Always There: Christian Inspirational Romance Read online

  Then she’d remembered Ted’s dream of traveling in the RV, and he’d thankfully paid cash for the rig before their financial situation had blown up in his face. It was the one thing she was able to save, but oh how she wished she’d been able to save their house instead right now.

  Jilly had no idea her father had committed suicide. She didn’t know what suicide even meant anyway. In her eyes, her Daddy died in his sleep, peacefully going to see Jesus. Jilly seemed to take it in stride, although Elise worried that she was keeping it bottled up somehow. It pained her to think of how her daughter would grow up without a father just like she had. She knew the void that left in a little girl’s heart, and it made her sick to think about. How could Ted have willingly done that? Left his daughter to grow up without him all because he was embarrassed and scared about the situation he’d apparently put them in financially?

  Realizing she was still sitting there, Elise forced herself to snap out of her haze of memories and angry feelings.

  She opted to head toward Wilmington, North Carolina to start their journey. It would take about six hours to get there, so she figured she should have plenty of time to get things set up before it got too dark. She took out her cell phone and called ahead to the RV park she had on her list, making sure they had a space big enough. They did, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief as she made her first big decision of their trip.

  “Alright, girl, we’re off on our big adventure!” she said, trying to sound more excited and less terrified.

  “Where are we going?” Jilly repeated as she ran up to the front of the RV.

  “We’re going to a place called Wilmington,” Elise said cranking up the rig.

  “What are we going to do there?” Jilly asked, resting her chin in her hands as she put her elbows on the back of the passenger seat.

  “See the ocean,” Elise said with a smile. Jilly squealed and jumped up and down clapping. She hadn’t seen the ocean in years, so she didn’t really remember it.

  “Can I find seashells?”

  “Of course!” Elise said reaching back and squeezing her right cheek. “But we need to get on the road now, so take a seat and watch your movies, okay?”

  Elise cranked the rig and took a deep breath before putting it into gear. For a moment, she thanked God that she had the experience of at least driving a big van during her days as a journalist. She often lugged camera equipment around, and so she hoped that driving the RV might be at least a little easier than she thought.

  After almost running up onto a sidewalk and barely missing a tree, she finally got them onto the interstate and headed toward Wilmington. Jilly was happily watching her movies, and the sounds of various Disney characters singing was starting to grate on her already frayed nerves a bit.

  “Jilly, honey, can you put on the headphones?” she called back. The little girl happily obliged, totally engrossed in whatever princess was currently on the TV screen.

  Sometimes Elise felt like the world’s worst mother. Where had her life gone off the rails? With hours in front of her on the highway, she let her mind wander to those years in college and afterward.

  She had gone to college, gotten her Journalism degree, interned at a TV station… and then she met Ted. And love took over. She found that she wanted to settle down, and being a journalist traveling all over the world didn’t set well with her idea of family life. So she gave up her dreams because Ted promised to take care of her and their little family. He promised. And then he bailed in the worst way possible.

  How could she not have seen who he really was? Or did she? Which Ted should she remember? The fun-loving, romantic, smart man she’d met and married? Or the man who gave up as soon as it got hard and left them to deal with his big mess?

  It wrenched her heart every time she thought about him because she had loved him for ten years, and now she was just supposed to hate him? How was she supposed to feel? Hating him seemed wrong and made her feel supremely guilty, but loving him felt like loving the devil.

  She had always been taught that people who committed suicide were going to hell, so now what? Did she still believe that? And if that was true, what was she to tell her precious daughter? That her father wouldn’t see them one day in heaven because he took his own life like a coward?

  She felt the familiar sting of tears escaping her eyes as one trickled down onto her lip, the saltiness of it now familiar.

  And now she had left the only life either of them knew behind, a storage unit the only remnant of a life that seemed perfect six months ago. How did things go so wrong, and how was she so completely oblivious to it? She had just been moving through her life as usual, never worrying that Ted would be right there to catch her if she fell. Never once did she worry that there were money troubles; he never showed one sign of it, she thought to herself.

  “No use wallowing in the past,” she whispered to herself. “You’re a mother, and mothers don’t get to fall apart.”

  How many times had she heard her grandmother say that to her own mother? After her own father’s death, her mother almost fell apart many times, but Mamaw never let her. She was a strong woman of Cherokee Indian descent, and falling apart was just not an option for women in her family.

  “Now, Patrice,” she would say to Elise’s mother, “you’ve got to raise that baby up, and you don’t have time to be wallowing in your grief, honey. You pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get on with it!”

  Yes, Mamaw sure had a way with words, Elise thought with a smile. She had this way about her that just cut through the crap, for lack of a better word. She knew life went on, mainly because hers had been hard, but she didn’t talk about it or wallow in it or use it as an excuse. She just GOT ON WITH IT.

  And that was what Elise was going to do. She was going to get on with it. Get on with life. Start over. Focus on her daughter and doing good in the world. She was going to live her best life regardless of how Ted chose to end his.

  Chapter 5

  As they drove into the campground, Elise felt anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She watched as other families seemed to be enjoying their time, romping in the on-site swimming pool and cooking burgers on their grills. Jilly didn’t have a Daddy anymore. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She would be responsible to teach her daughter how to handle boys, throw a softball, ride a skateboard. Oh, Lord, she didn’t know how to do any of those things.

  Pushing the thought aside, she gingerly pulled the big rig into the spot, thanking God that she had reserved a pull-through spot. If she would have had to back the thing in, there was no way they would be staying there. She wasn’t that talented… yet.

  “Mommy, I can see the beach!” Jilly squealed as she pointed out the windshield. For a moment, Elise forgot all of her problems and looked out at the vast ocean in front of her. It was so large and powerful, yet it gently flowed in and out all day, everyday.

  The sun would be setting soon, so she knew she had to get the RV set up and balanced before dark. Otherwise, they were going to have a huge issue on their hands.

  Elise opened the door and Jilly followed her outside. She stood and stared at the RV and suddenly forgot everything she learned from the training guy. Here she was, six hours from home… Wait. She didn’t have a home anymore. The thought was overwhelming. She had no home to return to.

  “Ma’m, you need some help?” an older man called from behind her. He had that familiar country twang to his voice, and she was thankful to hear it.

  “Well, I…” she stammered, hands on her hips, as she stared at the wheels of the RV.

  “First time?” he said with a low chuckle.

  Elise turned slowly and looked up at him. He was tall, very tall, and wore khaki shorts and a Margaritaville t-shirt. She looked behind him and realized his RV was parked next to hers. His wife, who was drinking a glass of wine and petting a small white dog, smiled and waved from her lawn chair.

  “Actually, yes,” she said with a smile. “And I seem to have forgott
en how to set this thing up…”

  “No, problem! We’ve been doing this for almost twenty years, dear. I can help. But first, what’s your name?” he asked Jilly.

  “I’m Jilly!”

  “And how old are you?”

  “I”m eight years old. My Daddy died.” Elise’s breath caught in her throat. Why would Jilly say that to a perfect stranger?

  “Jilly…” Elise said quietly.

  The man knelt down and smiled at her. “Well, nice to meet you, Jilly, and I’m so sorry to hear about your Daddy. I lost my Daddy too, so I guess we’re a lot alike, huh?”

  “I’m sorry about your Daddy too,” Jilly said before running over to a tree swing next to their campsite.

  “I’m sorry about that. She’s very… expressive,” Elise said with a laugh.

  “She’s a beauty, that one,” he said, smiling as he stood up. “I’m Dave, and that pretty lady over there is my wife, Barb,” he said pointing as she waved again.

  “And that fluffy little guy?”

  “Actually, that’s a girl and her name’s Sadie. She’s our pride and joy. Our daughter is grown, so she’s our newest baby.”

  “I love dogs,” Elise said, which was weird since Ted had never let her have one. He said they were too dirty to have in the house, and she couldn’t bear the thought of making a dog live outside all the time. “I’m Elise, by the way,” she finally said, extending her hand. Dave shook it and then pointed at the sky.

  “We’d better get on with it if we’re going to beat the sunset.”

  “Oh, yes. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this…”

  “No problem. Welcome to the wonderful world of RVing,” he said as he started through the process of showing her how to set everything up. Elise had Jilly grab her cell phone to record the whole set up for future reference.

  Forty five minutes later and it was all set up. They had electricity, water and all the necessities. And Elise was exhausted already. But at least she had learned what that all-important clean water hose was used for.

  “Dave, I can’t thank you enough for helping me with this. You are a Godsend!” Elise said wiping her forehead in the humid air.

  “Just paying it forward. Someone showed us how to set it up, and you’ll show someone else one day,” he said.

  “Doubtful that I will ever be as well versed as you are!”

  “We live and we learn, Miss Elise. You’ll be surprised at the wisdom you gain as you get older. The old knees may creak and you might not move quite as fast as you once did, but the knowledge you gain more than makes up for it.”

  “Well, if I ever have your level of RV knowledge, I will consider myself a true expert,” she said with a relieved smile. At least their first night of camping would be comfortable, and Jilly would be safe.

  “Listen, you aren’t going to have time to get dinner cooked, and we could certainly use some younger company around our campfire tonight. All these old fogies can get a bit boring,” Dave said with a laugh. “Won’t you join us for some burgers?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose…”

  “Pardon me saying so, Miss Elise, but you must be from the city.”

  “Pretty close to it. How’d you know?”

  “‘Cause city folk don’t always know how to be as cordial as we camping folks. Your family becomes all these camping people. You get to know everyone, and we take care of each other. Now, you’re my new next door neighbor for a bit, and I’d like to have you over for dinner. What do ya say?”

  Elise felt a warm feeling for once in a great while. “I say yes. We’d love to! Just give me about half an hour to get cleaned up and we’ll be right over. Can I bring anything?” she asked knowing full well that she had nothing to bring.

  “Just you and little Jilly. We’ll start setting up,” he said as he walked back to his camper.

  “Come on, Jilly! We need to get cleaned up,” Elise called to her now grimy daughter who was climbing a big magnolia tree at the edge of their campsite. She ushered her into the RV and began the process of cleaning both of them up.

  ***

  “Oh, Dave, those were the best burgers I think I’ve ever had,” Elise said patting her stomach as she leaned back in the plastic lawn chair.

  “I’ve had many years to perfect my craft, Miss Elise,” he said chuckling. “How ‘bout you, Jilly? Did you like your burger?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said grinning. Ketchup was on her cheek and a stray chip was stuck in her hair. Elise reached over with a napkin to clean her up again. “This is the first day of our big adventure!”

  “And what a great adventure it will be, Jilly,” Dave said winking at her. “Elise, if you don’t mind, they serve free ice cream in the community center after dinner. Could I take Jilly for a cone?” Dave asked pointing at a small, well lit building. For a moment, Elise wondered if it was crazy to allow a stranger to take her daughter for ice cream, but the campground felt like another world with totally different people. Plus, she could see Jilly from her vantage point, and she would keep an eye on her.

  “Sure!”

  “Yay!” Jilly squealed, and they were on their way within seconds. Jilly loved ice cream more than just about anything.

  Barb and Elise sat in companionable silence for a few moments before Barb finally spoke.

  “So, this is your new beginning, huh?” she asked. All through dinner, Elise could tell Barb was sizing her up. She was a very nice lady, but also very smart and observant. Elise had known it was just a matter of time before Barb caught onto her.

  “I guess you could say that. We’ve never camped a day in our life,” Elise said laughing.

  “When I see a young woman with a child in an RV park, it usually means one of two things, Elise. Either she’s running from something or she’s starting over because something unexpected happened in her life. Which applies to you?”

  “Kind of a personal question, Barb,” Elise said, uncomfortable.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m just older and set in my ways, and I don’t beat around the bush,” Barb said taking a sip of her wine again. Maybe the wine was making her like this, Elise thought to herself.

  “I can appreciate that, but we’ve only just met…”

  “My husband died when I was twenty four years old.” The revelation hung in the air for a few moments before Elise looked at her.

  “But, Dave…”

  “Oh, honey, we’ve only been married for twenty years. Carl was my first husband, and he was so handsome. Oh my goodness, was he a looker! Dark black hair, gorgeous blue eyes. A real stunner.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He was crossing a street and got hit by a car,” she said solemnly.

  “Wow. I’m so sorry, Barb.”

  “I know you lost your husband, Elise. I just wanted to give you the option to talk about it with someone who understood.”

  “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. I’m just not ready yet…”

  “It’s okay, honey. No pressure. We widows have to stick together. You never really get over losing the love of your life, but it doesn’t mean God doesn’t have another love of your life in store for you.”

  “Oh, well, I can’t even consider that right now. It’s just too soon…”

  “Ya know, Dave was actually my first love. We met in third grade!”

  “Really?” Elise said, immediately thinking back to Ben and then immediately feeling guilty for thinking about him.

  “Oh, yes. He was a handsome fella. Tallest boy in our class, of course. He had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, and believe it or not, he had the thickest black hair I’d ever seen. I went home that day and told my mama that I had met my future husband. Of course, she laughed at that, but look at us now!” Barb laughed pointing around at their RV setup.

  “So how did you end up married to someone else?”

  “Well, that is a long story, but suffice it to say we both made some not so good decisions in our teens that led t
o a painful breakup. And then I met a boy who swept me off my feet,” she smiled as she recollected the past. “But Dave never left my heart. He was always in there, in that spot that no one else could ever fill. Don’t get me wrong. I adored my husband, and I was faithful to him until the end, but Dave was always a little void in my life.” Barb stared at Elise for a moment. “Elise, sweetie, do you have someone like that in your heart?”

  “What? Why would you ask me that?” Elise said, shocked that this woman seemed to be a mind reader.

  “Because the color drained from your face while I was telling that story.”

  “I just like hearing true love stories,” Elise said with a forced smile. Barb gave her a knowing smile and nodded.