The next morning Lucy drove to the cathedral. She needed to do this. She climbed the steps to the heavy doors, neither of them opened. She felt relieved. But then another door off to the side got her attention. She went over and it opened. She held her breath as she went inside.

Her eyes went immediately to the window at the back and on the left. The angel was there crushing Satan. She shuddered.

"Sometimes I get that feeling to."
She screamed and spun around.

"I'm so sorry!" A young man in a black shirt with a white collar looked truly sorry. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She sank down to the pew and he came and sat beside her. "It's these shoes, you can't hear me coming."
She smiled. "It's not your fault. I'm just jumpy."

He sat down beside her. His eyes were blue and he looked so young. "Are you a priest?"
"Yes. I was ordained this year?"
Lucy let out a long breath and looked at the window.

"Is there something I could help you with? I'm Father Mike."

"Mike?"

"Yes. That's why the painting really gets to me. It's Michael the angel, you know?"

She looked at the angel's face. "Well he looks scarier than the devil."
He smiled. "I know. If I painted it he would have looked less intimidating and the devil would have looked worse."
She smiled.

"Do you want to talk about something?"
"Yes."

He listened intently as she told him everything. He shook her head. "How awful."

"There's more." She continued to tell him what happened in the closet and how Jeremy's abuse triggered those memories. "I even accused him of rape. But it wasn't him. Then he killed himself, and it's all my fault."

"Your boyfriend hit you and you blame yourself?"

His reply caught her off guard.

"I'm sorry." He turned red. "So what happened the first time, when you were kidnapped?"

She continued her story. They sat for hours talking, but no one interrupted. She talked until she had nothing left to say. He smiled when she was finished. He reminded her of Kevin. "Let me tell you about Jesus."

For the first time, she sat and listened without fear or animosity towards God. Mike told her about Jesus and how he wasn't a victim of his father's cruelty. He was the greatest gift he gave. She just had to receive it. She realized that God doesn't make sin happen. It comes from the heart of people. She also realized that Jeremy's death wasn't her fault.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucy didn't plan to do anything special for her birthday. One year ago, she was engaged to Kevin. It was hard to believe it had been that long. She decided not to go to her father's church, but instead to go to the cathedral.

She sat in the back with all the other twice- a- year churchgoers. As Father Mike said mass she thought about Kevin. She began to cry, as she did every time she thought about him after Ben's visit. Please don't let him hurt, Lord. But that was in God's hands.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kevin was outside in the stable when Ben arrived two days after Christmas. He probably did that on purpose, wanting to avoid last years situation. Kevin stood by the door, he would let him go in and see his sisters, and then he would talk to him.

Although Kevin had thought about leaving tomorrow, Ben's arrival meant he would have to stay. Ben came out and saw Kevin in the stable. He smiled when he saw Kevin with the horses. "Never could get enough of them could you?"
Kevin smiled and shook his head. "I'm just looking at the foals dad got."

Ben put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "You'll never guess who I had dinner with."

Kevin stood up and turned to him. "Probably not, so just tell me."

"C'mon you have to have a guess."
"Ben."
"Fine. Lucy."

Kevin walked over to him. Was he trying to make him angry?

Ben grinned. "I was in New York and decided to give her a call. Aren't you going to ask who she was?"
"How was she?"
"Gorgeous."
It hit him low. "What are you trying to do, cause trouble? Because your succeeding."
"No Kevin, I'm not. Just telling you to get out there and fight for her. She loves you, she told me."
"I can't. I got in the Lord's way before, and I don't want to do it again."

"Why not? Kevin what are you afraid of?"
"I don't want her to feel pursued. Jeremy all ready did that."

"It wasn't Jeremy who raped her."
"What?"

Ben sat down on the table. "It wasn't Jeremy. It was some other incident that she just now remembered."

Kevin felt sick. "How do you know?"

"She told me. Sort of. She told me she feels extremely guilty about Jeremy's death. She feels that because she accused him, he killed himself."
That was the Lucy he knew. Always blaming herself for things that weren't her fault.

"You have to take a chance Kevin. She won't run from you because she loves you."

Kevin stood thinking about what he could do. Ben turned and shook his hand. "And Kevin, lose the beard."

He could fly out tonight to see her. He went inside and examined his Bible, looking for a scripture that told him he was doing the right thing. He opened to Corinthians and found his answer. "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails."

A/N: Next chapter is the last one! Anyway, please review!