November 2024

Note: This excerpt is from a novel currently being edited. The final form may be altered from what is presented here.

The soothing tenor voice with a slight tinge of Kentucky twang caught Ann’s attention.

“Ready, AC?”

She turned around in her dorm room to see Luke, who was wearing an orange linen shirt with short sleeves, the buttons partially opened to show a peek of a white tee-shirt, as well as a pair of relaxed-fit Levis with a brown belt and Air Force Ones. This time, his eyes were a piercing cobalt.

“Hey, Luke! Sure. Is your car in the lot?”

“Yeah. I already have my stuff packed up. Terah and Paulie are in the lobby waiting. They had me come up and get you.”

“Okay cool. Let’s go.”

Ann came downstairs with Luke, and all four piled into Luke’s midnight blue Saab station wagon.

“Can’t believe this will be our last trip to Infinity Week,” Paul mused wistfully. “It’s such a restful way to spend our spring break. I’m gonna miss the recharge.”

“I know. It’s incredible,” Luke added while keeping his eyes on the road. “The quiet woods and streams. The horseback riding. And the Smoky Mountains are amazing!”

“Paul, I’m surprised you’re not riding up with Alyssa,” Ann noted.

“Nah, not this time. We’re together, but we figured since this is the last Infinity, we’d ride with our best friends. So, she’s with Megan and Chrisette, and I’m riding with y’all.”

“Cool!”

During Infinity 2002, members of the Great Lakes chapter of Christian Kingdom joined up with the chapter from Grace College, a small Christian Reformed college in Western Michigan, since their Spring Break fell the same week. These chapters converged in the scenic Smoky Mountains as they did each year.

The words she felt she heard from her first Infinity still looped in Ann’s mind years later. “Be patient. Luke is the One.” Ann was certain she heard them so clearly from God, much like the time God told her to break up with Jake. And yet, three years later, she and Luke were still friends. Just friends.

The rolling green hills of rural Kentucky slid past as Ann stared out the passenger side window. As Luke sped down Interstate 75, she could see the trees regrowing their shade.

Sister Rhonda says that we’re supposed to have unwavering faith, and then God will give us our deepest desires. I really want to be with Luke, I’m supposed to be with Luke. God himself said so.

At dusk, the station wagon turned into the grassy lot by the big house at Honeycutt Estate and came to a rolling stop. The big house was clad in ivory siding and adorned with four matching columns. The outdoor stairs ascended to a wooden porch with whitewashed benches on each side, along with rocking chairs, each with well-loved pillows covered in deep red and gold. The front door was painted forest green with a gold doorknob. A brown, carved cross completed the look of the door. Several people, most of them in their teens and early twenties, were milling about in the grassy parking area as well as on and around the porch.

The four exited Luke’s car. “We’re here!” he exclaimed. As he headed to the back of the station wagon to open the hatch, he stopped in his tracks.

“Luke! Luke! Oh my gosh Luke! You made it!” An athletic, curvy young woman in her early twenties, wearing a turquoise fleece jacket and medium denim flares, was waving her hands high in the air. She was stunning, with long, straight ebony hair, almond-shaped eyes a sultry brown, smooth skin, pillowy lips, and a ninety-kilowatt smile.

Ann’s face fell.

“Morgan? Oh my God! I didn’t know you were coming!” Luke’s voice matched Morgan’s energy perfectly, and she ran over to him, giving him a giant, forward-facing hug. Not exactly a Christian side hug.

She wasn’t supposed to be here.