Hidden in Harmony: Danger is Imminent (Harmony Series Book 1) Read online

  “Thank you not only for all of those phenomenal things you did in the past and for the huge miracles you still perform, but thank you for answering even our smaller prayers. God, we wanted to be a blessing to Brock. We wanted to help him. You took matters into your own hands. You had him stop at the right place at the right time. Now he has a job and he can get his life started back in the right direction again. Lord Jesus, we appreciate your love. Amen.”

  No sweeter prayer could have been spoken. Remington had gotten saved two years before at a youth rally he attended at Calvary Baptist Church without his parents. Since that time, his spiritual growth had spiked to an all-time high. He loved reading his Bible, cherished their nightly family devotions, found prayer exciting, and began to view life from a completely different perspective.

  His prayers were more than genuine; they were innocently spoken with a child-like faith — with the kind of faith that was known to produce miracles. His parents could have listened to him pray all day, every day without ever growing weary of hearing him talk with the Lord.

  Collin wore a smile to bed that night; a smile that would have lit up the deepest cave in the Middle East. He informed Alayna about his conversation with Nikki and about the article they found about Brock online. He told her how ill he had become because he was worried so much about her and about how God had comforted his fear by bringing back a memory from his own childhood — he hadn’t experienced that kind of intimacy with God in a long time.

  Alayna seemed unmoved by her husband’s story. It was possible she had only listened to him with her ears and not with her heart. It appeared that the entire time he was talking, she was simply waiting for her turn to speak. “Nikki was right,” she said. “Brock has to go. He has to go tonight! We can’t have someone who’s quite possibly feasted on or at least attempted to feast on other human beings in our home. My son is not going to be his next victim. Collin, I’m not asking anymore; it’s time to make a wise decision. You can’t save the world! Not at the cost of losing your own family.”

  Collin’s glowing countenance grew dim. After the experience he had at work, he was more convinced than ever that Brock’s showing up at their doorstep was anything but coincidental. Perhaps he was an angel they were attending to unawares. He wasn’t about to push away someone God had sent to him for help — he couldn’t.

  Collin lay in silent disbelief. Generally speaking, he and Alayna always agreed on everything. They had made oodles upon oodles of crucial decisions together. He remembered when Alayna had developed hyperemesis gravidarum during her pregnancy with Remington. For more than two months she had suffered with relentless vomiting and ended up losing weight during her fourth month of pregnancy. Not only had she been so ill that she required hospitalization on multiple occasions, but the doctor had assured them Remington was going to have down syndrome and had recommended an early termination of the pregnancy.

  Even during that stormy trial, Collin and Alayna had been in perfect agreement. They refused to take matters into their own hands. Through prayer, they asked for God’s will to be done and Remmy was born in perfect health.

  They also made another difficult decision — Remmy was going to be their last child. Fearful that if they got pregnant again, Alayna’s complications would be more severe, or that they might create a child with debilitating medical problems, Alayna chose to get sterilized.

  If he and his wife could be in agreement on difficult decisions like that, why was this situation so challenging?

  They both lay there thinking for a few minutes and then Alayna reached over and placed Collin’s chin in the palm of her hand, “Maybe there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Please do,” Collin said, trying to understand the concerned look in her eye.

  CHAPTER 5 – SEEKING DIRECTION

  “Several years before I met you, something horrible happened to me. I never talk about it because I still have flashbacks to this day.” Alayna paused and turned away from him for a moment, “I’m sorry I never told you about it. I really am.”

  Taking her hand in his, Collin said, “It’s okay, hon. What is it? What happened?”

  Alayna turned to face him again, “I met this guy — his name was Grant.” She sniffled a bit while fighting back her emotions as she explained how she had been driving home from work one evening when her tire flattened out like a frog splattered on the highway. It had been a rainy, foggy night. She was terrified to get out of her car. She got out, however, dug around in the trunk and found the jack. She had never changed a tire before in her life and dreaded trying to learn how on such a night as that. Several cars passed by, but no one stopped to help except for Grant.

  He seemed like the perfect gentleman. He told her to get back in the car out of the rain and he would change the tire. He did exactly that. Alayna remembered checking him out in her sideview mirror as he struggled to get the tire off. Before leaving, he gave her his phone number and asked her to let him know she made it home safely so he wouldn’t have to worry.

  “What kind of shoes was he wearing?” Collin asked.

  Alayna smiled in disbelief, “Really, Collin? How would I know what kind of shoes he was wearing? Is that all you think about? Shoes?”

  “Sorry babe. It’s what I do. Shoes say a lot about a man.”

  Alayna continued her story by explaining that as soon as she got home that night, she called Grant for what she expected to be a very short conversation. They chatted for hours, as if they had known each other their entire lives. The next thing she knew, she was head over heels in love with a random stranger.

  When she got to work the next day, Alayna was bragging to some of her co-workers about her new beau. One of the ladies said she knew who Grant was and claimed he had a poor reputation. She said she didn’t want to gossip and she didn’t even know if the rumors were true. However, she feared for Alayna’s safety so she told her what she had heard.

  Apparently, some people who went to college with Grant suspected he had gotten involved in drugging and sexually abusing women. They said he was good at wooing young ladies with kind deeds; once he had gained their trust, he would find a way to sedate them and then have his way with them.

  “I had never heard such a ridiculous story,” Alayna said. “I mean, Grant was just not that type of guy. He was humorous, kind, and a true gentleman. I had always been an excellent judge of character. I knew beyond the shadow of the faintest doubt he wasn’t capable of doing anything like that.”

  She tensed up and Collin’s skin began to crawl. He didn’t even know if he wanted to hear the rest of the story. He didn’t have much say so in the matter, though. Alayna had held this in too long and it was well beyond the time to get it off of her chest.

  She told him about how Grant would open her car door for her, how he would pay for her meals, how he took her on moon-lit strolls, and how he had even cooked Chinese for her.

  Apparently, while she was on the phone with Grant one night, she heard a lot of commotion. It sounded like Grant dropped the phone. She heard some powerful, booming voices. Someone had knocked his door in. A man was screaming at him to get on the ground. Then, the call went dead.

  She tried to call him back. Over and over again she dialed his number, but the calls went straight to voicemail. Minutes later, her sister called.

  “Oh, thank goodness, you’re okay,” she shrieked.

  “Of course I am,” Alayna had told her. “What are you talking about?”

  You haven’t watched the news?” her sister had asked frantically.

  Grant had not only been a sexual pervert, but he had a rap sheet three miles long. Had Alayna spent much more time with him, more than likely she would have been his next victim.

  “You see,” Alayna said, patting her chest, “I take accusations seriously. I didn’t in the past and it could have cost me a price I would not have wanted to pay. I understand that you have been falsely accused of things in the past and feel Brock may be innocent like you were
— but, Collin, what if he’s not? What if he does have an appetite for human flesh?”

  ◆◆◆

  Collin was dumbfounded. How had Alayna kept such a dark secret for fifteen years of their marriage? He certainly hoped there weren’t any more noose-dangling skeletons lurking about in her closet.

  Without warning, a heavy thumping came to the front door. Both Collin and Alayna jumped. Collin grabbed a baseball bat from his closet and headed toward the living room. Peeking out of a window, he couldn’t see anyone on the porch. Quietly, he walked over to the door, flipped on the porch light, and peered out again. Still no signs of life.

  Switching the light back off, he turned toward his bedroom. Before he could even complete his third step, he heard the rapping again – even more emphatic than before. This time, the knock was followed immediately by a barbaric shout, “Open up, it’s the police!”

  Collin’s heart skipped a couple of beats. He froze in his tracks. Were the police there to arrest Brock? That had to be it. There was no other explanation.

  Hesitantly, he put the baseball bat down in the corner before opening the door.

  Two officers stood there. “Is this the Brussel residence?” one of them asked.

  “It’s the Russell residence,” Collin replied, noticing, but not mentioning the fact that the officer had failed to properly lace his left shoe up all the way.

  “We’re trying to find a Tony Brussel.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. You’ve got the wrong house. I can show you some ID if you’d like.”

  Fortunately, dispatch radioed the officer as he was standing there. The suspect they were looking for had been apprehended.

  Nothing like a false alarm!

  Collin returned to the bedroom to provide Alayna with an update on what had taken place. She was already fully dressed, apparently expecting the worst.

  Being wide awake, Mr. and Mrs. Russell vowed to work together to figure out what to do about Brock. They both knew what the other person’s thoughts were, but neither felt they were wrong. It was not the kind of situation they could simply agree to disagree on.

  “What if we find him a motel to stay in?” Alayna suggested.

  “A motel? We can’t afford to pay $100 per night for this man. That would be about $3,000 per month.”

  ◆◆◆

  Remington, now wide awake thanks to the officer’s error, suddenly chimed in on the debate, “Why don’t we do what Gideon did?”

  “Gideon who?” Dad asked.

  A smirk appeared on Remmy’s face as he said, “The one from the Bible,” as if Dad should have already known that.

  “I’m willing to try anything,” Mom said. “What do you think, Collin?”

  Collin ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m okay with it, but first I need to know something — do you think they had different brands of sandals back then or were they all the same?” he joked.

  “Dad! Come on, this is serious,” Remmy whined.

  Remington had less patience than a bus driver with diarrhea who had been caught in a traffic jam. He was a boy who knew what he wanted. More than that, he expected to get what he wanted, when he wanted it.

  That was partially his parents’ fault. They had a habit of letting their bossy teen take charge. Collin did it again, “Okay. So what do we do?” he asked.

  It quickly became obvious that Remington had already given the whole idea a great deal of thought. Since his family didn’t have any sheep, he suggested they ask God to perform an unusual act that would let them know whether or not it was safe to continue allowing Brock to reside in their home.

  “Let’s ask God to give us an unusual, unexpected blessing tomorrow if he wants us to let Brock stay,” he said. “We’ll ask God to let tomorrow just be an ordinary day if he wants us to ask Brock to leave. What do you think?”

  After some discussion on the matter, the family bowed their heads, joined hands, and prayed together.

  Collin prayed first, “Heavenly Father, you already know what we have been talking about. We need some wisdom. We took in this stranger and we don’t know if that was the right thing to do or not. Normally, I can tell a lot about a guy from the shoes on his feet, but all Brock’s shoes said to me was, ‘yuck.’ Can you please make it easier for us to know what to do?”

  As soon as Collin got quiet, Alayna continued where he had left off, “We want to abide in your will, God. We don’t want to turn our backs on someone in need of help, but we’re scared. We’re afraid of what Brock might do to any one of us at any time. We don’t know the things you know. We are weak, but you are strong. Will you guide us?”

  Remington finished the prayer, “God, do you remember that time when Gideon left a fleece on the ground overnight? You remember that, right? When he asked you to give him a sign by putting dew on the fleece in the morning, but not on the ground? Well, God, the Bible says you are still all powerful. We believe that to be true. We were wondering if you would be willing to make it really clear if Brock should stay or if he should go. If you want him to stay, can you make something amazing happen tomorrow? Give us some kind of an unexpected blessing? And God, even though you, Dad, and I already know that Brock is supposed to stay here, can you convince Mom? I told her I would ask you to let tomorrow be a normal, ordinary day if you want Brock to leave. So, God, I’m asking that, but only to make Mom happy. Not because I think you’re going to do that. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name.”

  Together, in unison, the Russell family said a loud “Amen.” They believed by calling out to God together as a family, He would be in their midst.

  Remington lay awake that entire night wondering how God was going to convince Mom to allow Brock to stay. Deep inside of his heart he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Brock was going to stay; he just didn’t know how that was going to come about.

  When he finally heard the front door bang shut around 7:00 in the morning, he knew Dad and Brock had left for work. Remington didn’t wait for Mom’s traditional one-woman parade routine to wake him up. He got up on his own and trotted out to the kitchen, “Mom, can I check the mail? There might be a special blessing in the box!”

  “Sure, honey, but don’t get your hopes up,” Alayna cautioned while giving him a quick pat on the back as he scurried past her.

  Remington hadn’t even taken the time to get dressed. Still wearing his pajamas, he darted out the door, down the steps, and out to their rusty farm-tractor mailbox. Opening the hood-shaped cover, he found nothing but an empty box.

  The pep in his step vanished. Glancing up at the dreary-looking cloud-filled sky, he meandered back to the house. On his way up the stairs, he tripped over his own two feet and fell flat on his face, breaking his glasses, biting his tongue, and giving himself a monkey lip all at the same time.

  He didn’t cry; he didn’t even say ouch. He got up, dusted himself off, picked up his glasses, and made a trail of blood back to the kitchen.

  “What happened?” Alayna asked, rushing over to him.

  “No biggie, Mom. I just fell. I’m fine.”

  Alayna quickly wet a wash cloth and cleaned up his face. “Open up. Let me make sure you didn’t bite a piece of your tongue off.”

  Remington opened his mouth and said, “Ah,” as if he was at a dentist.

  “Looks like you put a nice tooth mark in your tongue, but it’s still attached. Let’s put some ice on your lip to get the swelling down.”

  “Mom, there’s no time for that. I’ll miss the bus.”

  Alayna was more concerned about the fat lip and the hurt tongue than she was about him missing one day of school. She insisted he stay home so she could baby him. Oh, the privileges of being an only child.

  “Are you mad about my glasses?” he asked.

  “Of course not, honey. It was an accident.”

  “I hope Dad sees it that way too.”

  ◆◆◆

  Mom kept herself busy by deep cleaning and rearranging the living room. The walls needed wiped down, th
e ceiling fan needed dusting, the windows needed to be cleaned, and something had to be done with the way the furniture was arranged. The same ole, same ole was wearing on the few nerves she had left.

  To have some fresh air circulating when the dust began to fly, Mom opened a few windows. She decided to start with checking the change stealer, better known as the sofa. She removed the cushions and sure enough, it was guilty of theft. Quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies along with a pizza crust, a few M&Ms, and a couple of gum wrappers had been hidden in its cracks.

  With that much clutter being easily found, she decided the change stealer could probably use a more thorough searching. She went around to one end and carefully turned it upside down. There was even more clutter under the couch. A few mismatched socks, a sticky cup, and too many dust bunnies to count had apparently been playing hide and seek with the Russell family for quite some time. They had been found at last!

  Alayna started to flip the couch back over, but something caught her eye. It was a neatly folded piece of paper barely sneaking its way out of the couch cover’s lining. She carefully pulled it out and opened it up.

  My Dearest Alayna,

  Can you believe we have been married for twelve whole months? God sure knew what He was doing when He brought us together. You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make me feel like I can accomplish anything. I have no doubt in my mind that God created you with me in mind. He knew from the beginning of time that you would be my helpmeet. My only regret in marrying you is that we didn’t marry sooner. I love spending my life with you Hon.

  Your Lover Boy,

  Collin

  My lover boy. He’s such a cutie. He used to sign all of his notes that way.