Rocky Point Reunion by Barbara McMahon Page B

that’s the job of a strong man,” Marcie teased. “Not us helpless little women.”
    The girls laughed at her joke. “We’re strong, Aunt Marcie,” Jenny said.
    â€œI know, but men like to do things like that to show off how strong they are.”
    â€œYou know men?” Zack asked.
    â€œA bit about them,” she teased. For a moment it was as it always had been between them. Their gazes caught, held.
    â€œYou’re soo strong, Uncle Zack,” Jenny said in false admiration. She and Sally Anne giggled, which broke Marcie’s gaze. She laughed with the girls, feeling warmth to her toes.
    By the time everyone was at the top of the cliff, it was full night. The sky was darker than normal as the new moon was starting. The stars began to twinkle.
    â€œCan we lie out on the grass and look at the stars?” Jenny asked.
    â€œWe need to get Sally Anne home,” Zack said.
    â€œI can stay a little while longer. My mom won’t care,” Sally Anne said.
    â€œYou did say you were giving them a night to themselves,” Marcie reminded him, surprising herself. She didn’t want to leave.
    â€œDo you want to lie out on the grass, getting whatever bugs are around into your hair, probably freezing by the time we’re through?” he asked, as though giving Marcie an out.
    But she didn’t want one. “Where’s your sense of adventure? I brought a jacket, the girls can get a blanket from the house and we’ll all lie down and look at the stars.”
    â€œOkay, I’m overruled, I can see.” The smile on his face showed he didn’t mind a bit. He locked gazes with Marcie for a moment, surprise shining in his eyes.
    The girls yelled with joy and raced into the house to get a blanket. In less than ten minutes, the leftover food had been put away and all four were lying on the blanket, gazing at the dark night sky, Jenny and Sally Anne between them.
    â€œI see the Big Dipper,” Jenny said, pointing.
    â€œMe, too,” said Sally Anne.
    Marcie was content to be near Zack. Share the evening with him, just look at the sky, enjoying the beauty of God’s handiwork.
    â€œIt’s said God knows the names of all the stars,” she said softly. “What’s that one’s name?” Jenny asked, pointing to a bright one near the horizon.
    â€œI think that’s Venus,” Zack said. “Not a star but a planet.”
    â€œDaddy says he always feels closest to God outside. Why is that?”
    â€œNothing man-made to interfere, I expect,” Marcie said.
    â€œSo God can hear our prayers better if we’re outside?” Sally Anne asked.
    â€œHe can hear our prayers wherever we are,” Marcie said. “But maybe He hears them a bit louder if we’re outside.”
    â€œDear God, please bless my daddy and Gillian and have them come home soon,” Jenny said.
    As the girls were deep in conversation about the wedding, Zack’s cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket as he sat up to answer. “What!” he exclaimed into the phone.
    Zack’s expression was hard to see in the dim starlight. Marcie hoped it wasn’t bad news.
    â€œI’ll be there as soon as I can get there. Thanks, Tate.”
    He flipped the phone closed and stood. “Time to take Sally Anne home,” he said.
    â€œWhat happened?” Marcie asked as she scrambled to her feet and helped the girls up.
    Zack leaned close to Marcie and whispered, “Sean was picked up with some other teens at a drinking party. When Tate started to call his mother, he asked if he’d call me instead.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œHow should I know? But after I drop you and Sally Anne off, I’m heading to the sheriff’s office to find out.”
    â€œI’ll come with you.”
    Again their gazes locked. And just like that, their evening under the stars was over. But something new seemed to be