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“Can we go?”
“It’s right over there.”
“Ooh, look, he’s starting!”
“Whoa, ladies,” Susan said, putting an arm around the shoulders of each girl. They were decked out in identical sweatshirts, jeans and sneakers. “Did you forget something?”
The six-year-olds spared a moment to look up. “Hi, Pastor Gabriel,” they said, their voices echoing off each other. “Can we go now, Mom? Pleeease.”
Susan nodded and the twins jumped up and down.
“Hold hands,” Susan called to their backs, the girls already heading across the lawn to a spot where a juggler on stilts had begun to perform in front of an excited crowd of children and teenagers.
Laughing, Gabriel watched Susan’s daughters holding hands as they ran, long beaded braids flying behind. “Your daughters are a delight, Mrs. Carter.”
“More like a handful,” she said. “And why don’t you call me Susan.”
“I will,” he said with a smile.
Susan spent a moment regretting that he wouldn’t be one of the bachelors up for auction at the fund-raising gala the following weekend. Forget the fantasy dates Jessica had set up; she’d make a generous donation to her own cause just to watch this man smile.
“Only if you’ll call me Gabriel.”
“It’s a deal,” she said. “Though I’m not in the habit of calling clergy members by their first names.”
“Then don’t think of me as clergy.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How am I supposed to accomplish that?” Like a game-show hostess displaying the grand prize for correctly answering the bonus-round question, she swept her hand in front of her. “Look at this. We’re at your church’s annual Labor Day picnic. The church is right over there with your name displayed—in rather large letters, I might say.” The church with its stained glass windows was a centerpiece in the neighborhood.
Gabriel chuckled. “I had nothing to do with that sign.”
A huge red-and-white banner welcomed members and friends to the church picnic. Gabriel’s name was printed almost as big as the church’s.
“Do you mind if we stroll that way? I want to keep an eye on the girls.” She didn’t wait for his answer, but started moving in the direction of the entertainer so she could see Hannah and Sarah.
“They’re identical,” Gabriel said. “How do you tell them apart?”
“I’m the mom, I’m supposed to.”
“I bet you get that a lot with twins.”
Susan’s answer got interrupted.
“Hey, Pastor Gabriel. Wait!” The kettle corn vendor ran around his booth with a big bag of the sweetly flavored popcorn in hand. “Here you go. For you and your pretty lady.”
Susan flushed and found herself grateful that her dark skin concealed most of the blush. Gabriel glanced at her and smiled, but he didn’t correct the concessionaire.
He instead dug in his pocket for money, but the vendor shook his head.
“No charge, Pastor. We just want to thank you for letting us set up shop here this year. Business has been great all day. The missus and I are gonna come to one of your services this Sunday.”
“Glad to hear it,” Gabriel said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’ll look for you. And we’re pleased to have you with us today.” He nodded toward two couples who approached with money at the ready for kettle corn. “Looks like you have some more business headed your way.” He lifted the bag of popcorn. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime, Reverend. Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the vendor said to Susan, who simply smiled.
Gabriel offered the bag to Susan. She opened her mouth to ask him why he hadn’t disabused the man of the notion that they were a couple, then decided that to call attention to it would only be…what? More embarrassing? So instead of saying anything, she accepted some of the treat he presented.
“Mmm. This is good.” She looked back at the booth. The vendor waved and she waved back. “I’ll have to remember to get some for the girls.”
As they strolled across the lawn, several people called out to either Susan or Gabriel as they passed.
“You’re quite a celebrity here,” he said. “It seems like everyone knows you.”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
He gave her an odd look, and Susan regretted the challenging tone she’d taken with him.
Then he smiled. “No. I like strong women.”
Chapter Two
Susan hid a smile by taking another nibble of popcorn.
“I’m actually glad you came over,” she said. “I wanted to speak with you about something.”
“Hi there, Pastor Gabriel,” said a man who touched the brim of his Denver Broncos cap in greeting as he passed. “Great picnic.”
“Thanks, nice seeing you, John.”
“You’re the popular one,” Susan observed.
Good Shepherd Christian Church’s Labor Day picnic had grown into something of a tradition for members of the congregation as well as the community. The church stocked what seemed like an endless supply of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and soft drinks. Picnic-goers could then purchase other treats, like kettle corn and cotton candy, or T-shirts and other mementos from vendors set up on two sides of the church’s lawn. Entertainment and games claimed the other. From horseshoes to volleyball, the picnic included a little something for everyone.
The afternoon would close with a concert by a popular Christian recording artist. Most people would later make their way downtown for the city’s big fireworks display.
“New preacher giving away free food,” Gabriel said. “What’s not to like?”
Susan chuckled. “The hard times will come later, huh?”
“Like death and taxes. So, you said you wanted to speak with me about something.”
Enjoying the light moments with him, Susan found herself reluctant to end the easy companionship, but she had business to tend to, business that directly involved Reverend Dawson.
He was popular and bright. That’s why she didn’t understand why in all his outreach efforts to date, he hadn’t stopped by or inquired about Galilee.
“You’ve been here almost a year now,” she said.
Gabriel nodded. “Nine months.”
“You’ve done a lot in the community. I’ve seen your name on several boards and you’ve started a couple of outreach ministries.”
He glanced at her. “I’m hearing a ‘but’ coming.”
Susan had the grace to smile. “But you’ve missed a big pocket of the community.”
They’d reached the edge of the entertainment area where the juggler on stilts tossed six wooden pins in the air. Susan spotted her girls, who had somehow managed to creep to the front of the semicircle.
“And what pocket is that?”
“Women in need.”
He looked at her then, wondering if he should read a dual message in her comment. “What, specifically, do you mean?”
“I’d like to show you our facility,” she said. “Why don’t you stop by the Galilee shelter and let me show you around?”
“You’re the director there, right?”
Susan nodded.
“I’d be glad to put it in my book,” he told her. “I’ll have Karen schedule it. Maybe I’ll stop by in a couple of months. What I’ve been trying to do first is get a feel for the larger community, some of the broader issues that have the biggest impact not only on members of Good Shepherd, but the people who live in the area that the church serves.”
Susan bristled at his implication that abused women didn’t rank very high on his priority or impact list.
That was the problem she had with him. Her goal today was to get him to commit to visiting the shelter. Once he saw for himself the work that was done there, she hoped he’d make a long-term commitment to the shelter’s mission.
On several occasions, her director of development had tried to get an appointment with him, but either his secretary always brushed Jessica off or her calls went unanswered. So, as director of the women’s shelter, Susan took matters in her own hands. She’d brought her girls to the picnic so they could have some fun, but her job today was to waylay the good reverend and make him see the error of his neglectful ways—at least where Galilee Women’s Shelter was concerned.
“Reverend Dawson, I think you’ll change your mind when you see what we’re doing at Galilee.”
“You’re not going to stop until I say yes, are you.”
“Now you’re getting the idea,” she said.
He smiled. “All right, then. I will come by.”
Susan wanted to dance a jig. With the newest pastor in town also supporting the effort, maybe something could be done about the problems plaguing the city—in particular, areas near Good Shepherd.
She knew how to close a deal, too. “How about tomorrow morning?”
Gabriel laughed. “I have appointments all day.”
She looked doubtful.
“Really. I do,” he said.
“Then what about—”
“How about Wednesday?” he suggested. “Ten o’clock?”
Susan’s smile for him was bright. She caught herself before she said It’s a date. “I’ll see you then.”
Neither Susan nor Gabriel knew how much attention their stroll across the lawn of Good Shepherd garnered among onlookers. Jessica in particular noticed as her daughter Amy dashed ahead to catch some of the juggling act. Jessica nudged her fiancé, Sam Vance.
“I told you they were seeing each other. Susan plays things so close to the vest.”
Sam looked in the direction she indicated. “There you go again, honey. Just because we’re about to tie the knot doesn’t mean everyone else is headed down the aisle, too. Knowing Susan, she’s probably trying to talk him into being on the shelter’s board of directors or giving a donation to Galilee. You are in the middle of a big fund-raising drive.”
Jessica considered that. “You could be right,” she conceded. “But I doubt it,” she muttered as she watched her pastor and her boss laugh together, sharing a bag of popcorn.
She eyed Sam as an idea began to form—a deliciously naughty idea. She’d have to work fast and get some help to pull it off, though. And she knew just who she could tap to make it happen.
Gabriel had big plans for the church he’d recently been called to pastor. Colorado Springs was a beautiful city with clean streets, fresh air and plenty of outdoor activities to keep people engaged in wholesome fun.
But since his arrival at Good Shepherd, a dark cloud had descended over the city. He’d been to three city council meetings as well as a citizen’s watch session in his own gated neighborhood. The one question on everyone’s minds was how to combat the effects of a crime and drug spree that seemed to have blanketed the city almost overnight.
Part of his mission was to create a better quality of life for his congregation. For Gabriel, spirituality was included in quality of life.
As he walked over to greet the recording artist who’d perform the afternoon concert, he thought about Susan Carter. If nothing else, she was persistent and dedicated. However, he seriously doubted that one little shelter could play a big role in revitalizing the city. He looked forward to seeing her again—even though he had no intention whatsoever of telling her why he’d really been ducking calls from her agency.
Her mission accomplished, Susan enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with the girls. As they headed across to the parking lot, she glanced down at the unusually quiet twins. One thing she’d definitely grown used to was their constant chatter. They talked about any—and everything—all the time. And the questions! Everything they saw, heard or even thought about came out in the form of questions. They kept Susan on her toes.
But now they walked in silence.
“All right,” she said. “What’s up? Didn’t you guys have a good time? You were singing along during the concert.”
“We had a good time,” Hannah said, her voice slow and quiet.
“Yeah,” Sarah agreed, equally as unenthusiastic.
“Then why the long faces and the silent treatment? I’m not used to that.”
The girls looked at each other, then paused.
Concerned now, Susan stopped and stooped so she was eye level with her girls. “Hannah? Sarah?”
“Mommy,” Sarah began. “You know how you’re always telling us—”
“—to look for the signs that somebody’s getting hurt?” Hannah finished.
Susan nodded. She’d be remiss as a mom and as the director of a women’s shelter if her own children didn’t know what to look out for. She didn’t want them growing up the way she did, then as an adult making the same kinds of bad choices or living in an abusive relationship.
The girls both bit their bottom lips, mirror images of each other. Susan tried to tamp down the panic she suddenly felt. If anyone had hurt her girls…
“Mommy?” Hannah’s voice trembled.
Susan gathered both girls in her arms. “Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” she told them. “I promise.”
Sarah was crying now. Seeing her sister cry made Hannah cry, too. Susan’s heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. She held them too tight, but their distress freaked her out.
