Three

A NIGHT MARRED BY RESTLESSNESS and unanswered questions still wasn't enough to keep Rule in bed the next day.

Sticking to a routine had always been a source of comfort to Rule, and he was up at five like usual, his body clock mercilessly punctual to a fault. But as far as his ex was concerned, it was also this side of his that she found unbearably tedious, which she also cited as one of the reasons for their breakup.

Such thoughts had his mind attempting to replay the past, but Rule shut a mental door on this immediately.

The present was all that mattered now.

And even though his conversation with Vixen last night had ended on an awkward note...

Rule was surprised to find himself still full of hope.

And more unexpectedly, of peace.

Why that was, however...

He wasn't yet ready to face.

For now, he would simply focus on the things he did have the ability and courage to tackle, and to start with...

Rule knocked on his daughter's door. "You awake yet?"

He gave her a few moments to answer before knocking again. "Riley?"

Rule opened the door after his third round of knocking, and the first thing he saw was her empty bed.

Huh.

His daughter had never been an early riser, and Rule's puzzlement gradually turned to unease when he searched the rest of the house and still found no signs of Riley.

One of the reasons he had chosen to move to Lavender Cove was for its supposedly low crime rates. But such statistics were just that: statistics. There were always exceptions to the rule and margins for error. There was always the possibility of a nutjob suddenly having this whim to take the ferry and kill the first seventeen-year-old girl—-

"Morning, Dad!"

The sound came from the back porch, and Rule expelled his breath in relief when he saw his daughter waving at him from the steps. The wooden planks creaked under his footsteps as he joined her outside, and she smiled up at him as he folded his length next to hers.

"How long have you been up?"

"About fifteen minutes? I wanted to see the sun rise. We're supposed to have the best morning views on the island, and I wanted to see if it was true."

"Is it then?"

Riley gestured to the skies with dramatic flair. "Behold."

A smile quirked over his lips, but he obediently turned his gaze as instructed.

And it was as his daughter said.

"We don't get views like this in our old apartment," Riley commented.

"You were the one who refused to live in a penthouse," he reminded her.

"Because I'm afraid of heights. And it all turned out okay, anyway. We still don't live in a penthouse, but we already have this to wake up to."

His daughter's face softened as she turned her gaze back to the sun, and his chest tightened at the sight. She had never been much of a talker growing up, but she had become even more withdrawn following his separation from Beatriz.

And so to see and hear her talk this much—-

It wasn't just a blessing but a miracle, and the fact that Rule even thought of it as such nearly had him shaking his head.

The word 'miracle' had never been a part of his vocabulary. But the moment it popped into his mind, Rule knew this was the truth. Everything right now was a miracle.

Riley.

This island.

Vixen.

And...the one behind Jeremiah 29:11.

"Dad?"

Rule focused his attention back on Riley and was surprised to find her expression wistful. "What is it?"

"I love this place."

The words seemed to come out of nowhere, and his daughter looked just as stunned to hear herself say this.

"I mean, it's weird, right? Everything's so quiet here. And slow. I'm not supposed to like these things, but I do. I love everything about this island. And the people here are amazing."

The words were too perfect a cue that it almost had Rule glancing up at the skies.

This is your work, isn't it?

He had looked up Jeremiah 29:11 last night before sleeping, but instead of giving him the answers he needed, the verse had only led to more questions. The words had made him want to believe. But to believe would lead to changes which he frankly found terrifying, and it was why Rule had woken up unwilling to even think of his name.

But you knew what I was trying to do.

God had used Vixen to open Rule's eyes to His existence. And now, God was using Riley to let Rule know there was no escaping His plans. Rule wanted to know if God also saw him as his son, and this was the answer.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Rule cleared his throat, and his daughter glanced at him curiously.

"Speaking of places and people...it seems we both have the same taste in cafes as well."

"Are you talking about BBB?"

"I am."

"But how did you know—-" Riley's eyes widened. "Did Vixen talk to you about me?"

"Actually, it was the other way around."

"But why would you—-" Riley let out a gasp when everything started adding up. " No way."

"I'm not falling for that again," Rule said dryly. The one time he had said 'yes way' in response, his daughter had teased him about being "ancient" for weeks.

"But we're thinking about the same thing, aren't we?"

"What are you thinking?"

"That you...like her?"

"You sound happy about that," he observed.

"I am!" Riley's eyes were sparkling with delight, and Rule couldn't remember the last time he had seen his daughter this happy. "Tell me, though. How did she react when she found out you were my dad?"

"I'm sure you can imagine how."

His daughter actually giggled, and this, too, was something he hadn't heard for a long, long time.

It was, simply put, another miracle.

"What exactly did she say ?"

"She suggested we give ourselves time to think."

Riley smirked. " And? "

He realized where this was leading, and his daughter started to snicker when he shook his head. "You really want me to say it?"

"Yes. I really do."

"She also said we should pray for it."

His daughter was already giggling before he had even finished speaking.

"I knew it!" Riley beamed at him. "She's just so adorably nice, Dad. I don't think I've ever met anyone like her. She doesn't seem to care about what other people think. She could just go on and on talking about God and stuff."

Yes , Rule thought. Vixen was exactly the way his daughter described her, but it didn't just make her adorable or nice. Instead, it made her incredible, in every way a woman could be.

"Do you really like her, Dad?"

"I do."

"And Vixen? Did she say she likes you back?"

"She says it's too soon to tell."

Riley sighed. "That's such a Vixen thing to say."

"You sound like you know her pretty well."

"I know I've only met her once, but she's just that kind of person, you know? She doesn't have a single fake bone in her body."

Yes, Rule thought again. Vixen would never be the type to lie, and that was why...he was starting to think he had been right in the first place. Vixen was someone a man like him didn't deserve—-

"Dad?" Riley was gnawing on her lip with an uneasy expression.

"What is it?"

"Do you think you really have a shot with her?"

"You don't think I do?"

"It's just that..."

Rule frowned at the way his daughter's shoulders slumped. "What are you worried about?"

"She's nice—- "

"You've already said that several times."

"—-while we're dysfunctional."

Rule finally understood what his daughter was leading to.

"And we're not...close to God."

He could almost hear his daughter's heart break at having to say this, and his own heart broke alongside hers.

This is my fault, God.

His own lack of faith, he might have been stubborn and proud enough to ignore for the rest of his life. But when it was his own daughter's soul on the line?

Help me.

Hearing Riley admit to not knowing God changed everything, and it left Rule devastated by his own guilt and pain.

I'm lost, Father.

He didn't know if the words would qualify as a prayer, but he didn't know how to say it any better.

All he knew was that he was at a loss.

I don't know what to do.

But when his gaze collided with his daughter's, it was as if something had taken over him at that moment, and Rule heard himself say, "Not yet."

Riley looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"You were wrong when you said we weren't close to God. Because the truth is...we're not yet close to God. But we can be. We will be—-"

His daughter reared back from him, demanding, "Who are you and what did you do to my dad?"

"I could ask the same of you," Rule drawled, and the snappy exchange had both of them grinning.

The rest of the morning went by quickly, and Rule couldn't remember the two of them feeling this peaceful. And this change, he knew, wasn't just because of Vixen. She was a part of it, yes, but for this inexplicable and sudden change to happen...

Miracle after miracle, huh?

Rule wanted desperately to believe that this was how it would always be, once he decided to believe.

But how could he...when that same morning, he received a text, and it was Beatriz telling him she was already en route to the island.