After the Rain

by Vanessa Miller

  Destroyer, that old enemy demon taunted him. “Your people caused my demons to be destroyed tonight, and now I’m going to make you pay.”

  He didn’t know what demons destroyer was referring to, but that didn’t matter, because Isaac was going to pay for whatever wrongs destroyer felt he’d suffered, so he braced himself and prepared for the blows that were soon to come.

  But then he heard someone say, “Leave us. You have no business with him.”

  Isaac looked up, knowing immediately that he was hearing the voice of Truth, the one who’d given him a guided tour of hell. He was safe as long as he was with Truth. “Why am I here? I don’t want to be in hell, that’s why I have spent so much of my life serving You.”

  “Your services have been noted in heaven, but you’ve been serving Me so long that you forgot your mission.”

  Isaac stood up. He bowed before the Lord and then said, “I don’t understand. I am still bringing souls into the kingdom. My ministry is all about witnessing to the lost.”

  As Isaac said those words, two of Satan’s henchmen brought his brother’s mangled form into what the demons called the Fun Room. Although the demons had plenty of fun, none of the inhabitants of this room had any. They were too busy having their limbs torn off and being used for target practice to have any fun. They tormented Donavan until he yelled and made the agonizing sound of a man who knew there would be no help coming, no matter how loud the scream.

  Isaac fell on his knees. “Help me, Lord. I don’t want to watch this. Please tell me what to do.” A sob caught in his throat. Tears mingled with sweat.

  They left the Fun Room, but the agony didn’t end there; Truth then took him all around this god-forsaken place as if he were a tourist on vacation. But there was nothing about hell that he ever wanted to see again. He didn’t want to see Valerie, Ray-Ray or Lenard. But Truth made sure he visited each of them and hundreds more, until Isaac began to weep for the multitude of gangsters and drug addicted people who found their way to a place like this. “This hurts, Lord. Please make it stop.”

  “I can’t, Isaac. Only you and the ones to come after you can make this stop. Because you can tell this people about Me… tell them how much I love them. Truth opened his hands showing the holes where nails had been driven into his hands. Tell them that I died for them and that it breaks My heart to see them come to this place when they don’t have to.”

  ~~~~

  Nina and Iona sat down on one of the couches in the waiting area with Diana. Ikee was hunched in a chair against the wall in a small alcove, his head down, arms wrapped around himself. He looked like a child who’d been placed in the corner for a time-out.

  Diana tilted her head in Ikee’s direction. “Why is he sitting over there?” she asked Nina.

  Nina leaned closer to her. “He blames himself,” she whispered, “and the truth is, none of this would have happened if Ikee had just gone to school and done as we told him.”

  “That’s a lot of weight for one person to hold on his shoulders.”

  “Your brother loves you. He’ll listen. So, instead of going over there and telling him what he already knows, maybe the two of you can figure out the good that can come from this.”

  “Are you sure, Nina-Mama… I mean, I don’t want to make him feel worse than he already does.”

  “You couldn’t if you tried,” Nina told her with the look of despair.

  Iona didn’t know if she could help her little brother. He had done a lot and caused a great deal of pain. She was a daddy’s girl through and through. And if her daddy died because Ikee wanted to be a gang banger, she honestly didn’t know if she would ever look at Ikee the same way again. But Isaac Walker wasn’t dead. He was just getting some much needed rest; he would pull through, so she needed to help Ikee move past this.

  She crossed the waiting room and sat down next to her brother. When he looked up at her with questioning eyes, Iona said, “I thought you might need a friend.”

  Ikee scoffed. “Are you sure you want to do that? Being in company with me might get you exiled from this family. Even Mama doesn’t know what to say to me. And she always has words of comfort for everybody.”

  “That’s not fair, Ikee. Donavan and Daddy are laid up in this hospital because of your actions. Nina-Mama is worried sick so, you can’t expect her to be all things to all people right now. You should be over there trying to hold her up. But you’re too busy feeling sorry for yourself.”

  “Hey,” Ikee leaned back, eyeing his sister. “I thought you came over here as a friend.”

  Iona playfully punched her brother in the arm. “I’m the kind of friend who tells it like it is.” Reaching over and hugging Ikee, she said, “Nina-Mama needs you to be strong for her. And I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you go over there and offer to lead us in prayer for Donavan and Daddy?”

  Twisting his lips Ikee said, “They don’t want me messing up no prayers.”

  “I don’t think you’d be messing anything up. And I think Nina-Mama and Diana need just as much support as you do right now. I can see how much you’re hurting, and I know that you love Daddy and Donavan and wouldn’t have wanted anything like this to happen to them. So, do the right thing now, Ikee. Go over there and help your mother to see that things will get better.”

  He unfolded his arms and stood up. He slow walked over to where Nina and Diana sat. He stood there for a moment taking in the downtrodden expressions on both his mother’s and sister-in-law’s faces and then said, “I messed up real bad. I understand why Daddy didn’t want to talk about any of the stuff to me; being a drug dealer is nothing to brag about. But Iona and I were over there talking. And it seems to me that instead of all of us sitting out here feeling sorry for ourselves, maybe we should pray.”

  There were tears in Nina’s eyes as she stood and embraced her son. “You are so right. We have no business moping around this hospital as if we have no hope. Let’s all pray and let God take care of the rest.” With that said, Iona, Nina, Diana and Ikee held hands and went to God with their petition.

  ~~~~

  Prayer changes things… They were back in Donavan’s room about an hour after the prayer when the nurse burst into the room to inform them that Isaac was woke. Nina kissed Donavan and said, “I’ve got to go see my man. You all stay here.”

  But Ikee held onto her arm. “Let me come with you, Mom. I have to see him.”

  She nodded, and the two of them left Donavan’s room and rushed down the hall to Isaac’s room. Nina pulled back the curtain and as she stepped into the room, her husband was laying down with his hands behind his head. He grinned at her, showing off those dimples.

  And it was as if she were still that young college girl, being swept off her feet all over again. This was her love, forever and a day… until the sun set for both of them. That’s how long their love would last. “I was so worried about you, baby. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come back to me.”

  His voice was groggy as he said, “I’m here, baby… not going anywhere.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Nina told him, “because I’ve had my fill of this city. Moving to the suburbs wasn’t far enough. So, the minute you get out of this hospital, we are packing up. Maybe it’s time for us to move to a little farming community. I bet Keith and Cynda would be game for something like that… just us and some chickens.”

  “That sounds good,” Isaac said.

  Ikee came into the room and hugged his father. “I love you, Dad. I’m so sorry you got hurt.”

  Isaac waved that off. “That little bump on the head wasn’t nothing. Believe me, son, I’ve experienced much worse.”

  “But still, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone through any of that stuff with Lou. So, if you and Mama want to move, you won’t get any argument from me. I’ll go wherever you say and I’m going to make you proud. You just wait and see.”

  “I’m already proud of you, Ikee. Look at how you cared more about Candy’s life
than your own. That was powerful, son.” Isaac turned to his wife. He reached out for her hand. Nina put her hand in his as he said, “You are still the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth to me. I’d like nothing more than to ride out and raise chicken or rabbits or whatever you want, but I can’t do that, baby.”

  She snatched her hand away and told Ikee, “Give me and your daddy a minute, okay?”

  “Okay, but don’t be too hard on him, Mom. He did just wake up from a coma.”

  “Yeah,” Isaac pointed toward his son as Ikee left the room. “What he said… don’t be too hard on me.”

  Nina wanted to understand her husband, but as much as she loved him, she couldn’t make sense out of what he was saying. “I have been here for you all these years, Isaac, but I’m tired. I can’t live like this anymore… scared and wondering when the next vendetta will show up.”

  “I feel where you’re coming from, baby. All I ask is that you hear me out.”

  Nina sat down next to her husband’s bed, preparing to listen. But honestly, this was more than she’d signed up for. When Isaac had given up the life and gone into the ministry, Nina had foolishly thought that their lives would be smooth sailing from that point on. But their lives had been anything but. She wanted out.

  “We have been attacked a few times by people from my past, so I can see why you would want to just run away. But I guess you can say I was communing with Jesus while I was knocked out or in a coma as Ikee said. Anyway, the Lord basically showed me that I have moved so far away from my original mission that I’m allowing too many souls to enter hell… souls that don’t have to ever see that place.

  “Now, I know that you think you’ve been on my vision all these years, but I allowed you to move us to the suburbs so that Ikee wouldn’t be around any of the things we grew up around. And I guess I took my cue from that, and stopped going out into the community to minister to the very souls that need the kind of healing I know about personally.

  “Bottom line, God wants me back on my mission. And I’ve got to do what God has called me to do. That’s the only reason I’m not dead yet. Because as much as I’ve gone through, we both know that I should be dead.”

  “And what if one of these thugs finally manages to finish the job and then I’m left without a husband?”

  He grabbed her hands again and pulled her closer to him. “If that should happen, then I will wait for you to join me in heaven. But baby, please understand that I have to do the will of God.”

  Tears ran down Nina’s cheeks as she listened to her husband. She had been ready to take her family and run, feeling as if they had given enough for the cause. But Isaac was saying that God felt as if they hadn’t done enough yet. And the truth of it was, Nina knew he was right. There is no retirement when a person signs up to be in the army of the Lord. You endure and you fight on until the end.

  “Are you with me?” he asked.

  Nina could see that even as he asked the question, he was confident of what the answer would be. Did he think that she was so tired that she could actually ride out without him? “I guess we’re going to do this thing until the wheels fall off.”

  Epilogue

  And that’s what they did. No sooner than Isaac and Donavan had recovered from their injuries, did the Walkers plan a tent revival, right smack dab in the hood. Isaac and Donavan took turns preaching each night for seven days straight, while Nina, Iona and Ikee passed out tracts.

  “How does it feel?” Nina asked her son.

  “How does what feel?”

  “To be passing out something that can change a person’s whole world, rather than the poison you once passed out on these streets?”

  “I can’t lie, Mama. I thought I wanted to be a gang banger. But helping people to get off this stuff, feels so much more right. Bobby-Ray used to call me choir-boy whenever he saw me on these streets, as if to tell me that I didn’t belong here, but that’s not true is it, Mama?”

  Even though Nina had once wished it was so, Ikee was right, the Walkers belonged on these streets, because it was their job to let the inhabitants know that Jesus came to set them free.

  Isaac stood behind the podium; he was getting ready to preach. But just before he began his sermon he yelled the same thing he’d been yelling since the revival started, “That’s right y’all. Isaac Walker is back… I’m running these streets again. Me and Jesus. Now, who’s bad enough to mess with us?”

  The End…

  Coming in April 2015… RAIN in the Promise Land

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  Books in the RAIN series

  Former Rain (Book 1)

  Abundant Rain (Book 2)

  Latter Rain (Book 3)

  Rain Storm (Book 4)

  Through the Storm (Book 5)

  Rain For Christmas (Book 6)

  After the Rain (Book 7)

  Rain in the Promise Land (Book 8… Rel. April 2015)

  RAIN FOR CHRISTMAS

  A Christmas Novella with your favorite characters from the Rain Series

  Sample Chapter

  by

  Vanessa Miller

  .

  Prologue

  “You’re the kind of woman I could see myself marrying.”

  Diana Milner put her index finger against Donavan Walker’s luscious lips. “Don’t say things like that if you don’t mean it. I’m here, so I’m already yours. You don’t have to lie to me.”

  “Oh, so now I’m a liar. You weren’t saying that a few minutes ago.” Donavan began tickling her. “Take it back,” he demanded.

  She was wearing Donavan’s black and gray bath robe and nothing else, so she had little defense against his tickles,. She grabbed hold of the towel encircling his waist as if she was prepared to yank it off and said, “Who’s going to make me?”

  “You think I care if you pull that towel off?” He stepped back, lifting his hands in the air to give her easy access. “I mean, you’re going to be my wife and you’ve already seen me naked once anyway. So, have at it.”

  “No fair,” she giggled. “I can’t fight against an exhibitionist.”

  “Why don’t we both show our exhibits?” Donavan slithered toward Diana with his fingers dancing toward her robe.

  She wrapped the robe tighter around her body and screamed, “Don’t you dare,” as she took off running and giggling through the house.

  Donavan ran after her. As he caught up with her, pulled her into an embrace and kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead and chin. Just as Diana was getting into the kissing game, Donavan pinched her and said, “That’s for calling me a liar.”

  Diana’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Oh no you didn’t. You’re going to pay for that Donavan Walker.”

  Donavan was enjoying himself with Diana. She was the only woman he’d been with that could make him laugh about nothing. He was getting tired of the way he’d been living his life… a youth pastor by day and a hound with the ladies by night. Donavan loved being in ministry. His father was the pastor and he had entrusted him with the youth ministry. Donavan wanted to settle down and take his Christian walk much more seriously. He was thinking that Diana could be the one to rescue him from himself.

  Donavan was the picture of a happy man as he smirked at Diana and said, “Come and get me, baby. You’ve got to catch me before I’ll ever pay for anything.” He turned and made his way towards the living room, laughing all the way.

  Diana wasn’t about to let Donavan get away with taunting her. She ran behind him, tackling him from behind. As they fell to the ground Diana landed on top of Donavan, she pinched him and then said, “I gotcha. Now what are you going to do about it?”

  The two were having so much fun that neither of them noticed Donavan’s front door open, nor did they s
ee the man standing just outside the door.

  Donavan reached up and pulled her into an embrace. He kissed her again. As her wet hair fell across his face, he inhaled. “I love the way your hair smells after a shower. Woman, I definitely could get used to you.”

  “Son!” Isaac shouted from the doorway. “What are you doing?”

  Donavan jumped up, eyes bulging out of his head as he looked into his father’s shocked and disappointed face. Donavan didn’t know what the rest of his life would be like, but he knew one thing for certain, he would never forget the moment his father found out the kind of man he really was.

  Former Rain

  Book 1 in the Rain Series

  Sample Chapter

  by

  Vanessa Miller

  Prologue

  July, 1998

  Nina Lewis had the key in the lock of Marguerite’s 1990 Chevy Cavalier when she noticed the white Cadillac with tinted windows parked a few feet away. She squinted in the thick darkness of the night as she tried to read the license plate number. The street light in front of Joe’s Carryout had been broken for several weeks. A sign tacked to a raggedy old fence across the street read, “Tax dollars, hard at work.”

  The Cadillac’s door swung open. The key jammed in the lock of the Cavalier and refused to yield. She frantically searched for any sign of help. A leg stretched out of the Cadillac and touched the ground. Fear clenched Nina’s heart. She dropped the grocery bag. The dozen eggs Marguerite needed to bake that sweet potato cheesecake splattered in the street. The Reese’s cup she had been craving for a week violently connected with the ground and her heel, as she ran like the wind. Tears streamed down her face, as she thought, So this is my destiny; to die like a dog in the street.