THE TRUE LOVE SERIES BOX SET: A Christian Romance

by Duncan, Juliette

  She looked up. "Not really. But I guess I should."

  “Well, Jesus is pretty clear about it in Matthew 19,” her father continued. “He said that what God has joined together, no man should separate, and that, except for marital unfaithfulness, anyone who divorces and remarries is committing adultery.”

  “Ben's wife was unfaithful, Dad.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that, but be careful. You don't know what caused her to be unfaithful, and it breaks God heart whenever a divorce happens. It's not what He intended.”

  She held her father’s gaze but her heart was in a jumble. Maybe it was all too hard and she should forget about Ben while she could. But could she? She bit her lip and looked away.

  “Tell us about his son, Tessa,” her mother said, touching her wrist lightly. “How old is he?”

  Blinking, Tessa turned her head back. “He's just turned thirteen.” She held her breath.

  “Thirteen!” her father repeated. “Then this Mr.… what’s his name? must be quite a few years older than you.”

  “His name is Ben, and no, not by much. He's only thirty-six.”

  “Must have had kids young, then.”

  “He only has one son. And we’re only friends.”

  “So you say.”

  “I'm not as worried about Ben as I am about his son,” her mother said. “If you two did become more than friends, have you thought what that would mean?”

  Tessa tilted her head and looked at her mother, her brows pinched.

  “If it got serious and he asked you to marry him, for example, you’d become an instant mother to a teenager. Raising a toddler’s difficult enough, but a teenager? Are you ready for that?”

  Tessa drew a sober breath. Put that way, maybe not. Mother to a teenager? “I doubt that would happen, and if it did, I’d pray long and hard about it.” That would keep them happy. They both seemed to relax a little. “I know you're both looking out for me, but I don't think you should judge someone you've never met.”

  Her parents sat quietly for a minute.

  “You're right,” her father finally said. “The Bible tells us not to judge. Maybe we should meet this Ben before saying anything further. Even if he is only a friend.”

  “Why don’t you invite him to dinner at our place?” Her mother smiled warmly. “Friday evening would suit.”

  “Really?” Tessa looked from one parent to the other. They really weren’t that bad after all. “That would be wonderful. I'll ask both him and Jayden, that’s his son, to come. Is that okay?”

  “Of course, dear,” her mother replied. “I have a soft spot for thirteen-year old boys.”

  Yes! Of course! Her mother had taken the young teens’ class at church for years when she’d been younger.

  The rest of the meal passed pleasantly, and on the way out, Tessa gave the ship’s bell a double ring.

  Chapter 14

  The elevator doors slid noisily together. While this was only Ben’s sixth week meeting with Stephanie, it seemed like he was heading up to the fourth floor office for the hundredth time. He’d thought about asking for a new counsellor, but in the end had decided to remain with her. She meant well, and maybe the connection with Tess would help, but he looked forward to the day when Stephanie would write him a clean bill of mental and emotional health and he’d no longer have any need to see her.

  He knocked on the door and took a deep breath. If he was nervous, how must she be feeling? Finding out she’d set him up with Tess had shocked him. He could so easily have reported her.

  She welcomed him in and asked how he was a little too quickly.

  “You should know, Ms. Trejo. I suspect Tess has told you everything?”

  “No. Not a word,” she replied as she twiddled her pencil.

  He sat in his regular chair and looked out the window. Fancy that. He felt sure Tess would have told her. His heart warmed at the thought of her. He should have returned her calls. Truth was, after fleeing the Pro-Am, he couldn’t face anyone. In the end, he hadn’t even gone to church, but instead stayed home and played computer games with Jayden. He’d even called in sick at work. No way could he face his colleagues. They would have seen photos of Kathryn with Luke in the newspaper, and he couldn’t cope with that.

  He must be the laughing stock of town. How many people knew about Kathryn and Luke but hadn’t told him? How could he have not known?

  “Most counselling sessions last for about two months, so we only have two more weeks unless you want to extend,” Stephanie said, putting her pencil down. “Mr. Williams, do you think we could make a fresh start? I’m sorry. Disclosing your personal information, even to Tessa, was a mistake.”

  He sighed deeply. Maybe they could. He had to talk to someone—it may as well be her. He lifted his head. “Call me Ben. Please. It’s time we were on first-name terms.”

  She visibly relaxed. “Ben, it is. Please call me Stephanie.”

  “Stephanie.” He held her eyes and saw a young woman who cared. He’d never noticed that before, but maybe he hadn’t been looking.

  “Okay, let’s make a start.” She gave him an engaging grin.

  By the end of the session, he had a new perspective on the grief she told him he’d been experiencing. When he let her do her job, Stephanie displayed wisdom beyond her years. He was happy to allow her to help him understand better the various stages of grief he’d been going through. He was still at Stage Three—Anger. Anger not so much that Kathryn had left—he’d basically dealt with that, but more directed at how she left and the fact that she showed no care or concern for how it impacted Jayden.

  He still had four stages to go. Four! He pressed Stephanie to tell him what they were and how long it would take to get through them.

  “In our next meeting, Ben. We've gone over enough right now. Of course, the stage I want you to arrive at is the seventh and last stage, which is one of acceptance and hope. I want to see you accept the past, but also be hopeful about your future. To get to that stage, though, you need to deal with your anger by forgiving Kathryn for her actions.”

  “Forgive her? You’ve got to be joking.”

  “Ben, you’re a Christian. You need to forgive, just as Jesus forgave you. You’re not there yet, but I don’t think it’ll be long. I can see God working in your heart.”

  He was silent. She had a point. “I guess I haven’t got past my anger yet, so maybe you're right.” Yes, he was a Christian. And forgiveness was a fundamental element of allowing God to work in his life. But not yet.

  He left the meeting with a lighter step and with more determination than ever to be the father that Jayden needed. He’d think about forgiving Kathryn later.

  * * *

  Tessa touched up her lipstick and hair in the car mirror as soon as she pulled into Ben's driveway. She checked her lips once more in the front door window before ringing the bell. Her heart thumped as she waited. No-one answered.

  She waited a full minute before ringing the bell again. Still no answer.

  Guess I'll just have to try phoning again. But he hadn’t returned any of her calls or texts, apart from saying he’d be in touch soon, so trying again probably wouldn’t work. Maybe she’d just have to tell her parents he wouldn’t be coming to dinner after all. She was about to leave when the door opened and Jayden stuck his head out. Hard rock music blasted through the house.

  He eyed her up and down. “What do you want?”

  “Hi Jayden. How are you?” Silly question. She bit her lip.

  “Fine.”

  Her mother’s words rang in her ears. ‘Mother to a teenager…’ Maybe she was right. “That's good to hear. Is your dad home?”

  He looked her up and down again. Maybe she should have changed out of her work clothes. “No, he isn't. He went to see his social worker ages ago.”

  She swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. I wonder how that’s going…

  “You can wait if you want.”

  That’s a surprise. More than
one word.

  “Thanks, but no, it’s not necessary. Just tell your dad I’ll phone later.”

  “Okay.”

  She’d just reached the bottom step when she remembered to ask about Bindy. She stopped and turned around. “Sorry Jayden, I meant to ask how Bindy was.”

  His face lit up. “She's good. Do you wanna see her?” He disappeared into the house before she could answer.

  In a matter of moments, he was back with Bindy in his arms. He ran down the front steps and placed the dog on the ground in front of her. As she bent down to pat the puppy, Bindy stuck out a pink tongue and licked her hands, tickling her. She laughed. “She won't be a puppy much longer. She’s getting so big.”

  “I'm trying to teach her some tricks. Wanna see?”

  “That would be great.”

  “Jay, who are talking to?” They both looked toward the house, to where the gruff voice came from. A youth, quite a bit older than Jayden, stood inside the open front door. His blonde hair was in an undercut and a vine tattoo wrapped around his wrist.

  “Just a friend of Dad’s,” Jayden replied before turning to Tessa. “That's Owen. His brother’s one of my classmates. Gotta go. I’ll show you Bindy’s tricks another time.”

  “Don't forget to tell your Dad I’ll call him.” she said as she waved goodbye.

  “I won't.”

  When Tessa made her phone call to Ben later that evening, she prayed that this time he’d answer. She hadn’t quizzed Stephanie about their meeting, nor had Stephanie volunteered any information, but from her cheeriness, Tessa guessed it had gone better than expected.

  She hadn’t spoken to Ben since he’d dropped her off after the Pro-Am. Now she felt awkward calling to ask him to dinner at her parents’ house. Would he think it too forward and presumptuous? Probably. Maybe she should cancel it. Her parents might be happier if she did. She was just about to hit the cancel button when he answered. The sound of his deep voice made her knees go weak. Would she ever tire of listening to it? But now he’d finally answered, she could hardly speak.

  So much had happened between them already, but she barely knew him. She’d read the passage about divorce in Matthew 19 like her father had suggested, and prayed about him as Pastor Stanek had said. She was trying to find out what made him tick, but whenever she was with him, she felt instantly happier. Something had clicked between them, and it wasn’t just physical. Somehow they’d connected. But was that enough to invite him and his teenage son to dinner at her parents’ place, especially when they were only friends? And especially when he was divorced…

  His voice brought her back to the moment.

  “Tessa, are you all right?”

  “Sorry, I was miles away. How are you?” She slowed her breathing and prayed she’d say the right thing.

  “I’m okay. Jayden said you came around this afternoon. I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls.”

  “No problem. You had other things on your mind. I just wanted to see how you and Jayden were after what happened on Saturday. And I wanted to ask you something.” There, she’d said it. Too late to change her mind now.

  “We’re doing all right. I’m hoping to have a good talk with him sometime soon. Maybe even tonight if his friends ever leave. Can you pray about it for me? I really don’t know how to get him to open up. The only thing he ever wants to talk about is Bindy, but now, after seeing Kathryn…”

  “Yes Ben, I’ll pray.” I haven’t stopped praying.

  “What did you want to ask?” His voice had softened and she pictured him sitting in his living room, his long legs stretched out in front of him, possibly resting his head on a cushion as he spoke to her. Her heart fluttered.

  “Oh Ben, I’m embarrassed. Please tell me if this isn’t appropriate.”

  “Sounds intriguing. Go on…”

  She gulped nervously and took a deep breath. “When I had dinner with my parents the other night, my mother guessed I was seeing someone new. I said we were just friends, which we are, aren’t we?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “But anyway, they’ve invited you and Jayden over to their place for dinner on Friday night.”

  The silence on the other end of the line was deafening. Seconds ticked by. Her heart raced. Why wasn’t he saying something? What was he thinking? What a fool she’d made of herself.

  He finally answered. “You’ve taken me by surprise, I’ll have to admit. But why not?” She let go of her breath. “Jayden’s team isn’t playing this Friday.” She bit her lip. She’d forgotten about Jayden’s football match. “And I’ve got nothing on, so yes, we’d be pleased to accept.”

  She felt like jumping for joy, but instead said she’d look forward to seeing him at puppy training on Thursday. And that she’d pray for his talk with Jayden.

  Chapter 15

  The week dragged and Friday came slowly. They hadn’t much time to talk at puppy training, other than for Ben to quickly tell Tessa that his talk with Jayden had gone reasonably well but they still had a long way to go, and for her to give him the details for the following evening.

  She chose a light blue summer dress to wear to dinner and had grabbed a light cotton cardigan in case the evening grew cool. She’d pulled her hair up in a loose bun—it was way too hot to leave down. After being stuck in khaki shorts most of the week, she was actually enjoying wearing a dress. It made her feel feminine, and blue suited her, so she’d been told.

  She set the table for six at her parents' house while her mother put the food into serving dishes. Elliott's motorcycle roared and then died as he pulled into the driveway, and within minutes he appeared in the kitchen.

  “Hi Mother.” He bent down and gave her a kiss. “Whatever you're cooking sure smells good.”

  “Hands off.” She tapped his hand as he reached for a warm bread roll, fresh from the oven. “Tonight's dinner is for Tessa's friend.”

  “Ah, yes! I nearly forgot. I should get ready.”

  “You should. And make it quick. They'll be here any minute.”

  “Hey, sis,” he said as he passed through the dining room on the way to his bedroom. “I can't wait to meet Ben tonight, but you never told me what happened with you and Michael.”

  “Not now. I can't think about him right now.”

  “Never liked him anyway. He wasn't right for you.”

  Tessa straightened and faced her brother. “I don't need to be told that again.” She kept her voice low so their mother wouldn't hear. “He had drug problems, and we broke up, okay? I haven't seen or heard from him for months, and I don’t want to. You won't mention him at dinner, will you?”

  He drew a finger across his lips. “My lips are sealed.”

  Tessa jumped when the doorbell rang although she’d been expecting it, having checked the clock in the kitchen every minute for the past half hour. Ben and Jayden arrived promptly at six, as she knew they would. She drew in a long breath to steady her nerves and called out that she’d get it.

  She opened the door slowly. Her heart pounded. She’d never felt this way with Michael. It must be what true love felt like. Ben was dressed in dark casual slacks and a crisp, off-white button-down shirt, open at the collar. Such good dress sense. Even Jayden looked smart in his chinos and T-shirt. And he’d pinned his hair back from his face.

  “Hello, Ben. Hello, Jayden.” She smiled shyly as she stood before them, all of a sudden tongue-tied. Her eyes locked with Ben’s and then everything happened in slow motion. Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek. The brush of his hand on her wrist sent a tingle through her body. Her breaths came faster. She had to stop this. She’d told her parents they were only friends.

  She took a grip on herself. “Come in and meet my parents.”

  Her mother hurried from the kitchen and her father appeared from the living room. She introduced everybody.

  Ben shook hands with her parents. Jayden followed suit, although he didn’t look them in the eye. She tried to include him in the conversation, but he moved away and stood awkward
ly on his own as the adults chatted about the weather, church, and business matters. A few minutes later, Elliott came down in a clean shirt and introductions were made all over again.

  At the table, Ben sat beside her on one side and Jayden and Elliott sat across from them. Her parents sat at either end. After asking God to bless their food, her father and Ben started chatting about their careers, as she knew they would. Ben being an accountant was definitely a plus as far as her father was concerned. “Find someone with a good, steady occupation,” he always used to say. Maybe that was one of the reasons he’d never liked Michael.

  After the first course was finished, Tessa helped her mother clear the table. As she scraped and rinsed the dirty plates, her mother stacked the dishwasher.

  “He’s nice, Tessa.” Her mother spoke quietly.

  “Yes, he is.” Tessa glanced back through the doorway. Ben and her father were still deeply engrossed in conversation. Her heart warmed. Her father and Michael had rarely said more than two sentences to each other.

  “But are you ready to throw your youth away?”

  Tessa stopped scraping, taken aback at her mother’s words. “What do you mean? We’re only friends.”

  “Oh, Tessa. I can see the spark in your eyes. I noticed it the moment you arrived at dinner the other night, so don’t tell me you’re only friends.”

  She gulped. Only her mother would observe things like that. But they were only friends. Nothing had been said between them. They hadn’t even held hands or kissed, but she couldn’t deny that sitting beside him at her parents’ table was doing strange things to her insides. She’d been very tempted to reach out and find his hand under the table or brush her leg against his.