Chapter 42
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
Adam’s joints ached from how hard he gripped the steering wheel.
He’d really pushed his car a lot the last couple of days, taking the winding roads from Coral Canyon to Jackson and back.
He’d also worked in dirty water, snow, and ice for ten hours yesterday, and that certainly hadn’t helped.
His lack of exercise in the past several months meant his whole body hurt, despite the painkillers he’d downed with an early morning cup of coffee from a convenience store.
He finally pulled into his garage, noting he literally had twenty minutes before he had to leave again. He glanced at his phone, noting that Joey still had not returned his texts from last night, and he left his phone to charge as he ran inside to get ready for church.
She had been at his side on his first day back to church, and he would absolutely not miss walking in with her this morning—her first day going to church alone.
“Doesn’t matter if she texts you back or not,” he muttered to himself as he hurried into the shower. He soaped and scrubbed the fastest he ever had, praying the whole time that he would be able to get to the church before Joey walked in.
“Bless my car to run well,” he said into the shower stream. “Bless me to be aware of other drivers. Bless me to park close to her. Bless her to have a forgiving heart.”
Adam needed that last one more than anything, and he hurried to redress, grab the first tie he saw, and stuff his feet into his shiny church shoes.
Then he was on the road again, back to Coral Canyon this time, praying he wouldn’t get behind any trucks or slow drivers, begging God to open a parking space exactly where he needed it to be, and pleading with the Lord that he would know exactly what to say and do to get Joey to take him back, because he did not like the fact that she had not texted him in return.
She had messaged him twice yesterday, and he’d sent her twenty-three texts.
Every time she didn’t answer, he felt like a little piece of his heart had been cut out.
He wasn’t sure if he was just rubbing salt in her wounds or not, but he’d hoped to keep the line of communication open between them, so that when she wasn’t mad anymore, she would be able to talk to him.
“Maybe she’s still mad,” Adam said as he glanced over to the cowboy hat and tie he’d tossed onto the passenger seat.
He reached over and picked up the hat and settled it on his head. The action calmed him for some reason. Wearing this garment made him feel like the world turned slower. He didn’t have to rush to and fro, because he was a country boy now, not a city celebrity assistant.
It’s the Sabbath, he thought, not sure why he needed that reminder. It’s okay to slow down.
He realized then that it wasn’t his voice telling him to slow down on the Sabbath, but God’s. He’d created heaven and earth in six days, and rested on the seventh, and Adam could too.
The cleanup at the warehouse would continue through today and tomorrow, but since he’d shown up with five strong, capable men, they’d gotten a lot done yesterday. Most of the equipment had been moved into drier, safer conditions, including what he needed for the concert.
Donna had said she’d let him know if she could spare the personnel, and his prayers switched to that for only a moment.
“I know they’re just lights, Lord,” he prayed.
“But they sure are important to me and a whole lot of other people. If there’s any way Donna can get the people to run those lights for tomorrow’s concert, please make it happen. ”
After that, his thoughts immediately flowed back to Joey, where they’d been stuck for almost twenty-four hours now. Heck, for months now, if he were being honest.
Every shovelful of snow he’d moved, every time he’d stepped in murky water, she had been on his mind. He loved her, and he’d told her that. He had apologized, and he had to believe that she would take him back.
He finally arrived at the church, and he jumped from the SUV, scanning the sidewalks and parking lot where several people were walking in.
Services would start in only a couple of minutes, and he quickly reached back into the car and grabbed his tie before he slammed the door closed.
He hurried to the end of the row, and light shone down from heaven on a slim woman wearing a bright pink, glittery coat about twenty yards ahead of him.
He threw his tie around his neck, yelled, “Joey!” and took off jogging. The fleeting thought that he really needed to get back into the gym ran through his mind as the white-blonde angel turned toward him. “Wait up,” he said, slowing as he got closer.
Joey blinked, her face a mask of surprise. “Adam,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
She watched as he came to a stop an arm’s length away from her, his heartbeat racing in his mouth, suddenly blank of words.
He reached up to tie his tie, because he knew how to do that, and Joey’s eyes fell to his throat.
A smile touched her face, and he let his hands fall to his side when he finished.
“You realize this tie doesn’t match, right?
” She slid her fingers underneath it without touching him and lifted the tip.
She giggled, the most beautiful sound in the world. “I’ve never seen you wear a tie like this.” She looked up at him. “It has shamrocks on it.”
Adam looked down at the tie, finding it hideous and repulsive. He quickly moved to button his jacket to cover the worst of it. “Got it from my niece last year,” he said.
Joey looked toward the building, where the bells had just started to ring. He wouldn’t be able to talk to her now, and it was far too cold to hover outside and have a conversation anyway.
She hadn’t dismissed him immediately, so Adam reached for her hand, and together they walked toward the church.
He cut a glance over to her and found her walking with her head held high and shining with radiance.
They went up the steps together in the same strong stride they had when he’d come to church for the first time, using her as a crutch.
They moved through the foyer and into the chapel, which vibrated with the energy from the congregation as they chatted with each other before services began. He had to lead her down about halfway, and they had to sit on the side, but he let her go down the row first, and then he sat on the end.
He immediately put his arm around her and pulled her close. She fit in the space there when no one else ever had. When he pressed his lips to her hairline and whispered, “I have missed you so much. It’s so good to see you,” she didn’t have a chance to respond before the choir started to sing.
Today, they came down both aisles and through the front doors, clapping and raising their voices in hallelujah.
Some of the members of the congregation stood and clapped along with them, but Adam did not.
Joey likewise, remained in her seat, tucked safely and securely against his side.
He didn’t want to wait through the sermon to talk to her, but he really had no other choice.
So he settled in to listen to the pastor, hoping and praying that when he could get Joey alone to talk, the Lord would have filled his mind and mouth with the exact words that he should say.
An hour later, Adam followed Joey up the aisle and out of the chapel. They waited in line to talk to the pastor and shake his hand. Joey did that first, saying, “Thank you so much for that sermon today, Pastor Michaels. I need to reread that parable in the Bible.”
“It’s a good one,” the pastor said. He smiled at Joey, and Adam gave him a tight-lipped smile too as he shook his hand, then he put his hand on Joey’s lower back and guided her out of the building.
He hadn’t seen her car, because it didn’t wear bright pink glitter, so he led her back to his. When she was settled and he sat behind the wheel, he adjusted the heater so it would ward off the chill. Tension thickened to the air, but Adam took a deep breath of it anyway.
“I’m really sorry about yesterday,” he said.
“How early did you get up this morning to get here?” she asked.
“Not that early.” He glanced over to her. “I’m an early riser anyway.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “You went home?”
“Yes,” he said. “I showered and apparently grabbed the wrong tie.” He reached up and touched his cowboy hat. “But I got my hat.”
She grinned at him then, and Adam’s muscles started to melt.
“I can’t promise you that there won’t be other emergencies that come up that force me to pay attention to them instead of you,” he said. “But I want you to know that every moment yesterday where I was letting you down was pure torture for me. I wanted to be here. I wanted to be with you.”
She nodded. “Are you going back to Jackson today?”
He shook his head. “We found the equipment, and they have most of their stuff moved now.”
He reached for her hand, noting that she wore the diamond bracelet he’d gotten her for Christmas.
He smiled at it and then raised his head enough to see her past the brim of his cowboy hat.
“I’m hoping you’re up for an apartment tour, and then a drive to get some brisket, and then we have one more thing to move, so I’m afraid moving day isn’t over. ”
“No?” she asked. “That’s awful news, because yesterday was a pretty bad day.”
He noticed the teasing glint in her eye and the playfulness in her voice. “Moving days are the worst,” he said. “And I’m really sorry that I made it terrible.”
“You’ve apologized enough,” Joey said as she lifted her chin and shook her hair over her shoulders. “So you want a tour, and then you want brisket, and then you want to continue the torture and moving day—and this is all supposed to be a good thing?”
“Well, the tour is an amazing thing,” he said. “And you love brisket, and I’ll do all the heavy lifting, so that the bean bag gets put exactly where you want it.”
He smiled at her, all of his hopes and dreams sitting a few feet away in his passenger seat. “So what do you think?” he asked. “Can I kiss you and do we have a plan for the rest of the day?”