Page 49 of Running to You

Eliza’s question snapped Sam’s focus to her. They were back in his truck, inching forward in traffic along the narrow coastal road that would take them to his house. To the left, ocean waves crashed into the rocky cliff. To the right, mom-and-pop businesses that’d been there for years—an ice cream shop, a swim and surf shop, a couple of restaurants. Behind those, the town rose on forested hills.

“The question you asked me about the foliage,” she clarified. “The one that got me to remember. How did you know?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t. Just thought, maybe if we came at it from a different direction…”

“Smart.”

“You taught me the importance of asking the right question.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“It wasn’t like a class.” He smiled at her, found her watching him, and turned his focus back to the road. “You were always so good about figuring out the right questions to ask, and you’d get information I would never have uncovered.”

“I just ask what feels obvious.”

“I guess that’s your gift, because what was obvious to you definitely wasn’t to me. You remember when I introduced you to some new clients—Marcus and Julie Russell? We went to—”

“That seafood place.”

Sam grinned at the memory. Julia had picked the restaurant, and he hadn’t wanted to balk while he was still trying to win their business. He could still picture Eliza trying to eat around the clams in her clam chowder. “I thought I had them all figured out, but within ten minutes, you’d uncovered their real goals for the sale of their business. That information helped me put together a deal that fit into their plans. I never could have done that without you.”

“Really?”

“It’s taken me years to learn what comes so naturally to you, and I’m not there yet. But I practice. I listen. And I try to figure out questions that lead to honest answers. I don’t know why people don’t just say what they want.”

“I think sometimes they don’t know.”

He considered that. “Maybe. Or maybe they’re worried about being judged. Or…I don’t know. That if they tell the truth about their goals, maybe they’ll jinx it. Anyway, all I did today was practice what you always modeled.”

She was quiet beside him, and though the traffic had picked up speed, he risked a look. She seemed pensive.

“What is it?”

“When you talk about me,” she said, “it feels like you’re talking about someone I used to know, an old friend I haven’t seen in years.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s five years ago? It doesn’t feel like no time has passed?”

“It did at first. Or maybe… I was hurt and confused and… I don’t know, Sam. It’s a strange feeling.”

“You’re handling it very well.”

“Speaking of special gifts.”

He had no idea what she was talking about.

“You’ve always been good at recognizing people’s strengths. More than that, you tell people when you see their talents. You’re a natural encourager.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do. You just did it with me. Not only noticed something I do well but told me about it. Most people don’t do that.”

“I try to use my powers for good.”

She chuckled beside him, but as he considered her words, a niggling of guilt bubbled in his stomach. Because, yeah, he could be an encourager. But he’d been known to use that particular gift to his own advantage—to get people to trust him, to get people to want to help him. To build his business and make a lot of money.

He was pretty sure that, if God had given him that gift, he hadn’t been using it properly. He’d have to think about that. And pray about it.

They reached the marina in the small cove, where sailboats and motorboats pitched this way and that in the growing waves. Clouds had moved in, along with the heavy scent of rain.