“Adam, I’m so sorry.”
Suddenly her arms were wrapped around him, her cheek pressed to his chest, and her arms around his back, holding him close to her.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, but I’m also proud of you.”
For a moment he stood very still. It felt good—her holding him like this.
He’d had female friends in the year since his deliverance, but no one had held him like they cared. Like she was holding him now. He wrapped his arms around Destiny wanting her to care about him like he cared about her. They were at a crossroad and he didn’t know how it all was going to work between them, but he had to try. He wanted her. He hadn’t realized how much until this minute. She could be his sounding board, his cheering squad, his devil’s advocate and faithful sidekick. No wonder he’d been thinking about her so much lately. No wonder she’d been in his dreams.
Before he changed his mind he blurted out, “Go with me next week to a one-night conference in Tacoma, Washington.”
She swallowed a nervous laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
He sobered just as quickly as she asked the question. “No, I’m not. I want you to accompany me if you don’t have any plans.”
Destiny was shaking her head, but she was really cautious as to why Adam was asking her to go with him.
“I don’t know, Adam. What would people think?” She looked at him with concern in her eyes.
“Destiny, this is not about us sneaking off to do something that we could do right here in Seattle. I have to preach in Tacoma and I want you there with me. It will also give you the chance to be with me in a setting other than at Greater Community. We could make a day of it, returning late Wednesday evening.”
Rising on her tiptoe, she kissed his chin. “I don’t know, Adam. It’s so soon. Can I think about it and let you know?”
Gathering her closer, he buried his face in her long, fragrant hair. “Of course you can, but you don’t have to worry. We’ll have separate rooms. It would be a blessing to me if you were there, and it would give us a chance to get to know each other away from here.”
She smiled. There was no doubt he wanted her to feel comfortable traveling with him. “I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”
Curving a hand under her chin, he raised her face to his. Pulling back, Adam looked her in the eyes.
Destiny studied his expression, wondering if he thought she was too forward. Her heart was beating so fast.
“Happy birthday, Destiny.”
“Thank you, Adam.” And she had enjoyed herself up until this moment. She had grown to understand more about Adam than she anticipated for one night.
“How about us having breakfast at my place tomorrow?” He looked at her with a soft expression. “I want to spend as much time as I can with you this weekend.”
She looked at him puzzled. “Can you make an omelet?”
“Yes.”
“What else do you eat for breakfast?” She couldn’t resist asking him the question.
“Muffins,” he said while brushing a strand of hair that had fallen out of place.
“What time is breakfast?”
“Let’s make it brunch. Is eleven too late?”
“No.”
With brunch being at eleven, it would give her enough time to go over to visit with Tina and baby Richard before joining Adam. Maybe she would even have enough time to go to the gym to workout, especially after eating like a pig tonight.
The return trip home was rather quiet. Both of them were caught up in their own thoughts. Destiny was relaxing while listening to Smokie Norful through the sound system in his car. She told him Smokie was one of her favorite gospel artist. Closing her eyes, she smelled the scent of Adam’s cologne. She knew he was staring at her whenever they stopped at a light, but that was fine with her. Never in her life had she contemplated a relationship with a pastor, but this was the sweetest man she’d ever met other than Willie, Shawn, and Richard.
Adam had planned a perfect evening. Which had almost ended in disaster. She opened her eyes and caught Adam looking at her in that moment. With the glow of the lights from the dashboard she couldn’t see the expression on his face. Was he feeling like she was feeling? Destiny looked away first. He was pulling the car into the driveway to park. Waiting until he came around the car and open the door for her, she placed her hand in his, giving him her keys. They mounted the steps together.
“I’m glad they left the light on for you, but you need to get that one that’s out fixed and the other one has flashed a couple of times.”
She laughed. “I’ve been meaning to do it for a couple of days. I will take care of it tomorrow. We always leave the lights on because there are three females in the house. The Lord supplies us daily with his mercy, and we have our ministering angels keeping watch over us.”
Adam unlocked the door and was met by yet another soft glow of light from a lamp by the door. He looked around and placed the keys back into her hands. Turning, Destiny laid them on the table by the lamp, dropped her purse in the chair, and kicked off her shoes.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven, but I need your address.”
Reaching into his breast pocket of his jacket, he withdrew a pen. Destiny handed him a piece of paper she found at the bottom of her purse. He wrote down his address and number, handing her the paper.
Destiny stood motionless, staring at Adam. Drawing her close, his fingers tightened on her arm as he pulled her closer to face him. One hand slid down her arm to her hand, and the other claimed her waist, drawing her close. He held her for a moment as if in a motionless dance. The glow from the lamp outlined his head, but reading any facial expression was impossible in the dim light.
She waited. Her pulse quickened. Finally, he lowered his head as his lips brushed her cheek in a soft caress.
She took a deep breath to clear her head because she assumed he was going to kiss her. His fingers slid down her arms in a tingling caress as he relinquished the embrace. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and husky.
“You are dear to me, Destiny. I don’t want to mess this up, do you understand?”
“Yes, I do understand.”
She couldn’t see his expression, but she felt the tension mount between them. When he answered, his tone was serious.
“Outside of my mother, you’re the only woman who has ever heard me say those words in the last three years.”
Destiny smiled. Clearing her throat, she said, “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Adam.”
With one last kiss to the cheek, Adam said, “I’ll see you at eleven. Make sure you lock the door.”
Turning, he opened the door, walked out, and then closed it quietly behind him. She watched the tail lights of his car disappear down the driveway. She let out a long breath and turned toward the bedroom, pausing in the doorway as a thought occurred to her.
She had a father and a good man in her life she was developing feelings for. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Lord, who am I to judge anyone who has hurt me? She clasped her hands together. I know I’m not perfect. I too am saved by your grace, Lord. I’m thankful for having you as my heavenly Father. You cared enough about me to bring my earthly father into my life. You forgave me for all of my sins, and you have shown me unconditional love. For that, I want to say thank you. I know it’s your will for me to love and trust again. I repent for any negative thoughts I’ve had about my past, and I close that door in my life. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Just as she got up off her knees the phone rang. Adam had just left and she couldn’t believe he was calling her so soon. Maybe he changed his mind about their brunch. Picking up the receiver she said, “Hi, Adam you didn’t forget anything did you?” She waited for a response.
Terror filled her as she heard the breathing. She slammed the phone down. She paced the room, nervous tension building up in her spirit. It rang again. Letting it ring a couple of times, she picked it up again.
“What do you w
ant?” There was silence again and she hung up, stepping slowly away from the receiver.
When it rang a third time, she turned the phone off. Leaving her room, she went to check the doors in the house to just make her feel safe. Everyone was asleep but her. Amid the fear and tears, Destiny felt a little better. She had made up her mind—no longer would she be held in the bondage of her past. It was time to move on, to get back in the game. It was time for her to live, and in order for that to happen, she had to trust God completely. With that last thought she climbed in bed.
On the other side of town, thoughts came in what seemed like a dream. Too many thoughts were confusing. It was that Destiny woman who was quickly becoming the center of Pastor Wheeler’s attention. For months after she arrived on the scene, the thoughts were always the same. Who was she, and where did she come from? But now she knew. She’d made that phone call to Womack Industries and found out that the CEO was Stanley Womack. After all of the planning, now everything was coming together. She was tired of going home to an empty apartment. This was a city full of eligible single men. The previous city was filled with singles, but none of them wanted to be in a committed relationship. She would be the First Lady of Greater Community. A slow smile formed and quickly changed into an outright laugh.
Chapter 24
Destiny heard the phone ringing and reached to pick it up before the ringing woke up a napping Sara. “Hello?” she spoke into the receiver. No one said anything so she hung up and picked her magazine focusing on the article she was reading.
She saw Sara’s eyes open. “Another hang up?”
Destiny shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to make too much of the call and worry her aunt. It wasn’t five minutes later that the phone rang again. Before she could pick it up, it stopped. Frustrated, Destiny was getting concerned about the calls that were being made to their home phone. It was almost as if the caller knew when she was at home.
She’d asked Cynthia if any hang-ups happened when she was home but she assured her that none had occurred. The calls were occasional when she first moved to Seattle but now they seemed to have become more frequent and at uncommon times. There were even times Destiny could hear breathing and knew there was someone there. She felt the caller knew her personally. It irritated her then but now for the first time, she was beginning to be concerned about it.
They had all agreed to change the house phone number and for a while the calls ceased, then they started again. Sometimes the sound of deep breathing, then a coarse whisper would burn her ear.
“He’s coming.” The caller in a singsong voice would say.
It was hard to understand the muffled words at first. But then panic set in when she asked the caller, “Who are you?” There was something demonic about the voice that caused a chill to run through her, she found herself trying to rub it away by running her hands up and down her arms.
“He’s coming.”
It was raining as Stanley exited the automatic doors of the airport. There were a lot of people waiting for car service, rushing to get out of the rain. After securing one for himself, he gave the driver the name of his hotel and for the first time since leaving South Carolina, began to relax a little. He knew he had changed since Destiny had seen him last. He had cut his hair off and was now bald. That wasn’t the only change. He’d lost a tremendous amount of weight. But he was sure she’d be able to recognize him. Maybe these changes would give her pause, causing her to rethink her leaving him. He could even convince her that he was ill with all of his physical changes. All of it would help his cause.
Arriving at the hotel, he checked in and made a call to his private investigator. They were supposed to meet later to discuss the information gathered on Destiny’s life in Seattle. His plans were to be here only for a couple of weeks. But he needed to see what he was up against. Deciding to take a nap, he picked up the television remote and lay on the bed. In two hours he would have all of the information he needed to put his plan into action.
Chapter 25
It had been raining all morning but Destiny wasn’t going to let it ruin her day. Time flew by quickly for her. She had a little over two hours before she had to meet Adam. As she got dressed, she felt blissfully happy. It felt good knowing that her life was finally on track for the first time in several years. It was her ritual to do all her household chores on Saturday mornings, so she turned her radio to an old-school station. When she heard “Reasons” by Earth, Wind, and Fire, she couldn’t help but sing along. After washing and folding the clothes for the entire house, she noticed the time. She now had less than half an hour until she had to meet Adam. Putting on a pair of white Capri pants, a pink tank top, and comfortable sandals, she was ready to go.
Her thoughts were on Adam as she walked down the hallway of the house. She kissed Sara on the cheek as she walked past her working in the garden. Today’s brunch was a little unnerving because she would be at his home. They had many dates, but all of them had been in public places. What would it be like spending the day with him alone at his house? Even though she was nervous, she looked forward to spending time with him.
This would be the first time they would be able to see how they would react to each other totally alone without on lookers. Her first response to him was an instant attraction. But she wasn’t the same woman who’d fallen so blindly in love with a man she knew little about. It took time, but now she understood what she’d been searching for in Stanley. It wasn’t love, but it was security, a form of protection that she never received from her father. She learned that while attending Healing Virtue at Greater Community. Now she had purpose, a destiny, and a new life. It was changing her completely.
She turned onto the street to where Adam lived, peering at all of the beautiful condominiums in the charming neighborhood. As she entered the gated community and drove through, she was amazed at the beauty of the misty filled gardens that greeted her.
Looking for his home, she stared at the posted sign, which read Harvard and Highland. Looking at the address she’d written down, she knew this was where he lived. This area had a unique enclave of lovely condominium homes; they were all nestled among the tree-lined streets of Seattle’s North Capitol Hill.
She strolled up the path, looking at the climbing vines and flowers that surrounded the wrought-iron gate out front. Taking her time to leisurely climb the steps, she approached the doorbell, ringing it once. The front door opened and she found herself breathless at the sight of him.
He had on a pair of faded well-washed jeans that hung around his waist, showing off his slim hips and molded thighs. His feet were shoeless, which made her smile because she walked around the house all day without shoes. Yes, Adam did a suit justice, but she thought he made an excellent casually dressed man. She knew she was staring because when she glanced at his eyes, he was smiling. Leaning down, he pulled her in a warm embrace.
He extended his hand, pulled her inside, and closed the door behind her. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist. Destiny closed her eyes as he hugged her close. She pressed her face to his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him mixed with the extraordinary smells of their meal.
“Good morning,” she said. Her heart was racing. “You have a beautiful home.”
He picked her up, swinging her around. After setting her down again, he looked into her beautiful eyes, which seemed to have turned deeper in color.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“You’re in a good mood today,” she countered. Adam bent slightly so that he could place a kiss on the tip of her nose.
She extended the bag she had been holding in her hand. “This is a little something for our brunch table.” She reached into the bag to pull out a basket of flowers, perfect for a centerpiece.
His smile was dazzling. “They’re perfect.”
She arched her eyebrows. “I was hoping you didn’t already have some.”
“No, I didn’t, and these are perfect. Thank you.”
Their gazes met and
fused for several seconds. “You’re quite welcome.”
He grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him. “I hope you haven’t eaten anything this morning.”
She grasped his hand, feeling the warmth of it. “I have to be honest with you. I was too excited about this brunch to eat.”
“You must be starving. We’ll eat first, then we’ll talk about what to do for the rest of the day.
Destiny stood by the cooking island in his kitchen. After Adam poured her some orange juice, she sat, sipping and watching Adam move around the area like a skilled chef. He was dicing onions and peppers into tiny pieces on a cutting board for their omelets.
“You’re really good with that knife. How’d you learn to cook?” she asked as he diced with abnormal speed.
“Mom taught Marvin and me how to cook when we were in middle school,” he responded without lifting his head from his task.
“Can you cook a variety of meals?”
Wiping his hands, he picked up his own glass of orange juice. “I can cook just about anything. Maybe I’ll have the chance to show you.” Taking a sip from his glass, he sat it to the side and finished his chopping.
Taking the opportunity, she let her gaze sweep around the open spaces making up his kitchen. The entire floor of the house seemed to be constructed around openness; there were very few walls. It gave the place a feel of being outside. The oak floors and cabinets, along with the crown molding, were a perfect contrast to the wheat brown color of the walls used throughout.
Adam watched as she glanced around his functional kitchen. “I’ll give you a full tour after we eat.”
“Can I help you with anything? I don’t like sitting around doing nothing.”
“Something tells me you need to be treated like a queen. You deserve having someone wait on you.” He took his chopping board and wiped its contents into a bowl. “So relax, you’re my guest.” His voice was soft as he said the words my guest.
No Wasted Tears Page 17