He stepped away from his wife and then Bishop took his place. He put Cassandra’s hand in his and whispered in her ear. “I’m here, Baby Girl. I’m so sorry I never told you that I am your father. But I want you to know, I have been proud of you every day of your life. Your father loves you, Cassandra, and I’m going to make this right between us.”
JT tapped Bishop on his shoulder and said, “Let’s go. The nurse wants us out of here.”
They walked back into the waiting room. The woman who came to Cassandra’s aide was still in the waiting room. She was on her knees with her head bowed in prayer. JT appreciated what this woman was doing for his family; he only wished none of this had happened in the first place. He looked at Bishop as a thought struck him and said, “I forgot to call Mattie.”
“God help you,” Bishop said.
JT took out his cell phone and dialed Mattie’s number. It rang six times before the answering machine picked up. He had no choice but to leave a message. “Mattie, I need you to meet me over at University Hospital. Bishop and I are here because…Cassandra has been stabbed.” He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.
He had nowhere to turn. There was nothing he could do for Cassandra or Lily. But looking at this woman on her knees in prayer to God, an idea came to JT. He tapped Nina on the shoulder.
When Nina looked up and saw that JT was trying to get her attention. She stood up and asked, “Is everything all right with Cassandra?”
“She’s still unconscious; I won’t be able to see her again for a few hours so I was wondering if you could take us to the church where your husband is preaching at tonight. I’m hoping to get a prayer chain going or something.”
CHAPTER 27
The conference was being held at True Vine, a church that JT had competed with for members. But the members of True Vine were sold out for their church in part because of all the mission work the church did. They took members on several mission trips each year to places like Mexico, Africa and Egypt. True Vine even conducted mission work in their own community – always reaching out and lending a helping hand. JT had respect for Larry Moore, the senior pastor of True Vine, because he had never been caught in any mess. As far as JT knew, Pastor Moore lived a straight and narrow type of life and he needed those types of people in his life right now.
JT and Bishop sat on the front row pew as Nina went into the pulpit area and whispered into Isaac’s ear. As Nina walked back down the stairs toward JT and Bishop, JT watched as Isaac said something to Pastor Moore while pointing in his direction.
Pastor Moore came down from the pulpit and walked over to JT. “Can I speak with you in my office?” JT stood up and followed. When the door to Pastor Moore’s office was closed he turned on JT and asked, “What’s this all about? Are you trying to make another play for my members?”
JT held up his hands. “Whoa, Larry, I know I’ve tried to steal a few of your members, but right now I don’t even know if I have a congregation to go back to. I’m not here as a pastor, just a man in need of prayer.”
Larry put his hand on JT’s shoulder. “What happened, man?”
“My wife has been stabbed and my daughter kidnapped by a woman I had an affair with.” JT lowered his head. “I’ve been a fool and I have no right to stand in front of your pulpit. The only thing I can tell you is that when I saw Nina praying at the hospital, I felt that God was directing me to ask your people for help.”
“Come with me,” Pastor Moore said as he left his office and walked back into the pulpit area. The choir was finishing their last song, Pastor Moore took the mic from the lead singer when she finished and address the congregation. “Praise the Lord, Saints. And thank you all for coming out here on a Thursday night to listen to my old friend, Isaac Walker preach the gospel.” The members of the congregation stood and clapped at the mention of Pastor Walker. Pastor Moore looked at JT and then turned back to his congregation. “Before we hear from Pastor Walker, I need everyone to sit down and listen to Pastor Thomas from Faith Outreach Church.” He handed the mic to JT and then sat down.
JT stepped forward and told the crowd, “I’m not going to take up too much of your time. I’m here tonight because I need your prayers. I’ve seen a lot of you at other events around the city, or you’ve seen our television program. But you really don’t know me.” He lowered his head in shame, but he had come this far and was determined to go all the way. “I’ve been living a life of sin ever since my first child died. I stopped trusting God and now my wife is in the hospital because a woman I had been having an affair with stabbed her.”
Collective gasps could be heard through out the congregation. An elderly woman stood up and shouted, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
His eyes were watery as his face filled with regret. “Believe me, I am ashamed of what I’ve done. But I still need your help. My daughter was with my wife when Vivian stabbed her, and-” A knot formed in JT’s throat. His shoulders slumped as a river of tears ran down his face.
Pastor Walker stood up and took the mic from JT. He looked out at the congregation and said what JT couldn’t. “This woman kidnapped his daughter.”
More gasps.
Pastor Walker continued, “Now I’m sure Pastor Thomas has condemned himself enough, so what he really needs from us right now is our prayers. Right now I’m asking everyone to get out of your seats and get on your knees. My heart goes out to Pastor Thomas. My wife and son had been gunned down because of something that my son had gotten involved in. But thanks be to God they both survived. So, now I’m asking that we pray that this man’s wife will live and that his child is brought back home unharmed.”
JT turned to Isaac Walker and said, “Thank you.”
“Let’s pray,” Isaac said.
JT nodded and got on his knees in the pulpit area along with the other pastors and ministers. When they finished praying, Bishop Turner put his hand on JT’s shoulder and pulled him off the floor. He whispered in JT’s ear, “Someone wants to speak with you. Come on, let’s go.”
JT thanked the people for praying for his family and then followed Bishop out of the church and into the parking lot. His eyes widened as he saw Deacon Benson standing next to his car. “What’s going on?” JT asked Bishop.
“Benson thinks he can help,” Bishop told him.
JT was skeptical as he approached Benson. When they stood face to face, JT asked Benson, “After all I did to you, why would you want to help me?”
“First, I’m not doing anything for you,” Benson told him with obvious anger in his voice. “But I like your wife, and as far as I’m concerned, Lily is just as much my daughter as she is yours.”
“Benson, I just want you to know that I’m sorry about what I did. I know it wasn’t right,” JT said.
Deacon Benson said, “I’m not interested in your apology. Just let me tell you what I know so we can go get Lily.”
“Fair enough,” Bishop responded.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t have taken Lily to her house here because she knows the police would be all over that place. But she has another house on the outskirts of Cleveland. It belonged to her mother, but when she died, Vivian received the house. I know where it is because I repaired her roof and put in a new furnace.”
JT took the business card officer Grayson gave him out of his pocket. He called the detective on his cell phone and handed the phone to Deacon Benson so he could tell him how to find Vivian’s mother’s house. When they hung up, JT then turned to Bishop and said, “I need you to go back to the hospital and sit with Cassandra for me. Mattie will be there by now and you’ll need to fill her in on what happened.”
“I’ll tell her, but you know as well as I do that she is going to go ballistic over the fact that I know about this before she does,” Bishop told JT.
“You were at the house with me when I received the call. So she’ll just have to get over that,” JT said and then turned back to Deacon Benson. “Let’s go.”
They rode the
highway in complete silence. JT was grateful that Deacon Benson had set aside his anger in order to help him get Lily back, but he also understood why Benson didn’t want conversation. So JT sat on the passenger side of the car and silently prayed to God. He had been spending a lot of time with God lately. He refused to give up or turn away from his Lord this time. No matter how hard things got for him, JT was determined to serve the Lord.
He wanted to sing a praise song, but his heart was too heavy for that. But even though JT wasn’t able to praise the Lord for the awful things that had been happening to him, he realized that he did indeed still love God. If nothing else, this adversity had shown him that he didn’t have to turn his back on God when times got hard.
Cassandra had loved him and he had destroyed her. When this was all over, JT was going to give some serious thought to the kind of man he wanted to be going forward. But right now he could only pray that God would spare Cassandra’s life and give Lily back to him.
When they turned on the street where Vivian’s other house was, JT noticed that several police cars lined the streets. “I bet she’s in there. Why else would Grayson have all these police officers on her street?” JT said.
“Let’s park back here and walk up. I don’t think we’ll be able to drive to her house; looks like they’ve got it blocked off,” Benson said as he parked the car and got out.
“Which house is it?” JT asked when he got out of the car.
Benson pointed. “She’s about five houses up, on the right. It’s the white house with green shutters. Do you see the police up there, behind those cars?”
“Yeah, they must be getting ready to bust into her house.”
They walked up the street anxious to see if Lily was truly with Vivian at this location. Adrenaline was pumping as they approached the house, but then JT saw the police with guns in hand while they stood in Vivian’s yard. He then saw Vivian sitting on her porch swing. Lily was in one arm and Vivian was holding a knife in her free hand.
JT yelled, “No, don’t do it, Vivian.”
He ran toward Vivian, hoping to get to her before she stabbed Lily, but a police officer tackled him. He fell to the ground as the officer hollered for him to, “Stay down.”
Another officer told Benson, “Don’t come any closer. We’ve got a situation here and we don’t need any citizens involved.”
JT said, “That’s my baby. She’s got my baby.”
The officer stood up and helped JT off the ground. “Sorry about that. Detective Grayson wants us to bring you to him.”
“Good,” JT said as he followed the officer.
As they walked toward the yard looking for Detective Grayson, the officer said to JT, “This lady is a real whack job. Hopefully you can help us calm her down.”
“What’s wrong with her?” JT asked. He was stunned by the fact that he hadn’t recognized Vivian’s crazy side before she flipped out on him.
“I wish I knew. We don’t know if she missed her meds, or if she’s on some unprescribed meds. But we’ve got to get this baby away from her, and Grayson thinks you can help.”
Grayson was at the bottom step in front of Vivian’s porch. His gun was aimed directly at Vivian as he said, “I don’t want to shoot you, Vivian. So, put the knife down and hand me that baby.”
Vivian’s eyes took on a far away look as she told Grayson, “But this is my baby. I can’t give her to you. I can’t let anybody hurt her, not like before.”
“What happened to your baby before, Vivian,” Grayson asked in a calm reasonable tone.
“Got to make sure that nothing happens to Jasmine,” Vivian said.
JT tapped Detective Grayson on his shoulder. “Thanks for getting here so quick.”
“Who is Jasmine?” Grayson asked without taking his eyes off of Vivian.
“I have no idea,” JT said, realizing that he knew next to nothing about this woman. He’d slept with her, but had never bothered to ask any questions, and now his family was being destroyed.
“Put the knife down and give me the baby,” Grayson said with a bit more force in his voice.
“Rock a bye and good night,” Vivian sang to Lily as she rocked her.
“Vivian, please don’t do this,” JT said. He wanted to go up the stairs and grab his baby, but Grayson held him back.
Vivian looked up and smiled. “JT, what are you doing here?”
“You’ve got my baby, Vivian. I came to get her back.”
Vivian looked a Lily and then turned back to JT. “We didn’t have a baby together, JT. You left me before I could get pregnant, remember?”
JT pointed at Lily. “That’s my baby, Vivian. You took her from Cassandra earlier today.”
Anger filled her eyes as she told JT, “Cassandra tried to steal Jasmine away from me. She tried to steal my baby, but I fixed her.”
“Her name is not Jasmine. She is Lily, Vivian. That’s my baby.”
“This isn’t Cassandra’s baby. Cassandra has Aaron. This is Jasmine. You’re a liar, JT,” Vivian said while raising her knife and poking it in JT’s direction with every word she said.
Grayson pushed JT away from the steps. “She’s getting agitated. We’re going to have to try something else.”
Benson stepped forward. “Can I try?”
“Who are you?” Grayson asked.
“Lily is my daughter. At least that’s what I thought until a couple of weeks ago,” Benson told Grayson.
Grayson waved his hand in the air. “Too much information for me.” He then told Benson, “Come on, see if you can talk this woman down before I have to do something drastic.”
Benson stood at the bottom of the steps. He looked toward Vivian as he said, “I know how it feels to lose a child. It’s not a good feeling at all. I thought Lily was mine, but then Diane told me that Lily is JT’s child.” Tears escaped his sad eyes as he asked, “How did you lose Jasmine?”
“They took her from me; said I wasn’t stable enough to keep her.” She laughed and then added, “But I got the last laugh on that crazy mother of mine. She gave my baby away, but I got her back.”
Tears were still in Benson’s eyes, but he played along. “You showed her, didn’t you?
“Yep!” Vivian said with the glee of a child on the playground.
“Can I see your baby?” Benson asked.
“You want to see Jasmine?” Vivian asked as she stood up. A look of pride spread across her face as Benson came closer.
As Benson walked up the stairs, JT remembered when Diane had asked him to look at Lily and he had refused. He’d give anything right now, though, to see Lily alive. “Lord, please don’t let her hurt my baby,” JT silently prayed.
“She’s beautiful,” Benson said as he lovingly gazed at Lily.
Vivian smiled. “She is beautiful isn’t she?”
“Can I hold her?” Benson asked
Vivian’s smile disappeared as she stepped back and said, “Not you too, Benson?”
“What? What’s wrong, Vivian?” Benson asked, his voice elevated with fear.
She continued backing away as she raised her knife. “You’re one of them. You want to steal my baby.” She was hysterical as she said. “I will kill her before I let you have her.”
When Benson went onto the porch, one of the police officers snuck around the side of the house. As Vivian became hysterical he jumped over the side of the porch and grabbed the arm that held the knife. Benson then grabbed Lily out of her other arm.
“No. No. Don’t take Jasmine from me; not again,” Vivian said as the police officer threw her on the ground.
JT fell on his knees, lowered his head, lifted his hands and gave praise to the Lord. He hadn’t praised God on the way there, but he had prayed to Him. JT hadn’t turned to God in times of crisis in years. Now he seemed to always be turning to God, maybe not always in praise, but definitely in prayer. “Lord, You are awesome,” JT proclaimed. “Thank You. Thank You so much for sparing Lily’s life.”
Benson walked off t
he porch as Grayson put handcuffs on Vivian. He stood in front of JT and waited for him to get up off his knees.
JT stood up and wiped his eyes. He was doing a lot of grown-man-crying lately and he didn’t mind a bit. “Hey, man, thanks for what you did up there. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“Yeah, I know. I appreciate it anyway.”
Benson handed Lily to JT and then said, “I’m giving her to you for now. But I want to see that DNA test when you get it back.”
“I understand. And don’t worry, Benson. I won’t keep Lily away from you if she turns out to be yours.”
Pain etched across Benson’s face as he said, “Diane says that she knows for sure that Lily belongs to you. So I’m not going to keep her away from you. But if she turns out to be mine, I want her back.”
“You’re an honorable man, Benson. I wish I was half the man you are.”
CHAPTER 28
Detective Grayson gave JT a ride home. He made two bottles for Lily and threw her formula mix in a bag along with wet wipes and a few diapers. As he was rushing back out the door he remembered that Cassandra always brought an extra outfit for the kids. He ran upstairs and took one of Aaron’s old sleepers out of the drawer and threw it in the bag for Lily. He got in his car and raced back to the hospital.
The first person he saw as he entered the hospital waiting area was Mattie. She jumped out of her seat and JT knew from the fireworks blazing in her eyes that she was getting ready to set it off.
“How dare you come in here!” Mattie screamed at JT.
Bishop had been sitting next to Mattie. JT ignored her and walked over to Bishop. He sat the baby carrier on the floor and then sat down next to Bishop. “Have you heard anything more from the doctor?” JT asked.
“She hasn’t woke up yet,” Bishop told him as he looked down at Lily and smiled. “Thank God you were able to get this little one back. I was praying for her.”
Former Rain-Forsaken Box Set Page 37