FAITH My suitcase has hardly touched the ground, home from college when my Preacher Dad announces he has to go on a business trip. Church business. To make matters worse, Dad warns me of drifters in the area. Warns me to keep the house shut up tight, not opening the door for anyone. But once he’s gone, I feel eyes on me. A stranger’s eyes. Maybe it’s real eyes, or maybe it’s just a feeling. Like something in the wind. Either way, I’m a changed girl since being at home alone and now I feel like doing something I’ve never felt like doing before. Is he watching? Is it really just the wind? Whatever it is, it’s dangerous and it’s my new middle name. God, I hope he’s watching me. Wanting me. NOAH I have a promise to keep. My dear and beloved Gramma’s dying wish. Should be straight forward enough, just deliver the case she left behind. Easy enough, right? The pain of her passing is hard, but she was a good woman. More family than I ever had. She was the only family I ever had, and we weren’t even related. An unexpected stop along the way leads me straight to her, something that cancels out everything in a single moment. It’s not the wet heat of the thunderclouds above. It’s a different kind of Southern heat that draws me to that house. Draws me to her. I have my promise to keep, but suddenly, a whole lot more is riding on what I see. The dry crack of thunder. The huge drops of warm rain that splinter my very soul as I watch her, unseen. Needing her. Wanting her. Planning to claim her. If she’s not riding on me before this night’s through, like I know she needs it… Like I know she wants it. The perfect detour or the perfect storm? I think I may have just stumbled onto both.