Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter Five

Rhea tossed the phone onto the bed, irritated. She didn’t have the energy to talk to her chatty sister. She focused on Zora. “I’ll let your sister answer that question. You need to know that you can’t get away with talking to me like you did earlier.” She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “You obviously have issues, but, you need to deal with your mess without including me. I don’t even know you, and I don’t appreciate your treating me like an enemy.”

Zora’s mouth dropped open, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes widening. “I didn’t mean—”

Rhea cut her off. “I don’t care what you meant. I’m tired, got a lot on my mind, and I don’t need somebody getting into my face for no reason.” She stomped over to Zora, got directly into her face, and the young woman flinched, her nut-brown skin reddening. “Have I made myself clear?”

Finally, Zora nodded. “Yes,” she mumbled, removing her purse from her bony shoulder, dropping it onto the bed. Rhea took her bag of toiletries and went into the bathroom, then took her time showering and getting ready for bed.

She exited the bathroom, and Desiree and Zora sat on the bed, whispering. Desiree rubbed Zora’s shoulder while Zora popped a pill into her mouth, drinking some water from a paper cup, her hand shaking.

Rhea turned the lamp off beside her bed and pulled the covers over her head.
Lord, forgive me for losing my temper at Zora, but, I just couldn’t help it. Zora seems troubled and I believe You are the only one who can help her, Lord.

She closed her eyes, visions of Martin Lane dancing in her head. His deep, smooth voice had soothed her frazzled nerves. Her breathing deepened as she tried to sleep. She thought about Martin’s caring nature, his chocolate brown skin and full tantalizing lips. For some weird reason, when she was with Martin, she sensed that things weren’t so bad, the day seemed a bit brighter.

When he’d briefly touched her back, the warmth from his fingers had made her feel better. She’d wanted to listen to him, and enjoy his company. She wouldn’t mind spending most of her time with Martin during the retreat.

Why couldn’t she control her attraction? How dangerous, to be attracted to her sister’s love interest. Ever since Raven had survived cancer as a child, Rhea had been compelled to shield her twin, making Raven’s life as enjoyable as possible. Her parents had played a huge part in spoiling Raven, too. She’d been pampered, shielded and coddled so much that her parents, and Rhea herself, had regretted it when Raven got older. She’d developed a mean, selfish nature, and her parents couldn’t control Raven’s attitude.

She turned in bed, groaning. If Raven found out that Rhea was attracted to Martin, she’d be hurt, devastated. She really needed to put a damper on these feelings. There was no way that she could fantasize about Martin—he was probably attracted to Raven, anyway. He was only offering to help with her bakery since he was a nice guy.

She’d have to play it cool when she saw Martin at breakfast. Still, his face lingered in her mind as she fell asleep.

*

Rhea’s deep laughter surrounded him, making his insides bubble with warmth. They sat on the bench near the bay, and her eyes sparkled after he’d told her about a prank he’d pulled when he was a child. She smiled, and he leaned toward her, pulling her into a hug.

The dull buzz of his alarm clock blared from his nightstand. After shoving it off, he stumbled out of bed, pushing thoughts of Rhea Morrison from his mind. He needed to focus because he had a lot to accomplish. He didn’t need musings about Rhea to cloud his mind this morning.

He scanned the clock—five thirty. His sister, Trina, should be awake right now. Clearing his throat, he called his sister on his cell phone.

She answered on the first ring. “Martin, are you alright?”

“No.”

She hesitated, not speaking. What was wrong?

When she remained silent, Martin closed his eyes, thinking about his church. He swallowed, recalling the friendships he’d made, and about the people who’d told him how he’d helped them come to Christ. Longing swept through him. He wanted to tell others about Jesus, lead his father’s church, but, he wondered if the Lord had other plans for him. He finally found the courage to ask the question burning in his mind. “Did Linda Tucker cause more trouble?”

“Martin…”

Gritting his teeth, he slowly paced around his room. When he’d returned to the church the previous day, after feeding the homeless, he’d spotted Linda Tucker in the foyer, whispering to some women. Once she’d spotted him, she’d abruptly left the church and when he’d mentioned the incident to Trina, she’d gotten quiet, refusing to look him in the eye. She’d abruptly changed the subject, telling him he needed to get going so that he wasn’t late arriving at the retreat.

He’d driven to the retreat, figuring if he called Trina the following morning, she’d be more inclined to tell him what was going on.

Feeling called to take over his father’s role as pastor of the church, Martin was next in line, right after he finished divinity school. However, Linda Tucker, an elderly parishioner, had proven a recent thorn in his side. Upset about his being single, she’d made it her mission to rile up the other elderly ladies in the church, hoping to sway them to vote against Martin for the pastorship. She’d joined his church a year ago, bringing a group of female members from her old church.

“Trina, what do you know about Linda’s visit to the church yesterday?”

“I didn’t want to spoil your retreat. Have you met anybody yet?”

Why did Trina have to change the subject? “I don’t want to talk about the retreat. What did Linda do?”

Trina sighed. “You know how Linda has her clique of friends, most of them transplants from her old church?”

“Yes?”

“Well, she called all of her buddies, and they’re having an emergency meeting to decide how to keep you out of the pastor’s position.”

“What!” He stopped pacing, dropping the phone, causing it to clatter against the floor. He lifted his cell, placing it back to his ear. “When is the meeting?”

“She’s having it at eight o’clock this morning at Claudine’s, that French bakery in town.”

“I’m going.”

“You can’t go. You’re not even supposed to know about it.”

“So? That won’t stop me. Meet me there.” Linda seemed to be targeting the women within his church. If he showed up with a strong, upstanding female church member, like his sister Trina, then Linda would be reminded that not all of the women were on her side.

“No! Though, you know that I’m against what Linda’s trying to do.”

“I need moral support when I go on this mission.”

“Mission for what? Don’t go to that meeting. What will it prove?”

“It’ll prove that I really want to be pastor, and I can talk to these ladies before Linda sinks her hooks into them any further.”

“Martin…”

“I’m taking a quick shower and driving over to Claudine’s.” He disconnected the call, throwing the phone onto the bed.

While showering, thoughts of Linda Tucker flooded his mind. Didn’t that woman have anything else to do besides start trouble in his congregation?

Linda had left her old church because the unmarried pastor had an affair with one of his married parishioners. The scandal of the pastor’s affair at the large prestigious church had dominated the local news. The pastor’s rash actions caused the church to split, half stayed with the congregation, while others, like Linda, found new places to worship. She’d used her charismatic personality to win over some of the faithful members of Martin’s church. She’d acted as if her vendetta against him was personal, which was impossible since he’d never met Linda Tucker until she’d joined his church.

Martin stepped out of the shower, rubbing the stubble on his chin. A shave could wait. He’d agreed to speak later and if he attended this meeting, it would make today’s schedule tight. Should he risk his preaching obligation just to attend?

He had to go. There was no way he was letting Linda have her meeting without defending himself. If he drove fast enough, he’d make it to Claudine’s in time.

He sprinted to his car, spotting a few early risers making their way to the cafeteria. He looked toward the bay. Rhea sat in one of the lawn chairs on the deserted beach, holding a black book in her hands. Her head was bowed, and her hair hung loose, blowing in the light breeze. Clutching the handle of his car door, he stared at her. She was the most beautiful sight he’d seen in a long time. Her milk chocolate skin glowed in the weak, rising sun.

His gut clenched. Should he speak to her before leaving? He needed to talk to her about her bakery, try and help her save her business. He’d also agreed to have breakfast with her. Would she be upset when she didn’t see him in the cafeteria?

He shook the thought away, getting into his car. He sensed Rhea wanted some private time, and he didn’t want to interrupt her. But, what if he didn’t make it back in time? What if he got held up during Linda’s meeting?

He started his car and drove away from the resort, pulling onto the main highway in minutes. He clutched the steering wheel, driving as fast as the speed limit allowed. If his alarm clock had not gone off this morning, he’d probably still be asleep, dreaming about Rhea. What would’ve happened if his dream were allowed to continue? He would’ve kissed her lovely lips, held her in his arms, listened to the soft, quiet cadence of her voice while she spoke. Last night, while they’d sat on the bench, talking about her life, he’d wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss her frown away, and make her smile.

He breathed deeply. No way could he act on his feelings. He’d just met Rhea, barely knew her, but yet, he still sensed a deep emotional bond between them. Was this connection just his imagination, or, did Rhea feel the same?

He pulled off of the exit. It didn’t matter. He was not good relationship material for Rhea or any other woman. He needed to focus and get to this meeting – confront Linda before she caused more damage in his church. When he arrived at the meeting, what should he say? He couldn’t lose his temper, yet, Linda’s cold, calculating manner always put him on edge. Should he appeal to the other women, and ignore Linda? Perhaps if he spoke to the women directly, without targeting Linda, he’d be more successful in gleaning more support for his pastorship.

              He braked, gawking at the long line of cars in front of him. The orange construction signs decorated the sidelines, men in hard hats directing traffic toward a detour.

              Construction? This was the last thing he needed. He eyed the dashboard, checking the time. If traffic continued at this slow pace, he might miss Linda’s meeting.

              After going through the detour with the stop and go traffic, he finally gained some momentum as the traffic spilled onto the main street, moving at a steady pace. When he pulled into the packed parking lot of Claudine’s, he hunted until he found an empty space on the street, not far from the bakery. He exited his car, running the couple of blocks toward Claudine’s.
Lord, you’ve got to help me out. I want to serve you by leading this church, but Linda has made this difficult. Please help me to say the right thing when I interrupt this meeting.

He spotted Trina in front of the bakery. Thank goodness she came! Her eyes appeared troubled as he kissed her cheek. “Hey, Trina. Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t say hey to me. You shouldn’t even be here right now.” She folded her thick arms, frowning.

“Well if you didn’t want me to come, why did you tell me about the meeting in the first place?”

“You know I can’t keep a secret from you. You called me this morning knowing that I’d tell you why Linda was at the church yesterday.”

“Well, everything worked out. I have to be here. I know that God wants me to pastor daddy’s church, and I should be here to defend myself.”

“You should’ve just stayed at the resort—”

“No, I need to be
here.
This is where the Lord wants me to be.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, softening his voice. “Look, let’s go in, I’ll say what I need to say, then I’ll return to the retreat. Would that make you happy?” His sister had his best interest at heart, and he wanted to be sure she was okay with his decision.

She shook her head, looking away, tugging on the brim of her red baseball cap. “No, it would make me happy if you never went into that bakery.”

“Well, I’m going in there…”

“No, Martin.” She glanced at the sidewalk, her shoulders stiff. Something was wrong.

He touched her shoulder, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I’m worried about you. Linda Tucker is not very nice and I don’t want her to hurt your feelings.” Since he was the youngest child in his family, he sometimes felt that Trina didn’t accept that he was an adult.

He pulled his sister into a hug. Releasing her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t worry about Linda. God’s got this whole thing under control.” He leaned against the door. “He doesn’t want me to just sit and do nothing while Linda makes me look like the bad guy.” He opened the door to the bakery, the bell tinkled, announcing his arrival. He held the door open for Trina and he entered behind her.

He stepped into the bakery and sniffed. Perfume. The fragrance of women’s cologne comingled with the scents of bread and pastries. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his suddenly frazzled nerves. He scanned the bakery, and it was packed with women, not an empty chair in sight. The women wore colorful dresses, and some sipped from cups of coffee, enjoying pastries. He wiped his sweat-slicked hands against his blue jeans. What was he going to say?
Lord, please give me the right words.