DEKAN AND GRACE

Grace Parker was the one-woman Dekan Houston was told to stay away from, and the only one God told him to love.

The first time he saw her stumble out of the club, mascara running down her cheeks, he should have turned around. Everyone said she was trouble. But Dekan didn’t. He stepped forward, calm, steady.

“Grace,” he said, voice low.

She froze. Panic flashed across her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want you,” he said simply.

She laughed, bitter. “You’re crazy.”

Maybe he was. But he’d rather be crazy for her than sane without her.

Dekan Houston's life followed a consistent routine—youth center, prayer, and community service. It was predictable and secure.

Then Grace arrived: disorder wrapped in beauty, carrying a past filled with poor decisions and fleeting relationships.

“Dekan, you’re walking into a storm,” Marcus warned over hot chocolate one night. “She’ll ruin you.”

Dekan shrugged. “Maybe. But if loving her is wrong, I’d rather be wrong.”

Marcus shook his head. “And if she runs?”

“Then I’ll run after her,” Dekan said, quiet, unshakable.

For a few weeks, Grace tried. She came to church, laughed softly at the youth center, and even helped with the kids. But at night, the shadows of her past crept in. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, fists clenched.

“What’s wrong?” Dekan asked.

“Nothing,” she snapped.

He reached for her hand. She pulled away. “You don’t get it. You can’t fix me with prayers.”

“I don’t need to fix you,” he said. “I just need to love you.”

She laughed, harsh and broken. “Love? That’s all you have?”

Weeks later, she was gone.

Dekan drove the streets, neon lights reflecting on wet asphalt, searching. She leaned against a wall under a flickering sign, a man too close whispering in her ear.

“Grace,” he called softly.

Her eyes widened. “Dekan? What are you doing here?”

“I came for you.”

The man laughed. “She’s with me tonight.”

Dekan stepped closer, fearless. “No. She’s mine.”

Grace shoved the man away, panic and shame written across her face. “Why do you keep chasing me? I’ll ruin you!”

“You can’t ruin what God has already blessed,” Dekan said, voice steady. “Come home.”

She looked at him, lip trembling. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” he whispered. “But I’d rather be insane for you than sane without you.”

Days turned into weeks. Grace slipped further away. Dekan kept counseling kids, smiling while pieces of him broke inside.

Marcus confronted him again. “She’s gone. Let her go.”

“I choose to love her anyway,” Dekan said quietly.

“You’re chasing a ghost.”

“No,” he said. “I’m chasing hope.”

Three months later, the call came: Grace had been arrested in a downtown sting. Dekan drove through the night, heart pounding, praying for her soul more than her safety.

Behind the glass, she was smaller than he remembered. Tears streaked down her face.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.

“I should be exactly here,” he said.

She looked away, shame in her eyes. “I can’t do this. I’m not like the other women at church. I can’t be fixed.”

“You don’t have to be fixed,” he said. “I love you as you are. Nothing you do changes that.”

Her lip quivered. “Why?”

“Because that’s what God did for me,” he said. “He loved me at my worst. I’m supposed to do the same for you.”

Her shoulders slumped. For the first time, she whispered, “I want to come home.”

Healing was slow. Relapses came, nights of doubt, arguments that cut deep. But Dekan’s love never wavered.

One night, she asked softly, "Do you ever regret choosing me?"

He cupped her face and replied, "Not once. Every day, I choose you again."

In that moment, Grace finally believed.

Shakira Wright-Brown was born and raised in a small town named Georgetown, on the coast of South Carolina. She now resides in Andrews, South Carolina, with her husband and two children. Her passion for writing novels, songs, and poetry started as a child. Shakira’s life experiences have allowed her to fall in love with her passion so deeply that she now attends Full Sail University to perfect it. You can find her being a nurturer to her family, the homeless, and addicts. Follow her on Instagram: kingdomwriter9.