Kicking Eternity<\/em> excerpt:<\/strong><\/p>\nMissy waved at someone and Raine glanced over her shoulder to see who it was.<\/p>\n
Aly and Cal moved toward the churning waves. Cal carried a bundle under one arm. He raised a hand to greet his sister and stopped mid-wave when he saw Raine.<\/p>\n
Did Cal feel it too, the lightning bolt of attraction that knocked her back a step on the sand? She wanted to throw herself into its current\u2014something powerful enough to distract her from Eddie.<\/p>\n
Arm still aloft, Cal motioned for Raine to join them.<\/p>\n
She dug her heels into the soft sand one after another\u2014shoving Eddie into God\u2019s hands one last time\u2014till she reached the hard-packed shoreline where Cal and Aly waited. The clouds had blown by and moonlight bathed the beach.<\/p>\n
Raine made eye contact with Aly, asking wordless permission to come along. She didn\u2019t want to upset the tenuous truce between them.<\/p>\n
Aly shrugged. Her eyes flitted between Raine and Cal. Her brows shot up and she opened her mouth to say something.<\/p>\n
Raine cut Aly off. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen you guys at a campfire yet this week. Don\u2019t you like them?\u201d She fell into step between Aly and Cal as they strolled along the shore.<\/p>\n
The wind blew Aly\u2019s hair across her face, and she caught it in her fist. \u201cWe get enough religion at this place without begging for more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople can be spiritual without doing things exactly the way you do,\u201d Cal said. \u201cTake Taoism for example. When we get into the flow of how things are supposed to go, everything goes smoothly. When we\u2019re not in the Tao, we\u2019re gulls flying against the Gulf Stream. What does that remind you of?\u201d<\/p>\n
Raine racked her brain for some tidbit of knowledge from her comparative religion class that would give her a clue to what Cal was talking about.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about it. The Tao sounds like God\u2019s will. I\u2019ve heard my dad preach a hundred sermons on how things go better when you\u2019re in God\u2019s will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raine stopped dead in the sand. \u201cYour dad\u2019s a preacher?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cal and Aly kept walking. Raine caught up with them.<\/p>\n
Aly smiled. \u201cWatch out, Cal, maybe you\u2019re genetically wired for priesthood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed. \u201cNot for celibacy.\u201d He turned to Raine. \u201cAly talks Catholic-ese. Every pastor is a priest. Church services of all kinds are masses.<\/p>\n
She swears in Catholic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you call \u2018mother of God\u2019 and whipping out the sign of the cross at unholy moments?\u201d Cal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, only in extreme circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou drink like a Catholic.\u201d Cal unwrapped the sweatshirt bundle under his arm and tugged a Coors Light out of the six-pack. He tossed it to Aly.<\/p>\n
Grinning, Aly caught the beer.<\/p>\n
Cal handed one to Raine. The chill of the aluminum crept all the way up to her elbow.<\/p>\n
He popped the tab on his can and took a long pull, his eyes on her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, Raine?\u201d Aly tore the metal ring from her can. \u201cNever had a beer before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her silence answered for her.<\/p>\n
Cal wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. \u201cYou know, the Bible says not to get drunk. It never says you can\u2019t drink alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d Raine had never been offered alcohol. Meth, yes. Of course she wasn\u2019t doing any drugs, but would a Bible teacher drink beer?<\/p>\n
What had her contract said?<\/p>\n
Cal took another swig. \u201cI bet you always drive the speed limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their grilling was getting old. \u201cWhat if I do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFigures,\u201d Aly said.<\/p>\n
Raine turned toward Aly. \u201cYou think it\u2019s easy driving the speed limit? I spent the last four years of my life in a hurry. I wanted to speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you didn\u2019t,\u201d Aly said.<\/p>\n
Raine brushed the hair out of her face. \u201cThe Bible says, \u2018Give unto Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d Cal said, \u201cyou know that\u2019s talking about paying taxes\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Aly broke in, \u201cYou two can debate the Bible all night if you want, but the bottom line is that you\u2019re one of those girls who always does everything by the book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make obedience sound like a character flaw.\u201d Raine hated the defensiveness in her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you obey?\u201d Aly threw it down like a gauntlet. \u201cYou follow rules because it makes you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to make God feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to look down on the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anger blazed through Raine. Aly had no idea what her motives were.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re perfect, you can do that sad little shake of the head that says, \u2018I pity you\u2019 to the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Aly spun toward Cal. \u201cI know you\u2019re all about introducing the \u2018hottie Bible teacher\u2019 to real life, but I can\u2019t do this.\u201d Aly threw her beer into a clump of seaweed and spun around. She tore off down the beach, her hair catching the moonlight as it streamed behind her, an ethereal ribbon.<\/p>\n
Raine gaped. \u201cWhere did that come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cal shrugged. \u201cAly\u2019s got issues that have nothing to do with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know me. Is that what you think, too?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think exactly what Aly said.\u201d Cal leaned back against a slab in the jetty and looked at her. \u201cThat you\u2019re a hottie.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anger sucked out of her and something just as incendiary washed in. She dropped her gaze from Cal\u2019s smirk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you probably need an education\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Her head jerked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get your Biblical reference, but how many normal people would get it?\u201d Cal pushed off the rocks and took hold of her shoulders. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to be a missionary, you\u2019re going to have to learn to relate to people who don\u2019t know the Bible or live by its rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
His words were true, and they sliced into her heart. She felt the tears forming in her eyes, the constricting of her throat, but she was locked into Cal\u2019s hard stare. She knew she exposed her heart, but she couldn\u2019t stop herself. His fingers warmed her skin through the cotton of her sleeve.<\/p>\n
She broke away and hunched her shoulders into the wind. Cal wasn\u2019t going to see her lose it altogether. He batted her ignorance around like a badminton birdie. She should confront his disdain. Or, at least, stay away from him. But everything in her wanted to prove herself to Cal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Enter to win a free paperback version of Kicking Eternity here<\/a> or purchase info for electronic and paper versions here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During August I\u2019m blogging about Our Lady of the Hills Camp near Hendersonville, North Carolina\u2013now owned by Highland Lake Inn. I transplanted the camp to a Florida beach town for my novel, Kicking Eternity. An excerpt appears at the bottom of this post. I eyeballed the other counselors circling the Canteen, my knee bouncing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2,340,66,339],"tags":[80,112,113,110,108,111,105],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
"The Cutest Boy I Ever Saw Was Sipping Cider Through a Straw..." - Ann Lee Miller<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n