by Nancy Hopper
The waitress came, and Callie was eternally grateful for the diversion. She ordered a Seafood salad, and then began to fidget, when Sadie excused herself to go to the Ladies' room. She longed to go along with her friend, but she knew without thinking about it that she wasn't going to get off the hook. So, she sat and waited, just wilting under his scrutiny.
Sam put his warm hand over hers. "Callie, please. Will you relax? I won't bite." He promised, whispering in her ear.
She looked up into his smiling eyes, that seemed to chastise and entreat her at the same time. She blushed profusely, and tried to look away.
"Tell me what's wrong." He insisted gently.
"I wish I knew." She answered shortly. "You are a ... a very unsettling man." She pulled her hand out from under his, and put them in her lap.
"That could be quite positive." He mused aloud. "Actually, I'd certainly consider it so; except for the fact that you despise preachers."
Callie looked up at him in horror, and he laughed at her without rancor. "Care to tell me why?"
Callie looked away, and shook her head in horror and disbelief. "Mr. Stringer," she objected stonily.
"My name is Sam," he corrected softly.
"Sam," she echoed patronizingly, "I am just not the type. Okay?"
"What type is that, Callie?" he asked, patiently.
"The type to ... oh, I don't know! To go to church. To be a Miss Perfection. To be a good little Christian girl. Don't think for a moment that I'm anything like Sadie! I'm simply not!" she sputtered. Then, she was horrified by her confession. Now, he knew the truth and he’d be on the salvation trail, for sure. She closed her eyes and nearly groaned aloud.
Sam sighed patiently, and leaned back against the seat, to give her a little more room to breathe. "Good! I'm glad you're none of those things. Tell me about yourself then, Callie. What kind of woman, exactly, are you?"
"Are you having fun at my expense?" she asked suspiciously.
Sam leaned close, and looked her steadily in the eyes. "Not a bit of it. I just want to know you better, that's all."
Callie drew herself up, and braced herself to look into his steady eyes. "You wouldn't be terribly interested in all honesty, Mr. Stringer."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" he suggested lightly. He simply waited. He watched her patiently.
Callie twisted her lips wryly. "All right." She agreed, and went on, using a very bored voice. "I'm certainly not a Christian. I am not even interested in being a Christian. I sing in bars, and I have an occasional drink. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke and although I've never been particularly promiscuous, I'm certainly not a virgin, either. So please, don't get any ideas about saving me, preacher, because I really don't want to be saved. I'm having a bloody good time, and I'll continue to live without it."
When she ventured a look at him, he was watching her with benign interest. It appeared that her blunt confessions had not upset him, in the least. "Why are you so convinced that I don't accept you as you are? Why do you think that my mission is to revamp your life?"
"How could it not be?" she challenged with light sarcasm. "Everybody who believes in Jesus, is trying to save me from the unfathomable pit."
He had to laugh, and rubbed his eyes ruefully. "Oh, Callie. I am sorry. You've been the victim of a bit of hard sell, have you?"
"I'll admit that I have. And I've had enough of it. You and I, sir, are diametrically opposed; and there is simply nothing to be done about it. I'm sorry if that sounds rude."
"No." He answered slowly. "Not really, but I can't accept it, either. Callie,” he entreated her, gently turning her face so that she had to look into his eyes, "I like you. And I think you could like me too, if you'd ever give me just half an inch." He raised his eyebrows enquiringly and grinned. “I’m really not so bad.”
Callie blushed, and felt terror rising up inside her. He was getting far too bold. Not in any inappropriate way, yet it felt dangerous. Very dangerous.
"Eh, Callie? Come on, now. Give me a break. We're going to be working on the same team tonight; I'm just trying to break the ice. I want you to feel at ease with me. Give just a little, won't you please?"
Callie opened her mouth, and then shut it again abruptly.
"Is it asking so much?" he asked gently.
She shook her head in confusion, and closed her eyes. "Please, Mr. Stringer. Don't take this personally. I just don't know if I can do this. I should never have told Sadie I'd sing! You know, I just don't think that I'm going to fit in; and I hate being rude ..."
"Then don't be." Sam suggested, a bit forcefully. "Just treat us the same way you'd treat anybody else, and see what happens."
Callie looked at him in shock.
"Callie, it's obvious that you're carrying some deep scars; but I'm asking you, anyway. Please don't hold them against me. Give me a chance to redeem the name of Jesus a bit, will you?" he coaxed. "That's all I want; just to be your friend. I know you don't want me to preach at you, and I certainly don't intend to. I don't condemn you for being a musician, or for anything else. Come on, now. Meet me halfway. Will you, lady?"
Maybe it was the sexy accent, or the dancing eyes, or the boyish smile; but Callie found herself thawing, just enough to smile. "Well; do you promise me that you will not try to give me the old evangelistic one-two?" she prodded suspiciously.
He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "It's not my thing. I really was never very good at it." He whispered confidentially.
Callie had to laugh. This man was real, and there was no keeping him out. He went where he wanted to go; and he got whatever he went there for. This time, it had been her friendship.
"Oh, my. You're smooth, aren't you? Now, you listen to me: If you ever start down the path of condemnation, I'm going to get physical."
He laughed aloud. "I'll just bet." He assured her challengingly. He didn't seem even slightly intimidated. "But I wouldn't be throwing any tempting challenges this way if I were you, lady." He warned. "You might just get more than you ever bargained on."
Callie looked at him out of the corner of her eye and found a burning look of pleasure in his eyes. She could only laugh and shake her head in derision. "Please. Don't make me laugh." She said flatly.
"I beg your pardon?" Sam asked very quietly.
"Don't you dare start patronizing me, by trying to appeal to my vanity. I really don't need any pumping up."
"Just what are you insinuating, Callie?" he asked evenly.
"You know what you were trying to do. Flattery will get you nowhere! I know without a shadow of a doubt that you are not going to be flirting with an unsaved barroom tart on your day off. Cut the crap, Reverend Stringer. Please."
Sam laughed so hard his shoulders shook. "Callie, I'm stunned! Do you really? Could you possibly really imagine that that is how I see you? Who in the world has been tearing your soul apart in the name of Jesus?" he marveled.
"Oh, there have been quite a few." She assured him in a very cold voice.
Sam raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Wow. Well, that is going to give me plenty of room to turn your head around, then isn't it?"
Callie gave him a suspicious glare, and snorted. “Reverend, is there nothing I can say to insult you, to get you to back off? Please, don’t make me be so rude. I am not going to play ball with you and Jesus! I just want to be left alone. That’s all! Now, why don’t we just pretend to be polite to one another for Sadie’s sake, and after tonight, we’ll go our separate ways. It would really be best.” she bargained, with a grim smile and an even gaze, into his patient eyes.
Sam tried to hide his smile. He looked down at his hands, considering, to be sure he was going to say the right thing. "Callie, I have a confession to make. I can see that I have to be absolutely honest with you. Can you take it?"
She gave him a level, chilly look. "I can take anything you can dish out, Your Holiness." She assured him sweetly.
Sam winced a little, but he didn't look away. He h
ad her full attention, and he wasn't going to back off. "I asked Sadie to set this dinner up for a specific reason. I wanted to talk to you, to get to know you a little bit."
Callie forced herself to look exceptionally bored. "May I ask why?"
He smiled and his eyes became very soft, and sultry. Callie couldn't doubt the sincerity of his words as a fire flickered to life in his gaze. He picked up her hand and caressed it with a touch that put a terrified flutter in Callie’s belly.
“Because you are without a doubt, the most desirable woman I have ever laid eyes on. There has been absolutely nothing on my mind since the moment we met, except getting close to you." He put his other arm around her, and drew her close. "You are so beautiful, that I can't keep from staring. You fascinate me completely. I have never in my life felt so drawn to any woman."
“Callie, I want to kiss you so much, I can hardly keep my hands to myself. But I'm afraid if I did the slightest thing wrong, you'd slap me senseless and I'd never get another chance. And that is all that's keeping me on good behavior."
Callie was frozen with shock. Never would she have imagined that this would be his answer! She felt half angry, and half enchanted. She felt her senses melting as he smiled at her lazily. But, the fire was still in his eyes. His gaze fell to her lips and then to the pulse beating in her neck. He stopped there, and raised his eyes to hers slowly.
"Now you can lay all your suspicions about me to rest. You know exactly what I want. My interest in you is strictly romantic. No hard sell religion, no ploy to get you singing in the tent. It's you that I'm after. And so, I’m afraid that I just can’t back off and pretend to be polite. I can’t agree to let you slip through my fingers, as though we had never met. It’s much too late for that." he assured her with a soft chuckle. His curving smile was boyish, and his eyes were completely sincere. They challenged her, and narrowed a bit as she drew herself up and tried to put up a wall between them.
Again, he hadn't done anything so terribly inappropriate; yet Callie felt quite undone, invaded and plundered. Her head was reeling. Her loins and tummy twisted in sweet anticipation. The man was insane. But he was far too sexy, and he knew exactly how to get to her, when to turn on the charm. He had her panting in his arms, and he'd never even kissed her.
"What do you want from me?" she snapped, feeling frustrated that her voice sounded breathless and weak.
He laughed in her ear. It was low, and sexy, and not at all nice. "I want everything from you, Callie. I've told you the truth, now. Let’s start with this: I want to see you again. Alone.”
She felt his breath against her neck, and feebly tried without success to wiggle out of his arms. "Mr. Stringer, really! It is inappropriate for you to be doing this. I must insist that you stop coming on to me." She snapped. It was strange that she didn't sound at all firm, or insistent.
He only laughed again. "Ah, Callie. I'm surprised at you! Just every now and then, aren't preachers allowed to be human? Why is it so inappropriate for me to be attracted to you? You're very lovely and enticing, you know. You could make any man want to make love to you. I know that I do. And I don't mind telling you, either. I'm afraid I'll be dreaming about it nights now, and pining for you, endlessly."
Callie's brain spun, and she shook her head feebly. "You -- are a preacher. I am not interested in preachers! I want nothing to do with preachers, or with churches, or religion. Stop it, I must insist!" She gasped, finding his lips touching the thrum of her jugular vein. “You may be doing it more politely than anyone ever dreamed of, but you’re … you’re still coming on to me!”
Sam chuckled and shook his head. "All right, Callie. I'll back off for now. But I'm not throwing in the towel."
She shot him a disbelieving look. "You're toying with me! Aren't you?" she snapped in outrage.
He just smiled at her with bedroom eyes. "Not at all, Callie. I think you’re lovely, and I can't resist the challenge of seeing if I can't make you like me just a little bit, after all. Please forgive me if I overstepped the line." He shrugged his shoulders. "Having you so close, is far too irresistible. And you did goad me into laying my cards on the table. I am sorry. Please say we can at least, be friends for the time being."
Callie just didn't know what to make of him. He looked a little disappointed, and altogether sincere. She shook her head in disbelief, as if trying to make her mind absorb it all. "Okay." She agreed shortly.
"Thank you." He said simply, and leaned against the back of the booth, giving her some room to think.
Callie swallowed hard, as she felt the cold air rush around her body, replacing the warmth of his arms and his strong torso. She felt simply dizzy, and undone. The man pushed her buttons, big time. She had to admit it.
Her lips were parted expectantly, wanting desperately to be kissed. Her breasts were tingling and her blood was pounding in her veins. "Oh, my." She thought feebly. "This is horrible!"
Sam, however, had taken her rebuff in stride, and seemed to be not at all disturbed. It was as if nothing had ever happened. He was free, and relaxed with her, and was simply polite and friendly. He was leaning back in the booth, just watching her with a lazy smile.
"I don't get you." She snapped, wishing she could bite her tongue off. But the words just kept rolling out! "How can you even think about someone like me with the slightest amount of interest, when I totally reject your precious Jesus?"
Sam looked at her with fond interest, and smiled as he shook his head. "That is a very complicated question, and a loaded one. Callie, I know a Jesus Christ who is very much alive and all-powerful. He raises the dead, he heals the sick. If I introduced you to that Jesus, you would take notice, wouldn't you?"
"I don't know." Callie hedged warily.
Sam just smiled gently. "Well, Callie, I'm not going to introduce Him to you, so relax."
Callie just gaped at him. "What do you mean? Isn't it the very heart of Christianity to tell the world about Jesus?"
Sam shrugged carelessly. "I have discovered, Callie, that He does a much better job of introducing Himself. He knows the right time, and place. All I have to do is show up and invite Him. He touches whom He chooses to touch. He reveals Himself to those who will yield to Him. There is a time for everyone to have their meeting with Him. I don't have to make it happen. So you see, it's really not my worry. If I want to be just a man, who for once expresses a bit of interest in a very lovely lady, it's really all right with Him." He assured her lightly.
Callie was incredulous. "But the church doesn't see it that way."
Sam shrugged. "I do. Let others think what they want. Please believe that there is absolutely no desire in my heart to badger you about Christianity. It simply isn’t true. I only want to woo you to myself."
Callie sat back in shock. This man was certainly not the run of the mill preacher. "But you can't do that and be a preacher!"
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Callie, you just watch me." He challenged without rancor. "God has a plan and He is very much able to execute it. I do not condone the badgering, the intimidation and wounding that you and I have known at the hands of much of the church.”
He chuckled. “He’s a really big God. I just show up and let Him take care of things. He does know how, and he does a much better job of convincing the unsaved, when it’s His idea, rather than mine. My job as His servant is to simply be obedient. I am happy to say that it has worked. Things are changing, Callie, as you will soon discover."
His smile was disarming. He put a hand on her forearm and leaned close. "I feel absolutely no shame in finding you delightful, and enticing, and in letting you know it. As for the condition of your soul, I have no doubt that Jesus Himself will choose the right time to give you the opportunity to know Him. What you do at that time is between you and Him. I can only tell you that He is very much alive and that His heart is absolutely smitten with love for you! I also know that no one can make Him real to you, except He, himself.
“Callie, I wouldn't even presume to try to do it m
yself. I promise you that I will never preach to you unless Jesus gives me the words to say. And if it is He who instructs me to speak, then they will be exactly the right words, eh? And the one time will be all that’s necessary. Either you’ll say yes … or no. and that will be the end of it, as far as I’m concerned."
Callie just stared at him with amazement and trepidation in her eyes. "You are a very unusual man." She answered hesitantly.
"So I've been trying to tell you." He teased in a husky voice. "Would you like to reconsider?" he asked, letting a flicker of fire dance into his eyes, and letting the silence fill in the blanks. He put his arm around her, and she felt his warm breath against the skin of her neck, again. It made shivers run down her spine.
Callie tipped her head, and let her lashes fall over her cheeks as she studied him. "You are an infuriating and I must admit, a bit of a frightening man. You overwhelm me! I'm not sure how to answer anything you say."
He laughed, deep in his throat, and leaned closer around her. "That's deeply reassuring, Callie. I thought that perhaps, you found me repulsive."
Callie gave a short laugh, and felt her cheeks burn. "No." She chuckled derisively. "You could never be described as remotely ... repulsive."
His look intensified, and his eyes darkened as the pupils opened wider in pleasure. And Callie felt the world begin to spin around, as he shook his head slowly with deep satisfaction.
"You have no idea how glad I am to hear it." He whispered. His eyes fell to her lips, and Callie knew they were trembling. He had her going again, dying for him to just do something that would satisfy the raw hunger he stirred in her.
He gave her a naughty look, and shook his head. "Oh, my." He said meaningfully. He chuckled and dropped his head against the back of the booth. "Callie, you're intoxicating." He whispered. "Intoxicating, and adorable, and scared to death. I'll tell you what, honey,” he promised in a husky voice, "this is going to be anything but dull."
