The Answer, Part 2

Continuing her story, Liana said, "The day Ben came back to Atlanta, he called me. Asked me to go to dinner with him that night. When I told him I was working, he asked me not to go. Said he'd been waiting for two weeks to see me again and I should go with him instead."

"And you did," Dan said matter-of-factly. Setting his cup down, he looked into Liana's eyes. "But why'd you do it? If you believed he was telling the truth- If you knew he was a robber and a killer- Why would you go?"

Liana looked down at her cup, running a finger around the rim as she thought. "You know, I believe if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have gone," she said slowly. "But Ben- For some reason, I couldn't say no to him, Dan. I didn't want to say no to him. I guess-maybe-I was a little in love with him already."

"Dan." She looked up at him, hoping that he could understand. "I know you'll tell me I'm crazy. And naive. But- There's more to him Dan. More than the robber and the killer."

Liana put her hand on Dan's arm, almost pleadingly. "He's not all bad."

That simple statement jarred Dan. He'd heard it before. His oldest boy, William, had said the exact same thing about Wade a few years ago. In a hotel room. They'd been there to pick up money from Ben. Money for- Dan Evans shook his head. Best not to get his mind back into all that now. He just looked at Liana, waiting for her to go on.

"And now- After I talked to Alistair-" Liana was continuing.

"Alistair?" Dan interrupted her.

"The pastor at the church here in the Glen. I don't know if you've met him yet. I was out for a walk one day and when I came to the church I stopped in. I thought I was being drawn to it because it was so beautiful and I've always loved old houses, old buildings, but-"

Standing, Liana walked over to the sink and placed her cup in it. When she turned around, she met Dan's eyes from across the room. "I was thinking about Ben. About the way he'd been sort of distant since we'd gotten married. I started crying and that's when Alistair came in. He introduced himself and we started talking. I asked if he believed in Fate, and how you knew when a decision you made was right."

Sitting back down next to Dan, who was still listening intently, Liana kept going. "The things he told me- It was as though he were reading my mind. That he knew I was asking about a relationship."

"He said that when we step into the darkness with another human being, we have to trust that they will be there for us. That faith is going to the edge of all the light you have and taking one more step."

Liana was struggling to remember Alistair's words. Knew she wasn't getting them exactly right, but knowing what he had meant. "That a good relationship means deciding every day that you want to be with a person, that they're worth the risk. That you may have to reach out your hand in the darkness an grope a little before you find theirs."

She fixed Dan Evans with the most intent look she'd given him yet and said, "That's when I really knew, Dan. Because of where I was and who was saying this to me. I knew that God had put Ben and I together."

"And I'm not some religious nut, Dan. I hadn't been to church in years when I walked in there that day. I just felt that-somehow-Ben and I needed each other. That I needed a hand in the darkness and that I was supposed to be his hand. Be there for him. Love him no matter what he's done. Because he's worth the risk. I know he is."

She seemed to be finished. To be waiting for him to speak, but Dan felt unable to do so just then. He'd heard the conviction in her voice, knew that she believed what she was saying with all her heart.

Dan Evans remembered a time when Alice had felt that way about him. Before everything had changed.