Kind as those words were, it was the bishop in Tom talking now.
“Have you been with Sydney Taylor?”
“Yes.”
“I see. And what has come of your reunion?”
“We’re being married on Saturday.”
“So soon?” The older man sounded wounded.
“Yes. She’s as anxious as I am to start our life together.”
The older man sighed as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Under the circumstances, I realize you won’t like the question I’m going to ask, but out of my love for you, I have to ask it.”
“Go ahead,” Jarod said quietly.
“Even though you and Sydney have planned your wedding and are looking forward to it, does she truly mean more to you than one of your parishioners who’s in dire
need of the help only you can give?
“I’m not asking you to answer me. I’m urging you to search your soul one more time for the sake of your own ultimate happiness.
“Naturally having been with Sydney for the last little while, you have a whole new perspective on the decision that took you away from us. All I ask is that you stay here a few days and contemplate the enormity of what you’re about to do.
“The housekeeper has made up a room for you, the same one you’ve used many times on your overnight visits. In the morning I’d like you to join me for breakfast and we’ll talk some more.”
Jarod nodded.
The older man’s eyes misted. “I have to tell you it’s good to see you again.”
He cleared his throat. “I feel the same, Tom. Nothing’s changed in that regard, and never will.”
“Good. Now go to bed. You must be exhausted. If you’re hungry, feel free to get what you want from the kitchen.”
“Thank you. Good night.”
The thought of food was insupportable to him. He went up to the room he’d slept in on other occasions and stretched out on top of the covers, cushioning the back of his head with the palms of his hands.
When he recalled the last time he’d been with Jeanine, tears trickled from the corners of his eyes.
Now she could be paralyzed.
A savage sound escaped his throat as his mind wandered over the rest of that red-letter day when Jeanine had managed to find Sydney.
He’d gone to a service station to make a phone call. While he waited for the outside phone to be free, he went inside to get a couple of dollars’ worth of quarters. After the teens rode off on their bikes, he went back out and picked up the receiver, depositing two quarters.
The information operator connected him to park headquarters in Wyoming and told him how much money to feed in the box.
He listened to the menu and pressed the digit that would give him a live voice.
It rang a long time. Finally he heard, “Yellowstone National Park.” That had been the beginning of his journey down a different path.
Tonight Tom had asked him which woman needed him more. Where could Jarod do the most good?
For the rest of the night Jarod pondered that question. Interestingly enough, Tom hadn’t asked what it was Jarod wanted.
The bishop in Tom knew instinctively which question to ask in order for Jarod to get the right answer. In so doing, it freed him from that dark angel he’d wrestled for so many months.