“It’s time, Isaac,” she told him with fire in her eyes.
He gave her an ‘I got you now smile,’ as his dimples dipped into all that chocolate. “You ready for this?”
Her head bobbed.
He reached out for her, but it wasn’t Nina anymore. His mother was now in front of him. She was falling. Oh, God! He couldn’t catch her. Her head hit the table. The glass shattered and his sweet mother laid in a pool of blood.
“Nooooo!” Isaac bolted upright, panting, as sweat drizzled down his face. He ran his hands from his forehead to the back of his head.
Bam… bam… bam.
Before he could calm his nerves, Isaac realized that some lunatic was trying to knock his door down. The half moon that still clung to the sky told him that it was way too early for visitors. The sound would have normally irritated him and curled his fists. But right now, he was grateful for anything that would pull him out of bed.
He trodded through his bedroom and the creak, creak, creak of his living room. The bamming stopped once he stepped in the living room. He’d never be able to sneak up on a burglar in this mug. Rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, he looked through the peephole then flung open the door. “Man, it’s five in the morning. What’s the emergency?”
Keith stepped in, clothes wrinkled – hair hadn’t seen a brush. “I’ve been trying to call you.”
Isaac plucked a fur ball out of Keith’s low-cut fade. “You must have been dialing the wrong number. I’ve been home since about two.”
Keith picked up Isaac’s phone and put the receiver to his ear. “No dial tone.”
“What do you mean there’s no dial tone?” He grabbed the phone to investigate. “Man, I know I paid this bill.”
Keith raised his hands. “Calm down. Maybe something’s wrong with your line.” He walked away from Isaac. “Let me check the phone in your bedroom.”
Isaac looked to heaven. “This suffering for Christ stuff is getting old.”
“Here’s the problem,” Keith hollered from the bedroom. “You had the phone off the hook.”
Isaac clenched his fist. “Cassandra must have done that. I’m so tried of these Holy Ghost filled jigga boos. I’m gon’ have to get me a woman off the street. Maybe she’ll respect the fact that I’m trying to live saved.”
“Another one trying to give you the midnight special?”
Isaac shook his head. “I ain’t gon’ lie, Keith. I almost took it.” Keith smiled, then his expression changed, like something was wrong. Real wrong. “What’s up, man? Why you stalking me at this hour?”
Putting the phone back on the receiver, Keith sucked in his breath. “Sit down, Isaac.”
“Just tell me what’s up.” He got in his mac-daddy stance. “I can take it.”
“I’m not joking, Isaac. I really think you should sit down for this.”
Isaac folded his arms across his chest. “Look, I’m a man. I can take your news standing up.”
Keith opened his mouth, then closed it. He stood there contemplating his options. He shook his head. Sometimes there was just no reasoning with Isaac. “There’s been a shooting.”
Isaac unfolded his arms. “Someone at the church?”
Keith shook his head.
Isaac hunched his shoulders. “Don’t just stand there. Who got shot?”
Moisture creased the edges of Keith’s eyes. “I-Isaac, can y-you please sit down?”
“Just spit it out.”
“Someone drove by their house about one o’clock this morning. Nina must have been waiting up for Donavan. As soon as he stepped on the porch, she opened the door. The neighbors said she was yelling at him when the shooting started.”
Isaac’s knees buckled. “Are you trying to tell me that my family is dead?”
The moisture escaped Keith’s eyes and ran down his cheeks. Isaac’s legs gave out and he fell to his knees. “The last I heard they were in surgery.”
“Oh God, not my family.” Isaac pulled at his shirt. Ripping it, just as his heart was being ripped.
Keith wiped his face with his shirtsleeve, then tried to pull Isaac up. Isaac yanked away from him. “Come on, man. Dayton is hours from here. We’ve got to get going.”
Isaac didn’t hear him. Couldn’t hear anything from the turmoil going on in his head. For as long as he’d known Nina, his life had been about loving her and their son. A decade plus, hadn’t changed that. Nina’s unwillingness to come back to him, hadn’t changed that. And now some bullet was supposed to end the dreams he had for his family.
He looked toward heaven, where his help comes from. “God, do what You want to me. I can take it. But not my family. Please don’t destroy my family like this.”
AUTHOR BIO: Vanessa Miller
Vanessa Miller of Dayton, Ohio, is a best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her stage productions include: Get You Some Business, Don’t Turn Your Back on God, and Can’t You Hear Them Crying.
Vanessa has been writing since she was a young child. When she wasn’t writing poetry, short stories, stage plays and novels, reading consumed her free time. However, it wasn’t until she committed her life to the Lord in 1994 that she realized all gifts and anointing come from God. She then set out to write redemption stories that glorify God.
To date, Vanessa has written four complete series and one single title mainstream book. Her readership steadily grows with each new release as she is a consummate promoter of her works. Vanessa believes that each of her books touch the heart and soul of readers across the country in a special way. It is, after all, her God-given destiny to write novels that bring deliverance to God’s people. These books have received rave reviews, winning Best Christian Fiction Awards and topping numerous Bestsellers’ lists.
*Essence Bestsellers’ List March 2008; May 2008 (Former Rain)
*Essence Bestsellers’ List September 2008 (Rain Storm)
*Black Expressions Book Club Alternate Selection 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010
*#1 Ebook for fiction on Amazon.com November 2010 (Long Time Coming)
*#1 on BCNN/BCBC Bestsellers’ List November 2010 (Long Time Coming)
Vanessa is a dedicated Christian and devoted mother. She graduated from Capital University with a degree in Organizational Communication. In 2010, Vanessa was ordained by her church as a minister. Vanessa believes that God has called her to minister through her writings and help readers rediscover their place with the Lord.
Most of Vanessa’s published novels depict characters that are lost and in need of redemption. The books have received countless favorable reviews.
“. . . Heartwarming, drama-packed and tender in just the right places.”—Romantic Times Book Review.
“Recommended for readers of redemption stories.” –Library Journal.
www.vanessamiller.com
The Rain Series is now available in ebook format
Here is a list of the books in the Rain Series
Vanessa Miller Books
Here are a few of Vanessa’s newer books
For complete list Visit www.vanessamiller.com
Faithful Christian Deidre Clark-Morris is a professional career-minded woman with a loving husband and beautiful home, but no children. Kenisha Smalls has lived in poverty her entire life and has three children by three different men. After learning that Kenisha has inoperable cervical cancer, the relationship between these two women becomes a catalyst of hope, leading them both to a place of redemption and healing.
Second Chance at Love Series
Available Wherever Books Are Sold
Also Available online as ebooks
All ebooks available on Kindle and Nook
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Abundant Rain Page 21
