Faith lowered her chin and raised her eyebrows in a manner intended to be teasing and lighthearted. She doubted she was fooling anyone, including the viewers. Everyone in Philadelphia probably knew about her and Mike. "Doesn't look like my Mets'll be anywhere near a field by then."

Chase chuckled and flashed a handsome smile in her direction. "That's the nice thing about August. Everybody has a chance. Even your Mets, Faith."

A round of easy laughter died out, and Faith took the cue as the camera zoomed in on her. Focus, Faith, focus. "Each week for the past six months we've been bringing you a segment called Wednesday's Child, highlighting special-needs children who are up for adoption in Philadelphia's social services system. Tonight we take a look at six-year-old Rosa Lee."

Saxophones led the way as the haunting strains of a child's lullaby filled the station and faded into the laughter of children playing at Jericho Park. Rosa was living with a foster family in Bethany, and the park was her favorite place to play Faith noticed that the cameraman had avoided the hundred-year-old Jesus statue, anch.o.r.ed just to the right of the play area.

Throughout the piece, a phone number remained on the screen for viewers interested in adopting Rosa. Faith watched the monitor as the camera panned in past the other children and settled on the dark-haired little beauty. Mike Dillan forgotten, Faith again savored the child's giggles as she'd done over the weekend when they'd been together for the interview. From the moment she met Rosa, Faith had felt captured by her, desperate to find her a family. Faith heard her own voice begin to sound over the footage.

"Rosa Lee's life has never been easy. Not since the morning her mother abandoned her on the steps of a Philadelphia hospital days after her birth." The camera zoomed out from Faith strolling the park grounds, her face serious, eyes on the camera, to Rosa running alongside three other children, chasing b.u.t.terflies across the park's gra.s.sy hillside. An edit showed the same children eating a picnic lunch and a close-in shot gave the television audi-ence a first glimpse of Rosa's deformed hand. "Rosa was born with just two fingers and a thumb on her left hand, making her one of thousands of special-needs children up for adoption across the United States."

The monitor showed Rosa brushing the crumbs from her play clothes and running back to the swings and slides. "Rosa will always have special needs, but don't tell her that. When it comes to using her hands, she's more determined than most kids twice her age."

The footage showed Rosa using a pencil, catching a ball, and playing tennis at the city courts. The segment finally cut to Rosa, her head tilted, long silky eyelashes batting shyly at Faith as they sat together on a park bench. "... A mommy who'll stay with me forever. That's what I want."

What?

From where Faith sat staring at her monitor she felt the piercing sting of betrayal. Someone had gotten to the segment and edited out the first part of Rosa's statement. She remembered how the.girl's words had pierced her heart when she'd smiled and said, "I'm praying for a mommy who'll stay with me forever. That's what I want."

G.o.d, I can't fight this battle any more...

Be strong and courageous, daughter, I will go before you in the battle you are about to fight What battle? The muscles in her stomach tightened at the thought. Had she correctly heard the still small voice she knew so well? I can't fight the system, Lord... You must be thinking of some-one else.

Be strong, daughter. The battle belongs to Me.

Faith felt the rea.s.suring presence of the Lord and her anger eased. It's so unfair, Father...

How could the station allow references to everything but a person's faith in G.o.d? And how could that be considered unbi-ased reporting when it was nothing but biased. Bias and censor-ship, pure and simple, and though Faith was not a fighter, it made her tempted to take a more vocal stand for her beliefs.

The footage of Rosa faded to a still shot of the child swinging high in the air against a deep blue sky, her eyes sparkling with love and hope and light. The camera angled back in on Faith live in the studio.

"Rosa is an Asian biracial child who is currently available for adoption to anyone with a valid home study If you're interested in adopting this precious little one call the number at the bottom of your screen and someone will help you through the process." She glanced at her prompt and looked pleasantly at her partner. "Ron?"

"Well take a break for a moment, but when we come back, a look at Julia Roberts's box-office hit, Where Yesterday Lives"

Faith nodded. "Bring a box of tissues for this one..."

The break played out, and in five minutes the newscast was over.

"That's a wrap," a director yelled from behind the camera. "See ya tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel."

A technician flipped a series of switches to cut the studio bright lights and stop the whir of the cameras just as Ron's smile faded. Right on cue. Faith watched, somewhat amazed. It was almost as though her partner's facial expressions were on the same electrical current as the camera equipment.

Faith studied him as he turned to leave. "See ya, Ron."

He held a hand up in her direction, not even looking back. At least he's a good actor. She turned and was headed for her purse and car keys when d.i.c.k Baker caught her attention." Come here, Faith. I need a word with you."

She felt the familiar knot in her stomach. What had she done now? Had he read her mind and known she was praying just to survive the half hour? Could he see on her face the way Mike Dillan's name had made her feel? She approached him and felt the corner of her lips raise a fraction of an inch. "Yes?"

Mr. Baker was in his sixties, a gruff, hardcore veteran of television news determined to gain the favor of the network executives. For the most part Faith thought he was her ally, a professional who appreciated the quality of her work. But there were times when whatever pressure he must have been getting from the higher ups took its toll and turned him into a tyrant.

Faith had a feeling this was about to be one of those times.

She had only seen his soft side once-after her father's heart attack the month before. The station covered the story, portraying her father in a flattering light, stating that he died chasing after his life's pa.s.sion: maintaining rights for the people of Pennsylvania and the United States. Mr. Baker himself had helped edit the story making sure it included the fact that Bob Moses was survived by a wife, Betty, and two daughters-one of which was their very own Faith Evans.

The man standing before her now looked far less compa.s.sionate. "Haven't we warned you about references to prayer?" His words sounded as if they were leaking from a pressure cooker.

Faith was tempted to look ignorant, but instead she folded her arms and maintained eye contact with her boss. "Yes. But that wasn't my reference, it was-"

"Let me finish!" Mr. Baker's face was a ma.s.s of angry knots. "If I hadn't checked that Wednesday's Child segment first it would have aired that way, with that girl sharing her private prayers for all the world to hear."

Faith felt her face grow hot. "It's what she wanted to-"

Mr. Baker raised his hand. "Don't speak. I'm not done." His head was nearly bald, and in his frustration it had grown damp with sweat. "We've been over this before, Evans. It's bad enough that our Bethany viewers know your religious stance. But surely you understand the network execs know about it, too. 'Watch her, Baker,' they tell me." He shook his head and a choked, sar-castic huff escaped him. "And to tell you the truth I try, Evans, honest I do. You know why I had to fix that segment?"

"No, sir, it didn't need fixing if you'd-"

Her boss gave a quick shake of his head and glared at her. "I'm not finished! If I hadn't made that cut that would have been five G.o.d stories in two weeks. Five, for cryin' out loud, Evans. Your stories include mentions of G.o.d and prayer ten times more than the stories from other reporters. If that doesn't change, you and I both know the executives will talk." He leveled his gaze at her. "You remember that contract you signed?" He paused, but not long enough for her to answer. "You start giving biased reports, and if I don't fire you the network executives will fire me. It's that simple."

His voice was louder than before, and Faith noticed various cameramen and technical staff members scurrying off the sound-stage. "Do I make myself clear?"

Faith had to fight back tears.

Go forth, daughter. Be gentle and take up the fight...

Not now, Lord, I can't... Her knees began to tremble.

Her boss's face grew still darker. "I said, do I make myself clear?"

Be strong and courageous. I will go before you.

Send someone else, Father. I'm not strong enough.

Daughter, nothing is impossible with Me.

But it was no use. Her knees were already weak; if she stood up to d.i.c.k Baker now she was likely to faint flat across the man's feet. "Yes, sir."

At Faith's compliant answer, her boss's scowl eased. "You're a dam good reporter. Don't get me wrong. We've..." He paused as though he didn't want to share this information with her. "Well, we've had calls about you and Chase. There's talk about moving you up." He pointed at her, his finger inches from the bridge of her nose. "The network's watching, Faith. Don't do anything to ruin it for yourself."

Her heart felt as though it had been shredded by competing emotions. The network? Was it possible? Were they really inter-ested in her for a potential national spot? Hope surged through her, then dimmed as her boss's words rang in her mind again: Don't do anything to mess it up... to mess it up... to mess it up.

In other words, don't be a fanatic. Don't wear your beliefs on your sleeve. Don't be sold out to G.o.d.

Faith sighed. "I won't, sir."

Her boss smiled. "Thatta girl. When you look good, we all look good. Remember that." He started to turn, but paused. "Don't let me see that prayer thing again, Faith. I mean it."

She caught herself nodding, and the sensation made her picture Peter two thousand years ago sitting around the fire outside the room where his friend, Jesus, was being interrogated. I swear, I don't know the man...She could almost hear the ancient words of the apostle's betrayal, feel the way his heart must have sank as he met the eyes of Jesus at that very moment.

Faith walked slowly to her car. Was she any different from Peter? Drawn and pulled and tempted to give up pieces of her soul-bit by bit-in a proud climb toward a position of power. The feeling clung to her like a damp blanket in summer time, and she couldn't will it away no matter how hard she tried. What's this feeling, Lord? As if trouble's brewing and I'm not hearing Your will for me. And my enemies are rallying against me on every side.

Be strong and courageous... the days ahead will bring testing.

Testing? Great. Haven't I been tested enough, Father?

She climbed into her Jeep and headed back to Bethany wishing her father were still alive. Mom always turned in just after nine o'clock when she wasn't out at a fund-raiser or charity event. Once a week she'd tape the news and the next morning she and Faith would watch it over coffee. Her mother always said the same thing. You look lovely, dear... your father and I have always been so proud of you. Faith loved that time with her mother, but Dad...he was something else. He'd stay up until the news was over waiting for Faith's call. She would never forget those conver-sations as long as she lived.

She'd call him from her cell phone the minute she climbed in her Jeep. "Dad, it's me. What'd you think?"

"Sweetheart, you were more beautiful than ever. One of these days the network suits are gonna give you a call, and then every-one'll know what a wonderful reporter you are!"

The memories dissipated and Faith drove home in silence. What would her father think of Rosa's words being edited? Or of the way d.i.c.k Baker had practically threatened to fire her if she used stories that mentioned prayer or G.o.d? The worst part of it all was that Baker was right-Faith had signed the contract knowing the rules up-front.

The heaviness grew worse. She knew what her father would think. He'd tell her the same thing the famous Jim Elliott said before he was killed on the mission field: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

It was her father's favorite quote outside of Scripture.

Fifteen minutes later she pulled into her driveway, climbed out, and headed straight for her bedroom. How strange it had been to hear Mike Dillan's name after so many years. Strange to think that she had survived not only the breakup with him, but also the accident that followed. No one had ever broken her heart the way Mike had. At least not since she was thirteen, the year she lost Jordan, Her heart drifted still further downstream. Jordan Riley The boy she'd grown up with, the one she thought she'd marry some day.

As she walked back through the milestones of the past, she realized that at every turn her father had been there. Always it was Dad who held her close and convinced her that through prayer and trust in the Lord her losses would turn into some-thing beautiful. It was only months after she'd taken the Philadelphia job that he quit working for the big city law firm and opened an office with his best friend.

"That way I can help keep an eye on you, sweetheart"

She could hear his voice even now as she lay in bed and uttered one last prayer before falling asleep. "Thank You, Lord, for all You've brought me through. And please tell my dad- wherever he is up there and whatever he's doing-tell him I said hi." She paused.

"And tell him I miss him."

Four.

T he meeting took place at Alvin's because, other than the Jesus statue in Jericho Park, it was the most well-known landmark in all of Bethany Despite the smattering of fast food places that had sprung up along Highway 40, Alvin's had continued to thrive. It was the only place in town where you could still get a burger, fries, and c.o.ke for less than three dollars and not go away hungry At a quiet table for six in the back corner of the diner, Joshua met Mayor Frank, three of the city councilmen, and an attorney who handled general matters for the people of Bethany The men exchanged pleasantries, talked about how big the trout were this time of year and the number of weeks until football season started. Then a silence fell over the table, and Frank cleared his throat.

"I'd like to explain the situation to Joshua." Frank's face was a mask of somber lines, and Joshua felt his heartbeat quicken. What could be this serious?

"Go ahead, Frank." One of the councilmen nodded, and the others moved their heads in agreement.

Frank sighed. "You've heard of the HOUR group, right?"

Joshua's mind raced, trying to remember. "They're opposed to religious freedom...I'm trying to remember." This was Bob's expertise, not his. He felt a sense of panic as the others waited for him to place the group. "Wait a minute, I know. Humanity Organized and United in Responsibility"

Frank nodded. "Exactly."

A waitress appeared and took their order. When she was gone, Frank continued. "I have a connection in New York who called me yesterday. He told me on Monday morning someone from HOUR is planning to file suit against the town of Bethany"

Joshua's heartbeat accelerated. He looked from Frank to the other men and back again. File a lawsuit against Bethany? The town was too quiet, too small to ruffle the political feathers of a group such as HOUR. "Why would they do that?"

The men at the table exchanged glances, and just when Joshua thought he couldn't take the suspense any longer, Frank spoke up. "They want the Jesus statue."

For a moment Joshua was confused. The Jesus statue? What would a group such as HOUR want with Bethany's Jesus statue? "I'm not sure I understand."

Frank leaned closer. "They want it down, Joshua. Removed from the park. It's a Christian symbol standing on public prop-erty, exactly the kind of thing HOUR loves to go after." < a="" tingling="" sensation="" began="" in="" joshua's="" fingers="" and="" made="" its="" way="" up="" through="" his="" arms="" and="" down="" his="" spine.="" hour="" wanted="" to="" remove="" the="" jesus="" statue?="" immediately="" his="" mind="" kicked="" into="" gear.="" "this="" is="">

Frank sat back in his chair. "Exactly." He looked at the others. "Joshua, we've had a meeting and this isa battle we don't want to lose. We need more than general attorney wisdom this time." The general attorney in the group raised his eyebrows and took a sip of orange juice. Frank obviously was not worried about hurting the man's pride. "We'll have to wait until they file suit, but if they do... we've all agreed we want you to be our primary counsel on the case."

HOUR wanted to remove a monument that had stood as the single, most well-loved landmark in town for more than a hun-dred years? The story was bound to gain statewide attention- even nationwide. Joshua had a sudden sense of panic.

This was too big for him. He needed Bob for this kind of thing.

As I was with Bob Moses so I will be with you.

But this is senous, Lord. It'll take more than me- Joshua, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Frank was looking at him. "I'm a.s.suming you want the job." He paused, his gaze leveled at Joshua." It'll be the biggest case you've handled since you and Bob opened shop."

"Right, I know." Be strong and courageous... "Of course... I'd be honored. The statue has to stay, it's that simple."

"Off the cuff, could you...I mean, you know, if you had to make a guess at it now... do you think they could force us to take it down?" Frank's usual eloquence had fled in light of all that was at stake.

Joshua swallowed hard. "Depends on how much precedent they pull."

"Precedent?" Frank's eyes narrowed. "Isn't the law clear cut?"

"Not usually." This from the general attorney, who cast a look at Joshua. "My understanding is that case precedent works against us this time, am I right?"

Joshua nodded. "Right. HOUR prides itself on eliminating the aspects of American culture they feel violate the separation of church and state. The Jesus statue is the perfect target."

There was silence as Frank crossed his arms, his teeth clenched. "That statue's part of this town. They don't have the right to come in here and-"

"We'll have to find a loophole, a way to outsmart them." Joshua hung his head for a moment and then looked at the others again. "I have to be honest, with Bob gone it won't be easy."

"You'll have our support, whatever we can do." The general attorney tapped his pencil. "It isn't a matter of the religious right or Separation of church and state. That statue belongs to the people of Bethany, and my guess is there's not a person within a hundred miles offended by it."

"Save that." Joshua smiled. "We might need it for closing arguments-"

Frank broke in. "None of it matters unless they actually file suit. And we won't know that until Monday"

The men agreed to keep the issue to themselves unless it became a reality. In that case, they'd need all the favorable media contacts they could get. Joshua thought of Faith Evans and hoped it wouldn't have to involve her. She'd been through enough without adding this.

The meeting was over, and the men went their own ways-all but Frank and Joshua. They talked about the possibilities as they wandered toward the parking lot. "I'll do whatever I can to help you." Frank shoved his hands in his pockets. "Be ready"

Be ready... be ready... The same words held felt G.o.d laying on his heart the day before. Be strong...be ready... I'll go before you. Yes, though the situation might seem impossible, the Lord had His hand in it.

Frank drove away and Joshua followed. But instead of heading home to Helen, he turned right and then right again on Main Street... half a block down to Jericho Park. It was a small place, really. Not like those built by newer communities, with tennis courts and indoor swimming pools and play equipment stretching half an acre. On the left stood a double swing set and two slides-set in sand. Also in the play area were two teeter-totters and an old metal merry-go-round, the kind kids powered by running alongside. Ancient maple trees edged the park on both sides, and a cement walkway meandered along the entire perime-ter. Across from the play yard was less than two acres of neatly manicured mature gra.s.s.