Annie had never thought about that, but she supposed it might be true. “I didn’t have any admirers in school either though,” she pointed out.
“Because you’ve been trained to fade into the background. You have always been so unassuming, no one noticed you. It’s about time you got over your fears and went after what you want. In this case, you don’t even have to go after it. God has dropped your heart’s desire right in your lap.”
“He has, hasn’t he?” Annie began to feel a flutter of hope for the first time. The concept seemed foreign to her. She’d heard so much about service while she was growing up that it seemed impossible to think God might want to give her something.
“I think that’s why you’ve let your family and your need to be needed become your god,” Fawn said.
“I thought about what you said, and you’re right. I realize I’ll probably have to guard against that forever. It’s the one area where I feel competent and in control, like I’m making a difference.” She told Fawn about the computer’s faulty formula and the epiphany it had given her.
“Good. God wants to be the most important thing in our lives. He wants to be our first passion, our first thought in the morning. He wants to be what gives our life purpose. For you, your family was most important. And that was wrong. I think it’s because you have the wrong view of God and who he is. You think good living is all about being a servant, and while that’s important, you forget that he really wants to be your best friend. You don’t delight in him, and enjoy the daily communion with him.”
Annie wasn’t sure she’d ever delighted in God the way Fawn was talking about. She couldn’t remember a time when she wasn’t worried she was failing everyone around her, and that she needed to try harder. “How can I do that?” she whispered. “He’s first in my life now, but how can I be a friend?”
“Tonight when you go to bed, just tell him you love him and want to spend time with him. Read your Bible and listen to what he says. Read the Psalms and just praise him for being there for you. And try actually asking for something for yourself, some way you’d like to grow. You might try asking for the courage to believe in yourself the way he believes in you.”
Annie nodded. “I’ll try. I’ve been reading my Bible.” She couldn’t imagine talking to God so easily. It seemed presumptuous. God was God and she was just—Annie. But the surge of hope couldn’t be ignored. She would try it.
The phone rang, and Annie went to get it. “Tagama residence.” There was a buzz on the line, then she heard the discordant sound of a voice altered by a synthesizer.
“Annie.” The voice was sibilant like a snake’s hiss. “Time is up, Annie. Say good-bye to your sister.” The line clicked and the voice was gone.
Annie stood frozen with her fingers gripped around the phone. This couldn’t be happening. She dropped the phone and covered her face with her hands.
“Who is it?” Fawn asked. She picked up the phone and put her ear to the receiver.
“He’s gone,” Annie whispered. “The voice. The voice said that time was up. It said to say good-bye to my sister.” Maybe she hadn’t heard that right. She gulped and looked up at Fawn. “We have to find her, Fawn.”
Mano couldn’t stand the thought of going back to his hotel room, not after what had happened with Annie. It wasn’t too late to go to Jillian’s and talk to Kaia. She was a woman; maybe she could make sense of Annie’s behavior. He drove the deserted road to the Sommers’s house.
Jesse answered Mano’s knock on the door. “Hey, buddy, what brings you out this way?” His smile faltered when he stared at Mano’s face. “Is it that bad?”
“How long did it take you to understand Kaia?”
Jesse grinned. “Who says I do? Is this about Annie?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d get Kaia’s take on it.” He followed Jesse into the living room.
“I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Kaia thought Jillian needed a distraction. They’ve gone to hula class. Can I help? Though I don’t claim to be an expert on the female psyche.”
Mano sat on the couch. Checkers started to jump onto his lap, then sniffed his pant leg. The cat hissed and then shot under the sofa. “Checkers must smell Wilson.”
“Yeah, he terrorizes the poor cat.” Jesse sat in the chair opposite the sofa. “So what’s up?”
“Tonight I told Annie I loved her. She ran into the house.”
“Before or after she kissed you?”
“How’d you know she kissed me?”
“Buddy, I’ve seen that besotted look she gives you when she thinks no one is looking. That’s a woman in love if I ever saw one. Did you scare her?”
“I don’t know what I did. I kissed her, and she kissed me back. Then she shoved me away and wailed, ‘no,’ and ran into the house.”