“I’ll be praying for you too,” he said before the door closed.
She looked back with one last smile.
Cruz stood alone in the room for a few minutes, simply feeling the cleansing power of forgiveness and sending up a prayer of gratitude. Then he spun and all but ran from the room. Meredith. He could be to her in two hours. His steps were light and happy. Meredith was a happiness he’d never known, but with the light of him forgiving his mom, he felt like that happiness was about to explode.
Chapter Sixteen
Meredith’s house was completely dark as Cruz pulled up. She hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts, and now as he sat in his truck looking at her dark house and her empty driveway, he cursed himself for being so impetuous and not making sure she was home.
He got out of his truck and went to knock on the door. It was only 9:30. There was no answer. He called again, and it went immediately to voicemail. Was her phone dead? Was she okay? He called Cat.
“Hey, bro.”
“Hey.”
“Did you …” she asked.
“Yeah.” He slowly walked along the porch.
“And?”
He laughed. “Thank you, Cat. She told me about her parents and her mental and emotional issues. She asked me to forgive her. I did. It felt amazing.”
“Oh, Cruz. That’s the best news. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She paused and then asked, “So … what are your plans tomorrow?”
“I’ve got a big day filming at the Flathead Lake Wakeboard Academy. The students who want to will get to do shots and tricks with me. Then we fly to Minnesota tomorrow night. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“Hey, I’m standing on Meredith’s porch, and her car’s gone and it’s all dark. Do you know where she is?”
“You’re at Meredith’s … Oh, Cruz, that’s so sweet and so sad.”
Sad? “I’ve been missing her horribly. Do you know where she is?”
“No. She didn’t tell me where she was going. She just said she needed to get away.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t see the article?”
“What are you talking about?” Cruz paced Meredith’s porch, a sinking feeling in his gut almost negating all the good feelings he’d had after forgiving his mom.
“Um, there was an article that came out about you having twenty different girlfriends, leaving one in each city, and promising to come back to them. That kind of thing.”
“What? Who would print that crap? Why?” He’d had a bunch of missed phone calls and messages on his phone as he left the prison, but he’d ignored them all in his rush to get to Meredith. The answer of who and why came quick. Josh had said he’d leave him bad reviews. He must’ve used the pictures on the camera equipment he’d taken from Cruz and sold an article to a media source who only cared about sensationalism. Taylee and his lawyers could get the article removed, but the damage might be done. “Would Meredith really believe that?”
“Um … I don’t think she believed it, but I think it scared her. She just said she needed some time alone.”
Cruz groaned, sank onto the porch swing, and buried his head in his hands. Stupid Josh and stupid social media. Please, please, Lord, help Meredith know it’s all lies. “If she answers your call, will you please tell her it’s all lies? She’s the only woman I have ever loved and will ever love.”
“That’s so sweet, Cruz. Of course, I will.”
“Thanks, sis. I’m going to stop and say hi to dad and then get back.” He felt despondent but tried to push that away. He needed to focus on the positive, like he’d always done. Yet if Meredith believed that crap, was there really a chance for them? Social media was always sharing half-truths or blatant lies, and the mainstream news outlets were almost worse now, twisting everything for politics or their own gain.
If Meredith was going to get upset and run every time somebody claimed he’d done something, they were in for a rocky relationship. If Meredith loved him, she had to trust him too. His gut felt like it was full of rocks as he knew this would be hard on her and he didn’t want that. He wanted her to love and trust him, ignore the media’s attempts to make anything into a story. He’d worked things out with his mom, but now he was getting knocked to the ground again.
Please help me and please bless Meredith, he prayed desperately, walking slowly to his truck. The good Lord had helped him many times, but maybe he and Meredith together was too much to ask of the Lord.
Cruz made it back to the cabin late and slept fitfully. He woke later than he should’ve and didn’t fit in his usual workout. Taylee forced him to drink a protein shake and down a bottle of water before heading to the wakeboard academy. Today should’ve been the most exciting and fun part of the past two weeks. He’d do a lot of tricks, but it was more about showcasing the young people who’d come to this camp.
Meredith was all he could think about. There was a constant prayer for her in his heart and image of her in his head. She still hadn’t returned any of his phone calls or texts.
“So, for your first trick, we’re going to be surfing and having several of the kiddos climb on your shoulders for shots,” Taylee told him as they walked toward the boat ramp.
“That’s always fun,” he said, forcing a bright smile on his face. At least the act came easily after so many years, and the kids would make it fun.
“Yep, they love it.”
The boat was waiting for him and a group of eight- to eighteen-year-olds. They all cheered as he approached. Cruz bumped fists and chatted and grinned, but inside he ached for Meredith. Where was she? She’d returned none of his calls and texts. Silence. Agonizing, horrible silence. Why had the good Lord helped him feel such relief and forgiveness with his mom and then taken Meredith away?
He forced it all away as he strapped on a lifejacket and did a gainer off the dock. The crowd cheered even louder as he surfaced.
“You ready, chief?” Scott called to him from the boat.
“You know it.”
Cruz looked up at the group of children and teenagers waiting on the dock and beach for their turn. “So, who’s going first?”
Crazily enough, none of them put their hands in the air. As if on cue, the crowd parted and the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen walked across the dock in a pale pink swimsuit with a fitted lifejacket on. Her long, dark hair trailed over her firm shoulders, and those lips he dreamt about smiled at him. Her dark eyes were bright and red-rimmed. Had she been crying?
“Mer?”
“I’m first,” Meredith said. She grinned at all the kids and then leapt off the dock, doing a cannonball and splashing him.
Everyone laughed. Cruz thought it was adorable, but he couldn’t laugh. He’d been too concerned and stressed last night and this morning to laugh yet.
She surfaced next to him, and he grabbed her lifejacket to tug her close. “Mer? You didn’t believe …”
She cut him off with a warm, sweet kiss. “Believe that stupid article?” she asked. She tossed her hair and gave him a saucy look that he knew wasn’t really her, but he appreciated that she was being brave. “I’m the only woman you’d ever want. You’ve never lied to me before. How could I believe that garbage?”