Love Inspired: A Family for Faith

More about the book

Gabe Reynolds paced the photo-lined hallway, surrounded by memories of his daughter, and the door where she spent her time behind closed doors. He realized he might wear a path in the hardwood floor before she grew up and left, a departure he wanted to delay as long as possible. He knocked on the bathroom door, urging her to hurry. His daughter growled back at him, and he found himself wishing for the challenges of his job over the complexities of raising a soon-to-be-teenage girl. He banged on the door again, anxious to return to the station. "I'm coming," she replied, and he imagined her rolling her eyes. When he pressed her on the delay, she declared, "A work of art takes time," in a theatrical tone, followed by a giggle that reminded him of her younger self. The rapid transition from girl to young woman was disorienting. He warned her not to wear makeup, but she insisted, "All my friends wear makeup." He countered with a parental cliché about following the crowd, only to have her burst out of the bathroom, glaring at him. She insisted that this was different, her cheeks flushed with a bright pink that matched her tinted lips, and her mascaraed eyelashes seemed longer than ever. She looked too grown-up, the kind of girl who would attract unwanted attention.