As the tempo built, the congregation began to dance around the church.
Blu wondered what he was doing here. Billie was with her family. He wasn’t sure he could give her what she wanted and needed. They’d been working up to being together for twenty years and now everything he’d hoped would happen was falling apart in his mind.
The woman he loved had found God and Blu wasn’t sure she’d accept him as he was. His relationship with God was sketchy at best. He believed, for sure. Over the course of the last year, Billie had gotten closer to her connection with Jesus and farther from Blu. He didn’t resent it. She was a stronger person now than she’d ever been.
In the midst of everything going on around him, Blu realized he didn’t belong here. These people were freely worshiping and he was intruding. He got up from his seat, ready to leave.
Brother Thomas blocked his exit and held out a hand. His black minister’s suit and white collar took up what space there was in his seat row.
It was too loud to have a conversation so Blu nodded and took the offered hand. The preacher motioned for him to step outside, exactly where Blu was headed. In the lowcountry sunlight, Brother Thomas said, “Good to see you, Brother Blu.”
Not sure what to say, Blu said, “You, too.”
“Billie sure sing like a bird, don’t she?”
The one thing about Brother Thomas that Blu had learned was not to underestimate the man. His simple words had tricked better people than Blu into thinking they were dealing with some yokel.
“She sure does,” Blu said. “I missed hearing her voice.”
“She miss you, too.” He gave Blu a sympathetic smile, which normally would seem odd on the three-hundred-and-fifty pound man who matched Blu’s six-three height, and put a hand on his shoulder. “She tol’ me she wanted to see you again and here you is.”
Blu looked away, unsure what to do. “I wondered if I’d see her again, too.”
“You’re a good man, Blu Carraway. Don’t let the enemy tell you different. Billie ain’t no naïve teenage girl with a crush. She a grown woman with a good head on her shoulders.” He paused, then said, “And she love you, son.”
With that, Blu met the Preacher’s gaze.
Brother Thomas said, “Don’t take my word for it. Come back inside and talk to her after the service. She’ll tell you herself.”
“I, um,” Blu began, measured his words, and said, “I was about to leave.”
“I know. Still can, if that’s what you want.”
Blu thought about Maureen and Harmony and what happened to his daughter two years ago. He thought about how his partner reacted when he found out Maureen was in trouble. There was no doubt in his mind he would have gone off the rails just like Crome did if a woman he cared deeply about was taken. He didn’t want that for Billie or Crome or any of his friends.
He extended a hand to the preacher. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell her I was here, Brother.”
The preacher shook his hand. “You are always welcome in God’s house. Ain’t no such thing as a bad time to be in it here.”
Walking back to his truck, Blu did his best to ignore Brother Thomas’ last words, especially how they mimicked his own but with a positive spin. He loosened his tie and thought about the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life and wondered if this was it.
About the Author
David Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. He is the author of both the Brack Pelton and the Blu Carraway Mystery Series. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s Island for five years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife call South Carolina home.
Books by David Burnsworth
The Blu Carraway Mystery Series
BLU HEAT (Prequel Novella)
IN IT FOR THE MONEY (#1)
BAD TIME TO BE IN IT (#2)
The Brack Pelton Mystery Series
SOUTHERN HEAT (#1)
BURNING HEAT (#2)
BIG CITY HEAT (#3)
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