Brad Reynolds comes home to Medicine Park, OK, to take over his father\u2019s old business and try to put his life back together after a divorce. He\u2019s fitting in, he\u2019s meeting great new people, he\u2019s even started attending a Bible study. Brad\u2019s a great guy by everyone\u2019s account. What they don\u2019t know is that he has an addiction. He\u2019s kept it well-hidden so far, but it\u2019s already destroyed his marriage and it will soon destroy his whole life. So Brad tries to bury it, to ignore it, to power his way through it \u2026 but it keeps escaping from the box he keeps it in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Cover photograph (c) 2012 Derrick Bias)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ON SALE NOW!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kindle<\/a> paperback<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n What the Readers are saying \u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really liked it. I had never read a book with that viewpoint of the guy with the sex addiction. It was interesting as he grew in Christ. I thought it was very encouraging as we all have aspects of ourselves we need to put under Christ\u2019s Lordship.\u201d ~KD, LA<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the \u201csort-of\u201d sequel \u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you would like to read more about Brad, Allie and Angie, be sure and pick up the novel Joyfully Ever After.<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sample Chapter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The divorce was final the same day his parents died in the car wreck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He thought about not even telling Darria, or trying to tell her in such a way as to hurt her. But he didn\u2019t. He just called her and, as she prepared for one of his trademark snide remarks involving either the postal service or how relieved he was to finally be rid of her, he calmly told her he had gotten the papers and his parents had just died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darria didn\u2019t know what to say, except that she was really sorry to hear that. She meant it and hoped she could convey her sincerity but knew she had her own reputation for caustic remarks, especially where Brad was concerned. Still, she had always gotten along just fine with the Reynolds and they had even reached out to her recently, as things had begun to go sour in her marriage to their son. She had bristled at the intrusion, but secretly appreciated it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ve got to go. I\u2019ve got to go pick up Mike at the airport. Then, we\u2019ll, um, head over to the mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah,\u201d she said, nodding at the phone even though he, of course, could not see the motion. Then, she quickly added, \u201cFor what it\u2019s worth, I\u2019m really sorry it finalized today\u2014of all days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry they had to die today, of all days.\u201d He tried to think of something else to say, then, not even sure if she were still there, told her, \u201cGood bye, Darria. Be seeing you, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. I\u2019m really sorry, Brad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThanks,\u201d he told her as he hung up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n They hugged at the airport, cried a bit, then things got so quiet as they left the airport in Brad\u2019s car that they jumped into as banal a brand of small talk as they could muster before they were even onto I-44. \u201cYou have to wonder whose idea it was,\u201d Brad quipped, \u201cTo build the Wiley Post Terminal of the Will Rogers Airport on Amelia Earhardt Drive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Mike asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do those three people have in common?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike thought a moment, then nodded, \u201cThey all died in airplane crashes, didn\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They ran out of small talk just as they passed Norman, however, and were stuck with silence, again. Suddenly, Brad said, almost to his own surprise, \u201cI\u2019d like the store.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Mike responded, completely thrown off guard. His thoughts had already gone to his wife and baby, who were driving down from Colorado and would be joining him (hopefully) the next day. He hadn\u2019t wanted to do it that way, but the fact was they just couldn\u2019t afford three airplane tickets on such short notice but still felt Mike should be there for his brother as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe bait shop,\u201d Brad explained. \u201cI\u2019d like the bait shop.\u201d Suddenly thinking it through aloud, he offered, \u201cI\u2019ll buy your half from you for whatever you think is fair. I can take what I got from mine and Darria\u2019s house and make you a down payment. For the store and your half of Mom and Dad\u2019s house. I\u2019ll get a loan to cover the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Realizing how impetuous he was being, he suddenly added, \u201cUnless you want it. I was just thinking that I\u2019ve kind of been wanting out of my job\u2014and out of Oak City\u2014for a while now. But I don\u2019t think that little bait shop makes enough money for us both to live on. So, you can have it, if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d Mike replied, just as suddenly. \u201cYou take it.\u201d After a moment, \u201cI\u2019m serious. Annette and I really like Aurora. It\u2019s where we want Collin to grow up. It\u2019s home now. Why don\u2019t you just list me as a silent partner in the store and then slowly buy me out? That way you won\u2019t get nailed for all that interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking of anything like that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not? It works out for both of us. I get a monthly payment I haven\u2019t been getting and you get the store.\u201d After a moment, Mike asked, \u201cWhy do you want it? I don\u2019t remember you showing any interest in it before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were several miles further along before Brad answered, \u201cYou grow up in a small town and you can\u2019t wait to get out. Now, I want to go back. I know it won\u2019t be the same. But maybe I can recapture a little bit of what it was . . . once. I\u2019m a grown-up now. As of today, I\u2019m officially divorced\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really feel bad about that. Wished there was something I could have done. Wished I had seen it coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only people who could have were me and Darria and we waited too long to acknowledge it, and then longer to do something about it. And you didn\u2019t see it because we tried so hard to hide from everyone, including ourselves. I think that\u2019s part of why I want to get out of Oak City. I\u2019ll always associate this place with my marriage. Now I can get out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you really think going back to Medicine Park is the right answer? You want to get away? Come back to Aurora with me. You\u2019ve always liked Colorado. You can get a job in Denver. You\u2019d be near family. Lots of accounting jobs there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUhg. I\u2019ve done accounting, Mike.\u201d He smiled and added, \u201cMaybe I could go to Texas, where cousin Denny lives. Maybe there\u2019s a job in Frognot. I\u2019ve always kind of wanted to live there just so I could have that name on my letterhead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n The funeral home had done a good job, as far as such jobs went. Instead of two people who had been in a car that had gone off a rain-soaked highway, they looked like two people who had just chosen a strange place to take a nap. After a few moments of \u201cviewing,\u201d Mike commented to Brad, \u201cI don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m ready to close the lids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Brad nodded anxiously. He motioned to the funeral director, a thin woman with iron grey hair perfectly coiffed She came over and, with the help of a young assistant, closed the caskets. \u201cRemember the line from that cousin in Arizona\u2014I can\u2019t ever remember his name. I just remember being at a funeral for some uncle or other and someone comments about the body looking natural and he said, \u2018No he doesn\u2019t. I\u2019ve known Uncle Chuck for twenty years and not once can I remember him getting dressed up in his best suit, coming down to the church, then taking a nap in a box at the front of the room.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike actually smiled as he said, \u201cI remember that. Uncle Leonard, wasn\u2019t it? The man who died, I mean. Lived in New Mexico somewhere, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLas Vegas, it seems like,\u201d Brad nodded. \u201cI just went so I could be with Mom and Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, and I met ya\u2019ll there mainly so I could see everyone. Can\u2019t remember that cousin\u2019s name, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrivate detective, wasn\u2019t he? I remember that just because he was the only private detective I ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think you\u2019re right. We\u2019ll be back in the morning,\u201d Mike told the funeral director suddenly, when he realized the director was still right behind them. The two brothers had already cried on each others shoulders to the point that now they were just drained and ready to leave and the moment\u2019s laughter had been genuine under the relief it had brought. Neither had seen the other cry like that ever, so it left a surreal picture in their minds as they left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standing in the living room of their parents\u2019 house, dressed now in casual clothes, Annette nearby playing with Collin on the floor, Brad commented, \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t seem real. I keep expecting them to come in here. For Mom to try to feed us something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking around, Mike asked, \u201cAre you sure moving here is the right idea? The fish and tackle shop is one thing, but this house? Sell it and buy another one nearer the shop if you want. You always joked you were going to buy a house in Paradise Valley just because you liked the name. Do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNaw, this is home. I may have never thought about having the bait shop, but I always dreamed about having this house. Pictured Darria and I having kids and moving here. You know, Mom and Dad always said they would move somewhere when they retired. Figured they\u2019d move near you in Denver and we\u2019d get this place. Maybe telecommute to a job in Oak City or just over in Lawton and drive in one or two days a week.\u201d He sighed and shrugged, \u201cThe Darria part\u2019s gone now. I can get the house, now, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike bit his lip a moment, then said what he\u2019d been thinking, not just all day but ever since he had heard that his brother was getting divorced, \u201cAre you sure there\u2019s no chance of you and Darria getting back together? You two were so great together\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think she\u2019s got somebody else,\u201d Brad answered. At the looks in his brother and sister in law\u2019s eyes, he quickly explained, \u201cDon\u2019t get the wrong idea. She was never unfaithful. Neither was I, for that matter. Anyway, I heard from a mutual friend that she had met somebody at her work that she was going to go out with as soon as the divorce was final.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like she\u2019s already remarried,\u201d Mike said, ignoring the look from his wife that was trying to tell him to just shut up. \u201cCan\u2019t you work things out?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI used to think so. Went to counseling and everything.\u201d Another big shrug as he leaned on the mantel and looked into the low fire. \u201cDidn\u2019t work.\u201d He looked over at Collin and said, \u201cKids were part of it, you know. Sometimes wonder, if we had been able to have kids . . . \u201c After a bit, he added, \u201cOn the other hand, sure am glad we didn\u2019t put any kids through this. Divorce is hard on kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell,\u201d Mike said, stumbling over the words, \u201cI don\u2019t want to bug you about it. But if you, um, get the chance, talk to Darria. Maybe you two just needed some time away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brad was too worn out to argue, so he just nodded and said, \u201cYeah. Maybe so. That\u2019s what Dad said, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThanks for coming,\u201d Brad said as they walked away from the graveside service. The minister from the Reynolds\u2019 church had delivered the eulogy and had done quite well. Brad and Mike had both thanked him for the words, and everyone else for coming out on such a cold, if sunny, day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darria nodded uncomfortably, then threw her arms around his neck and, sobbing, told him, \u201cI am so sorry for you. And for Mike, too. But I\u2019m really sorry for, for everything happening. Now, of all times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t just you,\u201d he told her as he held her close, feeling her for the first time in months. It had a strange familiarity that was surprisingly comforting. \u201cI know the timing was an accident. But I, uh, do thank you for coming here today. It really does mean a lot. Can you come over to the house for a while? There\u2019s a lot more food there than even Mike and I can eat. Give you a chance to see Annette. And Collin, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe sure is getting big, isn\u2019t he?\u201d Darria commented wistfully. She then let go of the hug, wiped her eyes and said, \u201cI better get back into town, though. I told the office I would try to make it back for the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, don\u2019t go so fast you . . . drive carefully, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was prettier than he remembered. Maybe it was the black dress. He had never seen her in black because she had always said it made her look washed out. With her reddish blonde hair and freckled skin, he had always taken her at her word. But now, looking at her, he realized she looked pretty attractive in black. And she had lost weight. She wouldn\u2019t have been able to fit in that dress when they were still together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then, he had lost weight, too. He didn\u2019t think it was stress so much as that he just hadn\u2019t eaten as regularly since the split. He was almost back to his college weight. And what with walking every day in the sun, the red had come out in his brown hair and a few freckles had resurfaced that he hadn\u2019t seen in a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People used to say they belonged together but he always figured it was because they were both red haired and fair skinned. He wondered if, that day at the cemetery, they looked like they ought to be together again. He wondered if she were wondering the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She nodded, then kissed him on the cheek and walked away to her car. He watched her go, not knowing how he should feel. If it were a movie, he knew, he would run after her and catch her in his arms and convince her to stay with him. Or he\u2019d watch her go and cry. But he didn\u2019t feel like doing either. He didn\u2019t feel like doing anything. So he just watched her go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou sure you don\u2019t want me to hang around for a while?\u201d Mike offered. \u201cI\u2019ve got a couple weeks coming. I could help you move and get settled in at the shop and all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. Your family needs you with them. I\u2019ll be fine. Old Simms is going to run the shop until I can get out there, and most of my stuff is in storage so it won\u2019t take all that much to move it. Got some friends that can help with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, if you need me, you call, all right? It\u2019s just you and me now, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, same here. I mean, if you need anything, you call me. I know how to get to Aurora.\u201d Brad snapped his fingers and said, \u201cLet\u2019s plan on getting together in a couple months. Maybe head into the mountains or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSounds great,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brad hugged Annette, thanked her for coming, and held a very wriggly Collin one more time, kissing the little boy on the forehead. \u201cI can\u2019t believe how fast you can move, little guy. You\u2019ll be walking by the next time I see you, I bet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brad Reynolds comes home to Medicine Park, OK, to take over his father\u2019s old business and try to put his life back together after a divorce. He\u2019s fitting in, he\u2019s meeting great new people, he\u2019s even started attending a Bible study. Brad\u2019s a great guy by everyone\u2019s account. What they don\u2019t know is that he has an addiction. He\u2019s kept it well-hidden so far, but it\u2019s already destroyed his marriage and it will soon destroy his whole life. So Brad tries to bury it, to ignore it, to power his way through it \u2026 but it keeps escaping from the box he keeps it in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1981,2026],"tags":[2023,1368,2031,2029,2030,1608,1058],"class_list":["post-3697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian","category-romance","tag-change","tag-christian","tag-medicinepark","tag-mendedlives","tag-oklahoma","tag-romance-2","tag-samuelbenwhite-2"],"yoast_head":"\n