No Easy Catch (Carmen Sisters)

by Pat Simmons

  I will finish the work I’ve begun in you, God said, reminding him of Philippians 1:6, which one of the ministers at the church had quoted to him after his baptism.

  The heightened spiritual connection he had with Jesus was definitely an adrenaline booster. How could he go wrong with God directing every segment of his life?

  Shae leaned playfully on his arm as they stepped off the elevator. The host seemed to be waiting for them and promptly showed them to a table.

  As he helped Shae remove her coat, Rahn inhaled the scent of her hair; then he pulled out a chair for her. The other patrons sprinkled throughout the restaurant didn’t give them a second’s glance, but he didn’t mind.

  “This place is beautiful.” The elegance of the décor seemed to captivate Shae. He had to agree with her. “I can see why so many A-listers like Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis Jr. dined here.” She sighed, then lifted the menu off of her plate but didn’t look at it. Her thoughts seemed elsewhere as she situated her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. “I’ve jogged by this place so many times, but I didn’t know its history until a month or so ago. A hip-hop artist and his entourage were staying here, and our TV crew couldn’t get past the lobby. Talk about ultimate security to guard privacy. I’ve got to hand it to them.”

  She opened her menu, then glanced up. “What are you smiling about?”

  Their server was about to approach their table, but Rahn motioned for him to give them a minute. “You. Watching you think, talk, and make the little gestures that are unique to you.”

  Lifting a brow that wasn’t hidden under her hat, Shae curled her lips. “Well, this is what I’m thinking: Since I’m less than two minutes from home, I can get my car and drive myself to the station.”

  Leaning across his place setting, Rahn met her challenge. “Unless you feel threatened, I want the privilege of chauffeuring you. Besides Jesus turning my life upside down, you’re the highlight of my day.” He pulled his cell phone from his waist holder without taking his eyes off her, then checked the time. They had about three hours. “I can’t think of anyone else I would like to share the experience of my new birth with than you. Plus, you know I’m already attracted to you. I hope the feeling is mutual.”

  The slight nod she gave would have to work. He didn’t need a verbal confirmation of her feelings just yet.

  “Then let’s eat. All this intensity is making me hungry.”

  Rahn summoned their server once they were ready. Shae ordered the brunch special—turkey sausage patties and a pecan waffle—and a small glass of apple juice.

  Their server was a middle-aged man who appeared to be of Mediterranean descent. His eyes lingered on Shae a little too long for Rahn’s liking, and he cleared his throat to get the man’s attention. “I’ll take a large omelet with a side order of hash browns and a glass of cranberry juice.”

  “Yes, sir.” He spoke as if giving Rahn a military salute. “And I’ll get you a complimentary fruit platter while you wait.” With that, the man was off to do their bidding.

  More patrons entered the restaurant, but Rahn didn’t let the crowd distract him from Shae. They chatted about the church service, her journey to salvation, and his satisfaction with his new life in Christ.

  Then Shae changed the subject. “Were you always good at baseball, or did you just want to follow in your father’s footsteps?” Her manner of asking questions made him feel almost as if he were fielding inquiries at a press conference.

  “If only I could become the man my father was. My dad’s skill came natural. I had to work hard at it.”

  By the time their meals arrived, the subject had changed a couple of times. Rahn reached for Shae’s hand, ready to offer grace. “Jesus, I can’t thank You enough for showing me the way. Lord, I didn’t see any good coming out of what happened to me, but now I see—”

  “Lord, bless our food while it’s hot, in Jesus’ name, amen,” Shae interjected.

  “Sorry,” Rahn said, a bit embarrassed that he’d gotten carried away. “When I think about Jesus, I’m still in awe. Prayer seems more a conversation with God than reciting repetitious phrases I can recall without thinking.”

  “Don’t ever apologize about your relationship with Jesus. I don’t.” Shae made an art of pouring syrup on her waffle.

  He stared as she began to devour her meal with the same finesse as she had the cake they’d shared. “So, what are some of your hobbies?” He took a sip of his juice.

  “Singing with my sisters, reading…I used to sew, but I stopped that after—” She paused.

  What was she thinking? Before he could press her, Shae seemed to recover.

  “Like any other woman, I like to shop.” She beamed.

  Their brunch was unhurried as they lingered at their table until Rahn checked his phone. It was almost time for him to drop Shae off at the station. He immediately felt the loss of her presence as he paid their tab, then escorted her back down the elevator and to his car.

  Twenty minutes later, Rahn pulled up to the curb outside the KMMD-TV studio. “Here you go, Miss Carmen.” He parked and helped her out. “I look forward to seeing you again in eight hours.”

  With a hint of bashfulness, Shae thanked him, gathered her things, and used her security card to open the door. Rahn sat there until she disappeared from view, and then he drove away, nodding to himself. His persistence had paid off. Rahn somehow believed that Shae Carmen was supposed to be in his life.

  Not ready to return home, he called Marcus. “She could be the one,” he told his friend as soon as he answered.

  “I guess I don’t have to ask who.”

  “No, you don’t.” Rahn couldn’t help but smile. “I connected with her and with God today at church.”

  “You’ve been with Shae and went to church?” Marcus whistled. “I don’t know which I want to hear about first. Why don’t you stop by?”

  “I’m on my way.” To reach the Evanses’ estate, Rahn had to take the same route he’d followed the night of the incident. When he passed the exit, amazingly, he no longer shuddered. In place of the trepidation he’d felt before, he rejoiced at what God had done for him.

  In no time, Rahn arrived at the Evanses and parked in their driveway. Because of the security sensors around the property, the family was alerted to his arrival, as usual. Marcus Jr., aka MJ, and little Lannie—short for Yolanda—were standing in the doorway with their parents, waiting for Rahn as he approached from the front walkway. The children jumped in place, excited to receive company.

  Rahn scooped them up, one in each arm. They squealed in delight as he hugged them. After setting them back on their feet, Rahn patted Marcus on the back and kissed Yvette’s cheek.

  They ushered him into the dining room, where a place setting had been added for him. Although he was still stuffed from brunch, he wasn’t a fool to pass up a home-cooked meal, especially since Yvette was an excellent cook. He wondered if Shae possessed the same skill.

  As was his custom, Marcus blessed the food. For the first time, Rahn really listened to his prayer. Then, as they ate, Rahn described his “Nicodemus moment,” as some of the prayer warriors had referred to his baptism in water and then with Holy Ghost fire.

  “Congratulations, man, on taking that step for complete salvation,” Marcus said. “Finally! It took a woman to do the job that I couldn’t do for years.”

  Yvette gave her husband a playful shove.

  “What?” Marcus actually had the nerve to look confused.

  “Be nice, Mr. Evans,” she warned him.

  Rahn grinned in amusement. He was accustomed to Yvette keeping Marcus in check. The pair was like family to him—Marcus, the brother he never had, and Yvette, his cheerleader/little sister.

  Rahn slid a forkful of black-eyed peas into his mouth. “I considered myself as fearless as the next man until that incident. It didn’t really click with me that missing heaven was an option. I either accepted God’s way or no way. The thought scared me out of my seat a
nd down that aisle. And I didn’t look back.”

  “You were scared, Uncle Rahn?” MJ asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

  Rahn looked to Marcus and Yvette to help him, but they both gave him a blank stare.

  “Uh…” He wracked his brain for a response. How would he explain this if he were talking with his five-year-old nephews? Lord, please help my mind on this, Rahn silently prayed. “When you get in trouble at home, are you scared?”

  MJ nodded.

  “But since Mommy and Daddy love you, you know that after your punishment, they’ll always love you. That’s the way I felt with Jesus.”

  “Oh.” The boy’s chubby little face brightened. “Jesus loves little children, but I guess He loves big people, too,” he said matter-of-factly, then resumed playing with the vegetables on his plate.

  “Good answer, Son,” Marcus said proudly.

  Yvette’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “So, what’s Shae like? She’s really pretty on TV. Is she nice?”

  “Shae makes my heart beat when I’m with her. She’s more beautiful than a person could imagine. But she was hurt by the fool from her last relationship, so she was a little hesitant about me.”

  Frowning, Yvette began to toy with her napkin. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but please don’t tell me your repentance was for show, to impress her.”

  “That was a low blow.” Rahn schooled his expression to conceal his disbelief. “I’ve never played church—as a kid or an adult. You, of all people, should know that.” Lord, if I’m going to show anybody I’ve changed, I see I’m going to have to start with You and work my way down.

  “I’m sorry. It’s a woman thing. I just needed to know. I’m pulling for you, but I’ll get an attitude if you hurt her.” Yvette lifted her chin with a look of authority he had seen her use only with Marcus.

  Rahn shrugged. “I have nothing to hide. I’ve been more honest with Shae than I’ve been with any other woman.”

  When Marcus switched the conversation to the upcoming baseball season, Yvette excused herself, but not before patting Rahn on the back. “You’re still my favorite slugger.” She grinned.

  “Hey, what about me?” Marcus feigned insult.

  “Hmm. I guess you’re all right,” she teased, then ran out of the room to escape her husband’s clutches.

  His friend didn’t take his gaze off Yvette until she was out of sight. Pure love shone in Marcus’s eyes. Rahn wanted to experience that type of feeling.

  Turning back to Rahn, Marcus snickered. “Wipe that grin off your face. We’re legal. I can lust after my wife all day if I want.”

  “I haven’t said a thing.” Rahn did his best to keep a straight face, even though he wanted to laugh.

  “Right. So, are we sharing the villa with Cisco again this year?”

  “We always do.”

  Marcus and the other pitchers, as well as the catchers, had to report to spring training in Florida a few weeks earlier than Rahn and the rest of the team.

  After a while, thoughts of Shae sidetracked Rahn, so he prepared to leave.

  “Yvette and I are pulling for you,” Marcus said as he walked him to the door.

  Rahn shook his hand. “Thanks, man.”

  In his car, he called Shae. “Have you eaten?”

  She chuckled. “You fed me earlier, Mr. Maxwell, remember?”

  “And that was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, Miss Carmen. I’ll have dinner delivered to you soon, then I’ll see you after your newscast.”

  “I was just thinking about that. I can catch a ride home. You live a good half hour away.”

  “I’m offering to pamper you. When I report to spring training, I’ll miss you like crazy, so let me do these small things for you while I’m still in town—please.”

  She was quiet for a moment. “I’m still trying to figure out how we went from a friendly chat over cake just yesterday to…I don’t even know how to define what’s happened between us in two days. I’m not trying to push you away, but can we slow this down? Please?”

  Her request was soft and simple, but he had to read between the lines. It was a request that he had to respect. “We can, but if you’re hungry, I’m going to feed you. I know that’s somewhere in the Bible, so that’s not up for debate. I’ve got this, Miss Carmen. Something tells me too much is at stake between us for me to strike out.”

  “Is this what I have to look forward to—baseball puns?”

  “I’ll try to keep them to a minimum, but I’m serious about showing you that I’m the one God sent for you.”

  12

  With her phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear, Shae padded out of her bedroom, yawning, on her way to the kitchen. Spying the printed cushion on the window seat beneath the bay window in her living room brought back memories of the previous night, when, from her fourteenth-floor condo, she’d watched Rahn’s car drive away.

  He had picked her up from the station with a smile and a rose. “You look beautiful,” he had complimented her.

  And, despite her fatigue from a long day of church and work, Shae had somewhat believed him. When he’d delivered her to the door of the condos, he’d kissed the rose petals instead of her lips. Glancing up at the moonlight, Shae had wondered if she should give Rahn the green light to pursue a relationship with her.

  “Jesus practically hands you Rahn Maxwell, gift-wrapped, with looks, money, and now salvation,” Brecee said on the other end.

  Shae now regretted having given Brecee the details when she’d called thirty minutes ago, waking her up. She prepared a cup of java, then headed to the window seat, where she could recall the fantasy of feeling like a princess. She took a sip of coffee and sighed. “The attraction is so consuming. Don’t you think it’s happening too soon?”

  “Why are you trying to sabotage this?” Brecee asked, rather than answering her question. “Instead of eating that chicken Marsala dinner Rahn had delivered to you at the station last night, you should’ve been eating your words with every bite. God does have someone special for you.”

  Only her sisters could get away with throwing her words back in her face. Since Shae’s personal life was considered family business, she put up with her sister’s ranting. “I just don’t want to get carried away. I can only hope he was sincere about his salvation. I think Bishop Archie scared him to death.”

  “Probably.” Brecee yawned. Her sister was adjusting to those twelve- and twenty-four hour rotations at the hospital. “The few times I visited your church when I was there, I got the message loud and clear that your pastor focuses on getting people ready for Jesus’ return and pursuing soul prosperity over financial wealth. Philippians two, verse twelve, does say, ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.’ Chalk it up to God’s Word causing Rahn to tremble in his soul.”

  Stretching out her legs, Shae stared at her dark toenail polish, then shrugged. “It’s hard for me not to be suspicious of a man’s motives.”

  “As you should be. But it doesn’t matter if Rahn had a cool stride to the altar or raced to the finish line, or whether he was willing or scared stiff; he came to Jesus, and that’s all that matters. Case closed.”

  Brecee definitely should have been the attorney in the family. Gnawing on her lip, Shae was about to argue a point when God whispered Romans 9:15 in her ear: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

  Who could argue with God? Chastened, Shae banished any further doubts. “Amen, Lord.”

  “I’ll second that.” Brecee took a deep breath. “Now, with that out of the way, you should know that the fam has Googled everything we could find out about Rahn Maxwell.”

  “Of course. You all wouldn’t be the Carmens if you didn’t snoop. I did the same thing yesterday at work,” she confessed. “I checked out his impressive sports résumé and his dad’s. There was no hint of any type of scandal involving estranged wives or stalker ex-girlfriends.” Shae rub
bed her scalp. She couldn’t wait for her hairstylist to take out her weave at her appointment in a few days’ time.

  “Then stop looking for kinks in Rahn’s armor because of a certain scumbag in Nebraska.”

  Shae couldn’t help but laugh. Alex Peterson was really becoming a fading memory. Rahn Maxwell had a way of bringing closure to a bad situation.

  13

  There was something about letting go and letting God that was blissful. Shae had finally let her guard down, and Rahn had wooed her. They had explored St. Louis together and had even returned to The Chase Park Plaza and dined in the three other restaurants there, just for the adventure.

  Shae found herself laughing more when she was around him, feeling secure and content, and finding him to be a prayer partner, which she cherished most of all.

  On one shopping expedition, Shae refused his offer to buy her something she saw in a store window. Generosity was another one of his endearing qualities, not only with his money, but with his time when fans approached him.

  As they sat in a café, enjoying a respite from browsing the stores, they somehow found themselves in a game of trying to read each other’s thoughts. Shae smiled as she sipped her latte, her eyes on Rahn’s as he enjoyed his espresso and watched her.

  Rahn leaned forward as if coaxing her to meet him halfway to pucker up for their first kiss. He wasn’t. His restraint was impressive, almost taunting her.

  “Your presence has made my transition from just living to living for Jesus easier with our daily Scripture swaps. It’s amazing the clarity I have since I received the Holy Ghost. I thank God for putting you in my life. You rescued me.”

  Shae’s vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. “No, God rescued us,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. “I’ve gotten clarity on some things, too.” It didn’t matter whether he could read between her lines or not. She was in a happy place, professionally and personally.