No Wasted Tears (12 page)

The finality of the statement kept Adam from asking anything else about her life or the relationship she was
in.

“Well,” Adam said, “I can say that God is already doing his part. If he weren’t, you wouldn’t have gotten saved and totally surrendered to him. I know God had something to do with us meeting. I’m happy about
it.”

Adam must have sensed that his statement made her a little uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. “So tell me, where are you going to be working here in
Seattle?”

“For Kintama Chemicals, designing and managing a network of receivers that can pick up signals from tagged salmon known as the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking project.” I’m really excited about it.” He watched the spark of excitement in her eyes light up like fireworks as she talked about her
career.

“My best friend, Tina, the one I told you about, recommended me for the job. We had the same majors in college. She knows the president, and they were really excited about me joining their team,” Destiny said around a bite of
pie.

His low soothing tone was her undoing, causing her stomach to flutter. He chuckled before responding. “Okay, I can tell you love your work by the way your face lights up while you talk about
it.”

She tilted her head slightly and asked, “Is that a bad
thing?”

“No problem with me. I love what I do as well,” he stated as he took the last bite of his
pie.

He was constantly watching her expression even when she looked away there seemed to be a magnetic force that caused her head to turn back. Destiny couldn’t take her eyes off his mouth; the enigmatic tilt of it fascinated her. The way he half-smiled, as if he was enjoying the edge he had over her in knowing something that he only had privy
to.

It was a hard task to stay focused with her voice sounding so seductive. He knew it was not intentional, but it was still hard to stay focused on their conversation. Praise the Lord they were in a place that helped keep his flesh in check Adam thought to
himself.

They left the restaurant after he took care of the
bill.

As Adam drove toward SeaTac, he watched Destiny out of the corner of his eye. Calling her a beautiful woman was an understatement. Her flawless face was the color of rich caramel, and when she smiled or laughed, her eyes danced with excitement and passion at the same time. He had been struggling all day to keep his eyes off her. He wanted to show everyone some attention, but there was something about this woman that moved
him.

As he pulled into the driveway of the house, he noticed that she still looked a little nervous as he turned off the ignition. The only thing he could fathom was that she probably was a little nervous about how they would end this evening. Adam got out the car and came around to help her out. He reached for her hand and felt an electrical charge run up his arm. She must have felt it as well because she dropped his hand immediately. They walked side by side to the
door.

Adam reached around her to open the screen door, and Destiny jumped, causing the door to slam shut. She looked at him with those caramel eyes
sparkling.

“Why are you so jumpy? Relax. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to,” he whispered softly. “I should probably go,” he managed to mutter as he tried to calm himself down. Not doing anything he would regret
later.

A red strain formed on her cheeks, and her eyes fluttered.
Destiny
, she chastised herself,
this is a pa
stor, for Christ’s s
ake! What must he th
ink?
Her face became the picture of embarrassment as she put distance between them by reopening the screen door. She moved inside the house while letting the screen door be a barrier between them, leaning her face against
it.

“Adam, I mean Pastor Wheeler, I really enjoyed dinner. There is something happening between us. I’m not sure what that means with you being a pastor. I just want us to take our time being friends.” She looked at him with such sincerity that he wanted to kiss her but knew this was not the
time.

“No, I would love for us to be friends. I really enjoyed our afternoon. Can you promise me something?” he
asked.

She felt her breath stall in her throat not certain of what he wanted to ask. “Yes, if I
can.”

Getting serious again and making her nervous, he said, “When we are alone together, will you please call me Adam? I love knowing that I’m your pastor, but when it’s just you and me, I want to be your Adam and you can to be my
Destiny.”

She sighed and looked away. Boy, was she relieved. She answered him, “Yes, I think I can handle
that.”

Reaching around the screen door, he ran his fingers over her long brown curls. “Before I go…would it be all right if I called you?” he
asked.

She agreed, giving him the number he
requested.

Adam turned and started down the steps. “Aren’t you going to write it down?” she called after
him.

Looking back, he repeated the number. Then he opened the door and got in the car. He waited for her to go inside. When the door closed, he began to back out of the driveway. He didn’t even realize he was singing. “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. We shall rejoice. We shall rejoice and be glad in
it.”

Marvin’s heart was racing as he lay in bed. Picking up the phone, he called his
brother.

“Hello?”

“Hey, man, what’s up? I didn’t want to bombard you with questions at the
restaurant—”

“I know how you must feel. It was a shock when I saw her as well. But she’s back
now.”

Marvin’s heart started racing all over again, his mind filling with questions.
Back? Back fro
m where? Had she bee
n alone, or had ther
e been a man with he
r? Someone who would
be exactly what her
parents wanted for
her? Did she complet
e her education?
He didn’t voice even one of these questions. He had no business wondering what she’d done over the years. He swore silently. He couldn’t stop himself from asking, “How is
she?”

“She seems to be doing well. She completed her
degree.”

Marvin nodded his head in satisfaction. “I’m happy for her. She deserves to be happy even if we didn’t make
it.”

“From the looks of things today, there’s still something there. You two were very much in love and hurt because of the
breakup.”

“All of that is history. If I see her again, I’m sure she’ll tell me all about her new man,” he
offered.

“We’ll see how it goes in the morning, okay, brother? It’s easy to say that because you’re not in her
presence.”

Deciding to change the subject, Marvin said, “I didn’t mention that tomorrow I should close on that real-estate deal I was working on in Oakland. I’m excited about this opportunity. It’s really going to put the company on the
map.”

Adam laughed. “I never doubted you for one second. You wanted it, and you all worked hard on closing that
deal.”

Marvin ended the call with his brother after a few more minutes of small talk. He found himself still struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that Cynthia was in Seattle. He wasn’t surprised that Adam was excited about her being back. He really expected no less from his brother the pastor. Just because he and she had been high school sweethearts didn’t mean anything. People grew up and moved on with their lives. Adam hadn’t thought so, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Cynthia was engaged by now. There hadn’t been a ring, but nowadays that meant nothing. She was an incredibly beautiful woman. Time had been good to her. What difference did it even make at this late date? A lot of time had passed, and what they’d shared in high school was gone. It no longer mattered why they’d broken up or who was responsible. He wanted her to be happy. Seeing her in the morning might prove to be awkward because of what they’d once shared, but that was okay. They had both moved on with their
lives.

Chapter 8

Opening her eyes, she couldn’t believe that she had ended up here again. It wasn’t until he threw his leg across her that she realized he had stayed the night. This was getting old real quick. She had been in Seattle for four months without much success of accomplishing her goal. Yes, it had been easy finding the church because he was very popular in the area, but getting closer to him was proving to be more difficult than she
realized.

Her plan was to come here and become the wife she should have been years ago.
All of the clubbing and partying was getting old. Plus, the drinking had become a habit
that she couldn’t seem to shake. Her parents saw her once when she was a little intoxicated, and suddenly, she had become an alcoholic in their eyes. If she had been honest, she would have told them that she only drank when she went out. But being who they were in their self-righteous ways, they found fault in everything she did
. Even her mother, who was once her biggest ally, had turned on
her.

She still remembered her words: “Now, dear, you should avoid the very appearance of evil.” That was after she saw her out with a few friends drinking at one of their favorite restaurants. As far as she was concerned, who she spent time with was no one’s business. She had been in the church convention circuit since she was a little girl. Men loved her and she loved them. She had a thing for older men. It was her life. So what if she enjoyed the company of tall, not so dark, and very handsome men? There were women all over the world just like her. Since she was attractive and by many standards a real beauty, she had been linked to several men over the years. Most of them were just friends, but a few had been friends with benefits. She’d even been introduced to some of the men by her father. That in itself was reason enough to laugh. They were all supposed to be godly men. And they were when he was around. But just like the old school song says, “The freaks come out at
night.”

What was a girl supposed to do? She was a freak. Her name was well known among most of the preachers in Atlanta married and single. Her parents had put
her out of the house. Therefore, she had to find a means of support, and most of the guys fit the bill: good looking, large bank accounts, and
partiers
.

She felt his movement, pulling her into a kiss. It wasn’t the kiss that bothered her so much. He had become far too familiar with her and apparently assumed they had a relationship that didn’t exist, showing up when he got ready. It was really getting old. On the other hand, hadn’t she put that idea into his head a few nights ago? He had agreed to help her at a price. There could not be a romantic involvement. But for now she would give him what he wanted because in a few days she’d have what she wanted. Finally relaxing, she began to return his kiss as he pulled her deeper into the sheets. She smiled because soon all her dreams would be coming
true.