Someone to Trust Read online

  “All right, boy,” she instructed. “You stay here and I will be back in a few moments.”

  Megan looked around. She’d parked the vehicle beneath the awning right next to the double doors leading into the clinic. It was out of the sun and the temperature was still only in the upper sixties so with the windows cracked Sir should be fine. Still, she’d never left Sir alone in the vehicle and she felt guilty about doing so now.

  “I promise to be quick, Sir. I’m just going in to invite Lee to meet me for coffee once I’ve gotten you home and settled,” she reassured her pet as she closed the door of the vehicle and then laughed as that giant dog of hers sat straight up with his head touching the roof. The scene he presented looked very much like he was waiting to be chauffeured home.

  Megan found Cindy sitting behind the receptionist desk, talking on the phone. Not wanting to disturb her, she mouthed the words, “Is he here?” Cindy nodded and pointed to the back.

  Megan took a deep breath and headed down the hall. She peeked into each of the three exam rooms but found no one. Next, she went into the small area that was used as a break room for the staff. It held some chairs, a table, a refrigerator and a very worn recliner. Alan was resting in the recliner enjoying a cold soda.

  “Hi, Alan.”

  “Oh, hi, Meg.” Alan greeted her with his usual warm smile.

  “Hi,” she returned with a smile. Alan was a jewel and Megan was thrilled her friend was so lucky…blessed to have him.

  “Is Lee around?” she asked nervously.

  “Well, he was, but he suddenly remembered an errand that needed his attention. He headed out just after you pulled up and Cindy took Sir out to you.”

  “Oh.” Megan had a sinking suspicion Lee was avoiding her. Who could blame him after the unfair way she’d treated him?

  “He did leave instructions for Sir’s care, though.” He handed her a piece of paper with typed words and a bottle of pills. “One is a prescription for an antibiotic you need to give Sir twice a day for the next two weeks. The other just explains how to best care for his wound. You really won’t have to worry a whole lot about that. God placed a natural ability in animals to care for themselves when they’re hurt.”

  “Thanks.” Megan hoped she didn’t sound as disappointed as she felt.

  “Did you need me to tell Lee something for you?” Alan asked.

  “Uh…no, I don’t think so.” Cindy would probably fill her husband in on all the details. “I just wanted to thank him again for taking such excellent care of Sir. And…well, I’ll just tell him if I see him at church Sunday.”

  “Okay, I’ll be sure to mention you asked about him.” Alan had a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

  “It’s not like that. I just…” Finally, in embarrassed frustration, she blurted, “Oh, let Cindy explain it to you. I’ve got to go. I’ve left Sir in the car and he’s liable to drive off with it.”

  “Okay, kiddo, if you’re sure there’s nothing else you need me to tell my old buddy Lee for you?” Alan teased.

  “You know, I’m not sure who’s worse—you or your darling wife.” Megan took his good-natured teasing in stride.

  “It’s a close race,” Alan admitted, without reluctance as he nodded his head.

  “You bet it is. Gotta go, love ya. Tell Cindy I’ll see her Sunday.” She waved and rushed out the door.

  As Megan pulled away from the clinic, she released an exasperated sigh. “Sir, it would seem my apology must wait until Sunday.”

  When she looked in the rearview mirror, she saw the reflection of Sir with his head cocked sideways in understanding.

  “You, my friend, are a great dog!” she bragged to his reflection.

  Chapter Seven

  Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. Megan awoke early, drank her usual cup of coffee, attended to Sir and began dressing for the morning church service.

  Although it was late March, the winds were causing it to be a blustery day, so Megan chose a lightweight sweater with matching cardigan and skirt. The three-piece ensemble’s persimmon color complimented her complexion and eyes perfectly. She slipped her feet into a coordinating set of mules in a slightly darker shade and added her accessories of a watch, a set of pearl earrings and a matching bracelet, gifts from her mother on her twenty-first birthday. She then pulled her hair away from her face, securing it at the nape of her neck with a pearl hair clasp.

  After adding a touch of mascara to her lashes and light gloss to her lips, she spent a few minutes with Sir giving him some instructions about behaving himself while she was away. She chuckled as she reminded herself that he really couldn’t understand her words. Giving him one more pat and again silently thanking God for keeping Sir safe, she headed out the door for church.

  Megan parked at the bottom of the hill with the rest of the cars. Instead of immediately getting out of the car, she sat for a moment looking up at Grace Community Fellowship. Now, if she were a writer of fiction, rather than a copywriter, she would include the church in a story. Better yet, if she had the ability to paint, the colors this morning would lend themselves well to the canvas.

  The property was located a mile up the mountain from Laurel Ridge. A winding road led to it, but when you least expected, the ground leveled and opened up to reveal a lush valley. The church sat atop a small hill, in the center of that valley, with mountains as a backdrop.

  The church itself was over one hundred years old. It had white shingle siding, tall stained glass windows and the old tin roof had been replaced with a new, dark-green, metal one. If God did indeed choose a place to meet with His people, Megan couldn’t think of a more inviting one than this.

  It was nearly time for the morning service to begin and several other cars pulled up next to Megan. Penny Phillips was getting out of the mini-van. She rushed around to open the back door and unstrap the twins from their seats. The twins had been born to the Phillips after years of trying to conceive, when the couple was in their late thirties.

  While many in the church community held that their conception and birth was a miracle, the Phillips themselves certainly thought so and spoiled the living daylights out of the two. As a result, the five-year-olds could be quite the handful, albeit, an adorable, lovable handful.

  Megan smiled as Penny attempted to straighten Laura’s unruly corkscrew curls while simultaneously trying to get her brother to tuck in his shirt; both were nearly hopeless cases.

  “Good morning, Megan,” the twins called in unison, smiling and showing identical sets of missing front teeth.

  “Good morning to the two of you.” Megan returned their greeting with a wide smile of her own.

  “Morning, Megan,” Penny greeted in one breath, while in the next she instructed, “Stand still, son, and let me help.”

  “Good morning, Penny.”

  Penny nodded, smiling as best she could while holding Laura’s ribbon in her mouth. “Mornin,” she mumbled around the ribbon, while tugging at Lucas’ shirt.

  Megan paused before walking on. “Can I be of any help?”

  Penny began to shake her head no but paused and nodded her head vigorously, pushing Lucas toward Megan. She took the ribbon out of her mouth, breathing, “Thanks, Megan.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Megan tucked Lucas’ shirt into his dress pants while the little boy grinned from ear-to-ear, displaying the gap he now had between his front teeth. Meanwhile, Penny wrestled the ribbon into Laura’s curly locks.

  “I’m running late this morning, for obvious reasons. I didn’t want to make Dan late as well, so I sent him on. I’m sorry to hold you up,” she explained and apologized.

  With her task complete, Megan stood and glanced at her watch. “You’re not. We’ll still make it before service starts.”

  Penny finally had the ribbon in Laura’s hair and stood as well. “I appreciate the help, Megan. You go on; I’ll take these two to their class.”

  “Okay. See you inside.” Megan smiled and walked up the gras
sy slope to the steps of the church and stepped inside the double doors of the church thinking how impressed she was by the Phillips family. The twins, though adorable, were a high-spirited duo who could be quite ingenious with their mischief. However, the Phillips took it all in stride, with good-natured humor. Megan heard them comment more than once that their children were a long-awaited answer to prayer, a double blessing from God. With resolve, she ignored the familiar twinge of longing for a family of her own.

  When Megan stepped from the foyer into the Sanctuary, she found it was already full. She sighed, realizing she would have to take a seat in the front. Her heels clicked softly on the uncarpeted floor as she made her way down the aisle and several heads turned in her direction, one of which belonged to Lee.

  Megan would have expected him to avert his gaze the moment he recognized her, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded politely, and at her surprised expression, smiled slightly.

  Megan stood motionless in the center aisle searching for a seat. There was one in the front row at the end to the far right. Finally, a masculine voice intervened, “Megan there’s room, if you’d like to sit here.”

  Much to her chagrin, Lee was offering to slide down and make room for her next to him. She could not believe he would want to be in the same room with her, much less offer her a place next to him.

  Pastor Dan walked behind the podium to greet his congregation and get the service started, forcing Megan to act quickly.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she slid into the pew next to Lee. Megan was repeatedly drawn to the services at Grace Community Fellowship, yet, she was generally uncomfortable. This morning was decidedly worse.

  If she had been even a half of an inch wider, she would not have fit in the small space in the pew. As it was, due to the confines of the seating arrangement, her slender shoulders were resting against Lee’s muscular arm. Try as she might, she was unable to avoid the closeness of contact. To make matters worse, the clean, woodsy scent of his after-shave seemed to be all Megan could smell as she sniffed involuntarily.

  Mmm, it was rather nice.

  After greeting everyone and making the announcements, Pastor Dan invited them all to stand, take a hymnal and join him in song. Megan stood with the rest of the congregation, noticing as she did so just how tall the man next to her was. She only came to his shoulder. She gave herself a mental kick and concentrated on her surroundings.

  This was one of her favorite parts of the service. She loved to sing, though she was far too shy to ever sing with the choir, or even as a solo. However, in the short span of time she had been attending Grace Community Fellowship, she had learned the songs and did not mind joining in. As harmonious voices accompanied the musicians, a jubilant melody filled the air and Megan could not help but be impressed by Lee’s rich baritone voice as it blended perfectly with the others. All too soon, the singing ended.

  As was customary, Pastor Dan asked the congregation to greet one another before they returned to their seats. “This morning, let’s all take a moment to say hello to those around you. Let them know you’re glad they are here.”

  Megan turned to her right first, but as she was sitting at the end of the aisle, there really wasn’t far to go. She did say hello to the woman in front of her as she turned back to her left. Lee had just shaken hands with the gentleman on his left and turned toward Megan.

  “It’s good to see you here, Megan.” He offered her his hand. She placed her hand in his and a tingle ran up her arm.

  Static electricity. He must drag his feet when he walks! She didn’t really believe this explanation but it was certainly better than the alternative. She found him attractive. Very attractive indeed!

  “Thank you. It’s nice to smell you as well.” At the look of confusion and then humor on his face, she realized what she’d just said.

  “See you…I mean see you as well,” she managed to croak. “It’s nice to see you.”

  Lee lifted his brows and then gave her a wink. As they were seated, she wondered if the pew would open up and swallow her if she prayed hard enough.

  Pastor Dan again approached the podium. “Can you all turn with me to the Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 29, and Verses 11 through 13? If you don’t happen to have a Bible of your own, there are guest Bibles in the pews.”

  Megan opened the Bible Cindy had given her in college. With some difficulty, she located the passages while Lee seemed to find it with ease. Apparently, he was more familiar with his Bible than she was with hers.

  The pastor read the scripture aloud. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’”

  Megan nearly gasped. Cindy had said something very similar at lunch only a few days ago. Twenty minutes later, Megan realized she had forgotten about the handsome gentleman sitting next to her. She hadn’t been distracted by the clean fragrance emanating from him, or her stupid comment about it. She had been so focused on Pastor Dan and the message he was sharing she had lost the ability to worry about anything else. Her complete attention had been in the words spoken and what she was sure had been meant just for her.

  The shepherd smiled lovingly at his flock. “I want to remind someone here today, perhaps more than one someone, of the love of our Heavenly Father. A father who loves you so much He sacrificed His only son on your behalf. You do not have to walk aimlessly through this world. God has a purpose for you, and if you will trust Him, He will fulfill that purpose in and through you.”

  The young minister began to candidly share the emptiness he’d experienced in his life before turning to God for answers. He stepped down from the pulpit, onto the floor closer to his flock as he told his story.

  “My search for acceptance and meaning began when I was a child. As a little boy, I never felt accepted by my mother. No matter what I did to gain her approval, it wasn’t good enough and she was very emotionally and verbally abusive to me. Physical abuse came close a few times but I think she knew to draw the line there though because my father would not tolerate it. I never spoke with anyone about it and this added to the isolation I was feeling.”

  He paused for a moment, his brows drawn together pensively as he went on, “When I was fourteen years old, I discovered the reason. When I was only eighteen months old, my biological mother left my father and me. The woman I knew to be my mother wasn’t. Finally, I understood why I felt out of place and as if I didn’t belong when I was with her and her family.”

  Megan could relate to the perception he once held, of never belonging anywhere and of not truly fitting in. Unlike what he was relating, though, she still could not comprehend how God could help those feelings.

  “Unfortunately my search for acceptance continued on through high school and into college, where I tried to dull the ache of emptiness with parties and alcohol. And…” Pastor Dan paused as if he were embarrassed about what he was going to say next, “…in relationships with girls.”

  He immediately turned to Penny who was sitting in the front row. “Now I only have eyes for you, honey.” This brought a round of laughter from the congregation. He smiled and as the laughter subsided, he returned to the podium and a serious note.

  “In spite of all these things, I remained empty and wounded. In fact, they only added to my wounds. It wasn’t until I turned my life over to God and walked the path He chose for me, that my emptiness was assuaged and my wounds healed.” His voice was filled with sincerity and his eyes misted with tears. Megan’s eyes misted as well.

  “Perhaps,” Pastor Dan continued, “you are very much like I was, and you have suffered a great deal of emotional pain in your life which has left you angry and bitter. Or maybe your pain comes from past mistakes you have made or from others who have failed you.” Was he looking directly at her as he said that? Did he know? How could he?
She had not spoken of it with anyone.

  His simple message was striking a chord within her. “God will never fail you. He will forgive you. Not only that, He will help you to forgive yourself and those who have hurt you.”

  As the pianist began to softly play the benediction music, Megan bowed her head as everyone else did.

  “I want you to take the Jeremiah scripture home with you and think about it. If you have any questions, try doing what the last portion of that verse says. Call upon God and pray to Him; He will listen to you. Seek Him with your whole heart, and you will find Him.”