“Meh?” he asked with a shrug. I looked at some random movie that looked like me and my brother had made it when we were kids. Except our effects were probably better.
“That looks perfect. The pizza will be here in 20 minutes.”
After the pizza arrived, I snuggled up against Branson. He ran his fingers through my hair the sound of the TV becoming white noise to my ears.
“How come you never talk about your family?” I asked before I really processed my question. I’d probably just stepped on his toes.
“My dad cut me off from them,” he said and kept stroking my hair. I frowned and turned around half-way.
“Why?” I was being snoopy today I couldn’t help it.
“Why? When I was 14 I started going all A wall. I turned against God, the church, my parents, and lived with some of my friends. When I hit 16, I had my own place with a couple buddies of mine.” I felt him stiffen beneath me. Crap. Why did I bring up the subject?
“Sorry, Branson, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said.
“No it’s okay. My dad cut me off from all communication with him and my mom. I have a younger brother and sister, but I haven’t seen my brother since he was three, and I’ve never met my sister.” I could tell he was uncomfortable talking about it. I snuggled close to him hearing his heart beating.
“I’m sorry,” I said, I didn’t really know what else to say to him. His dad must be heartless.
“It’s okay; I tried to contact them after I gave my heart to Jesus again, but no matter how I try my dad always cuts it off.” He let out a frustrated sigh. I faced him and cupped his chin.
“He’ll come around, or we’ll pray the socks off him until he does,” I said and kissed him. He chuckled.
“He has a lot of socks.”
“I know the sock monster, I have connections,” I said. He laughed at that.
“I love you, Zoe, you’re awesome.” He stroked my cheek and brought his lips to mine. My insides stirred by his touch. I caressed his cheek and started to increase my kisses. He instantly responded back. He was so amazing. I felt the desire to kiss him more intimately, and warmth spread through my skin. He moaned a little bit, and I pulled back.
“I’m sorry! Oh, I’m sorry! I keep forgetting, Branson!” I blushed and took in a deep breath. “You’re just so dang kissable. I can’t help it!”
He looked away from me in embarrassment.
“It’s okay; it’s just really hard to resist you.” His voice came out restrained. I can’t believe I’d done that again!
“Okay, no touchy, touchy,” I said and gave him a sheepish smile.
“Just keep it PG, and we should be fine,” he said with a laugh. He tucked me back up against him and kissed my head.
Chapter 25
I sat across from Jacob at Espress’ Yourself Café. He looked like he had wrestled with a bull and won as he looked at me. He probably thought that I was here to give my heart back to him. I had to at least try and convince him to not leave Light on the Hill for the sake of my family.
“Jacob, I really wanted to talk to you about something,” I started. He’d ordered us our coffees, and mine sat in front of me untouched. I wasn’t sure how to say what I needed to say. Would he even listen to me at all?
“I’m all ears, girl.” His air of arrogance made me want to scowl.
“I know you think what I’m doing is a huge mistake. But that falls on my head. Please don’t punish my family for what I’ve chosen to do. God spoke to my heart that Branson was my husband. So please convince your dad to stay at Light on the Hill,” I said all this in a rush. I felt extremely nervous as I looked at this well put together man.
“He knows our condition. It’s you I want, Zoe. If I can’t court you then we are out of there. If you want to save Light on the Hill then you need to dump that porno maker and be with me. Why would you even want that loser anyways?”
I let his comments of Branson slide off my back. He was just angry.
“Jacob, you know blackmailing my dad is wrong. Do you really think Jesus would do that? Light on the Hill would close, and all the good work it’s doing for the community would shut down. Do you really want that on your head?” I let him think on that awhile and took a drink of my mocha. I really hoped Jacob’s heart would change. If Light on the Hill closed a lot of good people would be scattered and hurt. I watched the war go on in his mind.
“Just court me, Zoe, and the church won’t shut down. Please, I love you,” he said, and I heard the desperation in his voice. “I’ve loved you since I stepped into that church when I was a kid. I told my dad the first day we came that I was going to marry you.” He played with his expensive watch that was on his wrist.
“Jacob, you don’t love me. You want me as a prize.” I surprised myself. That’s exactly how it felt though. I was just a possession he wanted. The perfect wife for him. A pastor’s daughter.
“I love Branson, he’s the one God told me to marry. I’m really sorry.” What else could I say to him? I couldn’t give him what he wanted. Would my dad’s church crumple?
“He’s garbage, Zoe! Why would you want someone’s leftovers? Have you asked him how many girls he’s had in his lifetime? I’ve watched all his videos.”
I felt sick to my stomach. For one. Ew. For two, why would he be watching porn to begin with? My face began to turn red with embarrassment.
“Why? Why would you watch those?” I said through a whisper.
“I wanted to see why you wanted that guy. I can change for you, Zoe; I can do whatever you want me to do. I promise. I can change.” He really did sound convincing. He almost looked like he was going to cry. “I would do anything to win you over.”
“The greatest love is to lay your life down for your friends, Jacob. Can’t you lay your life down for me? I’m not supposed to be your wife.” I turned away from his begging eyes and drank some more of my coffee. I had a gut feeling that this discussion was going nowhere. He wanted me, and that wasn’t going to happen at all.
“Jacob, I love Branson. That was then, this is now. He’s a different man now. He’s not that man in those videos anymore. He’s been born again.” I played with a silver ring on my middle finger. I didn’t want to look at Jacob. Everyone judged Branson’s past. Everyone. I couldn’t imagine facing that every day.
“He’ll cheat on you, Zoe.” Jacob’s jaw clenched together. The look he gave me said, this woman is a dumb mule.
“No. He won’t,” I said.
Jacob rested his elbows on the table, and I could tell he was fighting his inner thoughts. He knew he was losing this battle with me, and that I wasn’t going to give up Branson.
“Your dad is cheating with Mia,” he sneered. I think he meant to hurt me with it, but I already knew. Thank God I already knew.
“I know.” Tension spread throughout my body. It was hard not to be angry about that situation. I was still working on that in my heart.
“My dad was threatening to leave because of that, I just put on the condition of you courting me. My dad would keep his mouth shut if you would be my wife. That was our condition. The people at Light on the Hill deserve to know that their pastor is committing adultery. If I can’t convince you to be with me, then Light on the Hill is done for.” He stood to his feet and glared at me. I grabbed his arm.
“Please, Jacob, a lot of good people go there. They will be really hurt when they find out about my dad. Let him work it out in his own way. Love covers a multitude of sins. Let my dad work this out between him and God.” I couldn’t help it. Tears instantly pooled in my eyes. His scowl deepened as he stared at me.
“I don’t know if my family can do that. Either you court me, or we leave. That’s it.” I felt like his words were a giant hammer. Man.
“Goodbye then, Jacob,” I said and stood to my feet and walked toward the door. I turned once to look at him and saw his face full of sorrow. He really did care for me didn’t he? I felt a prick. I went to my car a
nd drove home.
Chapter 26
“We’re going on a what?” I asked as Branson opened the door of Grace Alive Church.
“A treasure hunt.”
“A treasure hunt,” I said with a smile. What were we pirates? Ay, Ay, Matey! The sanctuary was filled with about ten other people. I recognized Alison, Jen, and Pastor Dom, but I couldn’t really remember anybody else’s name. Pastor Dom came right over to us and pulled us both into a hug.
“So glad you guys could come! Are you ready to hunt for treasures?”
I had no idea what was going on, but everyone seemed pretty excited about it.
“Okay, let me explain this since we have some first timers in the crowd. We are hunting for God’s treasures. We’re going to pray for about 20 minutes and ask God for details of people He wants to touch tonight. Hair color, eye color, clothing style, places, and all that good stuff. Write down everything you hear, and I mean everything, on a piece of paper, and we’ll see who we are going to go find,” Pastor Dom finished, and Alison handed out some paper and pens. I was supposed to just pray and ask God for descriptions? This might be interesting. We all found our own little spot, and someone turned on soft worship music.
I closed my eyes. God, who do You want to touch today? I just listened intently, and pretty soon I begin to hear stuff. Red shirt, blue eyes, shark. Okay, weird. I listened in to God again. Purple dress, braid, black boots. Café. Whoa! This was so much fun! After our 20 minutes, I had a few more descriptions jotted down. Pastor Dom motioned for us to join him. We all held out our papers.
“Okay, guys, whatcha got? How about, Branson, you go first.” He looked intently at Branson. Branson looked down at his paper and began to read.
“Red shirt. Walgreens,” he said.
“I wrote down red shirt too,” I interrupted because it shocked me so much.
“Good! Confirmation! What else did you write in your descriptions besides the red shirt person?” Pastor Dom asked.
“Blue eyes and shark?” I said with a laugh.
“That’s great! So we are going to look for someone with a red shirt, blue eyes, and a shark at Walgreens. What else, guys?” Everyone began to read their papers, and more than one matched our red shirt person, and my other description that I assumed was a girl. We broke up into teams of three and headed out. We got into Alison’s car and started heading toward Walgreens.
“You are going to love this, Zoe, it’s so awesome!” Branson said. We peeled into Walgreens and climbed out of the car. Branson smiled at me and reached for my hand. I took it. We walked into Walgreens, and right away I saw a guy wearing a red shirt with a shark on it. Whoa! We bee lined toward the guy.
“Hi! I’m Alison, and me and my friends are on a treasure hunt,” Alison started to explain. The guy nodded his head up and down.
“I love those things. What do you need?” he asked.
“It’s a little different than what you think. We start off asking God for Him to show us His treasures. And buddy, you were on our list. Red shirt, shark, Walgreens,” Branson said while showing him the stuff we’d wrote down.
“Wow, that’s awesome.”
“We wanted to tell you that you are God’s treasure, and that He values you so much. Is there anything we can pray with you about?” Alison asked.
“Yeah…my mom just went into the hospital last night, and I’m really worried about her,” he said.
“Do you mind if we put our hands on you and pray for your mom?” Branson asked.
“Go ahead, man.”
We all laid our hands on this guy right in Walgreens and began to pray over his mom. After we’d finished, the guy looked at us with tears in his eyes.
“This was so awesome. What church are you guys from?” he asked as he wiped a tear from his eye.
“Grace Alive,” I answered for them.
“I’m going to have to check that place out. I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it in a barn?” he asked with a smile.
“Yeah, it is,” Alison said and patted the guy’s shoulder. “What was your name?”
“David.”
“It’s nice to meet you, David,” she said as we said our goodbyes and headed back toward the car.
“Zoe, you wrote down café right?” Branson asked as he looked at his paper in the car.
“Yeah, café, purple dress, braid, and black boots. Branson, let’s go there next,” I said.
I watched the city zip by as we headed to Espress’ Yourself Café. We pulled into the parking lot and went inside. Immediately I saw a familiar face. Purple dress, brown braid, black boots. Mia. I gulped. Oh no. No. It couldn’t be Mia. I don’t think I could face her right now. I started backing out of the café.
“Whoa, Zoe, where are you going? She’s right there,” Branson said in a whisper.
“That’s my best friend Mia. I just…can’t do this.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to minister to Mia. I just didn’t know how I’d react to being around her. I hid around the corner where Mia wouldn’t be able to see me. Branson eyed me with an upraised eyebrow then headed over to Mia. I was a coward for hiding from her. I heard Alison and Branson talking to her, and suddenly I noticed she started to cry.
“I’ve been going through a really rough time. Yes, I’d love some prayer.” They laid hands on her, and my heart lurched. I should be over there with them. I walked over to them very quietly and put my hands on Mia as well. When the prayer was over, Mia looked at us with tears in her eyes. She blinked in shock when she saw me among them.
“Zoe? Hi.”
“Hi, Mia,” I said and averted my eyes. I shifted in unease.
“Thanks for the prayer.” She smiled at us and walked back toward the counter. I looked at Alison and Branson.
“Sorry I chickened out.”
“It’s okay, you still came over in the end,” Alison said with a warm smile. “I’m sure that meant a lot to your friend.”
We stopped at a few other places, and I was amazed at how accurate our descriptions of people were. It was the most fun I think I’d ever had.
Chapter 27
“It’s over, Branson; Light on the Hill is going to go under,” I said as I pressed my fingers into the sides of my head. Yes, I was mad at my dad for what he did, but I still loved the people who went to my church. I didn’t want to see them wounded.
“You don’t know that, Zoe.” Branson was bouncing Bree on his knee and making silly faces at her.
“Jacob’s dad is going to tell the church, and my dad’s ministry will die.” I felt fearful for my family. What would my dad do? He’d worked so hard to build that church. How would he make money after it fell apart? Branson grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“It’s going to be okay, things are going to work out,” he reassured as Bree grabbed at his hand and stuck it in her mouth.
“Ouch! Bree Bree has quite a bite now!” He laughed as he pulled the baby’s mouth off his hand. “No biting, Bree,” he said gently and looked the little girl in the face. “No biting.”
Her little lip trembled and big tears came to her eyes. “Aw crap,” Branson said and gave me an apologetic look.
“I’m going to Light on the Hill Sunday. Do you want to come with me? Jacob messaged me that his dad was going to tell the church Sunday, and I have a feeling Mr. Whitmen is going to make a big show of this. I want to be there for my family when it happens.” I fidgeted on the couch and looked at the clock. “I better go to work. I’ll see you tomorrow then?” I asked. He smiled at me and gave me a kiss.
“Yes! Say bye to Zoe, Bree Bree.”
Bree waved her arm back and forth and drool dripped out of her mouth. I giggled.
“Bye, baby girl!” I kissed her cheek and headed toward the door.
***
I walked into Little Bit of Everything, and for once I was grateful for the distraction. What if everything just exploded tomorrow morning? How was I going to take all of it? I was kind of freaking out! I shoved my thoughts aside as I dusted shelves
, stocked some glitter, helped customers, and rang them up. It was really quite productive. The bell rang above the door, and a group of girls came in. Great. Tori and her little minions. Not the cute little yellow ones either!
“Hi, Zoe,” she said, and I could picture her spitting in my face. “Guess what?” She put her manicured hands on my counter. I wanted to slap them off. I kept my annoyance inside.
“I heard that your little boy toy made out with his ex in the parking lot of Charlie’s last night.” She watched my face for a reaction. What the heck. This girl was reaching. She really wanted me to break up with Branson I guess, or she just enjoyed spreading rumors about people. I was with Branson last night, and he certainly didn’t make out with one of his exes unless they saw me making out with him. I blushed. The only thing Branson did last night was change a dirty diaper, watch a stupid movie with me, and eat Chinese. If you called that making out with your ex.
“Branson and I hung out last night, Tori, I think your friend saw someone else,” I calmly explained. Tori tossed her hair and made a kissy face.
“They recognized him from his video,” she said and started laughing at the hurt look on my face. God, you better help me because I’m going to kill her. How could someone who called themselves a Christian be so incredibly mean to someone else?
“Doesn’t he have like six kids or something?” a girl named Carrie said with a condemning look. “Was waiting your whole life for the perfect virgin all just a big joke to you, Zoe? I mean seriously! He’s a player!” The other girls all nodded.
“You’re acting so stupid! Don’t you know the wages of sin is death,” Tori said. “You should know that better than anyone. Your dad is the preacher.” Her eyes flashed at me like she was the smartest tootsie roll on the planet.
“Can I help you find anything?” I asked through a forced smile.
“We’ll look around,” Tori said, and the group of mean girls walked away. I felt their words in my chest. I’m sorry, I’m human. What Branson did haunted me at times. I wish…I just wish…he hadn’t done so much in his past. I closed my eyes. So many people kept telling me about his videos. It made me want to puke. New creation in Christ, the Holy Spirit reminded me. I nodded trying to hold back my angry tears. I couldn’t let those girls get to me. They came back around the corner eying me evilly.
Grace Alive: a Christian Romance Page 15
