Real Love 4 (If Loving You is Wrong)

by H. H. Fowler

  If Loving You is Wrong

  (Real Love Series – Book 4)

  Christian Novella

  H. H. Fowler

  Copyright © 2015 H. H. Fowler

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  All characters, names, descriptions, and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities of actual people – living or dead are purely coincidental.

  ****

  Connect with H.H. Fowler on Twitter:

  @fowlerguy1

  Blog: www.churchboyz.org

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/www.churchboyz.org

  Dear Reader,

  Off the coast of the Bahama Islands, there is a fictional place called Devin’s Cay. The series consists of seven books, which could be considered standalones, but are intricately tied to each other. My hope is that you will be entertained, inspired and illuminated.

  If Only You Were Mine (Book 1)

  Second Chances (Book 2)

  Hungry Hearts (Book 3)

  If Loving You is Wrong (Book 4)

  Love the One You’re With (Book 5)

  I’m Still in Love With You (Book 6)

  Love Knows No Bounds (Book7

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Love the One You’re With (Book 5)

  From the Desk of H.H. Fowler

  The course of true love never did run smooth

  William Shakespeare

  Chapter One

  Saturday evening – 9:12 p.m.

  Sasha placed a homemade club sandwich in front of her husband, along with a tall glass of cranberry juice; kissed him on the cheek and said, “It’s not Hunter’s scrumptious version, but I do hope you enjoy it nonetheless.”

  Drake reached for his wife before she was able to get away, planting her firmly on his lap. He could smell the sensual combinations of grapefruit, amber and vanilla on the nape of her neck – a familiar fragrance that always made him want to hold his wife for as long as she would allow him.

  “I agree that Hunter is a great cook,” he told her. “But you’re an even better one.”

  “You would say that; I’m your wife.”

  “I say that because it’s the truth.”

  “Oh, Drake, you are such a gentle soul…never wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

  Drake chuckled. “Why would you say something like that?”

  “I’m just saying, that’s all.”

  Sasha pushed up from Drake’s lap and ventured back to the stove, praying Drake didn’t read too much into her words. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with any pestering. With Hunter attending her annual jewelry showcase in Lakeland, Florida, she and Drake had Hunter’s three-thousand sq. ft. home to themselves, despite their lodging in the guesthouse. However, it was nice of Hunter to extend such hospitality – to trust two people with one of her most valued possessions. But after six weeks of hanging around, Drake was beginning to feel uncomfortable, wanting a place to call his own where he and Sasha could settle down and begin to raise a family. So while the issue was on his mind, Drake decided to voice it.

  “Hon,” he called in a gentle tone, “do you remember that little cottage we selected just before we got married some eight months back?”

  Sasha kept her back turned toward her husband so that he wouldn’t see her expression. “Yes…what of it?”

  “Well, I spoke to the owner the other day and he said that it is still available.”

  “That’s because that dump hadn’t been fumigated properly in the first place,” Sasha remarked. “And besides, I don’t want to go back there anyway.”

  “Why not? And why would you call it a dump? It was ours.”

  Sasha spun to face her husband. “Do you really need to ask why? It brings back too many bad memories.”

  “We can make new ones…”

  “Drake, you’re not understanding.”

  “What am I not understanding?”

  “That you can’t rush back into how things used to be between us before you up and left me for six months. And furthermore, Hunter has more than enough space to accommodate us. I don’t see why you’re so anxious to go somewhere else, when you know you can’t afford it.”

  Those words sliced through Drake’s heart. Actually, it wasn’t so much the words but how bitterly they were said. Why all of a sudden was Sasha becoming so annoyed with him and why had she brought up the issue of him abandoning her? Hadn’t they already moved past that? However, Drake wasn’t completely surprised by the outburst, because he’d noticed the change in her behavior right after the fire incident had taken place at El Shaddai. She was not her usual bubbly self, but was always sulking and seemed to have a chip on her shoulder about something she refused to discuss.

  “You’re right,” Drake said sourly, before returning to his dinner. “I probably can’t afford a place of our own right now, but the least you can do is show that you’re happy about the prospects, instead of making me feel I’m wrong for suggesting it. You must realize that at some point, Hunter is going to want us out of her home – no matter how sweet she appears at the moment. Regardless of how you see it, Sasha, we are invading Hunter’s personal space.”

  Sasha rebutted, despite Drake’s effort to quell the disagreement, “And all I’m saying is that you don’t have to concern yourself with that now. We have bigger things to be worried about.”

  Drake dropped his fork into his plate and glared impatiently at his wife. “Like what?”

  “The church, for instance –”

  “What about the church?”

  “You are in over your head, Drake. That place is virtually burned to the ground. How are we going to find the money to build a new facility? Because you do know that the congregation will eventually grow tired of having services in that stuffy, little hall, which can barely fit two hundred people into it.”

  “That’s why we’re having three services on Sunday,” Drake reminded his wife, “to accommodate everyone, which I’m sure is not that big of a problem. Look, you’re exaggerating. I agree that there was extensive damage to the church building, but it is not beyond repair.”

  Sasha did not like her husband’s response at all. He seemed not to realize how exhausting it was to have three services in one day, plus the dozens of calls they dealt with all week, ranging from people’s fears to those wanting to perpetrate the latest gossip. Maybe she should try a different tactic to get her husband to see that with those unnamed arsonists still roaming the streets, they were not completely out of the danger zone.

  “Aren’t you the least bit concerned about John Dewey and his men returning to finish off what they started?” she questioned. “We may not make it out alive this time around.”

  “Why should we be worried when we have God on our side?”

  “How can you sit there and be so calm about this?” Sasha yelled. “It’s exasperating the way you seem not to care!”

  “I never said I didn’t care,” Drake said. “I’m just not going to allow Elder John to –”

  “That man is
not an elder of the church anymore,” Sasha interrupted. “He’s a monster that belongs behind bars! So stop referring to him as ‘elder’.”

  “Even so,” Drake chimed back in, “I am saying to you that I refuse to live in fear. God didn’t give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind.”

  “Stop tossing bible verses at me. I need you to understand that I’m not cut out for this leadership stuff…I’m thinking that we’ve made a mistake, accepting the position as Rev. Henderson’s successors. We’re way in over our heads.”

  “So that’s what’s been bothering you all this time? You’re having doubts about our spiritual assignment…” Drake eased to his feet and walked over to the stove and pulled his wife into an embrace she clearly didn’t want. Her body felt stiff against his chest. “I apologize if I made you feel as if I’m not considering your feelings,” he said. “In fact, I appear strong because I’m constantly thinking about you. If you see me falling apart, then what good would I be to you? Someone has to keep the hedges up and I would rather it be me.”

  If the entire truth were to be unveiled, it would show that although Sasha’s mood had much to do with what was going on with the church, she was completely out of sorts about her emotions involving another man who was not her husband. His piercing stares reached deep into her soul, unshrouding his desperation for a taste of her affection. Even now, snippets of that man’s words were interfering with Drake’s effort to console her…

  “In case you haven’t noticed,” Levi had spat to her in the school parking lot. “I have been avoiding you. In fact, I have avoided you all month, trying my hardest to get my life back on track. When I heard about the fire at your church and how Drake was injured and rushed to the hospital, I wanted to visit – to show my support. But I purposely stayed away because I knew my presence would have been rejected. Yet you stand there and assume that I’m still hell bent on destroying your marriage. Newsflash, Sasha: You are not that important to me anymore. My heart doesn’t fall to pieces anymore whenever I think of you…”

  Honestly, she was devastated by those words. But why should she be, when she’d vehemently prayed for Levi to leave her alone? Was she losing her mind or was she really experiencing a new wave of attraction for this man? Did she even call it an attraction? It was more like a curse, a demon operating through the power of lust.

  Whatever it was, her heart had betrayed her, giving in to those subtle vibes of the flesh she did not care for. If only she could get Levi’s words out of her head – which were the very words that had her insides all jumbled up – so she could focus on her husband and the importance of his heavenly purpose. Because she really wanted to be a supportive wife.

  “Sasha,” Drake called, puzzled by his wife’s listlessness, “did you hear any of what I’ve just said to you?”

  “Yes…you are trying to protect my feelings. I get it...” She pushed herself out of Drake’s embrace once again. “I need to lie down for a while.”

  “Seriously, Sasha? You’re going to lie down in the middle of our discussion?”

  “I will feel much better once I get some rest.”

  Drake watched his wife disappear through the western side of the house, which meant that she was planning to lock herself in one of Hunter’s spare rooms – a clear sign that she was not to be bothered. Even if he wanted to go after her, Drake was too stumped to move. A belabored sigh escaped him as he returned to the breakfast nook. There was something deeper going on with his wife and Drake was terrified that it was something that could once again put their marriage in jeopardy.

  Chapter Two

  Paris, France – Sunday – 1:33 a.m.

  “Lewis, I assume you don’t have the slightest idea of the time over here in Paris,” Rena Henderson spat to her father’s lawyer. “I could have sworn this was an emergency.”

  “I wouldn’t have resorted to this had you answered my calls or responded to my emails. Your father has been dead for almost two months and you need to be aware of the legalities of his estate.”

  “My father and I didn’t have the best of relationships. You know that. And why would I want to humiliate myself by finding out that I’ve been disinherited anyway?”

  Lewis chuckled, but he was thinking that she should have been disinherited. Rena was an unreasonable brat with a huge chip on her shoulder. “Is that what you’ve been worried about this entire time? That you’ve been cut out of your father’s will? I assure you, Rena, it is anything but that. Despite the communication issues between you two, your father loved you and made provision for your future.”

  Rena swung her feet to the floor, the urge to sleep completely gone. In height, she stood no more than five feet, but she more than made up for it with her imposing personality. Her complexion was the shade of a chestnut, with lengthy gold tresses to match her light brown eyes. Her job as a film editor had provided her a lucrative escape away from the righteous demands of her father. What made Lewis think that she would want to give up that life and give her dead father the satisfaction?

  “You must come back to Devin’s Cay,” Lewis was saying. “If only for a week. There is much for you to settle in terms of your father’s estate. Aren’t you the least bit interested in what has been left behind for you?”

  “My future is already secure,” Rena said. “I don’t need to inherit a church full of holy rollers to be convinced of that.”

  Lewis chuckled again. “You’ve always been one to assume the worst, although I think there’s nothing wrong in inheriting a church like El Shaddai. Your father took special care of the people he led. But by the way things are going with El Shaddai right now, I pray that you will consider my pleas. They’re gonna need all the help that they can get.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Last month the church was attacked by some unknown arsonists, nearly destroying the entire building.”

  Rena paused in her short strides to the bathroom. She may have never agreed with her father’s parental skills or the fact that he was such a stickler for morality, but she certainly weren’t happy hearing about his life’s work being vandalized – well, maybe she was a little happy. Church, for some reason, never did it for her.

  “Did anyone lose their life in the fire?” she heard herself ask.

  “No, but many of the people received first and second degree burns, including the man your father deemed as his successor.”

  “Drake Beckford?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m confused.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I spoke to Drake at my father’s funeral and he assured me that he was not interested in accepting my father’s position as pastor. Isn’t ‘what’s his name’ running the church?”

  “John Dewey, I presume, is who you’re referring to.”

  “I never liked him, but then again, I never liked any of those religious nuts; but yes, I am referring to him.”

  “Then maybe you would be satisfied to hear that John Dewey is out on bail for attempted murder,” Lewis deadpanned. “That and several other charges, including the sexual abuse of his daughter.”

  “That’s crazy…that’s the very reason why I don’t go to church.”

  “Well, my dearie,” Lewis sighed, “a lot of drama went down within the two months after your father died. Had you been answering my calls, I would have kept you updated on what is going on.”

  “I didn’t answer your calls, Lewis, because I wasn’t ready to deal with any of that legal stuff. Besides, I am an extremely busy woman in the entertainment industry, working fourteen hours a day –”

  “Looking at porn,” Lewis finished. “I would hardly call that a job.”

  “You sound just like my father,” Rena fired back. “I think that’s my cue to hang up and never speak to you again.”

  “Don’t hang up the phone, Rena. I wasn’t judging you; I was simply making a joke. Being a man with such a photographic memory, I could never sit and edit such lewdness for fourtee
n hours. My mind would be permanently corrupt and so would my sexual desires.”

  “Like that’s something strange for you men,” Rena said in her defense. “But if you must know, I edit everything in film, including martial arts, horror and science fiction. Editing ‘porn’ was my way of getting into the industry.”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Lewis assured. “I am nothing like your father, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t honor his final words. They’re legally binding anyway and the law will intervene at some point.”

  This time, it was Rena who sighed into the phone. “Why are you so behind me on this? I’m tempted to think that you’re after something my father has left in his will.”

  “Oh, I don’t have a problem with it at all. It may be you who might be tempted to contest. In fact, I know you will.”

  “Stop speaking in circles and just tell me what the bloody hell is going on.”

  “Not until you promise me that you will come to Devin’s Cay and stop ignoring my calls.”

  “Well, that depends on the weight of the information.”

  “Rena, you are a very difficult person,” Lewis snapped. “But you may be surprised to know that your father has left one fourth of his estate to you, which works out to be some 1.3 million dollars.”

  What the hell? Rena’s head swung at the news, because she hadn’t any idea that her father had amassed such wealth – especially being a Pentecostal preacher. But she was equally curious to know to whom the rest of her father’s estate had been given.

  “Let me get this straight,” she said stiffly. “If my share is 1.3 million dollars, then how is the other 3.9 million distributed?”

  “It’s all been left to Drake Beckford… along with the church, the cars, and the house.”

  “You have got to be kidding me!”