Taken by Grace

By Jeannette Denise Miller

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, KJV)

James Smith is the sheriff of a small town in Texas. His wife, Lara, is a member of the church, but he has no interest in a "God that doesn't exist." A date night that Lara doesn't show up to takes a turn. A past James thought was buried r

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Oct 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887381954

Jeannette Denise Miller

Jeannette Denise Miller is a faith- based author. Her first series is titled The Grace Series. Jeannette is a wife and mother to four girls; she also has four baby boxer dogs and an Amazon parrot. When she is not writing, she is teaching. Some of Jeannette's favorite hobbies include doing various mixed martial arts, dressing up for comic cons, and exploring theme parks with her family. She currently resides in a small town in West Texas.

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Taken by Grace

The Grace Series - Book 1

Jeannette Denise Miller

Taken by Grace: The Grace Series, Book 1

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Jeannette Denise Miller

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover design by: Blair Cruz

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-194-7

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-195-4

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to those who need to hear this story and can relate to given situations and characters. I know there are many out there who may feel the same as the characters do. Enjoy.

Table of Contents

THE MEETING

TICKET

DRINKS

FIRST DATE

MY PARTNER

THE PROPOSAL

UNEXPECTED

WEDDING DAY

TWO YEARS LATER...

ANOTHER DAY

SURPRISE PLANS

TAKEN

LATE

ANGER

ALONE

PAIN

NOT CONNECTED

BROKEN

THE PAST

A DATE WITH THE DEVIL

REUNITED

YOU WILL REMEMBER ME

CHANGED

RECOVERY

FORGIVENESS

SCRIPTURE TRANSLATION NOTES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE MEETING

Officer James Smith was sitting in his patrol SUV listening to music. He yawned, thinking how it was too early to be tired. He checked his cell for any new messages but had none. For the last few days, he had been feeling down and alone. He had hoped by now he would be in a stable relationship. He was twenty-nine years old, single, and a hard worker. He had his own three-bedroom house, which felt half empty. His phone rang; it was his partner, Gerard.

Hey man, what’s up?

I just thought I’d check and see if you wanted to catch the game later?

James started thinking and said, Sure, I could go for a beer or two.

It always helped him relax when he went out; hopefully, this time would temporarily help with his current state of being depressed.

Excellent; I’ll see you later.

No sooner than he put his phone down, a silver car sped past. Well, back to work. He shook his head, hit his lights, and sped after the car.

Lara was so focused on getting her father’s medication and groceries she hadn’t realized her speed until she noticed the flashing blue and red lights in her rear-view mirror. Oh shoot, she cried out frustrated, turned on her signal, and pulled over. I cannot afford a speeding ticket. She smacked the steering wheel. I’m so stupid for not paying attention. A male officer approached her car. She rolled the window down and faked a smile.

The officer greeted her. Good afternoon. Were you aware you were doing 55 in a 40 zone?

She bit her lip and made eye contact. Maybe, but I promise it won’t happen again.

License and registration, please.

She reached in her purse, grabbed her license, pulled out the registration from her glove compartment, and handed the cards to him. She leaned back in her seat and put her face in her palms. I’m toast.

James took the cards and walked back to his vehicle. He got inside and stared at her license. He studied her name, Lara Elizabeth Jones. He thought about running it through the system but was distracted by his thoughts. This Lara was a beautiful woman. She was attractive and had blonde curls that appeared natural. His thoughts drifted further to how he used to dream of marrying a blonde. Lara, he said her name, and something about the way it rolled off his lips felt right. He shook his head and got the crazy idea of asking her out. If this worked, he would thank Gerry later. The two of them used to joke about when he would meet his dream girl. If it came down to this being the way, then he would be forever grateful for their jokes that suddenly made sense. He decided to take that chance and wrote something on his pad, then walked towards her car. He could tell she was nervous.

It’s about time. Is there a problem?

Sorry about that. There was a delay in relaying your information back to me.

I see. Other than speeding, have I done something wrong, Officer?

He stared at her at a loss for words. Yes. No. I mean, maybe.

Which is it?

He smiled. I’m going to let you off with a warning this time. Slow down and take it easy. Life is not a race, and you seem like a woman on a mission. Next time I will have to issue you a citation. He ripped the yellow slip of paper from his pad and handed it to her folded up. He tipped his hat and nodded. Have a good evening. He returned to his vehicle and drove away.

Lara breathed a sigh of relief and realized it had to be her lucky day since he had let her off with a warning. That could’ve been a whole lot worse. I have got to be more careful. She tossed the slip aside and drove away to finish her errands.

TICKET

She entered the kitchen and put the groceries away. She went to hang her purse up when the yellow slip the officer had given her fell to the floor. She picked it up and opened the slip of paper. What she saw made her gasp in shock. Wait, what is this? She read on the paper:

Lara, you are beautiful. Join me for dinner sometime? James Smith 468-235-4667.

She thought to herself, I must be dreaming, and laughed. She noticed her father leaning against the table, eating an apple. Oh, hey, Dad, I didn’t see you there. She noticed he had a look on his face. Is something wrong?

I’m not sure. You tell me, did something happen today?

She realized she had been busted like a teenager who had been caught sneaking out of the house. Nothing escaped her father, and it was as if he already knew. Nothing happened.

Lara, you have come home smiling after running errands. Normally you walk inside and complain about the heat bothering you. What is in your hand?

Oh, that is a funny story. I got pulled over for speeding, and instead of a ticket, I got this. She handed him the