“You might? I think you definitely will,” she said, glancing at the puffy knee once again. “Have you taken any Advil or something?”
“No.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”
She dashed up the stairs and searched her suitcase for the bottle of medicine and returned to Michael’s side with a glass of water and two tablets in hand. He took them without arguing and thanked her.
“I might have to keep you around,” he said, pulling her down to sit beside him. She felt like she was crowding his space, but he didn’t seem to mind. Someone hollered from the kitchen door that dinner was ready, and she waited beside him while everyone began to gather around the tables. After the group prayer, she went to get him a plate and then returned to get one for herself.
He didn’t feel all that hungry and laid his plate aside with half his food uneaten. But he did finish off his glass of milk. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, falling asleep before she finished her lasagna.
She remembered that she had signed up to help in the kitchen after dinner and rose to take her and Michael’s dishes with her. Before she stepped away, she took the postcard from her front pocket and laid it, picture side up, under his fingertips.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
By the time Natalie finished scrubbing the last lasagna pan, the only other person remaining in the kitchen was the gal who had volunteered to sweep the floor. She went upstairs to change and laid her fleece pullover on her bed. She replaced her shorts with khaki pants and decided to wear the nicest outfit she had brought, a coral knit tank top with a matching lightweight cardigan.
She went to the small bathroom down the hall, brushed her teeth, and fluffed out her windblown hair as much as possible, then put on some light make-up. When she returned to the main room with her Bible and a notebook in hand, she didn’t see Michael on the couch where he had been before. Allison had taken a seat near the stage, and she joined her, asking if she knew where Michael was.
“Some guys carried him downstairs to his bed to rest. He’s not going to be at the meeting, but he hopes to feel better later so he can still do the concert for us.”
Natalie would have preferred to go sit with him during the meeting, even if he slept the whole time, but she knew that wouldn’t be proper for her to be down in the guys’ sleeping rooms. She wondered if he’d had a chance to read the postcard and hoped it hadn’t gotten lost in the transfer. I should have given it to him when he was awake. What if someone else found it and read the note? Brilliant, Natalie. Just brilliant.
Another guy in the band led the worship time. He did a decent job, but something was definitely lacking without Michael. She wondered if she was the only one who felt that way, but she doubted it. Michael was very good at what he did, not just singing and playing the keyboard, but also bringing a unique atmosphere that seemed to draw everyone into the music in a special way.
They prayed for Michael between the singing time and Ted’s message. Ted continued on the theme he had begun last night and expounded on this morning. Natalie had a hard time concentrating with her thoughts wandering to Michael often, but she did find herself listening toward the end:
“The most important thing to God is not our talents or our abilities. He is not focused on our good deeds or achievements. He’s not even concerned about our failures or our mistakes. What did He ask Adam and Eve in the garden after they had eaten the forbidden fruit?
“He wanted to know where they were. Of course, He already knew, so why did he ask? Because He wanted a response. He didn’t come wagging His finger and start yelling and scolding them like a father who had caught his four-year-old trying to flush a pool ball down the toilet--and yes, my precious daughter has tried that--twice. They go down too--but only halfway!”
Everyone laughed, except Ted.
“But God didn’t do that. He had every right to. Adam and Eve had disobeyed. The one thing He had asked them not to do, they did. Talk about being disappointed in your child. Talk about gut-wrenching turmoil. Talk about being so angry your voice raises to a level you didn’t know existed.
“But what did God do? He came looking for them, and He waited for them to come to Him--to confess their sin. To give them a chance to ask for forgiveness so He could extend His grace to them. He wants a relationship, not a dictatorship.”
Adam and Eve were real people? I thought that was just a fairy-tale. And what does that have to do with me? I haven’t heard God telling me what I should and shouldn’t do. Does He even know? Does He even care? Seems like an awfully big world for Him to be waiting for me to come find Him.
About an hour was scheduled between the evening meeting and the concert that may or may not be taking place. Natalie had to wait along with everyone else to hear if Michael was feeling up to doing any singing tonight.
She decided to go upstairs and lay on her bed instead of sitting downstairs pretending to enjoy animated conversation. She laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, remembering Michael’s sweet kisses. She could almost feel his soft lips meeting hers. Her heart surged with passion at the thought of his gentle touch.
“Natalie?”
She opened her eyes and turned toward the door. Allison poked her head into the room. “Michael is asking for you.”
Natalie leapt from the bed and followed Allison downstairs. Allison said Michael was in his room and to go ahead and go down to the basement. “He’s in the first room on the left.”
Natalie descended the staircase and approached the closed door. She knocked softly and cracked it open, seeing Michael lying down on one of the bottom bunks. He had some pillows behind his back, propping his torso semi-upright. He smiled and held out his hand. She walked to the bed and sat down beside him, being careful not to bang her head on the upper bunk.
He sat forward, placed his hand around her waist, and kissed her before she had a chance to ask how he was feeling. She didn’t mind and enjoyed the sensation she had been dreaming about a minute ago. He drew back and seemed to penetrate her soul with his intense gaze.
Lifting his fingers to her cheek, he stroked her skin with his thumb and reached for something beside him with his other hand. He held the postcard up for her to see. She felt relieved he had gotten it and hoped he had been the only one to read her words. Wondering what he thought about them made her feel embarrassed, but her fears that she had said too much, too soon, subsided quickly with his words.
“I’ve been searching for a treasure like you for a long time too, Natalie. I hope this is only the beginning of something very special for us.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, then remembered her concerned thoughts. “How’s your knee?”
“Better,” he said, lifting the ice pack from his skin and laying it aside. “I think I can hobble up the stairs. Can’t keep my fans waiting.”
“Michael? Are you sure? Everyone will understand if you don’t feel like doing the concert.”
“If I spend one more minute on this bed, I’m going to go insane. I’d rather be up there in pain than down here being bored. Do you have any more of that medicine?”
“Yes. I’ll go get some,” she said and pushed his body back against the pillows. “And I’ll get someone to help you up the stairs.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he submitted. She rose from the bed and stepped toward the door.
“Natalie?”
She turned back.
“I may not be able to go for a walk with you later, but I’d like to go for a drive if you don’t mind.”
She smiled. “I think I could arrange that.”
Natalie found Jeff and told him Michael needed some help getting upstairs and then went to her room to get Michael some more Advil. Jen and Laurie were there and were glad to hear he was feeling better and wanted to do the concert for them.
“He is going to make such an awesome youth pastor,” Jen said. “I know I would have liked to have someone so gifted with music leading my yout
h group.”
“Not to mention someone so easy on the eyes,” Laurie teased her.
“Laurie!” Jen whispered loudly. Natalie saw Jen’s horrified expression and laughed.
“Don’t worry, Jen. You’re not the only one in this group I’ve seen flirting with my boyfriend.”
“I’ve never flirted with Michael,” she said. “I’ve stared, but never flirted.”
They all laughed. Then Laurie said, “I think Natalie will be breaking a few hearts herself once word gets around that Michael has staked his claim on her.”
“Yeah,” Jen added. “I don’t think the two of them will have any trouble getting kids in their youth group to come to church on Sundays. The girls will all be in love with Michael, and the guys will be drooling over his beautiful wife.”
“That’s for sure,” Laurie agreed.
Natalie felt a bit stunned by their words.
“Now we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Jen quickly added. “Michael may come to his senses and realize that I am the one he truly wants.”
Laurie about choked on the Pepsi she had just taken a sip of. “Yeah, Jen. Like that’s gonna happen. Keep dreaming.”
Natalie laughed good-naturedly, knowing they were only teasing her and left to take Michael the pain pills. But on the way down the stairs, she thought about Jen’s words about her and Michael being leaders of a youth group as husband and wife. I’m dating a guy who wants to be a youth pastor, and if we get married that would make me a pastor’s wife. What does a pastor’s wife do? Lead Bible studies? Sing in the choir? Teach Sunday School? She found those possibilities horrifying.
Surely Michael wouldn’t expect that of me. He wouldn’t expect me to lead with him or even go to church all the time. He could do his thing, and I would have my own life. If we get married someday that doesn’t mean I have to believe the same things he does. Does it?
She put the thought out of her head and found Michael warming up on stage. He usually stood while he sang and played, but his keyboard had been lowered and a chair set up for him. His knee looked swollen, but he said it felt okay as long as he wasn’t standing. He thanked her for the medicine and squeezed her hand before she turned away.
“Oh, by the way,” he said. “I wrote a song for you last night. I won’t embarrass you by telling everyone that when I sing it later. But I think you’ll know which one it is.”
The concert began shortly thereafter. The band sounded great, and she thought they sounded even better in this small setting than they had in the large church when she’d heard them perform three weeks ago. The instruments and voices blended perfectly, and Michael’s voice sounded especially resonate in the acoustic-friendly room.
“I’m afraid I may have to shorten our list, guys,” he said with a pained expression after about thirty minutes. “Let’s skip down to the last two.”
Natalie thought he looked pale and wondered if he should stop now. But there was little she could do about it. Running up on stage and advising him to call it a night like an overprotective mother seemed foolish, even though that’s exactly what she felt like doing. She was glad when someone else noticed his empty water glass and went to get him some more. Oh, God. Please don’t let him faint up there.
He met her concerned gaze and winked. I’m all right.
She relaxed some, seeing his smile, and sat back to enjoy the remaining songs. She remembered his words about the one he had written for her and wondered if it had been one he had chosen to skip, feeling certain he had not sung it thus far.
The last two were clearly about God, but she didn’t blame him for not playing her song. Everyone cheered loudly after the final one, and he apologized for having to cut the time short. When she saw him stand and begin to hobble her direction, she sprang to her feet and met him halfway.
“Michael, you need to sit down,” she said. “You look pale.”
“I’m all right,” he said. “Let’s go for that drive.”
“Michael. We are not going anywhere. You need to go to bed.”
He forced a smile. “I can walk to the car,” he said. “Once I can stretch out, I’ll be fine.”
She tried to protest, but he stopped her by pressing his index finger to her lips.
“I just need some fresh air, and I’ll feel better. I really want some time with you. Please?”
She gave in. He made it to the car on his own, and she supported his arm as he sank slowly into the passenger seat. He had to bend his knee to get his leg inside the door, but she decided to let him deal with the consequences. She was not his mother for pity’s sake.
She went around to the other side and got in, put her key in the ignition, and started the car. Michael had laid his head back and closed his eyes.
“Michael, are you sure--?”
He opened his eyes, sat forward, and leaned over to kiss her in one fluid motion. Returning to his comfortable position, he closed his eyes once again. “I’m sure.”
She pulled onto the deserted street and headed for the highway. Traveling north along the dark coastline, she drove in silence for several miles. She thought Michael had fallen asleep until he finally spoke.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to do your song,” he said. “I started to feel lightheaded and knew I’d better wrap things up or they’d be picking me up off the floor.”
“I don’t think you should have been up there at all,” she said. “If it doesn’t feel better by morning I think you need to go home and get it looked at.”
What is happening to me? I sound like my mother!
A funny memory entered her mind with that thought. Once when she was about eight, Daddy had cut his finger while helping slice some carrots for dinner. She remembered her mom wrapping it in some gauze and applying pressure to stop the bleeding. She kept saying, “It’s going to need stitches. I better call the doctor.” Then she made him sit down in a chair and asked Patrick to find the doctor’s number for her.
The funny part Natalie remembered was when Daddy finally got Mama to be quiet and calm down by pulling her onto his lap and kissing her without warning. Mama had been taken by complete surprise and tried to escape his arms at first, claiming he was going to get blood on her shirt. But Daddy hadn’t let her.
She had seen that playfulness between them before that time, but not much after. That was one of the last memories she had of her parents being happy together. What had gone wrong? One day they were happy and laughing, and then overnight, it seemed, they had started fighting all the time and hating each other.
Natalie pulled off the highway at Cannon Beach and drove into a parking area that overlooked the ocean. The water was not visible with the limited lighting, but she cracked her window so she could hear the gentle roar.
Michael opened his eyes and sat up a bit. “I feel better now, really,” he said, reaching for her hand. “Don’t be mad. I just wanted some time with you.”
“I’m not mad,” she said.
“You look sad. I’m sorry I’m not too talkative. Did I upset you?”
“No,” she replied, tucking her blond hair behind her ear. “I was just thinking about something.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
She told him about her dad cutting his finger and the playful interaction between her parents that she remembered so fondly.
“How do two people go from being so happy and in love to hating each other?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
“It scares me. I’ve always told myself that when I get married I will make sure that it’s right. That I won’t ever do what my parents did. But I just realized that they were in love once, but at some point that changed.”
She started crying, and he held her without hesitation. Her tears seemed to come from a bottomless pit of buried emotion. Michael didn’t say anything, but she felt his concern.
He grabbed a fast food napkin from the glove box and handed it to her when her tears subsided. She wiped her eyes and nose, feeling embarrassed s
he had fallen apart like that. He reached for her chin and turned her face toward his.
“Natalie, are you falling in love with me?”
His bluntness surprised her, and she knew her sapphire eyes must be as big as the deep blue sea.
He maintained his serious expression, waiting for her to respond. She drew in a deep breath, not knowing what to say.
“You don’t have to answer that,” he said. “But I want you to know that I think I’m falling in love with you.”
She bit her quivering lip.
“I’m sorry if that scares you. But I can’t help myself.”
She didn’t respond, and he leaned forward to kiss her. His touch felt too good for her to push him away, and she gave in to the feelings she had in her heart, even though they frightened her.
His kisses lingered for quite some time. Each one filled with passion and yet controlled. She noticed he didn’t try to touch her anywhere besides her arms and waist, giving her an amazing sense of being cherished and respected. His unroving hands were a welcome change from the way guys in her past had usually handled her.
When he stopped and drew back to look into her face, he ran his fingers through her hair and let the strands fall gently into place. She couldn’t keep the words from spilling from her constricted throat
“The answer is yes, Michael. I am falling in love with you. And yes, that scares me.”
Michael smiled and held her close.
“If we cling to God, Natalie, and let His love fill our hearts, nothing will ever come between us. He promises that.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Natalie knew Michael’s words were supposed to make her feel better, but she didn’t take much comfort in them. She did know, however, that no matter how risky falling for Michael could be, that’s exactly what she was doing, and she felt powerless to stop it.
They sat for awhile longer enjoying the peacefulness of each other’s company and then headed back. Michael made it out of the car okay and managed to walk back to the house, but he chose to spend the night on one of the couches on the main floor rather than trying to manage the stairs or go trouble someone to help him.
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