A New Day

by Nancy Hopper

  If so, what had caused it? Her father’s money and reputation? Was she so used to public criticism? And did she truly believe that her behavior had erased her claim to God’s grace? Had she believed that since Gary had died, or just because she had pulled a little stunt with him?

  The questions were jangling around in his head. For two cents, he’d have gone to talk to Tasha, taken all night, if need be; but when he thought it over, he knew she wouldn’t be ready to bare her heart about any of it. Not just now. Best to leave her be about it, he decided.

  Tim managed a couple of hours’ sleep, but he was up again at six. He stayed in the presence of the Lord for two hours, and then soaked in a hot bath, trying to prepare for the day ahead. He was just beginning to glimpse just how tough this whole thing was going to be.

  “Let her go. This is not worth it. It’s going to sink your ministry. Cut your losses and get respectable again.” A voice in his head urged him. He laughed.

  “Not on your life.” He snapped. “I’ve gone to hell and back for this one, and I’m not giving her up for anything or anybody. She’s mine, and I don’t care what I’ve got to do to have her. I will have her, and no demon from hell will rob me. The Holy Spirit told me that she is my wife. You leave my wife alone.” He told the voice. It fled.

  Tim chose a crisp collarless shirt, and a vest under his black coat. It looked nice, he thought. He decided to stick with his boots, and that was that. He combed his hair, blew it dry and put on some cologne.

  When he went to the front room, he found Tasha wearing a very beautiful purple pantsuit with a knee-length duster coat. She looked fabulous, as always.

  “Good morning.” He said with appreciation.

  “Hi.” She returned evenly.

  He lifted her chin, and forced her to look into his eyes. “Hey. Future Mrs. Rain, how about a kiss?”

  Tasha looked strained enough to explode. She shook her head. “Timothy, I have never said I’d marry you; and I don’t feel a great deal like kissing.”

  “I know that. But I wish you would, anyway. I could use a little bit of sugar to help me through this day.” He hinted lightly.

  She looked at him hopelessly. “All right, Tim. I guess I owe you that much.” She admitted. She lifted her face and gave him a cold kiss on his lips. She knew it was cold, but she just couldn’t seem to help herself.

  He laughed deep in his throat, and wrapped his arms around her. “You’ve got to be kidding. You don’t really think I’m going to settle for that, do you? What was that sexless, dutiful thing? Now, kiss me like you mean it, or I’ll torment you.” He threatened.

  She gave him a mutinous look, and steamed for a moment. Then she looked up into his eyes with burning anger, and said distinctly, “Go to hell.”

  Tim gave her a look of incredulous shock, and laughed in a way that was not nice, at all. “You provoke me, woman.” He complained. “If that’s the way you want it, you’re going to have to deal with what I dish out. I was going to be nice and let you set the pace, but I’m very willing to play rough.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, thoroughly and it was in fact, even a bit rough. Tasha found that her heart was pounding just the same, and her senses were bursting into flames of fire as he plundered her soul. He was going deep, and she sincerely wished she’d taken his offer to allow her to set the pace. His pace was far faster, deeper and more invasive. He was playing hard ball, and he was playing for keeps.

  “You ornery little cuss, I’m going to keep after you until you’re all mine.” He threatened silkily. “Don’t you play with me, I’ll fix you every time.”

  She just looked up at him with glittering green eyes.

  “Don’t you believe for a minute that this old cowboy won’t keep after you. I won’t quit until I’ve got the job done.”

  Tasha bit her tongue as they were joined by Tim’s security men.

  “Well, my goodness. Is this suite going to be big enough for the two of you?” Mickey teased. Tasha pulled out of Timothy’s arms and turned to the windows.

  “I think we’ll manage. Good morning.” Tim answered, trying to restore his breathing to normal.

  The two men chuckled and shared a private look as they saw how it was. Timothy was going to need some watching. They could see it, without any trouble. He had his cap set in a big way for this lady.

  “Yeah, well. I think it’s a real good thing we’re here to keep you out of trouble.” Joe teased. “This blooming escort service is going to stick with you like glue, son.”

  Tim raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Yeah. That may not be a bad idea.” He admitted. He grinned as he realized his voice was husky.

  Mickey laughed. “I’ll be darned. I’ve never seen you like this, boy. Never thought to, either. You aren’t going to make our job any easier, are ya?”

  Tim shook his head. “I’ve been behaving pretty good, now. Give me a break. I can’t say I haven’t had a few lapses, but I’m walking the line, boys.”

  “Glad to hear it, Tim. We knew you were. But I have to tell you, this job is sure getting more interesting.”

  Tim grinned. “No doubt. Let’s see about some breakfast.”

  “Is the restaurant good?” Joe asked.

  “Naw. Let’s do room service.” Tim suggested. “There’s a little too much heat out there right now for my comfort.”

  “Tim, that’s what we’re here for.” Mickey reminded him with a hand on the shoulder.

  “Yeah, I know. But you can’t stop hurtful words.” Tim growled.

  The two men exchanged glances, and Mickey nodded that he understood. “Well, all right.” He agreed.

  Tasha turned from the windows, and approached them with her arms crossed. “Timothy, there’s no need to hide in the room to avoid publicity. I’m a big girl, and I’m used to it. I knew I was in for this when I came. I have no problem hearing what people have to say.”

  Mickey’s eyebrows went up and he looked at Tim speculatively for his response.

  Tim looked at her with pride and compassion, and pulled her into his arms. “Sweet darlin’, listen to me.” He said gently. “I appreciate what you’re saying, and I don’t plan on hiding from the press forever. However, I do need to keep my perspective and my temper, this morning. That is very tough for me to do when every soul who has an opinion on the matter is taking a crack at you. Would it be all right if we just stayed here until it’s time to go to the studio? Just this morning?”

  "Sweetheart, if another woman should come along this morning and say something to you like that woman did last night, I think you’d be posting bail instead of going with me to a television studio. That interview’s going to be enough for one day, believe me. Let me save up my patience for that, would you?”

  Tasha’s eyes were focused on Tim’s chest. “All right.” She agreed. “I just think we shouldn’t go into hiding. That’s all.”

  “In about three hours, I’m going to come out with both guns blazing. Don’t you worry about that.” He assured her. “I just am not in the mood to put up with battering all morning. Now, what would you like to eat?”

  Tasha shrugged. “Just some toast, I guess.” She said shortly.

  Tim started to object, but then closed his mouth. He could feel the tension pouring off her. He nodded. “All right, sweetheart. How about you two?” he asked Joe and Mickey.

  After breakfast, Timothy went into his room to pray. Tasha found herself with Mickey and Joe. They exchanged some small talk, and she began to relax with them. They were very nice men, and she was feeling at ease in short order.

  It was easy to see that they were very devoted to and fond of Timothy. But they didn’t pry, asked no questions that would make a young lady uncomfortable. She was grateful. By the time Tim was ready to go, he found a much more relaxed lady ready to accompany him.

  They had a limo to take them to the television studio, and when they arrived, they were discreetly delivered to a private reception area. They were
immediately ushered back to the studio, and were met there by the production manager's assistant.

  “Mr. Rain, you’re on in fifteen minutes.” he said crisply.

  “Great. Please see that the lady and my friends have a comfortable place to wait for me.” he requested.

  “I’ll do that. You can all come right this way to wait.” He took them to a cozy lounge with a TV, that was monitoring the show. Tim turned it on and sat down. Tasha cuddled under his arm and they watched the guest ahead of Tim.

  Then, someone came and called Tim. He squeezed her hand and left without a word.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Tasha felt deep anxiety fill her heart when the current guest’s interview was over. The monitor went to a full face shot of the host, Warren Weaver.

  “There is so much controversy currently over sex and scandal in the church. We have seen infidelity in a number of the big names, and everyone is understandably upset that the image that American ministry has held so dear, has been tainted by the falling of many of its top stars.

  "Sexual indiscretion seems to be the Achilles’ heel of our time. Tonight we have a guest who’s very recently been accused of indiscretion. He’s decided to confront this issue head on. To our surprise, he’s agreed to come here today and talk with us candidly about the story that broke just yesterday morning in 'Shout!' Magazine.”

  “It is alleged, with some pretty convincing pictures to back up the story, that he’s been indulging in inappropriate behavior with a beautiful woman who is not his wife. Please join me in welcoming Timothy Rain.”

  There was polite applause from the audience as Tim joined his host, shook his hand and sat down.

  “Tim, thanks for coming. I’m still a little surprised that you’re so ready to come in here and tell the world what happened. Were you surprised by the story that erupted yesterday?”

  “Not completely.” Tim replied, very much at ease. “I knew it was coming last week. A friend called and told me Pattie was gloating about having a story that would ruin me. I laughed at the time, I wasn't really concerned. I had no idea what she was up to. I couldn't imagine what she could have on me, because I didn't feel there was anything I'd done wrong.”

  "Then, a friend called me and told me what it was all about. I began to realize that I'd been set up a bit, but I still couldn't imagine that Pattie would go to such extremes to paint me in a bad light. I have to say I was very shocked by the content when I actually read it.”

  “Why is that, because of the pictures?” the host urged. “I imagine it was quite a shock to see those photos Pattie took.”

  “Well, partly, yes; but more the nature of the attack, and the sensational tactics the reporter used to create such an impact.”

  “What’s the scoop then, Tim? The pictures seem pretty straight forward. I met you once before, and it was pretty shocking to me to see you in the circumstances the pictures paint, I’ll admit. I had the impression that you were a very clean living, upstanding minister of the gospel.”

  “And I consider myself to be.” Tim replied calmly.

  “So what happened? Who is the beautiful woman in the pictures?”

  “Her name is Tasha Charles Taylor. She’s a lovely lady that I met in Salt Lake this past winter.”

  “How did you meet her?”

  “Actually, I was skiing with some friends and we rode the lift with her. I saw her at the end of the day in the ski lodge, and felt compelled to speak to her. I invited her to the conference I was attending, and got to know her a little bit.”

  “So, she came to the conference that night. Is that when you kissed her, as alleged by reporter Pattie Danniels?”

  Tim looked annoyed. “No. Actually, I waited until I knew that I was going to ask Tasha to be my wife, before I ever kissed her.” he answered shortly.

  “Really? So you asked her to marry you that very week, at the conference?”

  Tim took a deep breath. “I made my intentions known.”

  “So she’s your fiance then?” the man prodded.

  “I’m working on it.” Tim answered evenly.

  “Then, you visited her in her Salt Lake home recently, is that correct?”

  “Yes. Her father had invited me to come and spend some time with he and Tasha. I was free, so I went back to Salt Lake for a time.”

  “And that’s when these pictures were taken that caused you all this trouble?”

  “That’s correct.” Tim said, forcing himself to be calm.

  “So let’s talk about these pictures.” the man said with great enthusiasm. “I think we can look at them one by one, Tim, and maybe you can explain them.”

  Tasha and Tim both felt their hearts sink as the first picture was projected at great proportions onto the wall of the studio.

  It was one of Tim kissing Tasha, with his hands on her waist very possessively, his chest bare. They were standing at the window; the flimsy material of the negligee looked very filmy indeed with the picture blown up to twenty foot dimensions. It was only luck that Tim’s arm blocked the view of her breast in the photo.

  The crowd gasped.

  “I don’t know, Tim. Looks like something out of a very steamy romance novel to me. So, you’re caught kissing this woman, Tim. You look to be naked and she is wearing something I wouldn’t want my kids to see her in. How about it?”

  Tim gritted his teeth. Tasha could see the muscles in his jaw clenching. “What you see is what you get.” he said coldly. “I was kissing her goodnight. She was wearing something for bed, and I was wearing a pair of boxer shorts.”

  “Huh.” the host said, unimpressed by Tim’s response. “How about this one?”

  The screen changed, and the image of Tim sitting on Tasha’s bed, holding her in his lap, flashed on. It looked for all the world like Tim was bare naked, and the extent (or clearly, the lack) of Tasha’s gown covering was very clear. Though not indecent, the picture was darn close. The audience reaction was sensational. The grumbling went on while the host dissected Tim.

  “How about it, Tim? Was this taken the same night?”

  “Yes.” Tim said quietly. “We’d had a disagreement, and I wanted to be sure everything was all right, so I went to her room to say goodnight. She had taken off her robe, and she was ready for bed. I was wearing boxer shorts, though you can’t see that in this picture. I barged in, sat on her bed, and held her in my lap to talk to her. You've got the pictures backward, time-wise. I sat on her bed first, and pulled her into my lap. It wasn't a minute or more until she got up and walked to the window, where the other pictures were taken.”

  “Hmm. Some talk you two had. Don’t you think it might have been wiser to sleep on it, and discuss it in the morning?”

  Tim looked him straight in the eyes. “I never let the sun go down on a disagreement with anyone, if I can help it.” he said evenly. “Tasha is certainly no exception.”

  "I probably should not have gone into her room when she was wearing that outfit, but it honestly wasn’t at the top of my priority list to check her apparel, at the time. We were both upset.”

  “So you were fighting, then you went to her room, and you kissed and made up? She didn’t look upset in the photo we just saw.”

  “Looks can be deceiving.” Tim said carefully.

  “It’s pretty hard for people to believe you weren’t busy in her bed from looking at this, Tim.”

  “Notice that the bed is made.” Tim pointed out. “The door is half open, and there is a tear on the lady's cheek.”

  “Okay,” the host humored him patronizingly. “So let’s see the next picture.”

  The next picture had Tim kissing Tasha, his hands cupping her face. Every intimate detail was clear. Hostility and tension were escalating in the audience.

  “What about this one?” the host asked gleefully.

  “It’s just like the first one.” Tim answered patiently. “It had to be taken within seconds of the first one.”

  “And you weren’t sleeping with this
woman?”

  “No.” Tim denied promptly.

  “Well, Tim; that just seems tough to swallow for a lot of people. What can you tell us to back up your story?”

  Tim smiled coldly. “The bed’s still made, isn’t it?” he asked pointedly. "The door is still open."

  Everyone’s eyes shifted to the picture, again. It was clear to see that the bedspread was tightly tucked in around the pillows, though mussed. And, at the edge of the photo, you could see the light shining through the partially open doorway.

  “Yes, it appears to be. That doesn’t mean it stayed that way.” the host said, to ripples of laughter from the audience. “How do we know?”

  Tim’s face looked like it was chiseled from stone. “Think about this: Pattie Danniels was out on Tasha’s private deck shooting pictures through a sliding glass door. If Tasha and I had gone to bed right after these pictures were taken, don’t you think Pattie would’ve taken a hundred pictures of that?”

  "This stuff she took would be nothing compared to living proof. And it’s obvious in the pictures that the bed is still made. Someone should ask Pattie Danniels why she didn’t catch the proof on film to back up her inflated allegations.”

  The host looked intrigued. “Well, there is that.”

  “It wasn’t the best idea for me to be in her room. It was the biggest test of my life. I was sorely tempted to throw caution to the wind that night, and make love to the woman I consider to be my wife. My commitment to Jesus Christ kept me from doing that, until we're married.”

  "But, I love Tasha. I wasn’t about to lose my relationship with her over a misunderstanding. If taking care of this problem meant following her into the shower, I’d have followed her there and tried to resolve the problem. I admit that I was extremely upset and I put aside the social conventions for the moment.”

  "I don’t … I have never gone into a woman’s bedroom; nor been alone with a woman in a bedroom, except for this one lady. Not since I met the Lord. And I didn’t feast my eyes on half the things I see projected on this wall. I kept my eyes on her face. And, I did not forget for one second my promise of chastity to the Lord. I did not make love to Tasha. We have never been together that way.”