by Lisa Prysock
In any case, they were each happy with their decision to relocate from Nashville to Atlanta where they had a broader fan base. Country music was something they had a small selection of to offer in their music portfolio. What little they had, about five or six songs, they’d produced to satisfy their Nashville audience. However, like other top Christian music artists such as Toby Mac and Hollyn, they’d diversified. It was their European style hip hop music and top forty pop hits that had pushed them to stardom and sizzling popularity; although that hadn’t necessarily been the goal, and was in great part to the expertise of their agent, Ziggy Jameson.
Ziggy was a genius, a real miracle worker! The Lord had brought him right to them. Eternity hadn’t even been looking for an agent. The goal had been—and remained—reaching people for Christ. If rising to new heights and unknown territory such as fame was a part of that, then so be it. Fame was working on their side, and they gave all the credit to Jesus for opening the doors and paving the way.
Soon, he was in his truck, speeding along the highway. He’d tried to call Briar on his cell again, but still no answer. He’d have to drive over to the apartment she shared with two of his other sisters if this kept up. He hadn’t been able to reach his sisters either, but he knew they were all busy. He’d give Briar another day or two to respond since he knew she worked a lot of hours, often struggling to find time for her college studies. It wasn’t unusual for her to take a few days to return his calls and texts.
As he neared the exit to Patricia Johnston’s apartment, his thoughts turned to thinking of her again. She’d been on his mind all weekend. Something about her drew his attention, and had been long before this antique watch and necklace fiasco. Ms. Pepper Barrington’s administrative assistant was certainly beautiful. She had curves in all the right places, inquisitive big brown eyes, beautiful brown hair with red highlights, a perfect nose, creamy olive skin, and those long eyelashes. Not to mention, full lips he’d thought about kissing at least three times when she’d been bandaging and tending the scratch from Norman.
He’d heard her playing the piano in Miss Pepper’s music room a time or two, also. Not just any music, but classical music such as pieces by Bach and Beethoven. He’d overheard someone compliment her ability to play so beautifully without sheet music. She’d replied that she played most songs by ear. Had it been “Für Elise” she’d been playing so skillfully?
On top of that, Miss Johnston, Trisha, seemed to have a heart of gold. She was a Christian from what he could tell. He’d noticed her Bible lying open on the coffee table in the living room at her apartment, with a notebook filled with Bible study notes.
She didn’t seem like the type who’d run off to med school for a career that would place him on the bottom of the list, like his ex-girlfriend LeeAnne had done, or the kind of thing Misty had done. That, he didn’t even want to remember! No, Trisha intrigued him. She was exactly the kind of girl he’d like to get to know much better. He hadn’t seriously thought she’d taken his antique watch, especially after the necklaces had come up missing. Had he just missed his exit thinking about her?
Chapter 4
And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. 2 Thessalonians 3:13, NIV
THE FIRST THING BRADLEY Fielding noticed upon arriving at Patricia Johnston’s apartment home was the moving truck parked there. It was parked partially on the lawn, but the driveway was so narrow, it couldn’t be helped. She’d done a fine job of picking up the truck. At least he wouldn’t have to fight rush-hour traffic to pick that up. Bravo Trisha!
The second thing he noticed was her inability to buzz him inside. Standing on the front porch peering into the glass door, he had a view of Trisha lying on the staircase leading to her upstairs apartment, trapped beneath what appeared to be a queen size mattress. Norman sat on the steps beside her, licking his paws, looking up once or twice to blink a pair of green eyes at him.
Assessing the situation, he decided to buzz apartment number one, even as Trisha became aware of his presence. Hopefully whoever lived on the first floor, someone named Mrs. Edna Ripple the sign beside her buzzer read, would be at home to answer the door.
Sure enough, after he’d buzzed Mrs. Edna Ripple a time or two, he heard Trisha call out to him through the glass door. “Buzz Mrs. Ripple, apartment one! I’m stuck and my ankle is sprained!” He was ahead of Trisha, but at least they were thinking the same thing, and at least they could hear each other through the glass door.
“Okay, hang on! I’ve got you!” He called back to reassure her. He wondered how long Trisha had been there under that apparently heavy mattress. When the neighbor didn’t answer after he’d buzzed her at least four times, Trisha called out again. “She’s hard of hearing! Buzz her ten times!”
He held the buzzer in longer. Finally, they heard shuffling, and then, “Hello, may I help you?” The elderly voice answered.
“Hi Mrs. Ripple. I’m a friend of Miss Johnston, here to help her move, but she fell on the steps and needs you to open the door so I can help her.” He muddled through the explanation, thinking it’d be a miracle if the elderly lady had heard any of it.
“Pardon me? Can you speak up?” the voice responded.
“Miss Johnston has fallen on the steps and needs you to help her!” he repeated, raising his voice. A neighbor on the left walking to his front door paused to look in his direction and then went inside his house.
Mrs. Ripple’s voice sounded over the intercom again. “Wisconsin? No, I’m sorry. I don’t know anyone from Wisconsin.”
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. This was going to take a little more finesse than he’d first thought. “Not Wisconsin, Miss Johnston! She took a fall on your steps! She has a bad sprain on her ankle.”
The longest twenty seconds ever went by as Mrs. Ripple processed his response. Then her voice sounded again. “Oh, Miss Johnston you say? Yes, I know Miss Johnston. She lives upstairs in apartment two. You’ve got the wrong buzzer. Try apartment two.”
“She’s not in apartment two! She’s on the stairs!” he replied, feeling more and more uncomfortable about yelling in broad daylight on the front porch.
“Look here, Mister, I don’t know if she’s at the zoo with the bears!” Edna Ripple sounded irritated at this point. She added, “Whatever you’re selling, I don’t want any! Please go away and stop ringing my buzzer.”
“Miss Johnston missed a step and has a bad sprain, outside your door, ma’am!” he repeated.
“She missed the train, did you say? I’m not aware of any train. I really do wish you’d go away Mister, before I call the police.” Mrs. Ripple sounded more exasperated than ever.
“No, she fell on the steps outside your door!” He glanced at Trisha as she winced from the pain of the mattress. He could see where it had trapped her ankle as he hollered into the intercom. She was keeping her spirits up however, listening to the exchange and giggling. At least she didn’t appear to have anything broken, but he couldn’t be sure. She was laughing, so that was a good sign. Norman was still licking his paws.
Another long twenty second pause. “Oh, she fell on the steps outside my door.” Mrs. Ripple sounded alarmed, but not angry this time. A moment later, they heard more shuffling, and then her door finally opened. She poked her head out around the corner, looking at Trisha, then at him.
He could hear Trisha speaking to her neighbor lady, and he sighed with relief as she explained the situation. “Hi Mrs. Ripple. I’m trapped under this heavy mattress with a sprained ankle. I must’ve missed a step coming down. Can you please let my friend in so he can help me?”
“Oh dear! Yes, of course!” The neighbor lady looked from Trisha to the mattress, to where he stood at the front door holding his cowboy hat in his hands, and then back at Trisha. “Do you need me to call an ambulance or something?”
“No, I don’t think it’s that bad, just if you’d let my friend in who came to help me move,” Trisha requested.
“Oh yes, I certa
inly will. I didn’t realize the moving truck outside belonged to you. I’ll miss having you as a neighbor.” Mrs. Ripple finally opened the door, allowing Bradley to come inside.
“Thank you, ma’am! We’re so sorry to bother you, but thank you for opening the door.” He turned to Miss Johnston, stepping closer to the mattress. “Are you all right, Trisha?”
“I had a little tumble coming down the steps and managed to lose the battle with this mattress, but I’m perfectly fine other than a bad sprain, maybe a few bumps and bruises, and being rather trapped at the moment.” Another giggle escaped her mouth. “My dignity is more wounded than I am, and I’ll probably have to hobble around a bit, but we’ll manage.”
“All right, I’m going to lift it up, and then you roll out to your right side, my left, on the count of three. I’ll set the mattress down on your left if it’s as heavy as I think it is. I could drag it right out the door, but it has plastic molding around the edges which would scrape you up if I happen to bump you,” he instructed, thinking he would have to lift it straight up and hold it for a few seconds.
“Okay, I’m ready, on three,” Trisha replied as Mrs. Ripple stepped back inside her door to observe, while giving him more space.
“I hope she doesn’t have any broken bones,” Mrs. Ripple commented.
“Here we go,” Brad said. “One, two, three!”
Patricia rolled out to her right as he picked it straight up by the handles. “That is a very heavy mattress. One of the new ones, I see.”
Trisha sat up, nodding, a little dazed, but appearing relieved. She had a joyous smile on her face, along with a little wincing here and there. “Yes, it is a new mattress. I must’ve lost my footing coming down the stairs. I never should’ve attempted it without you.”
“Looks like the pizza man is here,” Mrs. Ripple informed them, opening the front door again as the pizza man stood aside to allow Brad to remove the mattress.
“I’ll get this to the truck, and if you can walk, maybe you can get the pizza,” Brad remarked.
Trisha stood up and took a few steps down the staircase. “Yep, I can walk. It’s just sore. I already paid for the pizza with my card when I phoned in the order, so...”
“Thank you, ma’am. Here you are, one pepperoni pizza with extra cheese.” The pizza delivery man waited patiently as Brad picked up the mattress by the two straps as if it weighed nothing, carrying it out the door Mrs. Ripple held open.
“Thank you so much.” Trisha said, accepting the pizza while Brad leaned the mattress against the truck. “I’ve got the key to open the back of the truck here in my pocket.”
The pizza dude took one look at the moving truck and Brad with the mattress before leaving. “I hate moving! I hope it goes well for you guys.”
Brad chuckled. Mrs. Ripple slipped back into her apartment as Trisha replied, “Thanks. We do too!”
He hurried away to his car, presumably to go on to his next delivery, while Brad returned to her side to get the key. He unlocked the truck, and then hoisted the mattress inside as she tested out her ankle some more on the front porch.
“I think I’m going to be fine, but it’s a little sore.” She grasped the bannister on the front porch and held steady.
He reached her side, holding out his arm for her to lean on as they went inside, using her keys to unlock the door. “Tell you what; I happen to be pretty good at wrapping ace bandages if you have one. And we’re going to need to prop this door open so we don’t get locked out.”
“I agree, and you are? Good at wrapping ace bandages, I mean?” Trisha winced as they climbed the first few steps.
He took it slow, knowing she was suffering with every step. “I had four sisters who took gymnastics, ballet, tap dancing, volleyball, softball, track, cheerleading, marching band, you name it.”
“Four sisters? Wow, that’s a big family!” she breathed.
“Yep, and one brother. I’m the oldest. Then Brooklyn, my brother Brent, then Brandy, Briar, and Bridget.”
“All ‘B’ names. I like that.” She smiled up at him, clinging tightly to his outstretched arm.
Before too long, they were settled upstairs sharing the pizza and root beer while Norman kept a safe distance. After dinner, she sat on the sofa, propping both feet up. Brad sat at the far end and wrapped her ankle. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
“I’VE GOT AN IDEA.” Brad finished wrapping her ankle. He glanced at his watch. “It’s only six o’clock. Still pretty early. I’m glad you put the ice pack on while we were having pizza. Looks like it helped alleviate some swelling.”
She nodded. His touch had been tender, and the added support felt much better at once.
“What’s your idea?” Trisha sat up straight, setting both feet on the floor, ready to attempt standing and walking again. It was going to be slow going, and she wasn’t sure how much help she’d be with moving anything.
She stood up, wincing, and sat back down. He was already dialing a number on his cell, talking to her as the phone rang on the other end. “I have some friends who can help. You’re not going to be moving very fast on that ankle for a couple of days.”
Before she could protest, and knowing he was right, he’d placed a number of calls and had a moving crew on the way. She thought about putting up an argument, but the black and blue marks around her ankle combined with the pain told her she ought to cooperate with his plan.
When he’d finished his calls, she was a little surprised when he told her who was coming to help her move. She was about to meet both of his band members, and three of his four sisters. Brooklyn and Brent lived in Nashville near his parents, but the other three siblings shared an apartment in Atlanta. Much to their relief, he’d finally spoken to Briar, who hadn’t known anything about the missing necklaces. Brad and his sister agreed to talk about that detail later.
Within the hour, Brad introduced her to five people who wouldn’t let her lift a finger, except to direct. They laughed, heckled each other, and had fun, loading the truck in record time. His sisters were a lot of fun, all with brown hair and blue eyes like their brother. His band members, Jack and the one they introduced as Prince Harry, were also hilarious. Especially Jack, who called Bradley by the name of Blake for some reason.
True to his word, Brad Fielding drove the truck to the Edgewater Coventry B & B, with Trisha situated in the passenger seat holding Norman in her lap, the crew following in various vehicles. They guys had the truck almost completely unloaded into the guest house in about an hour, while the girls helped her begin unpacking.
“I’ll put away your dishes,” Briar offered, carrying a box to the counters in the kitchen. She peeled off some tape on the outside of the box, opened it, and then unwrapped a plate, holding it up. “Ooo, pretty! I love your dishes.”
“Thanks.” Patricia smiled, amazed at the amount of help she had as the guys brought more boxes inside the guest house. “I really appreciate all of you dropping everything to help me. I know everyone is busy.”
“We are, but never too busy to help each other. Besides, what else is there to do on a boring Monday night except watch television or do homework?” Briar pulled more dishes out of the box as the men filed past them to retrieve more items from the truck.
“I’ll put the clothes in your closet and dresser drawers since the boys finished unloading your bedroom furniture, except for the bed.” Brandy smiled at her, adding as she turned to go down the hall toward the rear-facing bedroom, “I love that you chose the bedroom facing the wooded area and the pond, by the way. If you find the curtains, I’ll hang them up for you when I’m finished putting your wardrobe in order.”
“Wow, thanks! I think the curtains are in the box Jack just brought in. I’ll get them ready.” As she opened the box, Trisha wondered what it would be like to have a big family, hoping with all her heart that God would answer her prayers and give her five children someday.
“I think I found the drawer that should be your silverware draw
er,” Briar said as Trisha pulled the curtains from the box for her bedroom.
“That’s wonderful. I trust your decisions, but if you could just make sure the coffee pot is close to the sink, and below the cupboard with the mugs and tea cups, I’m sure I’ll like it.”
“Got you covered, girlfriend,” Briar responded cheerfully, opening every cupboard in the kitchen and laying the new mats inside each one. “I’m doing it the way my mom would, just so you know. Plus, I’m a waitress at present, and clean dishes on clean shelving inside clean cupboards are top priority.” Trisha had also learned Briar was in her final year of college, studying to become an elementary teacher.
Bridget, the baby of the family, enrolled in dental school to become a dental assistant, emerged from the bathroom. “All of your medicines are put away and the shower curtain is up. I found homes for your soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrush. It’s all ready to go except for towels. I haven’t found those yet. Do you like the way I’ve arranged the living room? I did everything except the sofa and your pictures.”
“I love it,” Trisha answered, dazzled by how beautiful and spacious the guest house was compared to her tiny apartment. “You even hung my drapes. I won’t have much unpacking to do. A few pictures to hang and I’ll be all settled in, if the boys find the sofa and the bed.”
Trisha took the bedroom curtains to Brandy while Bridget looked around for a box of towels to fill the linen closet. Shortly after, all three of the men brought in the sofa, placing it where Bridget instructed.
Trisha hobbled into the bedroom with the curtains, handing them to Brandy. “I see you and Norman have made a lot of progress with the closet. You have everything in it except for my shoes and purses.”
“Yep, we sure have. Those wardrobe boxes make unpacking closets a breeze. Don’t they, Norman?” Brandy cuddled with her cat, rubbing her cheek against his whiskers. Norman purred in response to her affection. Trisha wasn’t surprised since she’d learned Brandy worked as a veterinarian’s assistant.
