by Pat Simmons
Praises for Pat Simmons…
This faith based story was great, containing all the elements to keep you reading. It was very well written and it could be a story that anyone of us could go thru. I love the scriptures you placed, and the history behind the characters with insight on matriarchs. Pat, you definitely know how to tell a story! Great job!
—Melody Vernor-Bartel on In Defense of Love
Wow! Oh My!!! Whoooweeeee! I absolutely cried throughout this story of two people who found love through the Grace of God. Despite Garrett and Shari's doubts about finding love, their faith and trust in God showed them that if they allow Him to order their steps and follow His voice there is nothing that He will withhold from them. This is a beautiful testimony of the faithfulness of God.
—Jacqueline White on In Defense of Love
I love a good underdog story. #teamlandon.
—Mia Harris on Redeeming Heart
~~~
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2015 Pat Simmons
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. References to real events, organizations, and places are used in a fictional context. Any resemblances to actual people, living or dead are entirely coincidental.
To read more books by this author, please visit www.patsimmons.net.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Published by:
Generation Press
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0692434406
Paperback ISBN-10: 0692434402
Other Christian Titles Include:
The Guilty series
Book I: Guilty of Love
Book II: Not Guilty of Love
Book III: Still Guilty
The Guilty Parties series
Book I: The Acquittal
Book II: The Confession
The Jamieson Legacy
Book I: Guilty by Association
Book II: The Guilt Trip
Book III: Free from Guilt
The Carmen Sisters
Book I: No Easy Catch
Book II: In Defense of Love
Redeeming Heart
Book III: Driven to Be Loved
Love at the Crossroads
Book I: Stopping Traffic
Book II: A Baby for Christmas
Book III: The Keepsake
Book IV: What God Has
for Me
Making Love Work Anthology
Book I: Love at Work
Book II: Words of Love
Book III: A Mother’s Love
Single titles
Crowning Glory
Talk to Me
Her Dress (novella)
Holiday titles
Love for the Holidays
(Three Christian novellas)
A Christian Christmas
A Christian Easter
A Christian Father’s Day
A Woman After David’s Heart (Valentine’s Day)
Christmas Greetings
Dedicated to the LOST SHEEP
Welcome Home
Luke 15:1-7
Acknowledgements
I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for allowing me to write this story for His glory.
A special shout out to Lisa McKnight of Rhema Services LLC and Angella “AJ” Miller, my good friend, for their insight into the real estate business; and my cousin, Darlene Simmons, who has had my back since we met through our genealogy research.
I appreciate my husband’s patience while I’m in my writing world. I am truly blessed to have Kerry Simmons as a mate for 30 plus years. Thank you honey!
A many thanks to my pastor, Bishop James A. Johnson, 1st Lady Juana Johnson, family and friends who continue to bless me with their support.
A good book is only as good as good editors: thanks Chandra Sparks Splond and EditorNancy/Fiveer.com.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Book Club Discussions
About the Author
Other Christian Titles Include
The Guilty Series Kick Off
Chapter 1
What was that?
Octavia Winston’s heart constricted as she strained her ears and inhaled. After counting to ten, she exhaled, but she dared not move. As a real estate agent, Octavia was familiar with the mood of a house—its quietness as well as its subtle growing pains. Occupied homes had different vibes from that of a vacant house.
The University City neighborhood was a crossover from St. Louis city to the county. Affectionately called “The Loop” because of its proximity to the elite Washington University, it was known for its thriving nightlife, but in spite of that, this block and adjacent ones had witnessed decades of families come and go. This two-story, three-bedroom brick structure was the latest casualty and now possibly a crime scene. The possible victim: twenty-nine-year-old Octavia Winston.
Lord Jesus, please protect me. Octavia swallowed. She had no escape route in this “lower level”—the preferred term she and her associates liked to use when referring to basements. Get a grip, girl! Who cares about semantics in a time of danger?
What was she thinking when she came in for a quick inspection, leaving her phone and purse secure in a locked car while she was trapped in an unsecured house? She scanned the meticulous area for a stick, brick, or any object that actor Macaulay Culkin of the Home Alone movies would think of to rig as a weapon. The windows were large enough to peep in or out, but not wide enough for an escape.
Octavia felt trapped as her heart pumped faster. Her skin felt clammy. All she had was her car key, which could gouge out her assailant’s eyes. She scrunched up her face at the thought of such a gory scene. Her shoes! Single and living alone, Octavia could fashion a makeshift hammer out of anything. Stilettos had their benefits.
She heard a squeak—time was a wastin’. She had to get past the intruder, out the door and to her car; then she could call the police. “Jesus, I don’t know who is upstairs, but please make me a David to whatever Goliath awaits me.”
Releasing a deep breath, Octavia gathered momentum like a plane revving up its engines for takeoff. She quietly tiptoed to the base of the steps. Lifting her short skirt even higher, she hiked two steps at a time upstairs toward freedom. As Octavia made it to the landing, she barreled into something—someone—somebody who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With her adrenaline still charged, she tackled him like a defensive football player. The impact seemed to startle the intruder. Good. She took the element of s
urprise to her advantage.
She scrambled to her feet, but tripped. When her assailant got to his feet, Octavia took off, charging ahead, refusing to look back as she opened the door. Outside, she gulped for air, but kept running. Where were the nosey neighbors when she needed them? She had no witnesses in broad daylight to hear her cries for help.
She scurried across the sidewalk, deactivated her car alarm, jumped into her Taurus and locked the doors. Octavia fumbled with her keys until the right one made contact with the ignition. Steering with one hand, she drove off as she reached for her cell phone on the passenger seat. She used her voice-activation to call the police.
“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”
She started rambling, “I’m a real estate agent and…just come quick. It’s a big one. He’s in the house—”
“Are you still in the house, ma’am?” the female dispatcher queried.
“No. I got away, thank God. I knocked him down, but he kept coming after me—”
“What’s the address?”
Octavia could hear the woman pecking on the keyboard as she gave her the information.
“The police are on their way. Stay on the line—”
Too late. Octavia did the opposite and disconnected. She dictated a text to her friend Terri Mack, another agent and broker she worked under: S.O.S. Man in house. Got out. Called 9-1-1.
Pulling over, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. In the years she had shown houses, this had never happened to her. The city neighborhood was stable with black middle-class homeowners who took pride in their properties. Even though this particular listing was on a nice street, the protocol for all agents was to lock up after each showing. It was her agency’s listing, so who had breached security?
She peeked down at her stocking, which had a run in it, and she’d broken a nail from a fresh manicure. Plus, her shoulder was throbbing as a result of the tackle. The fear that held her captive dissipated as defiance surged to the top with a vengeance. Making a sharp U-turn, Octavia raced back to the scene of the crime. Whoever the intruder was, she owed him payback, and watching him get arrested would give her sweet satisfaction.
Chapter 2
Landon Thomas gritted his teeth and cursed. He had blown his cover. Landon’s survival skills as a squanderer were seriously in need of a refresher’s course. At six-two, and about two hundred pounds, how could the little fireball who crashed into him temporarily knock the wind out of him?
Granted, he wasn’t as buff as he had been since leaving Boston six months ago, but at the least, the woman should have bounced off whatever muscle he had maintained.
Dismissing his wounded pride, Landon had to get out of there. He couldn’t risk jail time for various reasons, mainly because he enjoyed freedom. Not only could he not pay for bond, but he wasn’t in good graces with anyone who would gladly help him out. He gathered his belongings—the remains of his mass of wealth that he possessed when he began his journey. The prestige and the pampered life he once had back East were gone. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t put up a fight to hold on to the remnants of his past lifestyle—from creditors and fellow vagabonds.
Life had turned on him with a vengeance, stripping him of almost everything, but Landon refused to lose his dignity, so he clung to his self-pride. Instead of networking with other business professionals, he was schmoozing with homeless associates that were dealt the same fate to survive on the streets of St. Louis.
Nervously, Landon peered through the slits of the wood blinds in the front bedroom, which had been his safe haven. The alternative had been sidewalks, deplorable conditions under overpasses, or shelters as the last resort, so empty houses were like luxury suites at a hotel.
John, Jimmy, Jeremy…J—something from the soup kitchen would chew him out for blowing his cover. His buddy advised him against getting too comfortable in one place and to move on frequently. Landon had overstayed his uninvited welcome by four days. Now, thanks to some good-smelling petite woman, he was about to be evicted from his borrowed residence.
With sirens fast approaching, Landon grabbed his tattered Coach suitcase and slipped out the back door. He cursed at his bad luck that the yard had no bushes and trees for him to hide. He sprinted across the yard and was about to scale the fence when his nightmare came true.
“Freeze! Drop the loot and get on your knees,” a man shouted.
What a way to end his life: a gunshot to the back, whether he complied or not. Releasing his suitcase, Landon lifted his arms in the air and turned around. He fell to his knees, hoping the officer’s weapon wouldn’t accidentally discharge.
“Put your hands up,” a short policewoman commanded as she stormed toward him.
“No, put your hands behind your back,” a tall male officer contradicted. “And don’t move!”
Evidently, they were rookie cops who couldn’t make up their minds about how to confine him. “Great,” Landon said.
They wrestled with his wrists until they cuffed him, then struggled as they heaved him onto his feet. Clark was the name engraved on the male officer’s badge as he left Landon’s side to retrieve all of his stuff. The other badge read Jackson. She was a short African-American woman with a ponytail. Didn’t the police academy have a height restriction?
If nothing else, women were drawn to his charm. Landon had mastered the skills of a smooth talker. He had the looks—a stand-in for actor Tyler Lepley, but enhanced and with money—at one time, he had lots of it. He cast a seductive glance at the officer with his hazel eyes, something that would make the heart of anyone with female hormones flutter. “I just wanted shelter,” which was true. Landon wasn’t a threat to anybody.
“Do you realize you’re trespassing,” Officer Jackson stated, rather than questioned. “Let’s go.” She shoved him as a warning that she would use force. He was definitely losing his charm. In his thirty-three years, he’d never had an arrest record, but from the looks of things, one was pending. He had never been homeless either. God wasn’t playing fair. Could his life get any worse?
As they came through a wrought-iron gate, another woman—beautiful from a distance—was waiting near the patrol car as they escorted him around to the front of the house. Using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she squinted at him.
He gawked at the beauty of her doll-shaped face. The slant of her eyes, either naturally or tricks from makeup, gave her an exotic look. African-American women with any Asian in their blood were his weakness, but who was he kidding? All women were a man’s weakness.
She had the most unusual color of light brown hair as if sandy blonde strands were intertwined. The length wasn’t important; it was her shiny sassy curls that framed her face that made a man look more than once—he did. As a matter-of-fact, Landon could see himself guiding her soft pointed chin toward his face for a kiss.
In less than thirty seconds, Landon scanned her figure to her attractive toes. Her scandals were a series of straps that tied at her ankles. She wasn’t naturally tall, so the heels added height, which drew attention to her well-toned legs, then his eyes traveled back to her face
The softness of her features almost had him groaning until he noticed the lift of a well-defined eyebrow. She looked ticked.
“Landon?” she said in awe, stepping closer. There was that whiff of perfume again, the one that lingered after he was taken down. She was the one who had collided with him. “What were you doing in there?” She pointed to the house.
How did she know his name?
He had a sharp memory, except when it came to women’s names and faces after a night’s encounter. The next morning, he had forgotten both without regret, but not this woman. They definitely didn’t run in the same circles. No man in his right mind would allow her needs not to be met. Landon swallowed.
“I’m visiting,” he smarted, stating the obvious. His warped sense of humor was one of his causalities of humiliation.
“Ma’am, you know him?” Officer Clark asked as the unidenti
fied woman eyed him. “Would you like to press charges?”
“No, that’s not necessary.” His rescuer fanned her hand in the air. “My company owns this property. I just didn’t know Landon was here,” she said in a manner that made Landon suspicious. “You can release him. I recognize him as one of our patrons at Gateway 180.”
Patron at a food pantry was synonymous with homeless. The term took on a whole new meaning when he unceremoniously joined the ranks after losing his senior advertising sales rep position at Foster & Wake Ad Agency in Boston. If she volunteered at the Gateway 180 shelter, then she must have handed him a brown bag lunch a time or two. That was one place Landon didn’t want to be recognized. There are always hundreds in the food line, so how come she would remember him?
“He’s going with me,” she stated, a fist on her curvy hip. She tapped her heel. Judging from her determined expression, she had a scheme brewing.
Not much scared him, but it was something about this soup kitchen volunteer that shook his confidence. “I am?” His jaw dropped.
“Yes, you are.” She nodded toward her car.
“You sure, miss?” Officer Clark exchanged a guarded look with his partner who shrugged.
Clearing her throat, Jackson advised, “Then you better lock this place up.”
With that said, all eyes were on his unnamed rescuer as she jogged up the stairs and vanished into the house, he guessed to assess any damage for which he might be responsible. The only evidence of his habitation would probably be a ring around the tub after a long, hot bath without the benefits of soap. Landon didn’t plan to return to the house tonight without his choice shower gel and toothpaste. He wasn’t a thief by trade or hobby, but the idea was tempting.
