by Pat Simmons
A Woman After David’s Heart
Book 2 Andersen Brothers series
BY
PAT SIMMONS
Copyright © 2014 Pat Simmons
All rights reserved.
Print Edition ISBN-10: 1494905477
Print Edition ISBN-13: 978-1494905477
This is a work of fiction. References to real events, organizations, and places are used in a fictional context. Any resemblances to actual people, living or dead are entirely coincidental.
To read more books by this author, please visit www.patsimmons.net.
Published in the United States of America
Other Christian titles include:
The Guilty series
Book I: Guilty of Love
Book II: Not Guilty of Love
Book III: Still Guilty
Book IV: The Acquittal
The Jamieson Legacy
Book I: Guilty by Association
Book II: The Guilt Trip
Book III: Free from Guilt
Book IV: The Confession
The Carmen Sisters
Book I: No Easy Catch
Book II: In Defense of Love
Book III: Redeeming Heart
Book IV: Driven to Be Loved
Love at the Crossroads
Book I: Stopping Traffic
Book II: A Baby for Christmas
Book III: The Keepsake
Book IV: What God Has for Me
Book V: Every Woman Needs A Praying Man
Making Love Work Anthology
Book I: Love at Work
Book II: Words of Love
Book III: A Mother’s Love
Single titles
Crowning Glory
Love Led By The Spirit
Talk to Me
Praises For Pat Simmons
I love Christian Romance novels and Pat Simmons knows how to unlock the imagination and take it on a quick path of hope, love and Jesus. You will always find some sort of message in her books just like I found in Stopping Traffic. I smiled! …Tamara Gatling, reader
Pat Simmons does it again and again!
Another great story from Pat Simmons! What I love about her books is they are all biblically based! She shows how we, as humans, are in need of healing, deliverance, forgiveness, etc. I really like her approach to the dating scene! It is refreshing from some other Christian novels that allow their characters to engage in sexual activity without being married! Thank you, Pat, for giving us some good, pure, interesting Christian materials to read!! I appreciate you! You and a handful of other Christian Authors are rare commodities in these last days! … LeeLee, reader
Simmons has laid it all out on the line in this installment of the Jamieson legacy. This is pure Christian romance with a touch of heritage. There were moments in the middle that I wanted them to get it together but it turned out better than expected. The personal touch of genealogy is wonderful and will make you think about your own family heritage. Wanted to see more Grandma BB but loved the new character development. Simmons is on top of her genre... Reviewed by M. Bruner “Deltareviewer” on Free from Guilt
Free from Guilt may be listed as Christian fiction, but it's so much more. You read about family history, romance and transformation. This is a great read and leaves the reader wanting more, with that being said I'm looking forward to the next Guilty installment… Reviewed by Melody Vernor-Bartel for Reader's Paradise
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Table of Contents
Praises For Pat Simmons
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
About the Author
Other Christian Titles
The Guilty Series Kick Off
Chapter 1
It was the week before the most celebrated love fest of the year—Valentine’s Day—and Valerie Hart knew no red roses would decorate her office, no silly card was in the mailbox and no secret admirer would be asking her out to dinner. At twenty-seven, her single status was starting to get to her.
Somehow, love had eluded her, or she had scared it off. Valerie could handle New Year’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but not the love fest. None of those other days required a significant other to celebrate.
Without any prospects, she was on the path to join the ranks of thousands of women, especially Black women, who would still be unmarried by thirty, which for her, seemed right around the corner, not three years away.
Valerie maneuvered her new Ford Focus on the snow-packed streets of Mid-town St. Louis, not far from her one-bedroom apartment near the Washington University campus.
Her mind always drifted when it snowed. It reminded her of a whimsical world of romance.
More than once her best friend, Brittany Stanton, blamed Valerie’s empty social calendar on her lifestyle conversion.
“There’s barely enough men in the world. The church is the last place you’ll find a happily ever after.”
Only God knew that for sure. Before Valerie surrendered her life to God four years ago, her old boyfriends had been jerks with commitment issues, so the relationships fizzled. She didn’t ask God to save her from her sins to get a husband, although that would have been a bonus.
Granted her options didn’t look good at Salvation is Free Church where she was a member. The women did outnumber the men—in her opinion—one hundred to one. Still, Valerie didn’t regret her decision not to step her stilettos inside another social event at a club with Brittany. So far, she hadn’t regretted forfeiting the craziness of the world to serve Jesus.
Dismissing all thoughts of love, Valerie negotiated a curve as her cell phone rang. She glanced at her caller ID and chuckled. “Speak of the antagonist.” Valerie activated her hands-free device. “Yes, madam.”
“Whatcha doing tonight?” Brittany asked.
“Evidently, you aren’t out on the roads. A blizzard is coming. Even Friday night youth service at church was canceled.”
“Two to three inches is not a blizzard.” Brittany tsked. “Since you’re not going to church, why not go with me to this fraternity fundraiser? It’s not at a club—before you ask—it’s being held at the Radisson Hotel. You know my crossover is a four-wheeler.”
“No thanks. One inch or ten, snow is snow. When I get home, I’m in for the night.”
“You can’t find the love of your life at home and Valentine’s Day is a week away. I know you don’t want to go for a record of four consecutive years without a Valentine.”
“Thanks for keeping tabs.”
“You’re welcome. Well, suit yourself. I have to go and get ready. I don’t care how long it takes me to get there. I’m determined to be someone’s Valentine this year.” Laughing, Brittany ended the call.
Lightly pumping her brakes, Valerie slowed to a stop at the intersection when the traffic light flashed from yellow to red. She exhaled and admired the snow resting on tree branches—beautiful and surreal.
When the phone rang again, she tapped her Bluetooth. “Hello.”
“Hey, sweetie. Have you made it home yet? I heard the streets are bad…” her mother, Helen Hart, said.
“Almost. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Don’t forget. I’ve got something to tell you. Now be careful!” she ordered and ended the call.
Humored by her mother’s excitement about something, Valerie smiled. Now, she was the romantic in the family.
She adored her overprotective widowed mother who had been twenty years old when her father, Bernard, had snatched her up. Thinking about romance, Granny Martha, Helen’s mother, had found the love of her life at eighteen.
Even her sole sibling, Rachel, had found love at twenty-four—now five years later, her sister and brother-in-law were trying to have their first baby. Valerie groaned. What was her problem?
Valerie’s pity party ended when she pulled in front of Dove Nest’s parking garage and waited for the security guard to lift the gate. Her home was in a beautiful but pricey gated community of fifty apartment and condo units.
Most of the residents were either young working professionals or graduate students. Although she could afford a modest house, she felt more secure as a single woman living in an apartment.
Plus, it wasn’t far from her work at The Stallings Group where she handled creative development, matching their clients with the right person to get the message across about various products.
Parking in her designated spot, Valerie grabbed her purse and two bags of groceries. She was thankful that the maintenance crew had shoveled the walkway to the building even as it continued to snow.
Minutes later, she was riding the elevator up to the second floor. Outside her apartment door, Valerie used her key card for entry instead of actual keys.
She had barely removed her coat when the phone rang. Setting her purchases on the counter separating the kitchen from the living room, she checked the caller ID.
“Mom? What did you do, time me?” She chuckled as she sat on a barstool.
“Of course. Please tell me you’re not going back out to church in this weather. We’re supposed to get more snow.”
“Nope. Service was canceled.” Peeking out her kitchen window, she noted the snowfall was getting heavier.
One thing about St. Louis weather, the temperature would plummet one day, then soar the next, melting most of the snow. “I’m about to whip up a stir-fry with chicken strips.”
Getting up, Valerie tended to her groceries as her mother switched to the dreaded subject of Valentine’s Day.
Since her father’s passing five years earlier, Valerie and her sister, Rachel, had started treating their mother to a sumptuous Valentine’s Day dinner. But Rachel and her hubby now lived in another state. A few times, the couple had surprised their mother with a visit home, but this year, Thomas was taking her sister on a romantic getaway to Miami for three days.
Without a significant other of her own, Valerie was satisfied to listen to her mother embellish tales about her first love. That seemed to be the only way she would feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Everyone teased that Helen and Bernard found love in the water, literally. The two were baptized in Jesus’ name at the same time, then ironically, they both received the Holy Ghost baptism the next day.
After a short courtship, the two tied the knot and had been married for thirty-five years until the Lord took Bernard home after years of battling heart disease.
The only other candidates that were baptized the same day as Valerie were an elderly man, and a young teenage boy. There was no husband material there.
“This is what I wanted to tell you. I received an invitation in the mail from an organization called Thy Mother’s Keeper. They are sponsoring a night of pampering…”
For some reason, Mrs. Helen Hart was a magnet for free offers for shopping sprees, day trips, and groceries. Of course her mother always said the offers were God’s way of taking care of widows. Valerie wasn’t that gullible. She always felt it was her duty to tag along to make sure everything was legit.
“The invitation’s so cute.” She seemed tickled. “It’s called the First Corinthians 13:4-7, Chocolate Affair. You know, ‘Love is patient, love is kind….’”
And love keeps you waiting. Valerie held her tongue. More than once she had bought herself a box of chocolates.
“It’s absolutely free,” her mother continued. “It’s for widows, single mothers, and it’s free.” Her mother raved about the door prizes, what was being served, and the entertainment.
Pinching the phone between her shoulder and ear, Valerie stood and walked to the sink. Once she rinsed her hands, she reached for a skillet. How many times in the Bible did the scriptures admonish Christians to take care of their widows and motherless? Well, bravo, someone was taking heed to do that. This event was setting the perfect example of showing God’s love. “Well, Mom, as long as it doesn’t cost anything, I think you should go.”
“You’re not coming with me? You can use some pampering, too.”
“I’m neither a widow nor a single mother,” Valerie reminded her.
“Single is single, girl. At least it’s something different. And you know I like door prizes. But if you don’t want to go with me, then I guess we can do our usual boring dinner for two.” She sounded defeated.
Boring? You’ve got to be kidding me. “Ha.” After a few attempts of Helen laying the guilt trip on Valerie, she succumbed to her mother’s will. “Okay. What time should I pick you up?”
“Six-forty-five and don’t be late!” When they disconnected, Valerie suspected her mother was wearing a smirk.
***
David Andersen stroked his goatee as he sat at the table in the plush boardroom, half-listening to his older brothers, Nathan and Christian.
The three were Ivy League graduates and successfully ran Andersen Investors & Consultants, LLC, and turned a profit within six years of establishing a smaller branch of the family business that dated back three generations.
Although they worked together seamlessly and were on one accord with most business decisions, the brothers’ personalities were as different as their looks.
Being the youngest at thirty-one, David was the fairest of all with his clean-cut fade—until the summer when his rich African skin darkened under the sun. Christian was three years older with medium brown skin and sported a thin-trimmed mustache.
The oldest at thirty-six, he had no problem reminding them of that. Nathan thought of himself as the biggest, blackest, and boldest of the three.
As if to back it up, he stood at six-four to Christian’s six-three and David’s six-foot-two. Somehow, he had made a bald head and a thick beard a fashion trend.
Their firm partially funded small business startups and expansions. The Andersens also assisted with the mass production of products in the United States and marketed them in non-traditional ways like infomercials, product demonstrations at conferences and web seminars. Their motto was “Turning a bright idea into a promising future”.
Today, David’s mind was elsewhere as their assistant recited their weekly agenda. He was confident that his brothers were in tune with the details and would pick up his slack.
He couldn’t help his lack of concentration. At the moment, he felt like the biblical King David being tortured by a modern-day Bathsheba.
Shamefully, he couldn’t recall Sunday’s message at Salvation is Free Church and it was preached less than twenty-four hours ago.
The culprit was a vision of loveliness that distracted him throughout the sermon, and the image was still ingrained in his mind.
He was a sucker for beauty moles and dimples, both of which Sister Valerie Hart had. They were defining features on a woman he found so attractive.
When he was about to make his intentions known, Valentine’s Day intercepted his plans.
How had he forgotten about it with “show her your love” reminders b
ombarding the media/social media like political ads?
Florists' windows were all decked out in red, and some mom-and-pop candy stores had mob-like crowds at their counters.
David didn't have a problem indulging in Valentine’s Day, but not on a first date. Twice he had learned that lesson the hard way after emptying his pockets for his conniving, husband-snagging by any means necessary, girlfriends.
One woman had accused him of misleading her after she had started to plan a wedding consultation based on a supposed proposal from him—all because he’d generously lavished her with gifts on Valentine’s Day.
The other woman was so delusional that she stalked his family. No, Valentine’s Day was not the time to begin a relationship, David realized, so he never started dating a woman until after the coast was clear—post February 14th.
Still, he wondered if Valerie was different. She appeared to be genuinely sweet, soft spoken, and focused on the Lord.
She wasn’t like many who wore flashy clothes that would be best admired behind closed doors by the woman’s husband, or the bold ones who didn’t wait for an introduction, but wanted to stake their claim ASAP. David prayed to know the difference between the tares growing alongside the wheat as mentioned in Matthew 13.
Valerie wasn’t trying to be seen when he first noticed her. One Sunday when service was dismissed, she had gotten swallowed up in the crowd, but with one glance, his eyes zoomed in on the small mole above her pouty lips.
Without drawing attention to himself, David got close enough to hear her name called.