Driven to be Loved (The Carmen Sisters) by Pat Simmons

Author:Pat Simmons
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Generations Quest Press
Published: 2018-07-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

I

t was a spiritual connection with a man that Brecee wanted most in a relationship. That was at the top of her list. Yet Adrian seemed conflicted in his soul after hearing the message.

She exchanged glances with Shae, then looked at Adrian again. He stood there, gripping the back of the pew in front of them, with his eyes closed and his head bowed.

Don’t fight the Lord, she wanted to tell him. Let go. But the decision was his alone. At least God had given him a desire to come to church uninvited this time.

He accepted My invitation, the Lord whispered.

When the pastor had concluded the altar call, Adrian turned and startled her by engulfing her in an embrace. He seemed relieved. She hugged him back before they sat and waited for the offertory.

“I’m glad you’re here,’’ she whispered. “And that I wasn’t playing in the band or in a softball game or something to keep me from enjoying this moment of us together...at church.”

He nodded. “Me, too.”

If she believed in fairy tales coming true, then she would let herself hope that he loved her as much as his tenderness seemed to convey. She felt like she was about to start sobbing. Maybe it was her hormones. Every time they were together, there was more hugging, more holding hands. Now she was holding out for the kiss.

After the pastor gave the benediction, Shae greeted Adrian, and even Sabrina gave him a wide grin, displaying a budding tooth and a tiny wave. When he winked at Brecee’s niece, the baby tried to mimic him, making all three of them laugh.

Taking him by the hand, Brecee introduced him to a couple of saints who approached her with medical questions. Her responses were courteous yet brief. She wasn't up for the lengthy discussions she sometimes engaged in about children’s health, not with Adrian there beside her.

Once they were alone again, she asked him, “Do you have to get back and study?” It was a silly question—of course, he did—but that didn’t stop her from wanting to hear him respond on the contrary.

“Yes,” he said, “and I want you to come with me.” He didn’t blink.

But Brecee did. “Excuse me?”

“Work with me on this.” Adrian squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I’m trying to multitask on my only day off. I gave God time—”

“Are you coming back to church again?” She couldn’t help but interrupt him. She had to know if this was just a onetime visit.

“And again and again,” he said in a low voice. That earned him a smile as he continued, “But I’m also committed to this group project.” He paused and gazed into her eyes as if they were the only ones in the sanctuary. And they may as well have been, because everyone milling around them seemed to fade into oblivion. Everyone other than Shae, that is; she came into full view right behind Adrian, unashamedly eavesdropping.

“And I want you to be near me.”

Her heart melted at his request.

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