Finding Love: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Love's Enduring Promise Book 2)

by T. K. Chapin

  “Why? You’re here now…”

  “My best friend just died, Jonathan… My mom is dead… I have no idea where or who my father is.”

  “Oh. Well, you know Rebecca… Life can be hard.”

  “Yeah…” Rebecca sat on the edge of his hospital bed and looked out into the hallway. She saw a little boy in a white hospital gown walk by. That’s so sad… How could a God claim to love people and let this happen?

  “If God’s around, and heaven exists, I’m sure we are both going,” Jonathan said.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because we are good people. We don’t break laws, we pay our taxes… Why would God punish us for that?”

  “Michael said one sin makes us filthy and unacceptable to God’s perfection.”

  “That God sounds like a prick,” Jonathan replied quickly.

  Rebecca felt offended by the comment. “You can’t judge God.”

  “I just did. Calm down… It’s not a big deal. We are so young still… We don’t need to worry about dying. We need to live!” Jonathan moaned as he grabbed at his ribs.

  “Yeah? I don’t know about that dude…”

  Rebecca began to leave the room when Jonathan called out for her, “Where are you going?”

  “To find some answers.”

  Rebecca went for a drive in the country to think. As the window was down, the warm spring air filled the car and pushed her hair back. Coming to a fork as the sun was setting, she had two options. One road led back into the city of Spokane, and the other went up into the mountains. Sitting at the fork, she peered down the dirt road that she had never been on and into the mountains, then over at the one that led back to the city.

  I don’t know You very well God, but I want to… I need to find peace for this pain and unquiet spirit I have in me. Please help me understand.

  Opening her eyes, she saw a squirrel run across the dirt road, and so she began up the path into the hills. As she drove into the mountains, the right side of the road dropped off into what appeared to be a never-ending slope. Glancing towards the edge, she saw tops of trees as she climbed higher into the mountains.

  Finding a little dirt patch off to the side of the road that snuggled against the mountain, she parked her car. Stepping out, she was refreshed by the sound of the wildlife and quietness that went with it.

  “Sure beats the busy streets of Spokane,” she said as she walked across the gravel road. Peering over the ledge, she could see through the trees to a beautiful and lush valley below. A truck horn startled her from behind, causing her footing to slip. Her screams were lost in the wilderness as she fell, not being about to grab on to anything. And then, everything went black.

  CHAPTER 19 ~ Michael

  Sitting in a booth at the sandwich shop up the road from his apartment, Michael rubbed his cup of coffee as he stared at Rebecca’s number in his phone. He wasn’t sure if he should call her, or just wait for her to come around. He’d been thinking this same thing for over the last couple months, and he was beginning to doubt she ever would come around.

  “Were you going to order some food?” The waitress asked.

  “No, I’m fine with my coffee,” Michael replied with a quick smile. No food in the world could satisfy the desire he had in his heart to be with the one he loved, Rebecca. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but it definitely did.

  Suddenly the door chimed at the entrance to the sandwich shop, Michael looked over his shoulder to see it was Floyd. He waved at him and came and sat down in his booth. Setting his cap down on the table, Floyd asked, “How are you doing, kid?”

  Shaking his head, Michael looked up at him. “I’m not doing so well… I wanted to talk to you about something, that’s why I called you.”

  “I figured as much.” Floyd glanced over towards the kitchen area of the shop and continued, “Figured you weren’t bringing me here for the sandwiches.” A smile set into Floyd’s worn face. “What’s up, let’s talk.”

  “Rebecca won’t return my calls… And I stopped trying to call.”

  Floyd reached across the table and grasped onto Michael’s hands with his. “You have to set her free, Michael.”

  Michael pulled his hands away. “I tried Floyd, I really did! I just can’t shake this feeling…”

  “Like you love her?”

  “It’s more than that… I feel like something is wrong.”

  Floyd looked perplexed. “Wrong?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Have you called any of her friends or seen any of her family?”

  “Well… I don’t really know any of her friends or family.” Michael glanced over at the waitress behind the counter as she rang someone up for their order. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid. And making up crazy scenarios since obviously she’s rejecting me….”

  “You could be…” Floyd paused for a moment, before changing subjects. “How’s writing going? And your class at MCC.”

  “Writing sucks. I can’t focus… all I do is think about Rebecca when I sit down to type… The class has been okay. We have a few students who are setting up exhibits over at the Rasmum Center tonight.”

  “Gotta get your mind off her, boy… but that’s great about your students!” Leaning across the table, he said, “What’s the Rasmum Center?”

  “It’s an Art Gallery over on the west side. It’s a really nice gallery… I won’t be going tonight, though.”

  “And why not?”

  “I just don’t feel like it.”

  Floyd shook his head. “Don’t forget who your Lord and Savior is, buddy, how much did He really want to get brutally beaten and killed for your sins? He was willing, yes, but you know for a fact He didn’t want to do it. He even asked for the cup to get taken away if possible.”

  Michael shook his head, “I’m not Jesus. And this is different.”

  “Only because you make it different. You are proud of those kids in your class. You should go show your support to them!”

  “Okay…” Michael said, letting his words trail off. He didn’t want to go to the gallery. He just wanted to hide inside his apartment and shut the world out. Why did I want to talk to him again? Michael thought to himself sarcastically as he saw the waitress come their direction.

  Arriving at the Rasmum Center that evening for the gallery, he saw one of his students pacing in circles in front of her exhibit. She looked obviously nervous and overwhelmed over the event.

  “Alisha, you’re going to do fine,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Your abstraction piece of how your pregnancy affected you is beautifully crafted and I’m sure everyone will love it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” Michael replied, smiling. “You’re a brave soul for painting this piece of art and I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks,” she responded, her shoulders relaxed from the praise.

  Making his rounds throughout the gallery, he spoke with the various artists attending the event and then eventually made his way over to the exhibit that belonged to him.

  Staring at the painting he had picked out from the collection, a tear formed in his eye, as it was the last picture his wife ever painted. She called it “The Hands of God.” Two large hands were fashioning a piece of clay. The clay itself was multifaceted and shown through various shades of blue, green and red.

  “What’s it mean…” A woman’s voice from behind him asked. Turning, he saw it was Rebecca.

  “Rebecca?” Michael said, shocked.

  Ignoring him, she asked again. “What’s it mean?”

  Michael turned back around to the painting and pointed to the hands. “That’s God.”

  “And what’s the clay?” She asked, keeping her sights on the painting.

  “The clay is a Christian.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “The clay symbolizes believers. He molds us, shapes us, and we bend to his will.”

  “The night we were shaping that pot… when you slammed it against the
potter’s wheel… Does God do that to us also?”

  “That’s one way to look at it, but really… Life does that for us.”

  Michael watched her eyes as it fell into the corner of the painting and saw it was done by Eleanor Ve’Delar. “She’s a student of yours?”

  “No,” Michael said, shaking his head as he looked down at his toes. He felt his throat clench. He wanted to ask her a million questions and get to the bottom of what happened, but she seemed more interested in the painting, so he pushed his own desire aside. “That’s the name my wife used to create her art.”

  Rebecca looked him in the eyes. “You didn’t say anything though… and you saw her art in my apartment.”

  “Would it have changed anything?” Michael asked sharply. “I didn’t see a need to bring it up.”

  “Your wife’s art is hanging in my apartment, I have the same name as her and you still keep photos out on display… I honestly think you’re just trying to replace her, not find someone new. I am not a replacement and never will be. You’re not over her, Michael.” Rebecca turned, and began to head for the exit.

  Every step she took, Michael’s heart twisted more inside. I have to know what happened. Chasing her out the doors of the gallery, Michael grabbed her arm and turned her around.

  Tears streaming down her face with her mascara running, she asked “What do you want from me, Michael?”

  “You came here tonight; I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “I thought I could see you again… but I can’t. I’m not strong enough.” She broke out into a sob as she turned and walked quickly to the parking lot.

  Running after her, he said, “Strong enough for what? I don’t get your deal. You left me high and dry for months.”

  “I died, Michael.”

  “What? You’re here right now. I see you.” Confused, he reached out and touched her skin. “I feel you. You’re not dead.” Oh, how much that one touch meant to him. Her skin was just as he remembered.

  “I meant I died in the hospital for a few minutes. I was declared dead. My heart stopped.”

  “Oh, why didn’t you call me?” Probably not the smartest thing to ask, but he was unsure of what to say in the moment. If what she said was true, he could have lost her forever, and his heart almost broke at that thought.

  Rebecca ran back to him and slapped him. “Don’t be so selfish. What did you expect? A call from heaven?”

  CHAPTER 20 ~ Rebecca

  “I didn’t know what to think…” Michael paused for a moment. “You left me, told me you had Jonathan, and that you didn’t want to be with me… but even after all that I tried calling… but you never returned my calls. I eventually stopped leaving voicemails and I haven’t seen nor heard from you in months!” Michael’s eyes were swollen with tears.

  “My phone got smashed in the accident, and after coming out of my coma I got a new phone and number. I figured you’d find me if you cared enough...”

  “You said it was over, Rebecca… I figured you were trying to hint not to call anymore.”

  “What about my work? What about coming by my apartment?”

  “I could only take so much! Your rejection hurt me deeply, I… I didn’t know if I could take more rejection face to face. I was a broken man. Pure desperation is the only reason I kept calling for as long as I did… Tell me more about your accident. I had no idea, didn’t see anything in the news, I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you”

  The man doesn’t complete me; he’s only a man. Only you can complete me, Lord, Rebecca prayed.

  Rebecca took a deep breath in and exhaled. “Okay, Michael… I was in a serious accident, in which I slipped into a small coma after the doctors were able to get my heart beating again. My recovery has been great.”

  “I am very glad you are okay… I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had stayed dead… never mind. Let’s not go down that road. You came here to see me tonight, you said? So where does that leave us? I thought you had Jonathan?” Michael’s eyes held hope and fear. The power she had in the moment frightened her slightly.

  Rebecca laughed for a moment. “No, Jonathan is history… after barely making sure I was awake; He went traveling across Europe to find his meaning in life. I’m pretty sure it’s just a mid-life crisis thing, but it’s whatever. We have different priorities in life, that’s not what I want; I can’t believe I ever thought I did.” Rebecca stepped closer to Michael and looked over his shoulder at the art gallery.

  “So you came to see me?” he asked.

  “I love you, Michael.”

  “What…?” he asked, taking a step back. He looked fearful, like he didn’t want to be hurt all over again by her. Rebecca’s heart burned in pain knowing that she had put that fear there. She knew he was the man of her dreams, the one she had longed to meet for so much of her life.

  “When I was lying in the bottom of that valley I had tumbled down into, I thought about two things. The first being my eternity and the second being you.”

  “Why didn’t you reach out to me before this, then? It doesn’t make any sense. There wasn’t a day that went by I didn’t think of you, try to call you…”

  “Listen,” Rebecca said, touching his arm. “I faced death head on and I was about to die… and I realized something…. I realized that it doesn’t matter how much money you have, what kind of car you own… what it really boils down to is God, and if you loved anyone and if anyone loved you. And when I started thinking about you, I realized you were the one I wanted to be with.

  You showed me the kind of love that little girls grow up dreaming about. I saw a man who loved God, and loved the world because of it. You didn’t care that I was a sinner, you didn’t care I had flaws, you accepted me, comforted me, were there for me, and loved me… you loved me when I didn’t even love myself. And I want to thank you for that.”

  Michael smiled at her words. “From the moment you stole my satchel I’ve been a little crazy about you, Rebecca.”

  “I know that… and I can see that now. You intrigued me from the beginning also, but your love, God’s love, it was so overwhelming and I ran away from it. Jonathan was never right for me; he was just an easy distraction. I am sorry for hurting you like that. From the deepest part in my heart, I am really sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, it’s a lot to take in. So you realized God is important?”

  “Yes.” At that, a smile lit her face. “I accepted Jesus into my heart, I am a born-again Christian. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at the starry night sky. “You were trying so hard to show me… but it was something I had to find on my own once you laid the groundwork.” Looking back into Michael’s eyes, love overcame her.

  Michael hugged her firmly and said, “I’m so happy for you!”

  “Thank you,” she said as he embraced her. It felt to Rebecca that their bodies were made just for this particular moment. She felt so complete, so right, and so in love with Michael. “I just wanted to let you know, I needed a little time and I took it. I needed to sort this Christianity thing out in my mind and figure it out before I could come talk to you.”

  “I understand,” Michael replied. “Coming to a place of repentance and acceptance of your shortcomings is difficult. And it only gets harder the older you get in life.”

  “I agree entirely,” Rebecca smiled.

  Turning around back to the art gallery, Michael said, “Would you like to come back in? Or did you need to go somewhere else?”

  “There isn’t a place I would rather be than here with you. I love you,” Rebecca said, locking her hand into his.

  Epilogue

  Rebecca and Michael dated for a year until he proposed on a hot air balloon trip across the Spokane Valley. They moved six months later to Little Rock Arkansas after Rebecca accepted an offer from a local magazine as Editor in Chief. Michael continues to write and teaches at the local college there in Little Rock.

  Sneak Peek

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Claire's Hope by T.K. Chapin

  Prologue

  Flurries delicately fell from the sky one late November morning as my brother and I were getting ready for school. As I peered out my bedroom window, I watched as the flakes of white tumbled down from the dreary and the clouded sky, making their home in my family’s backyard.

  Last week was Thanksgiving, and I had plenty to be thankful for. I had just celebrated my eighteenth birthday the month prior and was now considered an adult, at least by my own thinking. Between being eighteen and picking up a part-time job at the frozen yogurt shop ‘Slippery Treats,’ I thought I was ready for this thing called life. Little did I know, that day would change the course of my life forever.

  Coming down the stairs that morning for school, it felt just like any other day, my mother was in the kitchen preparing my little brother Todd’s lunch. Todd was a typical twelve year old brother. The annoying, smelly, know-it-all type.

  “Here you go,” my mother said, handing me a twenty dollar bill. “That should cover some food and your lunches while your Father and I are gone.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, shoving the twenty in my back jean pocket. “What time is Aunt Jennie going to be here?” I asked, trying to reinforce the fact I had no desire to watch Todd.

  “I really wish you would reconsider watching your brother for us after school… It’s just four days.”

  Glaring over at Todd as he ate his fruit loops at the dining room table, I shook my head. Being cooped up in the house with that twelve-year-old alien wasn’t at all what I wanted to do with my time, no matter how much they’d be willing to pay me. “I have stuff I need to do… and I have a job.”

  “Claire, we know you’re off the next five days in a row…”

  “So what? I still have a life Mom... When’s Aunt Jennie going to be here?”

  Exasperated, my mother sighed. “She’ll be here after you and your brother get out of school. She’ll be picking you both up.”

  “I’m going to Matt’s after school, though…”