. I won’t lie and say that your choices didn’t hurt people. They hurt you too. But you’ve repented. You’ve asked God to forgive you and He has.”
    “But they haven’t. Oh, I think my dad forgave me long ago, but Kathy hasn’t and neither have the people of this town. I ran into my mom’s best friend and the woman was vicious. I think she would have pulled my hair out by the roots if she’d thought she could get away with it.”
    “They need time, Sunny. Having you show up after twelve years of silence is going to be hard. You have to give them time. They’ll come around.”
    “But we don’t have a lot of time. My father is dying from cancer. It’s spread everywhere.”
    “Oh, I am sorry. How long does he have?”
    “Days, maybe weeks. Not long. Kathy says he’s in the final stages.”
    “Sounds like God took you home just in time.”
    “I know, but it’s so hard. I want to make things right. I want them all to know how I’ve changed, but no one wants to know that. They just want to rant and rave at me—blame me for everything. I think they’d like to just pick up where we left off twelve years ago—as if I were the same person I was then.”
    “People in pain tend to act that way. They only know the old you, Sunny. You’ll have to prove to them that you’re different—that you truly have changed for the better.”
    “I know, but sometimes I think I should never have come back. Kathy says she wishes I wouldn’t have come.”
    “And what of your father?”
    Sunny thought for a moment. “He says I’m answered prayer.”
    “And you are. You really need to understand that. God has a plan in all of this, Sunny. He’s known where you were all these years. He loves you and won’t leave you. Just remember that.”
    “I’m trying to, Lana. It’s just very hard.”
    “Like I said, you need to give them time. Especially your sister.”
    “I’d give her all the time she asked for—even forever— but we don’t have that much time. Dad wants to see things set right before he dies, and I don’t think Kathy is ready for that. No, I’m sure she’s not ready.”
    “Trust the Lord, Sunny. He’s bigger than this. He knows what it’s going to take to reach your sister. Trust Him and not the circumstances.”

E IGHT
    “DAD WANTS TO SEE YOU,” Kathy said as Sunny stepped out of her car, her mood apparently unchanged. Sunny noted her sister’s waist-length honey brown hair had been braided down her back—a sure sign she was about to get to work on some project.
    “How’s he doing?”
    Kathy’s eyes narrowed as she frowned. “He’s in a lot of pain. I’ve called hospice and the doctor. I’m hoping they’ll put him on a morphine drip.”
    Sunny nodded. “Look, I’m really sorry about earlier. I wasn’t trying to give you grief. I can see that it’s been incredibly hard on you.”
    Without answering, Kathy turned to walk away, then stopped as if she’d thought of something to say. She didn’t look around or turn to face Sunny; she just stood there as if trying to regain her composure. Sunny wanted to say something, but the words felt stuck in her throat.
    What can I possibly say to make her feel better? To make things right?
    “I’ve thought about what you said,” Kathy finally said. “You’re right. I did make my choices. I felt like they were made for me though.”