Still a virgin, Zoe? Because we know who you are dating. Why would you throw it all away for a man-whore? I didn’t really know the girl who sent me that. Not very well anyways. She was one of those Facebook friends I added because she knew other people I know. I saw that Tori had posted a status, and she actually did say my name.
Zoe Reed is not who you think she is! She’s not the perfect Christian everyone claims her to be! She’s dating a man that I know is a lying, backstabbing, idiot, who has slept around with a lot of girls! You should pray for her soul! I just stared at my phone for a long time. Why would she post that about me? There were comments below it too. I skimmed them but then couldn’t read anymore because my eyes were starting to form tears again. I was sick to death of crying! This was dumb!
After a half hour of doing nothing in my room, I sat at my computer and stared at my story again. What I had last written was stupid. I deleted it. I started writing again. I poured out the love I had for Branson in the book. The forgiveness of God, the love of God, and something amazing began to happen. I felt my heart melting for my dad. I’d never thought that would happen. He’d always condemned me my entire life, and now I actually had a right to point a finger at him and condemn him back. But, I couldn’t. I couldn’t shake my finger at my dad because I’d have to point it right back at myself. God had forgiven me once and for all, and God had forgiven my dad once and for all. He just needed to know that even though he screwed up really bad that Father God still loved him. I jumped when my phone rang.
“Hello?” I said with a smile in my voice.
“I finally got those little princesses to sleep. CC and Evie kept talking about you and wanting to kiss you goodnight.”
“That is so adorable!” I could picture those cute little faces. They melted my heart.
“Do you want to go grab a coffee tomorrow morning?”
I thought about Jacob. I told my dad I would talk to Jacob and try to convince him to have his parents stay at our church. I needed to do that sooner rather than later. Maybe I’d do coffee with Branson tomorrow and brace myself for coffee with Jacob a different day.
“Yeah, let’s do it. Do you have the kids tomorrow?”
“Nope, they are all getting shipped to their moms’ houses,” he said. We talked more about a bunch of random stuff until I looked at the clock. It was one.
“Holy crap, Branson, I better go to bed!”
“You going to turn into a pumpkin, Cinderella?” he asked with a laugh.
“I’ll look like a pumpkin tomorrow if I don’t. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“I’ll be there!” he said, and we both hung up the phone. I felt a heat spread through my chest, and I held the phone to my heart. Okay, call me dumb or whatever, but I really, really liked this guy. The feelings he was bringing out in me were something I’d never felt before. I allowed myself a silly dreamy smile.
Chapter 23
I walked into the café and sat down at the table me and Branson had sat at before. A few people were chatting over their cups of coffee. I was early again, so I pulled out my notebook and jotted down some fresh ideas for my book. It was getting really close. I could feel it! It was making me excited to know that the ending was around the corner. Branson came walking in a moment later looking distraught. He was toting Bree in his arms. What was going on? I thought he said he had no kids today. I walked over to him. He ushered for me to come outside.
“Sorry, Zoe, Rachel and her new boyfriend were fighting, and Rachel called me to come get Bree. I guess things were getting out of control, and he was threatening her.” Branson was shaking with anger. “Can you take her for a second?” He handed Bree over to me. “It took everything within me not to deck that guy. I don’t know what to do. It’s not safe for Bree there. I want to see if I can get full custody of her unless Rachel decides to dump that loser.”
Bree Bree started playing with the necklace I’d worn. She stuck it into her mouth and chewed on it. Her eyes shone with little tears. Aw. She’d been crying.
“He didn’t hurt Bree did he?”
“I don’t know! I just ran out of there as fast as I could before I killed that guy! I was afraid I’d actually kill him,” he seethed and his chest rose up and down with anger. He turned from me.
“I’m sorry; sometimes my past kicks me in the face. I don’t know what to do. I called Pastor Dom, and he’s on his way here.”
“Do you want to go home? We can do coffee a different day?” I asked.
“I’d really like you with me right now so I don’t go back to Rachel’s and kick the crap out of that guy.” About five minutes later, a black pickup truck pulled into the café parking lot. Pastor Dom got out and walked briskly toward us. Bree was still chewing on my necklace extremely content. Branson had sat on a bench and was praying under his breath. I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I just kept Bree happy. Pastor Dom came and sat down on the bench next to Branson and put his arms around him. They talked in low tones, so I didn’t really hear what they were saying. I caught a few words, but not that much.
“Zo—ey….Zo—ey..” Bree gurgled and slapped my chest with her hands. My face lit up.
“Bree Bree!” I said back to her and blew kisses into her neck. She giggled. I noticed a mark on her arm that looked concerning. It looked like someone had pinched her hard. I frowned and turned to look at Branson. He looked like a mess. Pastor Dom was still talking to him, and Branson was just nodding, his eyes still smoldering with a dark anger. Whoa. I’d never seen a man look that furious before. After 20 minutes, Pastor Dom stood up and came over to me.
“Hi, Zoe, Bree, how are you, girls?” he asked with a warm smile.
“Is he okay? I mean what’s going on?” I shifted Bree in my arms.
“A man from our church is a lawyer, I told him to try and get custody of Bree. If he feels like his daughter is being harmed or the home she’s in is dangerous he needs to act. I think it’s going to be just fine. He’s cooled down. I’ll see you girls later!” Pastor Dom said and jogged toward his truck. I came over to Branson and sat Bree in his lap. He pulled his little girl close to his chest and kissed her head.
“He’s calling Mr. Donavan for me. I’m going to try and get her in my care completely. I just don’t know what else to do. I don’t know how I’m going to afford daycare for her.” He looked out at the traffic his eyebrows knitting in concern.
“A family in our church does daycare for low budget families. I’m sure they could take Bree,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s wise? Aren’t you being judged by people there? Won’t they see me and you together?”
“I don’t care anymore, Branson. Let them think what they want to think. I just want to see Bree safe,” I said and kissed the little girl’s head.
“Thanks, Zoe. Thanks for actually caring about all of this.”
***
I sat on the floor of Branson’s living room holding up some blocks in front of Bree. Branson was in a deep discussion on the phone.
“No, I’m sorry, Rachel, this was not what I wanted.” He walked toward his bedroom his phone against his ear. He gave me an apologetic look. It’d been like this for a bit now. He had gotten a lawyer and was fighting for custody of his daughter, but it was a slow process. Rachel had been letting Branson have Bree for longer periods at a time. She knew that Bree was unsafe with her. Bree’s eyes sparkled with laughter as she slammed the blocks against each other.
“Dadadada….” she said and reached the blocks out toward me. “Ummmm…”
I took the blocks from Bree and smiled.
“Thanks, Bree Bree! Why don’t we build a castle for Daddy?” I started stacking the blocks on top of each other humming to myself. I’d been writing a couple new songs lately. Branson had helped me with one of the melodies earlier today. I sang what we’d come up with. It was funky. I liked it!
“No, you can’t come and take Bree! Not until that guy is out of your house!” Branson said, and I heard something
slam. I jumped slightly. He’d been more agitated ever since he’d started this war with Bree’s mom. He’d had a few meetings with Pastor Dom, and each time it seemed to really help cool him off.
“No!” Bree said and slammed the block tower down while I stared over toward the direction Branson was. I laughed as she spread the blocks all over the place.
“Boom!” I said with a giggle. “Bree, do you want a cracker?” I asked her as I stood up and lifted her off the floor.
“Ummm!” She clapped her hands together, so I took that as a yes. We headed toward the kitchen, and I reached into the cupboard and found the crackers. The twins were coming over later tonight, so I had stocked Branson up with extra cookies. He was going to love that. Ha! I heard Branson’s footsteps, and looked up after I’d set Bree back down with a cracker in each hand. She’d cry if she only got one.
“Sorry, Zoe,” he said, and I went into his arms.
“It’s okay,” I said and gave him a quick kiss.
“You’re moving in with Alison tomorrow?” he asked, and I could tell he desperately needed to change the subject.
“Yeah, my parents aren’t too thrilled with my decision, and they haven’t been shy about telling me.” I didn’t want to talk about that really. My dad had been so cold and hostile toward me.
“How about we snuggle on the couch tonight after Bree Bree and the twins are in bed and watch a chick flick? Would that lighten the mood in this place?”
“Seriously? You’re offering to watch a chick flick?” I laughed.
“I don’t care what we watch if we get to snuggle together,” he said.
“Good, because I’m going to pick the sappiest, most romantic movie available on Netflix,” I said in his ear.
“Which probably has horrible acting and a random dinosaur in it. I’m alright with that.” He kissed the top of my head as we both laughed.
***
“Zoe!” the twins cried as they ran through the door of Branson’s house. Julie gave me a quick glance and waved to Branson.
“Be good, girls!” she said.
“See you tomorrow, Julie!” Branson called as she walked away. The twins attacked my legs and started jumping up and down for me to hold them.
“Hey, little popsicles!” I said and managed to get them both in my arms. They giggled at my nickname and kissed me on the cheeks
“Can you play house with us? I want to be the baby!” CC said.
“I’m a kitty!” Evie said as they started wiggling to be put down. I placed them on the ground and gave Branson a smile.
“Then I get to be the space robot!” I called as I chased them into their bedroom with squeals of laughter. Evie started mewing as I came into their bedroom. CC started putting on one of her play dresses. She put a tiara on her head and pranced around the room.
“I’m the queen!” she said and crossed her arms. I heard footsteps and peeked around the corner to see Branson grinning at all of us.
“You forgot your robot hat!” he said with a laugh. I took a handmade tinfoil hat and put it on my head.
“Thanks, babe,” I said and tackled him with a kiss.
“Whoa! The robot is attacking me, girls!” They squealed with giggles.
“I think this is one attack your Daddy is going to survive,” I said and kissed him again.
“I don’t know about that,” he whispered. I stood back and went on playing with the twins.
“Hey, I’m going to make spaghetti for dinner, okay, girls?” he called to us.
“Skettie!” CC clapped her hands and pulled out her makeup kit. Oh man.
“Can you make me a pretty robot, CC?” I asked her. She nodded with a smile.
“Evie, you should do Zoe’s hair, okay?” she instructed her sister.
“I need to be the prettiest robot at the ball,” I said.
After I was decked out, I came into the kitchen. Branson took one look at me and burst out laughing.
“You look…” He started choking he was laughing so hard. I heard the spaghetti sauce bubble.
“You’re burning the sauce, Prince Charming. Are you going to take this robot princess to the ball, buddy?” I started acting like a robot as I came over toward him. He stirred the sauce.
“I wouldn’t be Prince Charming if I didn’t take my robot princess to the ball now would I?” He drained the noodles and smiled at me. I caught him in my arms after he set the pot of noodles back on the stove.
“Okay then,” I said and kissed him lightly.
“You look awesome.” He laughed and took the sauce off the burner.
“Girls! Dinner!” he called.
“I’m putting this on Facebook. Hold still.” He pulled out his phone, and I posed for him. That was going to haunt me later.
The twins came bursting in the kitchen almost tripping over their pretty dresses they’d put on.
“Yay!” CC said as she climbed into her chair. Evie sat next to her.
“Daddy, look at Zoe! We made her pretty!” Evie said and pointed at my face.
“You sure did, Evie,” he said and kissed her cheek. She squirmed with joy. Branson filled his girls plates then went and grabbed Bree, who was still playing in the living room. He put her in her highchair and cut up her food for her. I served myself and kept one eye on this man I was falling head over heels for. I’d never met anyone who made me feel the way he did. In all that was going on, he was still so joyful, so amazing.
Chapter 24
“Rachel hates me. She absolutely hates me. She only gets to see Bree under supervised visits,” Branson told me as we sat around a small round table at the café a few weeks later.
“Branson, it’ll be fine. You’re just trying to keep Bree safe.”
“She keeps asking me why I don’t try and take the twins from Julie. In her opinion Julie is just as screwed up as her, but Julie actually tries to protect my girls. Rachel just thinks about herself.” The intensity on his face blew me away. “Julie actually acts like a mom and plays with the twins. Rachel hardly looks at Bree. She never even wanted Bree to begin with.” He rubbed his hair with his hands. “Okay, enough depressing stuff! Let’s talk about something fun!” He smiled at me.
“Let’s talk about bacon,” I said, and I saw a smile stretch across his face.
“Bacon is good, I like bacon,” he asked and took a long drink of his coffee.
“I think a bacon pizza is in order for tonight. Your place. And a cheesy, cheesy movie that makes us regret watching it. What do you say?” I said.
“I think it’s a date.” He leaned across the table and kissed me on the forehead. I blushed.
“Now don’t get all mushy on me, Branson Tate,” I said with a lazy smile.
“You love mushy gushy stuff, Zoe Grace. Let me just give you a kissy wissy.” He came around the table and tried to kiss my face all over. I pushed him away with a laugh.
“You’re an idiot. Sit down.”
He looked at me with pretend hurt.
“Are you ready for Christmas?” he asked me.
“Christmas? Um, no.” It was only November.
“What are you going to buy me?” he asked and downed the rest of his coffee. He shivered and made a silly sound. “Good coffee! I feel like I can run a marathon now!”
“What are you going to buy me?” I threw back at him with a light smile. I sipped at my drink wanting to savor the taste of the warm chocolate coffee mix. I love mochas. They are so amazing.
“A pony,” he said and wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed.
“Does Bree like her daycare?” I asked as I played footsy under the table with Branson. His smile stretched wider.
“Um, how in the heck do you expect me to give you a legitimate answer when you are doing that?”
“Can’t you do two things at once?” I asked.
“I’m a man. No,” he said. I kept up with my footsy until he threw up his hands.
“I surrender. I am like putty in your hands. I will do anything,” he said.
“Give me a neck massage,” I joked. He jumped out of his chair and came around to give me a neck massage.
“Branson, seriously? Okay, sit down. I was joking!” I laughed, but he totally ignored me. “Let’s go back to your house. You never answered my question by the way. Does Bree like her daycare?”
“She loves it. She’s always covered in glitter when I take her home, so I know she’s having fun. Come on, let’s go to my house, and you can play all the footsy you want.”
He really didn’t need to ask me twice. We’d ridden together. We came to his house and walked inside. It was silent. Which was really weird. Bree was with Sarah, a sweet lady from Grace Alive who took her from time to time to give Branson a break. She was a lot like a grandma. Branson didn’t talk much about his family, so I never pushed it with him. We sat down on the couch, and I nestled into his arms. He always felt safe.
“I’m talking to Jacob tomorrow. My dad really wants me to. I think I’ve put it off long enough.” I shifted to get myself more into the crook of his arm.
“I’ll pray for you, Zoe, you can do it. Just don’t let that sleazeball touch you, okay? Or I might have to knock him out again.”
“You didn’t knock him out, Branson,” I said dryly. “Though I wish you would have.” I put a hand over my mouth. Had I just said that! Oops!
“Do you want to pick our cheesy movie on Netflix?” he asked me.
“Something with aliens,” I said. “I’m ordering us a pizza.” I dialed the local pizza place and put in an order for an extra large bacon pizza. He started going through the weird movies on Netflix until he pointed at the screen.
Grace Alive: a Christian Romance Page 14
