“I like you, Marc Royce. If anyone has earned the title, Friend of Israel, it is you. I would like you to join us. But your home is elsewhere. Your loyalties, your oaths, your future—they are across the waters.”
“I thought, maybe . . .”
“You are in love. The truth shines from your face. You love her so much you would give anything, do anything, to make it happen. Don’t deny it, my friend.”
“I wasn’t going to deny anything.”
“No? Not even deny the truth to yourself?” He turned and glanced behind him. Marc’s gaze tracked back as well, and discovered Kitra standing a few paces away. He motioned her forward with his cane. “This is a good place. Filled with good people. I hope your actions will ease their entry into Israeli society and free others of the sorrow your people have known.”
Kitra said quietly, “If that happens, everything we endured will have been worth it.”
Chaver said to Marc, “Friend of Israel, I invite you to return here often. You are always welcome. My country owes you a lifetime debt.” He poked Marc in the chest with his free hand. “But know your place and your calling.”
He shook hands with them both, then started back, waving for them to remain where they were. His movements were as abrupt and solid as his speech. At the grove’s far end, he turned and said, “And if you ever need anything, you will call, yes? Good. For you, I and my friends are always available.”
Marc took her hand and walked with her out to the kibbutz’s perimeter, then seated himself beside her on their sunset bench. He didn’t speak. His heart and mind were too filled with tumult to shape simple words. He felt as though the outside world had invaded his private space. He could not put together anything that made sense. Or perhaps it all made too much sense, and he was afraid.
So Kitra said it for him. “It’s time for us to leave, Marc.”
“Us . . .” He breathed the word again.
“I have accepted the position as sales director for our new factory. Most of my clients are in the United States.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last week. No, the week before.”
“When were you going to tell me?”
“When you were ready.”
He understood. “Not ready to hear. Ready to move on.”
Her gaze was solemn and flecked with gold from the day’s final light. “I am glad you came here, Marc. Glad you have come to know my world.”
“I love it here, Kitra. So much.”
She nodded. “Very glad.”
He knew it was time then. And felt the flaming words rise up, burning away all the pressures and uncertainties and mysteries to come. They were the only thing that mattered. “Marry me, Kitra.”
She smiled, both solemn and joyful, and replied, “It’s time.”
Davis Bunn is an award-winning novelist and a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Oxford. His books, translated into sixteen languages, have sold nearly seven million copies worldwide. Formerly a business executive working in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Davis draws on this international experience in crafting his stories. Strait of Hormuz follows on the success of Lion of Babylon, which was named one of the Best Books of 2011 by Library Journal, and of Rare Earth, which earned a 2013 Christy Award for excellence in suspense fiction. He and his wife, Isabella, divide their time between the English countryside and the coast of Florida. To learn more, visit DavisBunn.com.
Books by Davis Bunn
* * *
Strait of Hormuz
Rare Earth
Lion of Babylon
Gold of Kings
All Through the Night
My Soul to Keep
The Great Divide
Winner Take All
Imposter
The Book of Hours
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Book of Dreams
Hidden in Dreams
Unlimited
ACTS OF FAITH*
The Centurion’s Wife
The Hidden Flame
The Damascus Way
SONG OF ACADIA*
The Meeting Place
The Birthright
The Sacred Shore
The Distant Beacon
The Beloved Land
* with Janette Oke
Resources: bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook
Website: www.bethanyhouse.com
Facebook: Bethany House