“Have you prayed about it?”
Had she? She’d asked God to give her guidance about her bakery until her lips turned blue, but it hadn’t done any good. She finally answered. “Yes.”
“Maybe us meeting is an answer to your prayer.”
She shrugged. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, since I’ve worked in the food industry, I might be able to give you some tips to help you save your bakery.”
Could Martin really help her? Was he really God’s answer to prayer? She bit her lip, looking away. “I don’t know…”
“You don’t sound too convinced.”
She sighed. “With all that’s been going on in my life the last couple of years, my faith hasn’t been too strong.”
“Has anything else happened besides your bakery failing?” His deep, rich voice soothed her frazzled nerves. She sensed that she could tell Martin what was on her mind, and he’d be compassionate and caring. Her heart pounded as she glanced at his handsome profile. The sight of his chocolate brown skin and full lips made butterflies explode in her stomach.
She swallowed, relieving her suddenly dry throat. She was attracted to Martin, and was actually enjoying herself by talking to him. Stan was the last man with whom she’d felt so comfortable. She sensed that she could sit on this bench and talk to Martin all night.
She took a deep breath, understanding why Raven found Martin so attractive. Not only was he gorgeous, but he seemed nice, kind, and as if he truly cared. What woman wouldn’t want to be with a man like that? He reached toward her, but quickly pulled his hand back. He folded his hands, leaned forward, placing his hands between his bent knees. The whole movement was a split second.
Was he about to touch her, take her hand, offering comfort? Was he attracted to her, too, but felt that he needed to keep his distance since he was dating Raven? “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me what’s on your mind. I know we just met, and you don’t know me very well.”
Rhea pressed her hands together. For some reason, she wanted to tell Martin about Stan. “I’m a widow.”
He frowned and turned his head, aiming his dark eyes at her. “A widow?”
She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I don’t talk about Stan too often, but, well, I was married. My husband was killed almost two years ago and I haven’t gotten over it. I still think about him…a lot.” She lowered her voice, becoming more comfortable with Martin. “I wish he were still here with me.”
“I’m sorry. Did you want to tell me what happened?”
She looked toward the shimmering bay, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to talk about how he died. Since his death, I’ve found some happiness in my bakery, but now I’m having problems with it.” She glanced at Martin. Her morning routine of waking early, going to her bakery, mixing ingredients to make mouth-watering treats caused her to feel good about herself. When a customer visited her bakery, complimenting her on her goods, pride swept through her. She had to save her business, somehow.
Taking a deep breath, she recalled Stan’s sister, Mary, mocking her, telling her that she’d fail at her business. There was no way she could give Mary yet another reason to dislike her. Hopefully, Mary wouldn’t dredge up the past when she went to her employment agency for her job interview on Monday. Conviction rose within her. She had to make her bakery profitable. She narrowed her eyes, her voice hardening. “I’ll do whatever I can to save my business.”
He stood, bringing an end to their conversation. “We should get together to discuss your bakery later on during the retreat.” He checked his watch. “I’d talk to you about it now, but I’m on a tight schedule. If I don’t make myself study a certain amount each day, I fall behind.”
They had to end their conversation now? Trying not to let him see her disappointment, she stood, suppressing a sigh. Perhaps they’d have more time to talk about her bakery later. She eyed Martin’s strong profile before quickly looking away. If Raven discovered that she was attracted to Martin, she’d explode with anger. “I understand.”
“I’ll walk you to your cabin.”
What if Zora was on the lookout, waiting to see if they arrived at the cabin together? She swallowed. “You don’t have to escort me to my door.”
“Oh, you don’t want me to run into your roommate?”
She nodded. They started down the wooded path. Once they’d arrived near her cabin, she stopped, pointing to the left. “My cabin is over there. I’m fine walking the rest of the way by myself.”
“I’ll watch you to make sure you get there safely. I’d be glad to eat breakfast with you in the morning.”
Her heart beat picked up. “What about Zora?”
“You worry too much.”
She frowned. If Martin had half of the problems she had, he’d worry too.
“I’m sorry, did I upset you?”
“No, I’m fine.” She waved and walked back to her cabin. She unlocked the door, glancing at the end of the path, noticing Martin still stood there, watching her as he’d promised.
She entered the room, sighing with relief. Good, Zora wasn’t there. Maybe she could relax in peace before going to bed. Desiree sat on the bed in her nightgown, reading her Bible. “Hi,” Rhea mumbled, pulling her bag of toiletries out of her suitcase.
Desiree closed her Bible, giving Rhea her full attention. “Rhea, I’m so sorry about Zora. I—”
“Where is she?”
“There’s social time until ten o’clock. It was on the schedule.”
Rhea turned toward Desiree. “I don’t have a schedule.”
She lifted a paper, offering it to her. “You can borrow mine.”
She shook her head. “No thanks.” She took a few steps toward the bathroom and stopped. She needed to have an honest discussion with Desiree about Zora. “If Zora continues acting like she has, I’m going to the retreat director. Desiree, I’m tired, I’m working through a lot of problems, and I don’t need the extra stress of having Zora target me for no reason.”
Desiree put her Bible aside. “You won’t have to worry about that anymore. She took her pills. Zora has some problems, but if she takes her medicine, she acts better. Sometimes she refuses her medication, and I don’t understand why she does that.”
She grimaced, staring directly at Desiree. “Are you her nurse?”
“Oh, my goodness, no. I’m her sister.”
“Her sister?” Desiree and Zora looked as different as night and day.
Desiree paused, chewing on her lower lip. “Well, I’m her half-sister. Zora’s problem is more aggravated in large social situations like this retreat.”
“Well, maybe she shouldn’t have come.” Rhea couldn’t resist her bitter tone.
Desiree sighed. “Look, I promise there will be no more problems from her.”
The cabin door opened, and Rhea’s cell phone buzzed at the same time. Zora strutted into the cabin, her eyes narrowed. “Are you two talking about me?”
Rhea pulled her phone from her pocket, glancing at the display. It was Raven.
Chapter Five
Rhea tossed the phone onto the bed, irritated. She didn’t have the energy to talk to her chatty sister. She focused on Zora. “I’ll let your sister answer that question. You need to know that you can’t get away with talking to me like you did earlier.” She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “You obviously have issues, but, you need to deal with your mess without including me. I don’t even know you, and I don’t appreciate your treating me like an enemy.”
Zora’s mouth dropped open, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes widening. “I didn’t mean—”
Rhea cut her off. “I don’t care what you meant. I’m tired, got a lot on my mind, and I don’t need somebody getting into my face for no reason.” She stomped over to Zora, got directly into her face, and the young woman flinched, her nut-brown skin reddening. “Have I made myself clear?”
Finally, Zora nodded. “Yes,” she mumbled, removing her purse from
her bony shoulder, dropping it onto the bed. Rhea took her bag of toiletries and went into the bathroom, then took her time showering and getting ready for bed.
She exited the bathroom, and Desiree and Zora sat on the bed, whispering. Desiree rubbed Zora’s shoulder while Zora popped a pill into her mouth, drinking some water from a paper cup, her hand shaking.
Rhea turned the lamp off beside her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Lord, forgive me for losing my temper at Zora, but, I just couldn’t help it. Zora seems troubled and I believe You are the only one who can help her, Lord.
She closed her eyes, visions of Martin Lane dancing in her head. His deep, smooth voice had soothed her frazzled nerves. Her breathing deepened as she tried to sleep. She thought about Martin’s caring nature, his chocolate brown skin and full tantalizing lips. For some weird reason, when she was with Martin, she sensed that things weren’t so bad, the day seemed a bit brighter.
When he’d briefly touched her back, the warmth from his fingers had made her feel better. She’d wanted to listen to him, and enjoy his company. She wouldn’t mind spending most of her time with Martin during the retreat.
Why couldn’t she control her attraction? How dangerous, to be attracted to her sister’s love interest. Ever since Raven had survived cancer as a child, Rhea had been compelled to shield her twin, making Raven’s life as enjoyable as possible. Her parents had played a huge part in spoiling Raven, too. She’d been pampered, shielded and coddled so much that her parents, and Rhea herself, had regretted it when Raven got older. She’d developed a mean, selfish nature, and her parents couldn’t control Raven’s attitude.
She turned in bed, groaning. If Raven found out that Rhea was attracted to Martin, she’d be hurt, devastated. She really needed to put a damper on these feelings. There was no way that she could fantasize about Martin—he was probably attracted to Raven, anyway. He was only offering to help with her bakery since he was a nice guy.
She’d have to play it cool when she saw Martin at breakfast. Still, his face lingered in her mind as she fell asleep.
*
Rhea’s deep laughter surrounded him, making his insides bubble with warmth. They sat on the bench near the bay, and her eyes sparkled after he’d told her about a prank he’d pulled when he was a child. She smiled, and he leaned toward her, pulling her into a hug.
The dull buzz of his alarm clock blared from his nightstand. After shoving it off, he stumbled out of bed, pushing thoughts of Rhea Morrison from his mind. He needed to focus because he had a lot to accomplish. He didn’t need musings about Rhea to cloud his mind this morning.
He scanned the clock—five thirty. His sister, Trina, should be awake right now. Clearing his throat, he called his sister on his cell phone.
She answered on the first ring. “Martin, are you alright?”
“No.”
She hesitated, not speaking. What was wrong?
When she remained silent, Martin closed his eyes, thinking about his church. He swallowed, recalling the friendships he’d made, and about the people who’d told him how he’d helped them come to Christ. Longing swept through him. He wanted to tell others about Jesus, lead his father’s church, but, he wondered if the Lord had other plans for him. He finally found the courage to ask the question burning in his mind. “Did Linda Tucker cause more trouble?”
“Martin…”
Gritting his teeth, he slowly paced around his room. When he’d returned to the church the previous day, after feeding the homeless, he’d spotted Linda Tucker in the foyer, whispering to some women. Once she’d spotted him, she’d abruptly left the church and when he’d mentioned the incident to Trina, she’d gotten quiet, refusing to look him in the eye. She’d abruptly changed the subject, telling him he needed to get going so that he wasn’t late arriving at the retreat.
He’d driven to the retreat, figuring if he called Trina the following morning, she’d be more inclined to tell him what was going on.
Feeling called to take over his father’s role as pastor of the church, Martin was next in line, right after he finished divinity school. However, Linda Tucker, an elderly parishioner, had proven a recent thorn in his side. Upset about his being single, she’d made it her mission to rile up the other elderly ladies in the church, hoping to sway them to vote against Martin for the pastorship. She’d joined his church a year ago, bringing a group of female members from her old church.
“Trina, what do you know about Linda’s visit to the church yesterday?”
“I didn’t want to spoil your retreat. Have you met anybody yet?”
Why did Trina have to change the subject? “I don’t want to talk about the retreat. What did Linda do?”
Trina sighed. “You know how Linda has her clique of friends, most of them transplants from her old church?”
“Yes?”
“Well, she called all of her buddies, and they’re having an emergency meeting to decide how to keep you out of the pastor’s position.”
“What!” He stopped pacing, dropping the phone, causing it to clatter against the floor. He lifted his cell, placing it back to his ear. “When is the meeting?”
“She’s having it at eight o’clock this morning at Claudine’s, that French bakery in town.”
“I’m going.”
“You can’t go. You’re not even supposed to know about it.”
“So? That won’t stop me. Meet me there.” Linda seemed to be targeting the women within his church. If he showed up with a strong, upstanding female church member, like his sister Trina, then Linda would be reminded that not all of the women were on her side.
“No! Though, you know that I’m against what Linda’s trying to do.”
“I need moral support when I go on this mission.”
“Mission for what? Don’t go to that meeting. What will it prove?”
“It’ll prove that I really want to be pastor, and I can talk to these ladies before Linda sinks her hooks into them any further.”
“Martin…”
“I’m taking a quick shower and driving over to Claudine’s.” He disconnected the call, throwing the phone onto the bed.
While showering, thoughts of Linda Tucker flooded his mind. Didn’t that woman have anything else to do besides start trouble in his congregation?
Linda had left her old church because the unmarried pastor had an affair with one of his married parishioners. The scandal of the pastor’s affair at the large prestigious church had dominated the local news. The pastor’s rash actions caused the church to split, half stayed with the congregation, while others, like Linda, found new places to worship. She’d used her charismatic personality to win over some of the faithful members of Martin’s church. She’d acted as if her vendetta against him was personal, which was impossible since he’d never met Linda Tucker until she’d joined his church.
Martin stepped out of the shower, rubbing the stubble on his chin. A shave could wait. He’d agreed to speak later and if he attended this meeting, it would make today’s schedule tight. Should he risk his preaching obligation just to attend?
He had to go. There was no way he was letting Linda have her meeting without defending himself. If he drove fast enough, he’d make it to Claudine’s in time.
He sprinted to his car, spotting a few early risers making their way to the cafeteria. He looked toward the bay. Rhea sat in one of the lawn chairs on the deserted beach, holding a black book in her hands. Her head was bowed, and her hair hung loose, blowing in the light breeze. Clutching the handle of his car door, he stared at her. She was the most beautiful sight he’d seen in a long time. Her milk chocolate skin glowed in the weak, rising sun.
His gut clenched. Should he speak to her before leaving? He needed to talk to her about her bakery, try and help her save her business. He’d also agreed to have breakfast with her. Would she be upset when she didn’t see him in the cafeteria?
He shook the thought away, getting into his car. He sensed Rhea wanted some private time, an
d he didn’t want to interrupt her. But, what if he didn’t make it back in time? What if he got held up during Linda’s meeting?
He started his car and drove away from the resort, pulling onto the main highway in minutes. He clutched the steering wheel, driving as fast as the speed limit allowed. If his alarm clock had not gone off this morning, he’d probably still be asleep, dreaming about Rhea. What would’ve happened if his dream were allowed to continue? He would’ve kissed her lovely lips, held her in his arms, listened to the soft, quiet cadence of her voice while she spoke. Last night, while they’d sat on the bench, talking about her life, he’d wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss her frown away, and make her smile.
He breathed deeply. No way could he act on his feelings. He’d just met Rhea, barely knew her, but yet, he still sensed a deep emotional bond between them. Was this connection just his imagination, or, did Rhea feel the same?
He pulled off of the exit. It didn’t matter. He was not good relationship material for Rhea or any other woman. He needed to focus and get to this meeting – confront Linda before she caused more damage in his church. When he arrived at the meeting, what should he say? He couldn’t lose his temper, yet, Linda’s cold, calculating manner always put him on edge. Should he appeal to the other women, and ignore Linda? Perhaps if he spoke to the women directly, without targeting Linda, he’d be more successful in gleaning more support for his pastorship.
He braked, gawking at the long line of cars in front of him. The orange construction signs decorated the sidelines, men in hard hats directing traffic toward a detour.
Construction? This was the last thing he needed. He eyed the dashboard, checking the time. If traffic continued at this slow pace, he might miss Linda’s meeting.
After going through the detour with the stop and go traffic, he finally gained some momentum as the traffic spilled onto the main street, moving at a steady pace. When he pulled into the packed parking lot of Claudine’s, he hunted until he found an empty space on the street, not far from the bakery. He exited his car, running the couple of blocks toward Claudine’s. Lord, you’ve got to help me out. I want to serve you by leading this church, but Linda has made this difficult. Please help me to say the right thing when I interrupt this meeting.
Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) Page 4