Trial & Tribulations

by Rachel Dylan

“Yes.” Nina Marie looked at Grant. “I knew Layton was a snake, but this really is a bit much even for him.”

  Grant cleared his throat. “I don’t really feel comfortable getting into this discussion right now, beyond saying that I believe the experts will confirm what I already know. That the email exchange is authentic.”

  Nina Marie smiled, but the smile wasn’t sincere. Olivia knew her well enough to know that. “Grant, you are a worthy opponent, but I know Olivia has this under control.” Nina Marie turned and looked at her. “Will I see you back at the office?”

  “Yes. I’ll be back as soon as we finish up here.”

  “Very good. And nice to see you, Grant. If you get your head on straight, I hope you realize that nothing good can come from working with Layton. It’s not too late for you to step away.”

  And with that Nina Marie turned and walked down the street.

  “I don’t trust that woman, Olivia.”

  “Why would you trust her? You’re in a lawsuit against her.”

  “No. I mean personally.”

  Olivia almost choked on her soda. “I didn’t realize you had a personal relationship with her.”

  “Not like that. But she just keeps popping up, and I really don’t like engaging with her.”

  “Grant, I know you don’t want me bringing this up, but I have to ask you this. Do you feel like Nina Marie is doing something to you?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Are we back to this again?”

  “Yes, we are. I want to know if you feel like she’s coming after you.”

  “I’m over all of that. The only thing Nina Marie can do to me is annoy me. Nothing more.”

  “You need to be careful.”

  “Are you threatening me now?”

  “Absolutely not. But I’m telling you to watch your back. All of these people, Grant. Your client and mine, they are playing on a different field. The legal aspects are one thing, but you know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “For me to be worried about that would presume that I believe in all that stuff.”

  She couldn’t help it. She reached out and touched his arm. “I know you felt something that night at your house, Grant. I saw it in your eyes. Heard it in your voice. We’re in the precarious position of being in the middle of this spiritual fight, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  His eyes softened and he put his hand on top of hers. His touch was warm, and she felt drawn to him. The words of Micah pounded through her head. She had a responsibility to try to get Grant to see that there was another way. That there was an unseen world out there. But she didn’t even know how to begin to get him to open up his heart and mind. It was like after he was confronted with it at his house, the only way he could handle it was to step into a world of denial.

  “You know, Olivia, you are about the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

  She laughed. “Maybe that’s just because you think I’m crazy with my talk about the spiritual realm.”

  She noticed that he hadn’t removed his hand from hers. And she didn’t move either.

  “I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you deeply hold the beliefs and think they are true with all of your heart. That’s one of the things that I find fascinating. I don’t know how anyone can have that type of faith…in anything really.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a sad way to live?”

  He looked down and back up into her eyes. “It’s the only way I know how to live.”

  “I’ve asked you this before, but I’ll ask you again. Is there any way you’d consider attending a church service with me?’

  He shook his head. “What’s the point?”

  “You’re curious. I can tell that. Yeah, you’re not ready to jump into all of this. Especially with the spiritual warfare parts of it. But you’re yearning for something more in your life, Grant. I can feel it.”

  He squeezed her hand. “That may be true, but have you given any thought to the fact that you interest me much more than religion does?”

  Her cheeks turn hot. “We’re friends, Grant. And opposing counsel. You know what that means as far as conflict of interest.”

  “Believe me. That’s the only thing that’s kept me from asking you out on a date.”

  “Me? Really?”

  “Yes, you.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You’re funny, smart, and beautiful. And for the life of me, I’m drawn to you. I find myself wanting to know more about you and why you believe what you believe.”

  “I’m more than willing to share my faith journey with you.”

  “I appreciate that, Olivia. But what if I want to know about more than just your faith journey?”

  Finally, she pulled her hand away. “I don’t really know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.” He smiled.

  She looked at him. “I asked you to come to church with me. If you’re really that interested in me, as you say you are, and want to know the true me, who I am as a person, then you’ll go to church with me this Sunday. As friends.”

  He leaned back in his chair, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

  Then he reached forward and grabbed her hand again. “All right. I’ll come to church with you, but just this once. This isn’t a commitment or anything like that.” He paused. “And it doesn’t mean I’m buying into all of the other stuff.”

  She nodded. “Of course. I understand that.” Her heart practically exploded. This was the breakthrough she’d prayed for.

  “Then it’s settled. Let’s go to church—as friends.” He grinned.

  She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I’m looking forward to it. I should run now, though. I need to get back to the office.”

  “See you Sunday then,” he said.

  “Sunday it is.” Olivia felt like she had just won a major victory—one that could change everything.

  Chapter Eleven

  What in the world had he been thinking? Grant was letting his growing feelings for Olivia mess with his judgment. Church? He had really gone off the deep end now.

  There was no way they could have any type of romantic relationship while they were still working this case. And it wasn’t even clear to him if she would ever think of him as more than a friend anyway.

  Although, because he couldn’t help but want to know more about Olivia, he’d caved and accepted her church invitation.

  He kept telling himself that this would be a purely academic exercise. Like a college class on something he was totally unfamiliar with. It wasn’t like he was changing his life or anything.

  He’d called Olivia yesterday and asked what he should wear. Was this a suit and tie type of thing? Much to his relief, she claimed that most of the church members wore more casual dress. So he had opted for khakis and a button down with a lightweight jacket. Why was he nervous? He had no clue.

  Olivia had insisted on picking him up. She probably thought he would bail otherwise, and she had good reason to think that. But once he’d committed to something, he wasn’t going to make excuses. This was one church service. How big of a deal could it really be?

  As he paced around his living room, he wondered what he had signed up for. When the doorbell rang, he let out a breath. That had to be Olivia.

  He opened the door, and she stood on the other side smiling. Wearing a light pink dress and her hair falling softly around her shoulders, he felt his heart nearly stop. He had to get a grip.

  “You ready?” she asked brightly.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “I promise it won’t be that bad. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. He locked the door and then walked to her car.

  They arrived at the Windy Ridge Community Church just a few minutes later, and he honestly felt like he was going to be sick.

  She stopped the car and looked over at him with her big brown eyes. “You look a bit pale, Grant.”

  “I’m okay.” H
e could shake this off.

  “There’s no reason to be nervous. It’s not like anyone is going to put you on the spot or make you talk or anything like that.”

  “Well, that makes me feel better.” He laughed and unbuckled his seat belt.

  They walked toward the church together, and he looked up at the building. The only time he had ever been in churches was for weddings and funerals. He truly had no idea what to expect. He’d seen pieces of sermons on TV, but never real ones, just the ones in movies. And the preachers were always over the top—at least he hoped those portrayals were exaggerated.

  One thing he did know, as they stepped through the front door of the church—Olivia was in her element. She smiled warmly and joy emanated from her.

  He wondered if his presence had made her this happy, or if this was just the way she always was when she went to church. He figured it was probably the latter.

  Pastor Dan stood at the foyer door greeting people and his eyes also lit up when he saw them walking toward him.

  “Grant, it’s so great to see you again.”

  “Thank you.” He shook Dan’s hand.

  Then Dan gave Olivia a warm embrace. It was clear to him that the two of them had grown close. Then an awful thought hit him. What if she was interested in the pastor? Yeah, he was a little bit older than her, but that didn’t matter. Dan said something to her in her ear and she laughed. Wouldn’t that just be ironic? How in the world could he compete with that man? A man of God. He took another deep breath.

  “Grant, let’s go in,” she said. She grabbed him by the arm and walked down the church aisle.

  For a moment, he was just in awe taking it all in. It seemed like a pretty large church to him. And there was amazing stained glass in bright colors adorning the chapel. A large stained glass cross was the centerpiece at the front of the chapel. He did know enough about Christianity, just from pop culture, to understand that the cross had some key significance.

  They took a seat on the right side of the church in the middle and music started to fill the place. He leaned down toward Olivia. “Uh, I hope I’m not expected to sing, because I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”

  “Don’t worry. You don’t have to sing if you don’t want.”

  After a few introductions and announcements, they were all told to stand. The words of the songs were placed up on the big screen. He didn’t really know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t anything like this. He almost felt like he was at a concert.

  In his mind, a church just had a stuffy choir singing old songs. But this music felt current. Something called the worship team was in the front of the church leading the singing. It included people playing all types of musical instruments, including the drums and guitar. He couldn’t help but tap his foot to the beat of a song he’d never heard before.

  Of course, he made no attempt to sing, but the music portion of the program wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. What surprised him even more, though, was hearing Olivia’s voice. She was clearly a gifted singer whose voice rang out perfectly in tune and with a strong purpose.

  When they sat down, it was time for Pastor Dan to do his thing. He tried to push away his thoughts of jealousy and think about what the man was trying to say. He was here, and he’d promised himself he would listen.

  Pastor Dan walked up to the podium carrying what he presumed was a Bible and a tablet. He guessed even churches were moving into the high tech phase these days. Which of course made him think about the Astral Tech app.

  “I’m glad to see all of you here,” Pastor Dan said. “Today we’re going to talk about temptation. We’re all tempted. Even Jesus was tempted by the devil. We’re going to look at the temptation of Jesus and see what lessons we can take away from that to use in our own lives.”

  Interesting, he thought. He wasn’t aware of this story that Pastor Dan was about to tell.

  “If you have your bibles, please turn with me to Matthew chapter four. We’ll start with verse one.”

  He looked over and Olivia had her bible on her own tablet. She put it between the two of them so he could read too. He listened carefully as Dan read the verses and he followed along. The story seemed thought provoking to him. Apparently, Jesus went out into the desert for forty days and was tempted by the devil multiple times.

  “So let’s unpack this a bit. Jesus has been fasting in the desert for forty days and nights. He’s tired and hungry. And that’s when the devil appeared to Him. Now before we jump into specifics, it’s important to remember that the devil can tempt you at any time. He’s basically the king of temptation. He’ll dangle whatever it is you most want and desire right in front of you. He’ll offer to give it to you. But always for a price.”

  So far, Grant was sufficiently intrigued and kept listening. Interested to hear what would be next.

  “Here the devil comes to Jesus and basically says, if you’re really who you say you are, then why don’t you turn these stones into bread. See, the devil knew that Jesus had been fasting and was hungry. And that much was true. But Jesus didn’t waver. No, he relied upon scripture and told the devil that man was not supposed to live by bread alone but by God’s Word.” He paused. “I also want to point out something else here. Jesus is the son of God. The most powerful. He is Lord. The beginning and the end. And yet, when confronted by Satan, he relies on the Word of God. If Jesus relies on the Word in His battle with the devil, then doesn’t that let us know how much we as individuals must rely on the Word of God? When we’re putting on the full armor of God to take on the devil, it all starts with the Word.”

  Okay, Grant was with him until this last part. He would have to follow up to get clarification on that. What armor was he talking about? Was this a physical war? Confusion set in but he kept listening. He looked over at Olivia. Her eyes were glued on the pastor.

  “Undeterred, the devil comes at Jesus a second time. He takes him up to a pinnacle of the temple and says, if you’re really who you say you are, then cast yourself down. And pay attention to what the devil does here. He starts quoting scripture back at Jesus. He says, isn’t it written that the angels will lift you up in their hands so your feet won’t even touch the stones? And what does Jesus do in response? He, of course, quotes more scripture, telling the devil that he shouldn’t tempt the Lord. Well, the devil gives it one more try. That’s something to remember everyone. The devil doesn’t just come at us once. No, he’s pesky. He’s persistent. He’ll keep coming over and over. And let me tell you, if he starts to sense the slightest weakness or wavering in your faith or your determination, he will keep coming and coming. Banking on the fact that one day you will break.”

  Grant pondered the words. Wondering if there even was such thing as a devil, and if the devil would even care about a man like him. He was a nobody. A bad news foster kid who had barely managed to make something of himself. And he definitely wasn’t a spiritual threat to anyone.

  Pastor Dan cleared his throat and took a sip of water. “So after two failed attempts to tempt Jesus, the devil tries to go for the touchdown pass. A big move. Hoping for a victory. He takes Jesus up on top of the mountain and says look at all of this. All the kingdoms of the earth. Everything out there. If you bow down and worship me, I’ll give all of this to you. Isn’t that a great deal? The devil was putting it all out there. Offering Jesus the world. But the catch was that Jesus had to fall down and worship the devil. And by this time, Jesus had had enough of the devil’s games. He was done. Finished. He rebuked the devil and cited scripture back to him yet again. Saying that God was the only one to be worshiped. And at that point, after Jesus rebuked him, the devil fled. At least for then.”

  Grant sat taking in all the words as he carefully reread the scripture from the tablet Olivia held in her hand. Pastor Dan went on in detail for a bit providing background, context, and some lessons regarding the passage he had read.

  “What can we take from all of this? There are a lot of things, but I’ll
leave you with a few closing thoughts. One, we must know the Word, live the Word, and use the Word. Because in a battle against the devil we must be armed with the Word. If the devil knows the Word well enough to cite it, then we as Christians should most certainly be better prepared and more well read then him, am I correct?”

  A few amens rung out from the congregation. Grant looked around but figured based on everyone’s reaction, that the response must have not been an abnormal occurrence.

  “And secondly, you will be tempted by the devil. Even Jesus was tempted. You need to know your foe. Know that he is real and be prepared for battle. He will come at you, but you can rebuke him. You can resist him. And let me remind you again, if you rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus, he will flee from you. That doesn’t mean he won’t come back. Like I said at the beginning, he is persistent. But for that moment, you can find peace in the Lord once you tell the devil to leave you alone in the name of Jesus.”

  Grant had never heard anything like he was hearing from the pastor today. It was as if an entire different worldview was being presented to him. One that he’d never even considered.

  “It’s that time of the service where we’re going to the Lord in prayer,” Dan said. “And if there are any of you here right now who have never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, did you know you can do it right now?”

  Actually, Grant didn’t know that. But he wasn’t nearly in a position to be thinking about that right now. Although he had to admit that it was kind of cool, that the option was available. Who knew?

  “So if you’re not saved and you want to be, you can ask God to come into your heart right now. It’s not about you. It’s about Him. About what He did for you. How He died on the cross and arose from the grave three days later so that you would have eternal life.”

  Whoa, this raising from the grave thing was something. He’d heard passing references to it in his life, but it never hit him to put all these pieces together. Talk about being confused. He zoned out for the last couple of minutes while Dan spoke.

  “Let us pray,” Dan said.