The Road to Mercy by Kathy Harris

down. “Where did you lose it?”
    “That’s the problem. I don’t know.” Alex grinned. “I’m hoping it’s still on my cheek.” She stood perfectly still. “Do you see it?”
    “Turn your face to the light,” Josh told her. “And hold your head up.”
    Alex readjusted her position.
    “No. Like this.” Josh gently tilted her chin while searching among the freckles for the lens.
    “Can you see it? I hope I didn’t drop it into the food.” Her body shook as she squelched a chuckle.
    “I’m not sure what you two girls have been drinking today, but you’re both in a mood. Hold still.” Josh moved his face closer. “I see it.”
    “Ouch!”
    “What’s going on?” Beth asked, as she walked into the room.
    Josh and Alex were laughing so hard, tears streamed down their faces.
    “Josh . . .” Alex couldn’t catch her breath. “Josh . . .” She tried again to speak. “Sorry. Give me a minute.” She fanned her face.
    Josh wiped moisture from his eyes. “I was trying to find Alex’s contact lens.” He looked at Alex and grinned, and thenback to Beth. “And I . . . I almost had it.” He chuckled. “Until I stepped on her foot.”
    He held his stomach and doubled over with laughter.
    “I don’t get it,” Beth said.
    “That’s not the best part.” Alex regained control of her speech. “The funny part is when the dog farted.”
    “Poor Buster, are they picking on you?” Beth cooed.
    Josh smiled. The girls had had him in stitches all afternoon.
    A ringing phone interrupted the mood. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Danny Stevens’s name appeared in the viewer. “Hey, man, happy Thanksgiving.”
    “My mom passed away.” His friend’s voice faded into silence, broken only by heavy breathing.
    “Oh . . . no. I’m sorry.” Josh tried to find the appropriate words. “Is there anything I can do?”
    “We’re not sure what we are going to do yet.” Danny sniffed back tears. “You know, with the funeral and all. We don’t have any plans.”
    “Let me know when you do, and I’ll get the word out to everyone,” Josh said. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah, I guess. Just pray for us. That’s the main thing. Just pray.”
    Josh hung up the phone. Why did the idea of praying seem unsettling to him? Hadn’t he prayed for Danny’s mom for months? Now she was gone.
    Just when he had begun to believe that everything would be okay, he had more soul searching to do.

18
Present Day
    The parking lot had already begun to fill up when Josh and Beth arrived at Faith Chapel. The small country church rested snugly in a grove of trees near the north side of Wilson County, thirty miles outside of Nashville. Josh recognized several of the cars in the gravel lot as those of his band and crew. Shane’s red convertible, Mitch’s old pickup truck, and Ryan’s black Mercedes with vanity plates that boldly proclaimed his “superstar” status.
    Josh backed his Jeep Cherokee into a space alongside the church. He nodded a greeting to an older couple as he walked to the passenger side to open the door for Beth. She looked stunning in the black dress she had purchased yesterday on a quick shopping excursion with Alex.
    This was Beth’s first real outing since her hospitalization. He was concerned if she would have the stamina to sit through a funeral and a graveside service. But she had said she wanted to be supportive of Danny and his family, and to him.
    Josh had agreed to sing one of Nell Stevens’s favorite hymns, accompanied by Shane on the guitar. Shane and he had run through the song last night at the house. Singing at funeralshad to be the worst gig in the world, but it was something all singers were asked to do at one time or another.
    Singing to a grieving family wasn’t easy. But it was a gift that remained with the family for years to come. Music left an indelible impression on people’s lives, memories that would be relived every time they heard the