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seconds before the plane found smooth air again.
    Dayne swallowed and looked out the window. Okay, God … I’m okay with this.
    But please put Your arms around this plane. Get us onto the ground safely.
    Thanks, Lord.
    Nothing audible sounded in his heart, but there was an assurance that came with talking to the Creator of the universe. Even here, nothing would happen that could possibly take God by surprise.
    Dayne exhaled and settled back into his seat. His thoughts drifted to Ashley’s phone call. It had come a few hours after Katy’s quick call that morning about the lake house. Ashley had explained that Katy had been over for a CKT meeting, and she’d been very excited about a house she’d found on the lake.
    “She told me.”
    “Good. Well, we finished our meeting, and Katy just left, so I had to reach you.” Her tone had been full of excitement. “She misses you so much, Dayne.”
    “I miss her too.”
    “That’s why I have an idea.”
    Later, after Katy explained the house more fully, Dayne talked to Ashley again.
    He was dizzy trying to keep up with her. He loved 23
    Ashley, loved her spunk and spontaneity. He could only wonder what it would’ve been like to grow up with her. Ashley’s plan was that he fly out on his first available day, and she would hold a CKT meeting that same morning or find another reason to meet with Katy. Then, sometime before noon, she would ask Katy to take her to the old house out on the lake for a look around. When they got there, Dayne would be in the backyard waiting for them.
    “Katy won’t believe it. She’ll think it’s Christmas in July.” Ashley sounded like a kid. “Come on, Dayne… . Can you do it?”
    The idea was impulsive, but it had worked so far.
    Dayne sucked in a slow breath. The thunderheads were right below them now, and as the pilot maneuvered around them, again the plane shook and pitched.
    “There’s some water next to your seat-in the built-in ice chest.” The flight attendant was warm, motherly, and for the most part she kept to herself. The company was used to flying high-profile clients. Celebrities were commonplace to the crew.
    Dayne reached for a cold bottle and twisted off the cap. “Thanks.”
    The clouds surrounded them, and for the next ten minutes the jet bounced around like a raft on stormy seas. But in the final seconds, the plane leveled off and came in for a smooth landing. The pilot steered the plane across the tarmac and up to the private terminal. Once they stopped, the men climbed out of the cockpit, and one of them motioned for someone to drive up Dayne’s rental car.
    This was another benefit. On a one-day trip, he had no luggage. Dayne grabbed a small backpack, thanked the crew, and jogged down a flight of stairs to the ground. Ten feet away his rental was waiting for him, the driver’s-side door open. He had already tipped the crew, so he gave them a quick wave and drove off.
    As soon as he was out of the airport and onto the streets, he exhaled. It was just after eleven in the morning. He had almost an hour to locate the house and wait for Katy and Ashley.
    He had found directions on Google, and now he headed for 24
    the lake. As he drove, the conversation with Katy about the house came back again. Dayne had been home after a long day on the set, eating a sandwich on the deck of his Malibu house.
    “It’s amazing, Dayne. I never thought I’d find anything like it.” There was a sliver of doubt in her voice. “One problem, though.”
    On the other end, Dayne had smiled. What problem could possibly matter? Like he’d told her, they could live in a tent and they’d have no problems now that Katy had agreed to marry him, now that he’d taken time to face the rest of his life and make a list about what mattered most. God, then Katy, then his family.
    No questions whatsoever. And that placed him in Bloomington-the sooner the better. As long as the place had a roof and walls, they’d make it a home. “One