by JoAnn Durgin
Touching his lips to hers, Chase stole her breath all over again.
Chapter 19
~~♥~~
The Next Week
Chase jumped. What was that? There it was again. In a fog, he opened one eye. His cell phone was buzzing on the nightstand. Yawning, he glanced at the clock. Two a.m.
“Give me a break.” He’d only been asleep a couple of hours.
When the phone buzzed again, he grabbed it but couldn’t focus his sleep-blurred eyes on the display. Anyone calling at this hour either had a wrong number or someone really needed him. He should answer. If it was a telemarketer, God help them.
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled when the obnoxious buzz sounded again. He needed to change to a ring tone. Something less annoying. He clicked on the phone. “Chase Landers.” Yawning again, he covered his mouth.
“Preacher? Hey, man. It’s Gabe. You know. From the youth group.”
Chase scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I recognize the name. What’s going on, buddy?”
“This is serious, man. Jamal and Trevon were in an accident. My sister’s husband, Tommy, is a cop and he was one of the first responders on the scene. Some girl was with them, too. They got T-boned by some drunk dude.”
Stunned, Chase sucked in a breath. He sat bolt upright in the bed. “Are they okay? Where are they now?” He jumped out of the bed and crossed the room to his closet. Putting his phone on speaker, he pulled out jeans and a sweater. He listened as he dressed.
“Jamal and Trevon are banged up and might need surgery,” Gabe said. “I guess the girl’s messed up real bad.”
Chase swallowed hard. Rachelle? Grabbing his coat, he rushed out of the house. After unlocking his truck, he climbed behind the wheel. “Do you know who she is?”
“No, but I thought I should call you. I figured you might want to go check on them.”
“You did the right thing. I’m on my way. Hey, do me a favor, will you?”
“Sure thing, Preacher.”
“Call Pastor Williams and get this going on the prayer chain tonight. If you want to call some of the kids, it might be a good idea to get them started praying, too.”
“Sure thing. I’ve got it covered.”
Gabe gave Chase the name of the hospital. If he drove quickly and didn’t catch too many red lights, he could be there in 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops.
“Thanks, Gabe. I appreciate it.” Disconnecting the call, Chase tossed his phone on the passenger seat. “Lord, be with those kids. Give them your peace and comfort.”
After opening the glove compartment, he grabbed his Clergy tag and hung it from the rearview mirror. Sometimes that tag came in handy even though he didn’t like the thing. Tonight it’d save him valuable time so he could park in the ER lot without worries of getting a parking ticket or being towed. He’d learned that lesson the hard way early on in his ministry.
After two red stoplights in a row, Chase chewed his lower lip and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Why was it he only caught every stinking red light when he was in a hurry?
“Come on!”
The light turned and he rolled through the intersection only to come to a construction site a few more streets away. A worker held up a sign telling him to Stop.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Spotting a nearby alley that led to another side street, Chase pulled out of the line of traffic and headed into the alley. Halfway between the streets, he cried out in surprise when a flash of color caught his eye. When he swerved, the Explorer clipped the edge of a metal trash can and sent it flying.
After stomping on the brakes—he’d pay for that later—he flung open the door. Then he jumped out of the vehicle, leaving it idling. The trash can stopped rolling when it hit the brick wall of the building. He spied a refrigerator-sized cardboard box farther down the alley from the direction he’d come. Chase sprinted back to it. When he tried to move the box, he encountered slight resistance. He felt stupid knocking, but this was someone’s humble, temporary housing. Listening, he raised his fist and tapped it on the box.
“Charlie? Is that you in there? It’s Chase. Chase Landers. Look, I’m in a hurry, but I saw you in my rearview. No mistaking that obnoxious purple and gold Lakers jacket.”
Hearing a sound from inside, Chase wrapped his arms around the box and lifted it as high as he could and then tossed it to the ground. The middle-aged, skin-and-bones homeless man shivered and gave him a defiant glare. “Go away, Preacher. I’m doin’ just fine and dandy. And Kobe’s the man.”
“I almost hit you, Charlie! Are you okay?”
“Well, if you wouldn’t be so impatient and come tearing through my alley like a bat out of you-know-where like that, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“God’s plan,” Chase said. “Sorry I startled you. I hate to tell you, but the latest news says your man Kobe is retiring at the end of this season. We’ve got a great team right here in Indy with some great players. You could try supporting them for a change.”
“Yeah, right.” The man spit on the ground. Sniffling, he swiped the sleeve of his jacket under his nose.
“Don’t move a muscle.” Running back to the SUV, Chase grabbed a package and handed it over to Charlie a few seconds later. “Here. Take this.”
“What’s this? Charity?” Charlie caught the package wrapped in brown paper with both hands when Chase shoved it against his chest.
“A gift. Necessities to get you through the next few days. It’s too cold for you to be living outside, Charlie. I could take you to the shelter, but you’ll find a gift card in there for a week’s stay at one of the local motels four blocks from here. Room only, no extras. Some fast food cards. Toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, and tissues which I strongly suggest you use.”
“Where’d you get this, Preacher? Straight from God Almighty?” Charlie snorted and then burst out in a coughing fit. He recovered and then tore open a corner of the package, peering inside. “What happened? God part the clouds and shoot this down to you or somethin’?”
“Or something,” Chase said. “Well-meaning people in the church provide them every month. Get your stuff together. I’m taking you over to the motel.”
“I’ll go tomorrow. Tonight’s about gone.”
“I’m not buying that one. You’re going tonight or no deal.”
“What is this, a one-time offer?”
“You’ll be doing yourself a big favor if you accept their charity. Come on. I don’t have all night. Are you going to get in the Explorer or do I have to drag you over there?”
Charlie shrugged him off when Chase reached for his arm. “I can walk on my own. You got a hot date waitin’ on you?” The older man slammed the passenger door with surprising force, enough to make Chase cringe as he climbed behind the wheel.
“I heard you been hangin’ out around town with some good lookin’ high class blonde.” He snorted. “Playing a little out of your league, aren’t you?”
Staring out the front window, Chase puzzled over that one. He’d ignore the insinuation. “Where’d you hear that?”
“I get around on the street. You’re like a celebrity in this part of town. You done a lot of people good at Christmas. You got some of them singin’ your praises. Good job, kid.”
“Thanks.” Compliments from unexpected sources were always the most gratifying. “I do my best with the resources the Lord provides.”
“Right. You gonna answer my question?”
The thought of Heather brought a smile that faded just as quickly. “No date. There was a bad car wreck tonight and some of my kids are in the hospital. I’m off to the ER.”
“Wow. That’s too bad. Hope they’re gonna be okay. Yet you took the time for me.” Chase glanced over to find Charlie slumped in the seat, his head in his hands.
“Charlie?” He placed one hand on the man’s bony shoulder. If only he had time to go sit down and have a meal with him. “You all right?”
Charlie lifted his head. “I’m su
re you make your dad proud.”
“I hope so.” Not that his dad ever said the words.
Five minutes later, Chase walked into the motel office beside Charlie and helped to get him registered. “My card and a Bible are in the package,” he said. “Give me a call sometime. I’ll come to you. Or come to the church office. We can chat.”
“Don’t hold your breath. Why are you doin’ this?”
Chase looked him straight in the eye. “Because I couldn’t leave you in that alley. Because someone needs to care for you, and I’m it, like it or not. And because God loves both of us in spite of ourselves. I’ve got to get over to the hospital. Take a shower and do a little reading. Then ask God to help you.”
“Like that’s gonna happen,” Charlie mumbled, but he didn’t sound belligerent. Something in his tone gave Chase a sliver of hope. “You’re a good kid, but you’ve always been a dreamer. God stopped carin’ about me a long time ago.”
“No, God didn’t stop caring, Charlie. You stopped believing in the idea that anyone could help you and you started doing things your own way. If you ask God, believing in Him and knowing He can, then God might just do it. He’s in the business of taking fallible humans and making miracles. It’s called amazing love.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
That question came not from Charlie but from the young male clerk behind the counter. They’d met on a few previous occasions when Chase had delivered other men to the hotel and assisted them with the check-in process. He racked his brain to remember the guy’s name. Mike? Mark? Max.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, Max. Sorry, but I’ve got to go now. Good night.”
“Preacher?”
Chase halted, one hand poised on the door, and turned back around. “Yeah, Charlie?”
“Your dad doin’ okay these days?”
That threw him off a little, but in a good way. “He’s doing better, thanks. I’m sure he’d like to see you again sometime.”
Chase pushed open the door and stepped back out into the bitterly cold night. A few minutes ago, the harsh temperatures and wind would have been an accurate reflection of his mood. Until that last exchange in the motel office reminded him all over again of why he was a pastor. Charlie and his dad had once been shipmates onboard a Navy vessel. Never saw active combat but they’d been tight. As he recalled, David mentioned that Charlie was a decent cook and had worked in the galley on the ship. Maybe he could help find him a job in a restaurant, even a temporary one. With the high turnover in the food service industry, someone had to be hiring.
Turning around, Chase hurried back into the motel office. Charlie and the clerk looked up from their conversation as he burst through the door.
“Gimme a break, Chase. I haven’t had time to talk to God yet.” Charlie laughed and the clerk grinned.
“Tell you what. You come see me in my office sometime, and I’ll get tickets for you, me, and my dad to grab dinner and go to a Pacers game. My treat.”
Charlie’s eyes grew wide and he grunted. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good enough. No wild parties, women, illegal substances, or booze while you’re in residence here or Max”—Chase nodded to the motel clerk—“has my permission to throw you out.”
Charlie nodded. “Got it.” Behind him, Max gave Chase a thumbs-up. He’d scored a few extra points for recalling the kid’s name.
“Good. I’ll be in touch. See you later. Soul on fire.” With a wave, he departed.
“What’s that mean?” he heard Max say. He’d given him something to puzzle over. He’d return soon and talk with Max some more when he checked in on Charlie. No time right now.
Climbing back into the SUV, Chase slammed the door. Shivering, he turned the key in the ignition and cranked up the heat. As the engine warmed up, he breathed out a deep sigh. No wonder he had no money. What had possessed him to offer Pacers tickets? That would set him back a little financially.
“Sometimes you’ve got to follow the nudge.” Chase drove out of the parking lot seconds later for the remaining short drive to the hospital.
What Ava said in her vows was true. Love isn’t a random event. Whether romantic love or any other kind, love was a blessing. Life without love was empty. If the Lord could use him to spread even a smidgeon of love to others and reveal God’s love through him, then he was fulfilling his earthly purpose. His reason for being.
Don’t neglect your heart. Sawyer’s words popped into his mind. Of course, that brought the lovely Heather to mind.
“I’m working hard on that one, Mancini.”
First things first. Please, God, let those kids be okay.
Chase only hoped he wasn’t too late.
Chapter 20
~~♥~~
Chase parked and ran into the ER entrance. At the desk, the nurse asked him the usual questions but seemed reluctant to give up information. After he presented her with his clergy identification, she relented and told him one of the boys was in surgery and the other was in stable condition and being evaluated. The fact that she refused to give him any information whatsoever about the teenage female brought in with the boys was alarming.
Please, Lord. Be with the surgeons and the nurses. Everyone who’s attending to them.
Tugging the knit cap off his head, Chase ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it down. He frowned when he caught the crackle of static electricity. Not that it mattered when a teenage girl might be dead and in the morgue and the life of one of the boys could be hanging in the balance.
He stumbled over to a chair in the ER waiting room. Only a few others occupied chairs. Maybe he should offer to pray for them but he couldn’t. He couldn’t be all things to all people. Couldn’t be everywhere. That was God’s job. His job was to do what he could within his immediate range.
He felt tired. So very tired.
Those dumb kids. Jamal was one of the brightest kids in his youth group. He’d watched him grow from a snot-nosed punk into a young man full of godly strength. Trevon had come a long way in the past few weeks alone—coming to youth group and learning how to treat Rachelle with respect. That kid was a believer now.
With a deep sigh, Chase closed his eyes. He drew on his self-control not to slam his fist through a wall like he had when his mom died. Violence was never the answer but rarely had he felt such frustration. A tear raced down his cheek and he used the heel of his palm to swipe it off his cheek.
You’ve given those kids to me to care for and watch over, Lord. I let you down. In his heart, Chase knew the Lord wouldn’t see it that way, but he couldn’t tamp down his sense of inadequacy. Not knowing what else to do, Chase bowed his head to pray. He surrendered Jamal, Trevon, and Rachelle to the Lord, the only One who could absorb their pain and heal them, physically and otherwise. He prayed for wisdom for the doctors and surgeons treating them. Finally, he prayed for the parents of these kids. They weren’t here now, but he was. Someone needed to be here for them.
Opening his eyes, Chase scrubbed a hand over his face. No doubt he looked as ragged as he felt. Emotionally spent. Sliding his elbows farther down his thighs, he cradled his head between his hands and stared blindly at the flooring. His stomach rumbled, a reminder it’d been nearly ten hours since he’d last eaten. No way could he leave to get anything now.
Catching a whiff of something nearby, Chase noticed a round container on the small table beside him. He smiled. Keller’s. Lifting the lid, he peeked at its contents, inhaling deeply of the triple beef noodle soup. Only one person could know that was his favorite. Even dear Sissy and Opal didn’t know.
Heather.
Was Heather here in the hospital now? Replacing the lid on the soup, Chase did a quick survey of the quiet ER waiting room.
“Pretty young blonde woman. She came in and left it while you were praying.”
Chase snapped his gaze to a dark-haired nurse who looked to be in her late 40s or early 50s. Her understanding smile gave him a measure of comfort. More lik
e reassurance that there were still sane, rational people in this crazy world gone mad.
Momentarily unable to find his voice, Chase nodded. How had Heather known he was here?
He cleared his throat. “Do you have any news about either of the two boys they brought in earlier? Car accident?”
She shook her head. “No. Only that they’re both in surgery.”
Both. He needed to ramp up his prayers. “And the girl?”
The nurse’s eyes filled. “I’m sorry. I’m not authorized to tell you anything about her at this point.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled. The nurse’s reaction told him what he hadn’t wanted to hear. Rachelle was gone.
Oh, Lord. His very soul groaned. His heart ached unbearably, like it hadn’t in years. Not since his mom died. Not since the loss of Jacqui. “Please, God. Not another one.”
Hanging his head, Chase placed the soup container back on the table. His heart heavy, like a dead weight in his chest, he lifted from the chair. Walking into one of the small private rooms, he pushed the door closed behind him.
Kneeling on the floor, his elbows propped on a chair, Chase closed his eyes and began to pray. It was simply all he knew to do.
~~♥~~
After stepping outside to call Sawyer to tell him what was happening, Heather returned to the waiting room. Not seeing Chase, she spied the door of one of the consultation rooms slightly ajar. Her intuition told her this was where she’d find Chase. She pushed it open.
Chase was on his knees, praying.
Oh, Chase. Her heart broke for him. Closing the door behind her, she went over to him. For a few moments, she sat silently on the chair beside him. She prayed for the two boys in surgery and for Rachelle to rest now in the arms of the Savior. She wondered if their families had been notified since no one else in the ER waiting area appeared to be waiting for news of the three teens.
When his shoulders shook, Heather rested her hand on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Chase glanced up at her and wiped the moisture from his cheeks. She opened her arms and slid down to her knees beside him. Chase fell into her arms and she held him close. Resting his head on her shoulder, he clung to her.
