Leah drove around in her eight-year-old Nissan for half an hour before deciding to go to the one place she wanted to be. She took a deep breath and turned onto Sycamore Street. When she reached the fourth house, she opened her purse and pulled out the garage door opener she rarely used. She pressed the button and the door went up. The late model white Benz parked there confirmed that he was home. She breathed deeply and pulled her car in next to his. The door to the kitchen opened just as she pressed the button to lower the garage door, and she saw him standing there, a slight, balding man sporting thick professor glasses.
When the garage door was closed, she got out of her car and walked directly into his arms. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered, holding her close. “I’ve missed you a lot.”
She lifted her face for his kiss and then lost herself in it.
When it ended, he smiled down at her and said, “I guess you missed me, too.”
He’d worked his magic and made her laugh. How had she been so lucky to find him? “It’s only been a couple of days.”
“Seems like weeks to me,” he said, leading her into the house. “I was about to fix lunch. Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. Before she could explain, tears filled her eyes and she began to cry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling her close. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She held him tightly, reveling in the comfort he provided. He was so good to her. She didn’t deserve him, not really, but neither could she give him up.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said, leading her to the upholstered couch in his living room. He sat down on the couch, pulled her down with him, and continued to hold her close. “It’s going to be all right.”
Her tears and soft weeping continued until she emptied herself of them.
He tipped her chin up. “Feel better?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry for crying all over you.”
He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I’d rather you cry all over me than all over some other man.”
She chuckled. “No other man would put up with me.”
“Then I guess that makes me one blessed man. You know, I pray for you and thank God for you every day. You’re a blessing to me, Leah.”
The words were hard for Leah to hear. A chance meeting at a reception for a visiting lecturer at the community college had led to a relationship that fulfilled her in more ways than she could name. It still amazed her that Melvin Reeves was in her life when he could have any woman he wanted. She knew for a fact that several single women in his church were convinced that he’d one day be their husband. Maybe one of them would be his wife someday. But for now, he was hers. “You’re the blessing, Reverend.”
He tapped her nose with his finger. “That’s Reverend Doctor to you.”
She laughed again.
“I love to hear you laugh,” he said. “The sound fills my heart and makes me happy. I never thought I’d feel this way about a woman again, but you changed that for me.”
“You make me happy, too. That’s why I had to come over. I needed to hear your voice, feel your arms around me.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Tell me what had you so upset.”
“Abraham.”
“Has he taken a turn for the worse? I was there with Saralyn this morning when she got the news about the doctors inducing the coma.”
She shook her head. “Not really. It’s me. I feel so guilty, Melvin. My children are hurting and it’s all my fault.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” he told her. “You made some mistakes a long time ago. God has forgiven you, now you need to forgive yourself.”
“I was on my way to doing that until Abraham burst into our lives again. He’s turned everything upside down, brought back a lot of painful memories.”
“I thought you were glad he’d finally acknowledged your kids.”
She eased out of his arms and got up from the couch. She couldn’t have this discussion sitting down. “Of course I’m glad. It’s about time. But I’m also angry that it took him so long. My feelings are all over the place.” She tucked her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “Why does life have to be so complicated?”
“Because we have free will, which is a double-edged sword. We’re free to make good and bad decisions. In exchange, we have to suffer the consequences of those decisions.”
“Sometimes I think God is laughing at us.”
Melvin shook his head. “Never. He’s crying with you. He doesn’t like to see you suffer. That’s why He always makes sure your suffering is not in vain. You’ll benefit from it or someone else will.”
“I understand that, but why do my kids have to suffer the consequences of my actions? They’re innocent.”
Melvin got up and walked to her, pulling her into his arms again. “That’s why you have to trust Him. There’s one thing you can be sure of: As much as you love your kids, God loves them more. That knowledge should comfort you.”
“I know it should, and most times it does. But when I see them suffer and know that my decisions caused it, it’s hard. It’s real hard.”
“That’s why I’m here, so that you can lean on me during the difficult times. I’m God’s gift to you.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I know there are other women better for you than me, but I’m so happy that you’re in my life.”
“There is no other woman for me, Leah, and I want to shout it to the world. How many times do I have to tell you?”
She wished she could be as open with their relationship as he wanted her to be, but for now she was much more comfortable keeping it a secret. She hadn’t even told Deborah or Michael. “People would talk,” she told him.
He snorted. “People always talk. That’s a given. Talk doesn’t bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you.”
“You’re a preacher,” she said. “You need a woman who’s above reproach, as the Bible says.”
He chuckled. “You’re above reproach.”
She pulled out of his arms. “You know what I mean. You need a woman without a past, especially a past like mine. Melvin, I have two kids and have never been married.”
“So? That was then; this is now. You can’t live in the past. You can’t keep beating yourself up about it.”
This was a conversation they’d had many times. He was patient with her, but she wondered how long his patience would endure. “Once the women in your church find out you’re seeing me, they’re going to beat up on you.”
He pulled her close again. “I’m tough. I can take it.”
She met his eyes. “Can you take Saralyn Martin? She’ll enjoy running my name down to your congregation.”
“Let me handle Sister Martin.”
Saralyn and Abraham were big shots at Faith Community, where Melvin pastored, and they wielded a great deal of influence. If her relationship with Melvin became common knowledge, she had no doubt Saralyn would use it against him. She’d either try to ruin the relationship or try to get Melvin kicked out of his job. Maybe she’d try both. Looking at Melvin and the naive smile he wore, Leah decided to change the subject. “Now that I’m feeling better, I’m getting hungry. Still wanna fix me lunch?”
He met her eyes. “You’re going to have to stop hiding one day, Leah. You insult God when you reject His forgiveness. And you insult me when you think gossip will change my feelings for you. That’ll never happen.”
“I know,” she said, but she really didn’t know. “Now let’s go eat.”