Cup of Joe

by Teri Wilson

  “I’d love it if you came to Care Group this Thursday.”

  Goldie gasped. “Don’t tease me.”

  “I’m serious.” Peggy planted her hands on her hips. “But you’ve got to promise me two things. First, keep talking to God. Don’t shut Him out again.”

  “Yes ma’am. I promise.” Goldie held her hand to her heart. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. “What’s the second thing?”

  “You have to promise me you’ll bring your young man.” Peggy winked, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of her lips. “Bring Joe.”

  Goldie felt the familiar flush return to her cheeks. “I’ll see if that can be arranged.”

  Cup of Joe

  Inspirational romance, Christian romance, Christian fiction, romance novel, christian romance novel, teri wilson, white rose publishing

  Cup of Joe

  Chapter Fourteen

  Joe’s fingers moved over the strings of his guitar, plucking and strumming songs of worship to his God. Unlike last Sunday, when he’d found himself distracted by the anticipated arrival of Cinnamon, he gave himself to the music with his whole heart. Nothing could tear his attention from worship this morning. He felt almost as if he were pouring himself out onto the sand, throwing himself at the feet of the Lord. All for her. For Goldie.

  If he couldn’t be with her, holding her hand, cradling her head on his shoulder, he would make every moment away from her count. And what better place to plead for God’s grace for Goldie than here at church?

  As the worship team began the opening phrases of the final hymn, Joe closed his eyes. His fingertips danced across the guitar strings by memory, perfectly in synch with the rise and fall of the melody. He didn’t miss a single note. The song of praise flowed through him so smoothly that it was a jolt to his system when it ended.

  Once he’d lifted the guitar strap from his shoulder and placed the instrument in its case, he sat in serene silence as Pastor Paul delivered the message. Joe recognized the familiar Bible passages, but he immersed himself in each one as if he’d never heard them before. He repeated the phrases in his mind, turning the words into prayers. When the service ended, his head was still bowed, his hands clasped together in a loose knot in his lap. He could hear the people around him milling about, but he finished his prayer before he dragged his eyelids open.

  When he did, he found himself looking into a familiar face. It wasn’t the one he so longed to see, but it was an astonishing turn of events nonetheless.

  “Cinnamon?” He hoped his voice didn’t give away the shock that skittered through him at the sight of her. For whatever reason, coming here wasn’t easy for her. He didn’t want to do anything to make her feel uncomfortable.

  “Hi, Joe.” She gave him a sheepish smile and fiddled with her hands behind her back. The shy gesture was so out of character for her that he had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping open.

  “You came. That’s wonderful.” He rose from his seat and gave her a friendly pat on the back. “How did you like the service?”

  “It was pretty cool.” She nodded thoughtfully and Joe couldn’t help but notice something was different about her. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. The thought nagged at him while she gestured toward the ocean. “I like being out here on the beach for the singing and the sermon and…stuff. It’s really beautiful, you know? It kind of makes me want to believe.”

  “I know what you mean. It gets to me, too. I feel very close to God out here.” Joe squinted at the sunlight bouncing off the water. “Lots of people struggle with doubt, Cinnamon. But I’ll bet if you pray and ask God to help you believe, you’ll find it gets easier.”

  Cinnamon’s eyes widened, and she tilted her head. “Really? I can just tell Him I’m not sure if I believe He exists, and He won’t get all mad and swallow me up in an earthquake or anything?”

  Joe grinned. “No.”

  “You’re sure I won’t get struck by lightning?” She narrowed her gaze at him, her familiar spunk returning to her features.

  “No lightning.” Joe shook his head, resisting the urge to laugh. “The book of Mark tells the story of a man who asks Jesus to heal his son. Jesus tells the man, ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’”

  Cinnamon’s voice carried a note of hesitation. “Did the man believe?”

  “That’s the funny part. He immediately told Jesus, ‘I do believe.’ Then, right afterwards, he turned around and said, ‘Help me overcome my unbelief.’”

  Cinnamon breathed out a heavy sigh. “I don’t get it. Did he believe or not?”

  “I think he wanted to believe.” Joe paused. “Sometimes that’s half the battle.”

  Cinnamon was silent for a moment, and then asked thoughtfully, “What happened to the boy? The man’s son? Did Jesus heal him?”

  “Yes.” Joe nodded. “Yes, He did.”

  Cinnamon’s face broke into her familiar grin. Familiar, but not quite the same. “That’s a nice story.”

  Joe wished he could figure out what was different about her. He tried to put the nagging thought out of his mind. “I think so, too.”

  “I think I’ll come back next week.” She nodded, a look of determination crossing her features. It was a look Joe had seen before at the coffee shop, and he knew she meant business.

  “Great. Would you like me to introduce you to Pastor Paul?” Joe nodded toward the pastor mingling in the crowd. “I think you’ll like him.”

  “Um. OK.” Then, she jabbed her pointer finger at his chest. “Wait just a minute. We had a deal. Remember?”

  Of course, he remembered. How could he forget? He cleared his throat and spoke in the quietest whisper he could manage. “Yes. Now that you’ve come to church, I’m supposed to ask Goldie out on a date. But…”

  She cut him off mid-sentence. “No buts. We had a deal. You can’t back out now. And there’s no time like the present.”

  How was he going to explain to her that he couldn’t ask her out now, even if he wanted to? Goldie was in no condition for any kind of romantic overture. “Be realistic, Cinnamon. I’m not going to call her right this minute.”

  Cinnamon rolled her eyes. “Why would you call her when she’s standing right over there?”

  “What?” It was impossible. Yet, hope burned deep in his soul. “Goldie’s here?”

  “You didn’t know?” Cinnamon waved her hand toward the shoreline. “She’s right over there. See? She even brought that cute little dog you gave her.”

  Joe turned and nearly had to brace himself against Cinnamon’s shoulders to remain upright. It was Goldie.

  He was in no way prepared for the sight of her standing right at the water’s edge, the sunlight glimmering around her like a thousand tiny diamonds. Her hair whipped around her heart-shaped face in the ocean breeze, and from where he stood, he could just make out the sound of her laughter, tinkling like a bell. Bliss tumbled at her feet, spraying the bottoms of Goldie’s jeans with clumps of sand.

  Goldie is here. And she’s laughing. How is that possible?

  If Cinnamon hadn’t seen her too, Joe would have thought he was having some sort of hallucination. He’d never seen Goldie look so beautiful, so free. Watching her twirl with Bliss in the surf on her graceful ballerina legs, he felt as if he were in some sort of surreal dream.

  She turned and blew him a subtle kiss from the tips of fingers, and it nearly knocked the wind out of him. He heard his own sharp intake of breath, and it pulled him into action. Without tearing his gaze from Goldie, lest she vanish in a whirlwind back to his dreams, he tried to explain, “Cinnamon, I need to…”

  “Go.” She waved him off. “Go get her.”

  Joe smiled at her bluntness. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not. This was part of our deal, after all.” She winked. “I can introduce myself to the pastor. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I’m so glad you came.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer. “And not solely becaus
e of the reason you think.”

  “I know. And I’m glad I came, too. See you tomorrow, boss.”

  And, true to her word, she flitted through the thinning crowd toward Pastor Paul. Joe once again sensed something different about her, but couldn’t concentrate long enough to figure out what it was. He supposed he should feel at least a little guilty. He’d invited her, so he really should have stuck by her long enough to introduce her to a few people. But he was being pulled toward Goldie like a powerful magnet. It was as if they were the only two people in the world, and nothing else around him existed.

  He strode toward her, unable to look anywhere but straight into the clear crystal blue of her eyes. When he’d first spied her off in the distance, he’d wondered why she kept herself so far away. Now, whatever the reason, he was glad. They needed to be alone, so they could talk about what happened last night.

  But when he finally reached her, the words caught in his throat. Nothing but stone cold relief washed through him as he realized she was OK. The puzzled, distraught girl from the night before had disappeared, and his Goldie was back. Better yet, this was a new Goldie, one he’d never seen before. He scarcely believed it when this enchanting woman balanced on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

  Joe never made the conscious decision to kiss her. If he’d thought about it, he supposed it never would have happened. It hardly seemed appropriate considering the state she’d been in the last time he’d seen her. But with her lithe arms wrapped around his neck, Goldie pressed her lips close to his ear and whispered, “Thank you for last night. Thank you for staying.”

  Then her lips, softer than rose petals, brushed against his cheek in the sweetest of kisses.

  He couldn’t think. Not with her this close, nestled in his arms, as he’d desired for so long. He simply reacted. With her warm lips lingering so near the corner of his mouth, all he had to do was turn his head the slightest bit and catch them with his own. Their kiss began with her tiny gasp of surprise, but before Joe could stop and apologize, Goldie was kissing him back.

  As their lips moved together, Joe wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He lifted his other hand and cradled her face, ran his thumb along the underside of her jaw, wanting to make sure this was real. His Goldie was truly here, kissing him, with her fingertips playing at the back of his hair. She sighed—a perfectly sweet sigh of contentment—and he thought he’d never heard such a delightful sound. He kissed her one, two, three more times until the frenzied yapping finally broke through his consciousness.

  Bliss, plainly unhappy to relinquish her position as the center of attention, tugged on Joe’s shoelace and barked her displeasure.

  He and Goldie broke apart and, reluctant to completely let her go, he wove her fingers through his. “I think that took Bliss by surprise.” He gave Goldie’s hand a squeeze.

  Goldie’s gaze flitted to the spaniel. “She’s not the only one.” As she spoke, her cheeks glowed with a pink flush, which only accentuated the aquamarine of her sparkling eyes.

  He reached out to touch her face, and then pulled his hand back as foamy bubbles of seawater swirled around their feet. What was he doing? They were at the beach. Not fifty yards from his church. “Goldie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.”

  “Shh.” She pressed her fingertip against his lips, and he resisted the urge to plant a kiss on it. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”

  “You’re not?”

  “No.” She shook her head, causing a riot of blonde waves to cascade over her shoulders. “Surprised, not sorry.”

  Joe wished they could stay just like that forever. Hand in hand, basking in the warm afterglow of their first kiss. He hated to risk breaking their fragile connection, but he had to. The memory of her pale face, twisted in despair at dog training class, haunted him. He despised himself for making her talk about it, but he needed to know. “Goldie, what happened last night? Please tell me.”

  ef

  Still reeling from the impact of Joe’s kiss, Goldie blinked up at him. She found it beyond difficult to gather her thoughts when all she could seem to look at were those long, dark lashes of his. How in the world had she failed to notice them before? She knew she’d been depressed. But, good grief. She hadn’t been temporarily blind, had she?

  Focus, Goldie. Focus.

  When she had at least partially recovered from her woozy, post-kiss fog, she was able to look beyond those incredible eyelashes and see the worry radiating in his gaze. Troubled lines creased his forehead. She struggled to find the right words. “Oh, Joe. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to worry you so.”

  He pulled her closer to him with his hand still interwoven with hers. “Don’t fret about me. I just need to make sure you’re OK.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” She couldn’t stop the flush from returning to her cheeks. “More than fine, actually. I didn’t mean to frighten you yesterday. Everything happened so fast.”

  Joe squeezed her hand and nodded, urging her to continue.

  Goldie glanced toward the area of the beach where the church service was held. “It had been a while since I talked to God about everything that happened with my grandfather. To be perfectly honest, I’ve pretty much been avoiding Him since before Grandpa even died. I was holding it all in, afraid to talk to Him about it. And something about the way Harold looked yesterday…”

  Her voice trailed off, but still Joe remained silent, ever patient as always. How could she possibly put everything into words? This was much harder to explain than she had thought, but she wanted him to understand. She owed him that much, after all he had done for her.

  “I imagined his pinky finger bent like Grandpa’s.” She ignored the painful wince cross Joe’s features. “And then when he said capeesh.”

  She shrugged and shook her head from side to side. Before she could say another word, Joe scooped her back into his arms again and kissed her on top of her head. This kiss was different than the last one—gentle and protective—but it still left Goldie struggling to catch her breath.

  “I saw it. As soon as the word left Harold’s mouth, it was like the life drained right out of you. It was an arrow to my heart.” Joe’s voice cracked with emotion.

  A sense of urgency overcame Goldie. As safe and warm as she felt in Joe’s embrace, she pulled back so he could see her face. She wanted him to see her clearly, so he would know everything was fine now. “But then, I went home and finally had it out with God. The dam broke, and I let Him know exactly how I felt about everything. It was a tremendous release. And when it was all over, I felt free. Full of God’s grace and free.”

  Joe watched her for a moment, his gaze never leaving her face, even when Bliss started digging a hole right at his feet.

  Great. He thinks I’m going to lose it again.

  “If you’re waiting for me to have another breakdown, you’re going to be here a while. It’s not going to happen.”

  “Is that so?” His voice was serious, but the corner of his mouth hitched into a half-grin.

  “Absolutely.” Goldie nodded, and snuggled further into his arms.

  “And how can you be so sure?” The question was a half-whisper. That’s all that was necessary since her head was nestled securely underneath his chin.

  “Because I’m not going to try to go it alone again. From here on out, I’m spilling my guts to God on a daily basis. More often, if that’s what it takes.” Joe’s body shook with a wave of silent laughter. “Honestly, I’m great.”

  He inhaled a ragged breath. “I’m not going to argue with you. You certainly look great.”

  Goldie’s heart quickened its pace and she squirmed a little in his arms, self-conscious at the effect he had on her.

  “Where do you think you’re going, Bashful?” He squeezed her into a tight hug. “You said I could stay here for a while and wait for you to break down. Neither of us is going anywhere.”

  “Bashful?” Goldie suppressed a giggle. “I’m already n
amed after a fairytale character. Now you’re giving me the nickname of one as well?”

  She tried to make light of the situation, but her ever-increasing heartbeat brought with it a flood of embarrassment. She ducked her head so he couldn’t see her blush.

  Joe lifted her chin in the most gentle of motions and forced her to look him squarely in his coffee-colored eyes. “I’ve waited an awfully long time for you to notice me, Goldie. Forgive me if I want to enjoy the moment.”

  In that instant, Goldie knew with the utmost certainty everything Peggy had told her that morning was true. All of it. A flood of emotions hit her so hard she would have collapsed if Joe hadn’t been holding her up. She tried to speak, but it came out barely more audible than a breath. “Forgiven.”