Amber grabbed Marianna’s arm. “Hold on, flash. Julie and I are buying you all’s dessert.”
Julie added, “Yeah. We know you’re going on your annual birthday shopping spree with each other tomorrow, but we wanted to do something for you today.”
Megan hugged Julie then Amber. “You two are the best. What a great way to end our birthday.”
Marianna opened her arms. “Will you risk a hug from me, too?”
The friends laughed and shared a group hug. Megan had spent a good deal of the afternoon flustered over the incident with Stephanie and the snake. She was thankful for friends who knew just how to make her smile.
“Surprise!”
Megan opened one eye and glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Seven was way too early to rise on a Saturday morning. Surely Amber and Julie hadn’t come for a second birthday kidnapping.
She rolled over in bed and stretched her arms. She could hear someone talking to Marianna in the other room. She grimaced. Didn’t sound like their friends.
“Wake up, Megan.”
Her mother stood inside the door. The voice had sounded happy coming from her sister’s room. Not so much now.
Megan blew out a sigh. “Hey, Mom.”
Her mom forced a smile. Really, it was ridiculous. If the woman didn’t want to spend time with her, it wouldn’t break Megan’s heart.
“I want to take you girls to breakfast. Maybe a little shopping.”
Marianna wrapped arms around their mother from behind. Their mom’s face lit up, and she laughed as she turned to give Marianna a hug.
“I love surprise visits,” said Marianna.
Their mom patted her arm. “Me, too. Go get dressed.”
Marianna ran off, and Megan heard the bathroom door shut. That was great. She’d have to wait half of forever for her sister to get out.
Her mom clapped her hands. The smile was gone from her face. “Let’s go, Megan.”
Megan pushed herself to a sitting position. She loved the morning. Maybe not this early on a Saturday. Especially after they’d spent a good deal of the night watching romantic comedies on the DVD player. Still, normally she liked an early morning wakeup call.
But not when it was her mother glaring at her from the bedroom door.
“I’m coming. Give me a second.”
Her mom left the doorway. Within moments, she heard the coffeemaker brewing. She loved her mother. At least she tried to. But it was pretty obvious she didn’t want to spend time with Megan as she did with Marianna.
That was fine. Don’t feel obligated. Megan wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea of spending her birthday fussing with her mom either.
Once Marianna finished, Megan took her turn in the bathroom. Within half an hour, they were ready and heading to breakfast. Marianna selected her favorite restaurant. It wasn’t Megan’s choice, but she hadn’t expected her mom to ask. It didn’t matter anyway.
Megan seated herself at the table across from Marianna and her mother. They busied themselves discussing wedding plans. Discontent niggled at Megan’s heart. She wished her relationship with her mother wasn’t strained. It hadn’t always been this way.
Eight years ago everything changed, and though Megan knew in her mind she should forgive her mother. Her heart felt otherwise.
Her mother hadn’t forgiven her either. Hah. What a laugh! Megan had done nothing to warrant her mother’s anger. Well, she did date the guy her mother didn’t like. Truth be told, her mom had said she wasn’t allowed to date Clint. But really, was that such an offense that would warrant eight years of a strained relationship? Talk about holding grudges.
“So, how are things going for you, Megan?”
Her mother’s voice sounded tight, and she stuck her nose in the air. The pompous attitude may have worked in her office before she retired, but it didn’t intimidate Megan.
“You know she finished her last class,” said Marianna. “All she has left is student teaching.”
Megan grinned at her sister. Ever the peacemaker between her and their parents. “She’s right. I can even student teach on the job if I’m hired.”
“Really?” Her mother fluffed her short, red curls then adjusted the collar of her short-sleeved blouse.
“Yep. Maybe she’ll get a job at my school.” Marianna dipped her head. “Wouldn’t that be great, Megan?”
It would be wonderful. She hoped she could work in the same building as her sister. She preferred the elementary students, but she wouldn’t turn down a job at the middle school.
Her mother pursed her lips then focused again on Marianna. Though Megan enjoyed discussing wedding preparations with her sister, she had no inclination to make small talk with her mother. When she was younger, she’d tried to win her parents’ affections again. After high school, she’d determined to seek God’s approval.
If her parents wanted to reconcile, she’d be willing, but she wouldn’t alter who she was to bow down to them.
Are you really willing to reconcile?
She shifted in her seat at the niggling of her spirit. God wanted her to forgive them, even without their request. And she tried. At least she wanted to try. But forgiveness didn’t happen easily. Especially when it wasn’t requested.
Megan twisted in her seat as she scanned the restaurant. Where was their waitress? They’d been here—she looked at her watch—a full ten minutes. She was ready to get this day done.
“In a hurry, Megan?” Her mother’s sarcastic tone grated on her nerves.
As a matter of fact, this is not how I planned to spend my day. She bit the inside of her mouth, thankful she hadn’t said the words aloud. “No. Just hungry.”
Her mother studied her, and Megan determined not to look away from her scrutiny. A piece of her hoped to see a sliver of reconciliation, some sort of desire to make amends in her mother’s gaze. As usual, it wasn’t there.
Their waitress arrived, and Megan let out a long breath. She did wish things were different between them.
Megan pushed through the front door of the law office. After a mostly wonderful weekend, Monday had arrived faster than she’d hoped. The morning with her mother had been tiresome, but she and Marianna had shopped to exhaustion once she left. She’d purchased a couple of adorable outfits to start a school year—if she landed a position.
Sunday had also been filled to the brim with activities: Sunday school and church service, choir practice, and children’s church in the evening. Going to work would provide her a bit of rest after such an eventful weekend.
“What in the world?” Her gaze took in the oversized arrangement of white daisies and pale pink roses. Her heartbeat sped up as she gently touched the satin bow wrapped around the neck of the clear vase. The last time she could remember receiving flowers was when she’d gone to her senior prom. And as I recall, I picked those up myself since my date was just a friend.
She bit her bottom lip as she pulled the card off the prong. Who would have sent her flowers? Her mind raced with the possibilities. There was that new guy at church who had paid a lot of attention to her, but he also got her and Marianna mixed up often enough that she felt pretty sure he wouldn’t have been investigative enough to find out where she worked. She grinned. He’d have probably put the wrong name on the front as well.
She read the single word written in black ink on the marbled white card. It was definitely her name written on the front.
It could have been her sister. She scrunched her nose. She doubted it would have been Marianna. Rent was due in less than a week, and her wedding was only a couple months away.
A face popped into her mind. The guy from the canoe trip. What was his name? Colby? Cody? Colt.
That was it. Megan could tell the guy felt bad about accusing her sister of being incompetent as a teacher. He’d asked her about giving his niece piano lessons, and then on the trip back to the school, he seemed to search for things to say to her or Marianna. He probably sent flowers to her sister as well.
/> It was silly to keep guessing. She pulled back the envelope flap.
“Good morning, Megan.” The senior Frasure’s deep voice boomed through the room.
Megan sucked in her breath and placed the card against her chest. Either she’d become jumpy the last few days or people around her had grown bent to scare the life right out of her. “Good morning, Mr. Frasure.”
He motioned toward the flowers. “Lovely arrangement. Must be from some young fellow who has his sights set on you.”
Megan’s cheeks warmed. Very few men had sought her out in a romantic way. She figured she was pretty enough. Marianna received her share of attention until her engagement with Kirk. But Megan wasn’t interested in dates or boyfriends. And she must have put off some kind of antiman vibe, because she hadn’t gotten any offers in a long time.
“So, who’re they from?”
“I don’t—”
Mr. Frasure opened his hand to stop her. “Sorry, Megan. That’s none of my business.” He pointed toward his office door. “I need you to get your notepad. I have a couple of letters that need to go out first thing this morning.”
Megan bit back a sigh as she put the card on her desk and scooped up her notebook. The senior Mr. Frasure had to be the only businessman in the United States who still wanted his secretary to shorthand a letter before it was typed. Mr. Combs and the younger Frasure communicated with her almost solely through e-mail messages, an occasional phone call, or even dictation.
She grabbed a pen from the tray and started to follow him to his office.
He stopped midstep and turned toward her. She bumped into him, gasped, and jumped a few steps back. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Frasure. I didn’t expect you to stop.”
He waved away her apology. “Not a problem. While I get settled, run into the conference room and get me a cup of coffee.”
Megan nodded, placed her pad and pen on a seat, and walked to the room the lawyers used for talking to clients and other attorneys. She measured the coffee, filled the filter, and poured two bottles of water into the pot.
While it brewed, she straightened the eight cushioned, brown, leather chairs sitting around a long, rectangular mahogany table. Various fake plants sat in small and large pots around the perimeter of the plain room. The only other furniture in the room was an oversized, ornate bookshelf that held more legal manuals and books than seemed necessary to exist. Her bosses seemed to have every legal reference book written, except a Holy Bible—the most important reference of all.
Not that it surprised her. The senior Mr. Frasure only dated women who were twenty years or more his junior, and he never dated the same woman longer than six months. At least that’s what the previous secretary told her, and so far Megan had seen two young women come and go from his life. Mr. Combs was married and seemed to be happy enough, but he spent every opportunity given to him on the golf course. And the junior Frasure—Justin’s reputation preceded him, as well as the steady flow of beauties who continually sought his expertise.
Megan huffed as she picked up the coffeepot and poured the hot brew into an oversized ceramic mug. She needed to be a godly witness to the men she worked for. She scrunched her nose. Even if they were the kind of men who turned her stomach.
She headed back toward Mr. Frasure’s office. She tripped on the plush carpet when she spied her younger boss inspecting the paperweight on her desk. Breathing a sigh of relief that the coffee hadn’t spilled; she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin before Justin realized she was in the room.
She cleared her throat. “Hello, Mr. Frasure.”
He gazed at her and smiled. He looked amazing in a pinstriped charcoal suit and deep red satin tie. His eyes, so dark and mysterious, beguiled her like the spider drew the fly. Once caught in the web, the fly could never escape, and more than once since she’d started working here, Megan feared falling for the handsome lawyer.
He pointed to the paperweight she’d received the first week she and Marianna visited the church a year ago. “Do you go to church here?”
She nodded.
“Do you like it?”
She nodded again. Her throat seemed to have filled with cotton, and her mind shifted to blank. She couldn’t seem to get words of any kind to form.
His eyes danced with humor, and she would have sworn he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. “Do they have Bible studies?”
He lifted his hand before she could nod again. “Wait. That’s another yes or no question. I’m a lawyer. I should know how to interrogate people better.”
He cleared his throat as he straightened his shoulders. “Ms. McKinney, on which night of the week does this church”—he pointed at the paperweight again—”have a Bible study that I could attend?”
He winked, and Megan felt her legs turn to rubber, as they seemed to have a habit of doing in his presence. Swallowing, she forced her mind and mouth to work together at the same time. “I go to Bible study on Thursdays.”
“Is it a Bible study I could attend?”
She shrugged. “There are about fifteen of us. It’s a singles’ class.”
“Perfect. What time does it start?”
Megan furrowed her brow. She wanted to be a witness to her bosses, but she really didn’t want any of them joining her Bible study. She allowed herself to be vulnerable with her group. They were close, and each of them was seeking God’s will with their whole heart, not looking for their next date.
Conviction welled in her spirit. How could she be so arrogant? So pompous? It wasn’t her group. It’s was God’s group. Forgive me, Lord. Justin wants to learn more about You, and I’m being selfish. About a Bible study group!
She looked into his eyes. He seemed genuinely interested to know more. Warmth filled her, and she felt a smile lift her lips. “We meet at seven. It would be wonderful if you could go.”
“Great. I believe I will.” He placed the paperweight back on her desk then started toward his office. He turned toward her again. “Your flowers are pretty. Who are they from?”
“I still haven’t had a chance to read the card.”
“Well, read it.” He opened his office door, stepped inside, then shut it behind him.
Megan glanced at the senior Frasure’s office door. Any minute he’d be stomping down the hall looking for her. This will only take a second.
Plucking the card once again off the prong, Megan smiled as excitement welled within her. She opened the envelope flap and pulled out the card. Her jaw dropped. Only three words were written on the card. “Happy Birthday.”
She swallowed the knot in her throat and the fear that clenched her heart. Why would this man send her flowers? What were his intentions? His motives? His … She blinked at the questions swirling through her mind. She gazed at her youngest boss’s office door as she spoke the last word on the card. “Justin.”
Chapter 4
Temptation is like a knife that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his exercise or his destruction.
JOHN OWEN
Justin walked into the small fitness center and looked up at the clock above the mirror-covered wall. He had thirty minutes before his buddy, Kirk, arrived to lift weights. Plenty of time to run three miles on the treadmill.
He nodded to the dark-haired desk attendant as he shoved his iPhone and keys into a wooden cubby. The large gym he’d used since college had metal lockers with combination locks. He looked around the small open facility. There was no need for locks here. He could see the cubbies from anyplace in the building.
He stepped onto a treadmill, put in his earphones, then plugged them in so he could watch the Reds’ game on the TV in front of him while he ran. Releasing a sigh, he realized he’d miss the familiarity of his old gym, but he wanted to help Kirk get back into a workout routine, and his friend felt uncomfortable in the larger facility. Justin selected a challenging course of speed and inclines, and soon lost himself in the rhythm of the workout.
/>
The changes he’d made in his life proved more difficult than he’d expected. But God knew that, and Kirk had told him his faith wouldn’t be without challenges.
His mind drifted to his meeting with Sophia the week before. She was a temptation to him. And she knew it.
Memories of dates they’d spent together poured into his mind, and he pushed the button to speed up his run. He’d pushed himself at the gym a lot since he’d given his life to Christ two months ago. God wanted to be first in his life, but women were his weakness.
And two months was a long time.
He yanked the earplugs out and pumped his fists harder in sync with the run. Staring up at the ceiling, he asked God for the strength to think of something else. Anything else.
Work. He was busy at work. Two couples were coming into the office the next day to sign adoption papers. One of the couples had been foster parents to their son for three years. Tomorrow they would finally become his legal parents. He and Megan had spent hours combing through the documents to ensure the signing would take place without a hitch.
The three miles complete, he slowed his pace to a fast walk. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Thinking of Megan was dangerous territory, too.
There was something about her. She was pretty but not gorgeous like most of the women he noticed. Still, she invaded his thoughts at the oddest moments. She was easy to be around with her sense of propriety and efficiency at work. She didn’t bat her eyes or flip her hair over her shoulder like most of the women he knew. She intrigued him. Her faith was apparent in more than just the paperweight on her desk.
He turned off the treadmill and stepped down. He took a long swig of water and tossed the empty bottle in a nearby trash can. He didn’t need to think about Megan either.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
A soft hand touched his elbow, and Justin flinched. He looked at the woman and inwardly sighed. Tight black and pink fitness getup. Legs as long as his. Silky dark hair pulled in a ponytail. Emerald green eyes. God, is this some kind of test?
Wedding Song in Lexington, Kentucky Page 3
