She stiffened, and a fragment of unease slithered up her spine. “God?”
Tailan pulled away to look down on him. “God? Seriously? You want me to ask
God for help sorting out my life?” She shook her head. “God forgot about me.
Where was God when those men killed my family? Where was God when my
uncle raped my mother? Where was God when my uncle raped his children
and their children?” She slammed her hand against his chest. “When Amir’s
sister and father were killed? When my cousins were killed? Where was God
when all of these horrible things happened?” Tears blurred her vision as she
asked, “What kind of God would allow people to hurt others this way?”
Delvin closed his eyes against the vehemence in her voice, against the deep-
seated anger and pain that he had always felt from her when it came to these
matters. He had always skirted around this issue, but today, he realized it spoke
to the heart of things when it came to her ability to trust him or anyone, to love
him completely or to let him go. He had to meet her where she was.
“I’ll tell you where God was,” he said in a soft tone as he lifted her chin so
they were eye to eye. “God was whispering in your parents’ ears to get you to
safety. God was whispering in your mother’s ear to give her the strength to tell
the world what your uncle had done. God whispered in your ear, urging you
to leave the west side that night after you heard what your uncle planned to do
to you.” His eyes searched her tear- lled ones for a moment. “God whispered
in my ear and said I should go into that classroom instead of going home. God
whispered in my ear that I should take you home with me and keep you safe—
even if I would get in trouble with my parents.”
Tears fell from her eyes at a rapid pace and he saw the effort that it took for
her to breathe.
“God whispered in my ear that I should love you and show you the side of
God’s love that is spoken of in words and song. God whispered in my mother’s
ears to make you the daughter she always wanted.” On these words, Delvin’s
voice wavered a little, the emotions coming too fast to keep them at bay. “God
whispered in my ear to get my behind on that tour bus and ask your forgiveness
for what I did to hurt you. God whispered in Amir’s ear and said to make you
his wife for that period of time it took for you to heal from the pain I’d caused.
God whispered into your womb and planted a child that is the best parts of
both of us, and who will bind us for the rest of our lives.”
Delvin pulled her head against his chest. “God is right here with us, watching
over us, keeping us safe. God is right here in my heart and yours, whether we