Redeeming Heart (19 page)

“It’s going to be okay,” Octavia said softly,
rubbing circles on his back. Her touch was soothing.

“We’ve been out here praying,” Rossi said.
“Are you up for another visit, or should we wait until
tomorrow?”

“Nope. I’ve waited long enough to see my
children, and Alyssa is six, so my visit is long overdue.”

Half an hour later, Landon arrived at a small
house in Hyde Park. He braced for another mental showdown, but he
and his crew received a warm welcome. Although Reba Kee wasn’t a
practicing Christian, she had no ill feelings. Her husband, Martin,
had adopted Alyssa because Landon didn’t care enough to protest it,
even after the DNA test proved him to be the father. Alyssa was
sharp, appeared well cared for and happy. Landon couldn’t thank
Martin enough for stepping up to the plate and being the man he
wasn’t.

Reba and Martin had prepared snacks, and
Alyssa was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the special guests. The
atmosphere was light-hearted.

Landon thanked God for the reprieve. Martin
led the men into their entertainment room. Although Landon
appreciated the hospitality, he’d rather spend his time getting to
know the girl he had rejected from the moment she was
conceived.

“No hard feelings,” Martin said, opening a
can of beer. “I got blessed. Reba and I met when she came to the
office and applied for WIC. She was a damsel in distress, and I
wanted to be the one to rescue her. I’m a happy man.” He grinned
and reached out to Reba when she walked into the room with mini
sandwiches. Alyssa trailed, assisting her mother as a
hostess-in-training. He watched his daughter’s every movement.

Looking away, Landon bowed his head in shame.
What kind of human being was he to force his firstborn to live on
public assistance when he had the means to provide for her
comfortably, even if he had no intention of marrying Reba?

Now, he had so little to offer Alyssa and the
others, and it went beyond the money. He was thousands of miles
away from them. Landon’s heart began to ache from cheating his
children out of so much—his love and their cousins, uncle and
grandparents whom they knew little about. At the moment, he hated
himself for his past actions.

I have cast your sins in the depth of the
sea,
God whispered Micah 7:19.

That reassurance lifted Landon’s spirit. He
was thankful that Reba and her husband had told Alyssa about him.
He would be forever grateful.

He faced Martin and Reba. “As I explained
over the phone, I have three other children—a set of twin boys and
a younger daughter. I’m not asking for your pity, but your prayers
as I try to right my wrongs. I don’t have much, but as I continue
to bounce back, Alyssa will get more.” Landon gave him the envelope
with the last three-hundred-dollar money order.

Martin waved him off. “Put it in a college
trust fund. Never too soon to save.” He reached over Alyssa who had
wedged a space between them, and patted Reba’s stomach and that’s
when Landon noticed the bump.

“We’re having twins.” He beamed.

Landon’s mouth dropped, then he blinked.
“Wow. What are the odds of Alyssa have twins on both sides?
Congrats, man.” Landon shook hands with Martin.

“That means I’m going to have two twin
brothers.” Alyssa beamed.

“Two sets of twins,” Martin corrected. “We
don’t know if they’ll be boys or girls, or one of each.”

Where Cherie was quiet, Alyssa was a
chatterbox as she talked about what she learned in school and about
wanting a cat. Landon wanted to stay longer, but it had been a long
day. It was time to head back to his parents’ house. He, Octavia,
Rossi and Levi hadn’t broken their fast with a prayer yet before
they ate, so they were starved. The snack Reba tempted set before
them. Once everyone prayed, then they would celebrate with a feast
at his parents’ house.

Back in the SUV, Landon was quiet as he
processed the magnitude of his responsibility to four children.
Should he move back to Boston? Landon had taken family for granted.
His cousin Garrett came to mind. He realized he owed Garrett a call
and a real apology, but not today.

The closeness Octavia had felt with Landon earlier
in the day was gone by the time she made it back to their hotel
Saturday night. They broke their fast with prayer and thanksgiving
at Landon’s parents’ house, but she could tell by his body language
that he was numb as his parents peppered him with questions about
their grandchildren.

“I can’t…” Landon said, piling his plate with
turkey and dressing as if it was Thanksgiving. He was going through
the motions, but Octavia doubted he had an appetite after a day
charged with emotional baggage. “Sorry, mom and dad, I need to
process today before I can even talk about it.”

With that statement, he excused himself from
all conversation until it was time for Octavia, Rossi and Levi to
head to the hotel. “Thanks for being there for me,” Landon stated
with little emotion in his voice.

Octavia wanted to reach out and hug him and
will life back into his body, because the events of the day had
literally been sucked out of him.

Days later, Octavia was not the same after
returning from Boston, and neither was Landon. The experience left
her shaken, witnessing the bitterness, hurt and lingering feelings
that Landon had played a hand in. She also saw the hunger in his
eyes to reach out and connect with his children. Octavia’s heart
didn’t choose sides. She hurt for all of them.

She was glad she had been proactive in
researching agencies to help fathers who were behind on their child
support payments, especially after Landon told her about Kim’s
threat to have him jailed for lack of financial obligations when
they were in Boston.

In addition to working like crazy to save up
money to send back to his children and pay for another plane fare
to visit them, Landon was participating in the St. Louis Chapter of
the National Fatherhood Initiative.

The love he professed in Boston seemed to be
on hold in St. Louis. Every minute of their time seemed limited.
Octavia had begun a routine of sharing lunch with Landon at Rossi’s
office. Today, they were crowded in his work space, eating Arby’s
fish sandwiches, which was his treat.

“I can’t wait until I finish this two-month
Fathers and Families program; then the agency will pick up my back
child support payments that totals thousands of dollars. It will
give me a second chance to pay from my heart and not because of
obligation.

“Not to mention jail. Kim could’ve made good
on her threat to have you arrested.”

Landon sighed. “Yes, and then I would have a
felony on my record.”

He reached for her hand and caressed her
fingers. His lips parted, and Octavia waited for something to come
out. She didn’t notice when he sucked air into his lungs, but his
sigh was audible as he shook his head. “Thank you, baby,” he said
with such tenderness she could see why any woman was drawn to him.
“God really blessed me when He sent you into my life.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she teased to mask
the fluttering of her heart from hearing the endearment, but
Octavia remained cautious. Did they have a future, especially with
his recommitted bond with his children?

They hadn’t kissed yet, and if and when they
did, Octavia didn’t want to experience it in the confines of a
closet of an office. She busied herself with gathering their
discarded trash and stood. “I’d better head out. I have an
appointment with a widow I met at a luncheon who wants to sell her
home in historic Webster Groves. When we chatted, I had no idea she
would be in the market.”

Landon got to his feet. “I’ve been praying
for you.”

Those words were like saying he loved her.
For her, that was the language of love. She stared into his eyes.
“Can I ask what you’ve been praying for me about?”

“For you to reach that Million Dollar Club
level; I hope God gives you the desires of your heart, because
you’re the most giving woman I’ve ever met outside of my mother and
grandmother.”

“Now you’re going to make me cry,” she said,
looking away.

“If you cry, I’ll wrap you in my arms and
kiss you like I love you.” Landon didn’t blink.

Don’t tempt me!
Octavia sniffed and
backed out of his office.
It won’t be here.
“Bye.” As she
walked away, Landon whistled. She whirled around. He leaned against
the door post, folding his arms and grinning like a boy with a new
toy. She always thought a man whistling at a woman was insulting.
Landon made her feel attractive and…giddy. She playfully stuck out
her tongue and hurried to the bank of the elevators.

By late afternoon, Mrs. Kerr signed the
contract, making Octavia her listing agent for her historic home.
Silently she praised God and thanked Landon for his prayer. The
next step was requesting an appraisal on the
thirty-five-hundred-plus square foot, renovated two-story,
five-bedroom house. Judging from the property value of the
neighborhood and what comparable homes sold for, Mrs. Kerr’s asking
price could be in the upper four-hundred thousand, if not
five-hundred thousand.

As soon as Octavia got into her car, she
texted Landon the good news before driving off.
Thank you for
the prayers. I got it. I’m heading to the office to do the
paperwork!

Octavia almost floated into the office less
than a half hour later. Once her colleagues heard the news, it was
pure jubilation in the office. Terri lifted her hand for a high
five.

“You’ve been on fire since you returned from
Boston. See, the right connections can make all the difference.
Congrats, sis.” Terri paused when Octavia’s phone rang. “We’ll talk
later,” she mouthed as Octavia answered the call.

She had barely said hello when someone
entered the office lobby and slammed the door. Glancing over her
shoulder at the offender, Octavia was surprised to see James.
Evidently, he had come to visit with Terri, who was across the
room, since Octavia had called it quits more than a month ago. She
turned her attention back to her caller, but James stopped at her
desk. Ignoring his presence, Octavia patiently answered the
potential client’s inquiry.

“Yes, I do remember you from the seminar a
few months ago…Your loan approved for what amount?”

“One hundred and ninety thousand dollars,”
Mrs. Scales said.

“What area were you thinking about
living?”

“My husband and I think Bridgeton and
Maryland Heights are centrally located.”

“Good choices.” Octavia made notes, wanting
to engage the buyer in small talk, but Mrs. Scales left her contact
number and ended the call. With James’s figure looming over her
desk, Octavia had no choice but to acknowledge him. “Hello. Can I
interest you in some new property listings?”

“I can’t believe you,” he managed through
gritted teeth as he continued to tower over her desk, since she
didn’t offer him a chair.

She’d had a thing about people talking down
to her ever since she was in the first grade. Her teacher, Mrs.
Elsberry, stood over her, making sure the entire class knew she had
an accident before she could make it to the bathroom. How was she
to control a stomach virus? Octavia got to her feet, almost
reaching his chin in her stilettos. She tapped her manicured nails
on the desk, waiting him out.

Maybe she shouldn’t have baited him, but
James had made two mistakes, showing up at her workplace with an
attitude, then bringing that attitude for a show in front of the
other agents.

“Women are always talking about how they
can’t find a good man, and you had one.” He thumped his chest. “But
no, instead you go after a bad boy.”

She squinted. What is he ranting about?
Octavia counted to ten to nick whatever camp fire he was trying to
start with two sticks. “Excuse me.”

This is a test,
God whispered.
Satan wants you to fail and mock Me. I can keep you from
falling.

“I invited you to a weekend getaway to
Jamaica with the works.” James fanned his arm in the air. “You
turned me down like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I had time to
think about what I could have said wrong. I stopped by the office
to apologize that I had been out of line not to respect your
choices only to find out you had skipped town with some
lowlife—”

“Watch it. Stop right there.” She held up her
hand as she rolled her neck. “Your tailored suit can’t dress up
your lowlife mentality. If you’re referring to the company I prefer
to keep, then it looks like you’re going to owe me another apology.
Landon has been where you are—past tense. He buried his pride like
you should that green suit. His best quality is he has firsthand
experience about God’s goodness and—”

“And I know how to talk to a lady,” Landon’s
terse voice made heads turned. Where James had made a grand
entrance, Landon had quietly walked in. “If you’ve got a problem
with me, step outside. I want to hear it.”

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Octavia began to
silently pray as she walked up to Landon. “Don’t do this,” she
whispered, nudging him toward the door. She turned back and shot
James an evil eye, then in one blink, softened her look toward
Landon. With little resistance, Landon obliged, but once outside,
Landon paced the perimeter around her car and looked at the
entrance as if silently daring James to take him up on his
offer.

Every stride toward his restoration with God
would be tainted if Landon took the first swing. Octavia had let
James taunt her, now Landon was falling prey to the enemy.
Lord,
help us not to make You ashamed. In Jesus’ name, please keep us
from falling in the devil’s snare,
Octavia prayed, hoping James
wouldn’t make an appearance until Landon calmed down.

Blocking Landon’s path, she reached for his
hand to hold him still. “Hey, hey,” she said softly. “I like
surprises.” She smiled.