“And he feels the same way about you?”
Pearl nodded. “Yes.”
Justine let out a small sigh. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I’m happy it’s you and not some hoochie. Well, I’ll see you later. I see a man over there I need to meet. You got your man and I need to get mine.”
“Good luck with that.”
Pearl found Wade sitting at the table with his mother and the Greens. She went over and joined them.
“Did your sisters leave?” Wade asked.
“Yeah.”
Barbara and Marnie walked by the table, looking as if they smelled something bad.
“What’s wrong with them?” Arlene asked in a low voice.
“Barbara’s the church secretary,” Wade explained. “And she’s just a little disappointed that I didn’t choose her niece.”
Glancing over her shoulder to get another look at the two women, Arlene muttered, “I see.”
Ivy laughed. “I’m sure Pearl has made a lot of enemies here at Lakeview since hooking up with Wade.”
“Wade’s the man over here,” Pearl stated with a grin.
“Behave,” Wade told her with a wink. He stood up. “I need to talk to Yolanda. I want to check on Tyson.”
“I can’t wait for you to hear Wade preach, Mrs. Kendrick,” Pearl said after he’d left the table. “He does a wonderful job.”
“I’m so proud of him. My mother told me the day Wade was born that he was destined to be a preacher.”
“He’s a good man.”
“Yes, he is.” Arlene reached over, taking Pearl’s hand. “You make him happy.”
“He makes me happy, too.”
“You’re good for each other,” Ivy interjected. “I can see a big difference in Wade.”
“What are you all talking about?” Wade inquired when he returned, reclaiming his seat beside Pearl.
“You,” she responded. “Surely you didn’t expect us to talk about anything else. Sweetheart, it’s all about you.”
Arlene and Ivy chuckled while Harold said, “You’re certainly going to have your hands full with her.”
Wade laughed. “Yes, I am, but I’m up to the challenge.”
Chapter 19
“Mom, there’s something I need to do this morning,” Wade announced over breakfast. “I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I know this is what God wants me to do. I’m just not sure how you’re going to feel about it.”
“What is it, son?”
“I need to talk about what happened. Some of the kids in my church are running with gang members. I don’t want them to make the same mistake I made. I don’t want to let another teen go down like Jeff. If I don’t say something—”
“Son, you’ve got to do it,” Arlene said, cutting him off. She sat her coffee cup down on the table. “Wade, you have to tell them. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Maybe if they hear about Jeff, it’ll save some child’s life.”
“I missed you so much, Mom.”
“I missed you, too. I hope that you can forgive me, Wade. I never should’ve kicked you out of my life like that. You were a child.” Arlene took a sip of her coffee. “I used to have these dreams of your father right after he died. We would be in a park somewhere. He never said a word, just smiled the entire time we were together. Even the night Jeff was gone he came to me. We didn’t walk this time. We just sat on one of the benches and held each other while we cried. After the funeral, the dreams changed. Larry would just give me this sad, hurtful look. We didn’t take walks, just sat on that bench not looking at each another.”
Arlene suddenly broke into a smile. “Until last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“This time when Larry met me in the park, he had Jeff with him. They were both smiling.” Arlene’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sure you think this is strange or just my way of dealing with my loss. Maybe it is, but I know that Larry wasn’t pleased with me for the way I treated you. Neither was Jeff.”
“I don’t think it’s strange at all. I used to dream about Dad and Jeff, too. I was feeling so much guilt, I just wanted the dreams to go away. I started taking medication to help me sleep. Now I can’t sleep without it.”
“Oh, son…”
“It’s not your fault, Mom. This is about me and not being able to forgive myself. God and I had a long talk last night and He led me to His Word. I have to give my testimony this morning. I have to become more involved with the youth in the community. I can’t keep walking around like the past never happened.”
“I’m so proud of you, Wade.”
He smiled. Wade had waited a long time to hear those words.
“Your dad and Jeff would be so proud of you, too.”
When they finished eating, Wade placed the dishes into the dishwasher. He went to his bedroom to get dressed for church.
Arlene met him in the living room twenty minutes later. “Is Lakeview a big church?”
“I guess you might say that. It’s much bigger than our church back home.”
“Wade, it’s been such a blessing to be here with you this weekend. I regret so much that I let all this time go by. I—”
He held up his hand, cutting her off. “Mom, the past is the past. We have now. This is what’s important.”
Fifteen minutes later, Wade pulled into the parking lot of Lakeview Baptist Church.
“Oh, my, this is a big church,” Arlene murmured. “Does the congregation like you?”
“I think so,” Wade responded. “The only person I ever really had a problem with was Pearl.”
“Pearl?”
He laughed. “I’ll tell you about it after the service.”
Arlene left Wade in his office to spend some time alone in prayer. He prayed for strength and courage for what was in his heart.
He made his way to the sanctuary and traveled among the congregation, looking for Pearl. She and her sisters were sitting with his mother. He noted D’marcus Armstrong had joined them this morning. Wade gave him a slight nod.
After the choir sang their third song, Wade stood up to speak.
“This Sunday I want to talk to the youth especially,” Wade announced to the congregation. “Our kids are in crisis. If we’re not careful, we will find them on the cusp of being involved in gangs or drug addiction and ending up in prison.”
He paused for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts.
“I’d like to share something from my past. You see, I know what I’m talking about. Church, I’m not coming to you with something that I’ve read or seen on television. I’ve lived it.”
Wade’s eyes traveled to his mother, who gave him a smile of encouragement. She put her hand to her lips, blowing him a kiss.
“I am an ex-gang affiliate,” Wade announced. “When I was fifteen years old, I joined a gang called the Chicago Kings.”
A low murmur of surprise moved throughout the congregation. They never expected to hear this admission, but Wade knew he had to continue.
“Young people, I knew some guys who didn’t mind the daily bullets that never pierced their flesh somehow. Back then my brothers didn’t care when someone held a gun to their head and their soul ached. The reason they didn’t care was because they had no purpose, no hope. They weren’t afraid of dying. They wanted to die because to them death was a man’s way out. Death was better than the life they were living.”
Wade paused long enough to let his words sink in. “We used to suit up with loaded weapons and nothing to lose on Friday and Saturday nights in search of mischief and house parties. Add alcohol to the equation, and only God knows what could happen. In a way, we were already dead. Gang members are already dead. Today I am on a mission to awaken the dead.”
Wade’s eyes traveled to Pearl. She smiled at him as a show of support.
“My world came crashing down around me when my brother Jeff was killed. My mother made me promise to look out for him and even though I told her that I would, I didn’t stop
him from joining the gang.” Tears formed in his eyes. “He wanted to be like me. The day he was killed all I could think about was that I should have been the one to die. Jeff died because he pushed me out of the way. He was looking out for me even though I hadn’t looked out for him.”
Wade managed to finish his sermon without breaking down in front of the congregation. He called the youth up to the front of the church.
“We’re going to pray for our young people,” he stated. “We’re going to awaken the dead.”
“Wade, you did a wonderful job this morning,” Pearl complimented as they walked down the hallway toward his office. “I think you really captured the attention of the teens when you were talking. I looked around and they were all listening to you.”
“You think so?”
She nodded. “They really needed to hear your testimony, Wade. I’m so glad you shared your story with them. I’m proud of you.”
“I hope I was able to reach them. I don’t want another teen to ever go through what I experienced.”
“I believe you did reach them.”
“Pastor…Oh!” Marnie stopped short when she saw Pearl. “I didn’t know you had someone in here.”
“Did you need something?”
“I just wanted to commend you on the talk you gave this morning. What an awesome testimony.”
Pearl nodded in agreement.
“Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it.”
“That’s all I wanted to say.” Marnie glanced over at Pearl. “Enjoy the rest of your day.” She turned to leave but paused long enough to add, “I never thought I’d say this, but you two make a beautiful couple.”
When Marnie was gone, Pearl eyed Wade. “Wow. I never thought we’d hear those words coming out of her mouth.”
He smiled. “She’s right. We make a good couple.”
“Beautiful, sweetheart. She said we’re a beautiful couple. Get it right.”
“We’d better get going. Mom’s waiting on us.”
“Ruby and Opal are taking good care of her, I’m sure.”
“I didn’t see Amber in church this morning.”
“That’s because she wasn’t here. She went out with that jerk Dashuan last night and didn’t get in until early this morning. I don’t know why that girl has to be so hardheaded. Even D’marcus has warned her against seeing Dashuan. Amber just won’t listen.”
“She’s an adult, honey.”
“I know. It’s just that she’s also my sister and—”
“You Lockharts stick together,” Wade finished for her.
When they walked outside, Wade spotted Tyson standing with a young man who looked vaguely familiar. Wade strolled toward them. “G-Dog?”
The boy nodded. “It’s me,” he said sheepishly. “Tyson asked me to come to church with him this morning. I thought it was whack, but I came anyway. I liked your sermon.”
G-Dog had traded his long white shirt and oversized jeans for a pair of corduroy pants, a sweater and a leather jacket. Instead of the bandana, he wore a black wool cap.
“I’m glad you decided to join us,” Wade told him.
“Mom said the only way G-Dog and I could hang was if he came to church with me,” Tyson explained.
“Does that mean we’ll be seeing you again?”
G-Dog gave a slight nod. “I’ll be back, Pastor.”
“Miss Pearl, you should hear G-Dog sing,” Tyson stated with a grin. “He can blow. He raps, too.”
Pearl glanced over at the teen. “Really?”
“I ain’t singing in no choir.” G-Dog shook his head. “I said I’d come to church with you but singing…I ain’t wit that.”
“We’re not going to push you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Wade assured him. “But, G-Dog, if you ever feel like you need to talk about anything, I want you to know my door is always open.”
“You was really a member of the Chicago Kings? I heard about those dudes. Man, they ain’t no joke.”
He nodded. “I still have the tattoo to prove it. I’ve had laser surgery to remove most of it, but just like the choices we make, there are always remnants left.”
D’marcus and Opal walked over to where they were standing. Pearl introduced them to G-Dog.
“Do you boys like basketball?” D’marcus asked.
They both nodded.
“I’ll give Pastor Wade some tickets to the game on Wednesday. If you’re interested in going, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to speak with your parents.”
“For real?” G-Dog asked.
Wade nodded. “I’ll pick you up and bring you home.”
He gave D’marcus a grateful smile.
G-Dog was suspicious. “So what we got to do for the tickets?”
“Nothing,” Wade answered. “However, there is one rule. No gang gear.”
“I’m not in a gang, Pastor. My brother is and I wanted to be a member of the Disciples but…” He paused. “I don’t wanna die. My brother says I’m nothin’ but a punk.”
“Your brother is wrong,” Pearl interjected. “I think you’re very brave for admitting your fears and making the right choice. We’ll pray that your brother will find the courage to do the same. By the way, what’s your real name? I don’t like calling you G-Dog.”
“Gerald,” he uttered.
Giving him a smile, Pearl asked, “Do you mind if I call you Gerald?”
He smiled back and said, “No.”
Tyson hit his friend on the arm. “We got to go. Mom’s already in the car.” To Wade he asked, “You really gonna talk to her about the game?”
He nodded. “I’ll call her tonight.”
G-Dog hesitated. “I need to give you my phone number so you can talk to my mom, too.”
When the boys were gone, Wade told D’marcus, “I really appreciate you donating those tickets. I need to find a way to reach them and maybe this is the way to do it.”
Early the next morning, Pearl woke up to the sound of the telephone ringing.
It was Opal.
“You are not going to believe this,” she began. “Amber’s in LosAngeles with Dashuan Kennedy.”
Pearl shot straight up in bed. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yeah. She left with him.”
“That girl has lost her mind,” Pearl fussed. “I don’t know what she’s thinking.”
“This is crazy.”
Sighing with resignation, Pearl climbed out of bed. “Amber’s not a child anymore. We can’t lock her in her room or anything. She’s on her own.”
“She’s our sister. Ruby’s calling Luther to see if he has any suggestions. We all know Dashuan’s bad news. We have to be prepared to bring Amber home.”
Upset, Pearl called Wade next.
“You’re not going to believe this,” she began. “Amber went to Los Angeles with Dashuan Kennedy.”
“She did what?”
“She ran off to L.A. Can you believe that? Ruby’s calling Luther right now. We’re going to go get her.”
“Honey, I know how much you care about Amber, but this is her life. She’s an adult and you can’t force her to come home until she’s ready. I know this is hard for you to hear but it’s the truth.”
Pearl tossed a pillow across her room. “I know you’re right, Wade. Life is about the choices we make and learning to live with the consequences.” She released a long sigh. “I’m so glad to have you in my life, Wade.”
“Honey, we can handle anything life throws at us as long as we’re together. You are the love of my life, Pearl, and I thank God for you.”
“Same here,” Pearl murmured with a soft chuckle. “I never thought in a million years that I’d be the preacher’s woman. But I’m loving every minute of it.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0558-5
THE PASTOR’S WOMAN
Copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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