Jewels for the Kingdom Page 5

  “What is it, Pia?” His calm voice, though it seemed to come from a great distance, gave her something to focus on, and eased the abject terror in her heart. When David pulled her into the circle of his arms, she allowed herself to rest there, despite the raucous clanging of every mental alarm she possessed. “What can’t you do?”

  He unwrapped one arm from around her shoulders, and she immediately missed it. But he used that hand to tilt her chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Because I’m pretty sure you can do anything you want to do badly enough. You’re amazing.”

  “I’m not amazing.” But it was so wonderful to hear him say she was…thank God he doesn’t know the real me.

  “You don’t like the place?” David traced a finger down the line of her cheek, sending delicious shivers through every nerve in her body. “We’ll find another one.”

  “But I love it.” Pia leaned her forehead against his chest and whispered the words.

  “Oh.” The hands that stroked little circles on her back went still for a moment then slowly commenced their ministrations. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “It’s so big. And beautiful.” She swallowed hard. “And perfect.”

  David chuckled, and the vibration tickled her cheek.“That’s a bad thing?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Yes, it is, because…if I have it and then lose it—which I will, because I don’t deserve anything this grand—it’ll break my heart.”

  “Pia.” David gently pushed her far enough away to look into her face. His eyebrows met between his eyes. “Why would you say a thing like that? God must think you deserve it. It’s here, and available, and if I know anything at all about real estate, the price is right.”

  “That’s just it. Don’t you see? It’s too good to be true, and that scares me to death. What if I wake up tomorrow and find that it’s all just a dream?”

  “Hmmm. I guess you’re right. That wouldn’t be such a good thing.” David cocked his head, studying her face for a moment. Then he reached out and stroked one hand downward from her shoulder all the way to her fingertips. She shivered beneath his touch…until he pinched the skin on top of her hand between thumb and forefinger and gave it a firm twist.

  “Ouch!” Pia jerked her hand away. Her shocked gaze flew to his face, and she discovered a mischievous grin dancing across his lips. “That hurt!”

  “Still think you’re dreaming?”

  “You—you pinched me!”

  “Yes, I did.” David hauled in a deep breath and took her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed the red smudge he had created. “I’m so sorry. But you felt the pain, so you know you’re awake.” He placed a gentle hand on each of her shoulders then bent to peer into her shocked gaze. “Pia, if you really love this place, if it really is perfect for your studio, then you should take it while it’s available because, trust me, if you don’t, someone else will. And soon.”

  She shuddered. “But what if—”

  David placed a finger on her lips. “No ‘what ifs.’ Only God knows what tomorrow holds. I can’t promise you Jewels for the Kingdom will be a grand success. But neither can I tell you it won’t.” He stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek again then took a step backward and crossed his arms over a broad chest. “The only question that can be answered right now is this—are you willing to take a chance on yourself? If it were my decision, I’d go for it in an instant, because I believe in you. Do you?”

  “David, if you only knew who I was before I found God, you wouldn’t be—”

  He seemed determined to not let her finish a single sentence.

  “I don’t need to know that. What you were…who you were before you came to Christ is of no importance. What does matter is what God has made of you. And from where I’m standing, He’s done a great job.”

  A little tap on the doorframe announced the owner’s return. “Ms. Peretti?”

  Pia stood for another twenty seconds, holding David’s steady gaze. Then she conjured up a trembling smile and swung around to face the questioning landlord.

  “I’ll take it.”

  7

  David stood just outside the sanctuary doors. The smile on his lips hurt his jaw as he shook hand after hand…after hand. Pastor Blake introduced him to at least a hundred and fifty people, whose names blurred in his memory before even half the crowd passed and took their leave.

  He’d noticed Pia in the congregation, but she didn’t come through the line of people eager to speak with the man who would be taking on a large portion of their pastor’s responsibilities. He couldn’t blame her for not waiting in the slow-moving queue of parishioners. She had, after all, already met him. Still, he found himself disappointed that she’d left without a greeting. They’d spent quite a bit of time together, and she seemed to enjoy it as much as he did. It seemed rather odd that she wouldn’t stick around long enough to congratulate—or even castigate him—on his first Sunday behind the pulpit.

  He heaved a weary sigh when the last smiling saint waved goodbye. At long last, he stood alone with the elderly minister, who placed a hand on his shoulder. “You did an amazing job this morning.”

  “Thank you, sir.” David gripped the man’s outstretched hand. “I was a little nervous.”

  “Well, it didn’t show, and I was watching the faces in the crowd. I think they received you well—but more importantly, they received your message. And that’s good, because you were right on target.”

  “Thank you for saying so, Pastor. I appreciate your confidence.”

  “We’re glad you’re here, David. Helen and I can finally make some plans.” He grinned and tilted his head, indicating something behind David. “I would invite you to lunch with us, but I believe someone’s waiting for you.”

  Surprised, David swung around, delighted when Pia waved from a wingback chair at the other end of the foyer. He returned the gesture, held up one finger, and turned back to the minister.

  The slight, gray-haired man placed a hand on David’s arm and lowered his voice. “Go easy on her, young man. She’s a bit fragile.”

  “Fragile?” He’d noticed a lot of things about Pia, but—despite her meltdown while looking at the studio—none of them made him think of her as weak in any way.

  “She’s a good girl, son. Guard her carefully.”

  “Uhm…yes, sir, I will.” What made Pastor Blake think it was his place to guard Pia? “But you should understand that Pia and I are not—I mean, we’re just neighbors. And friends, I hope.” He hurried to clarify the situation, frustrated when the effort caused a wave of intense heat from his neck to his ears.

  Pastor Blake grinned. “Of course.” Brown eyes twinkled, deepening the lines at their corners, and both brows rose upward. “I didn’t mean to imply anything else.” Chuckling, he patted David’s shoulder and wandered off toward his sweet-faced wife waiting beside their vehicle.

  Shaking his head, David swung around and headed across the foyer.

  Dressed in a white dress and matching sandals, with her hair cascading over her shoulders in a dark, shimmering fall, Pia made a stunning picture, and David found his breath a little hard to come by.

  He wondered at Pastor Blake’s odd warning to guard her heart. Who would guard his own?

  ****

  Uncertainty threatened to crush her as she waited. What made her think David wanted her to be there?

  She’d hung around because it seemed somehow wrong to leave without saying anything to him. He was her neighbor, after all, and they’d enjoyed an ever-strengthening relationship in the past couple of weeks, despite her frequent cautionary lectures to herself. While they were often joined by other tenants, most evenings found them alone, sharing a jigsaw puzzle, a tall glass of iced tea—sweet, of course, as befitted any good Texan—and little pieces of their lives.

  But as the greeting line grew longer and moved slower, she’d begun to have doubts. Just because she and David were friends didn’t mean he wanted her hanging around waiting for him
as if she had some proprietary claim on his time. Maybe she should slip out the side door before he realized she was there.

  But then he turned and saw her. She waved, not knowing what else to do. Now she couldn’t leave. David was nobody’s fool. He’d know she’d been waiting for him and would want to know what changed her mind.

  As she watched him chatting with Pastor Blake, Pia thought about his sermon. His words pricked her heart, and she wondered briefly if Pastor had told him about her. But she dismissed the idea, knowing without question it wasn’t true. His words came from God, because God loved her.

  Her, Pia Peretti, despite her undesirable past. God forgave all the early years of promiscuity and damaging lack of self-esteem. He’d taken unto Himself every shameful thing she’d ever done—every time she’d traded sexual favors for a few moments of feeling wanted. He had cast all her sins far out into the Sea of Forgetfulness, and erased them from His mind. She was truly, unquestionably, perfectly forgiven.

  But, because she couldn’t forgive herself, she fished those transgressions back out of the murky waters again and again, snatching them from beneath the blood of Christ and holding them over her head like some self-imposed scarlet letter. She continued to resurrect those dead iniquities and give them new life and renewed power to hurt her.

  But no more. David’s message this morning had come straight from God, especially for her. No doubt existed in her mind about its Source or for whom it had been sent.

  Across the room, Pastor Blake walked off, a huge grin lighting his face. David must be in a “funny” mood today.

  As if he’d heard her thoughts, he strode toward her. Her lips curved upward of their own volition, while her breath caught in her throat. You cannot allow yourself to be this happy to see him. He’s a friend—just a friend.

  His vocation alone was reason enough to keep her distance. A preacher with the kind of anointing he’d manifested this morning had no business getting involved with someone with a past like hers.

  What past?

  The words echoed in her mind almost audibly, along with a soft pressure around her shoulders that felt like a gentle hug. Pia gasped, certain she’d been touched yet again by an angel.

  How easily she’d fallen back into the same old trap. Would she ever get beyond the sins of her youth?

  David’s brows lowered in a slight frown. “Pia?” He laid a gentle hand on her arm. “You OK? You look a little—”

  “David.” Her eyes stung with the tears fighting for release. “Jesus loves me.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, He does.”

  She clutched his arm as her eyes overflowed. A sob ripped past her throat. “You don’t understand. He loves me.”

  David’s amusement withered and died, and he narrowed his eyes. “You should probably tell me what’s going on.”

  ****

  They sat in the sanctuary, and he listened while she poured out her heart. Tears streaked her face. Her hands fluttered about like nervous butterflies as she told him about her teen years, and what it had done to her to discover that the man she called “Daddy” had adopted her as an infant—and that her biological father hadn’t wanted the inconvenience of a child. She told him about the men who’d been more than willing to take care of her—but at the price of her self-worth…and how willing she’d been to pay it, because they made her feel wanted.

  David sensed that she held nothing back. As if a dam had burst, all the pain she’d held inside for so long suddenly broke through and demanded release.

  He let her talk without interruption, trying to convince himself he did so because it was what she needed. But innate honesty forced him to admit he also didn’t interrupt because he didn’t know what to say.

  And because he was afraid to say anything.

  His perfect Pia. This amazing, beautiful woman, who had already claimed a sizeable chunk of his heart, had revealed a past that wasn’t pretty. He ached for the young girl whose pain Satan used as a doorway to claim her soul. His anger churned against a father who would callously abandon his child to a life of feeling unwanted, unloved, and unlovable.

  So much of him hurt for Pia. But part of the angst was his own, because right or wrong, her candid revelation forced him to see her in a different light—a harsh, unkind, unforgiving light—and his heart ached as if he’d lost something precious.

  “And then you brought that beautiful message this morning, and God opened my eyes.” Unaware of the chaos churning within his soul, Pia turned those feline-shaped eyes on David and gave him the most radiantly beautiful smile he’d ever see in this lifetime. “I don’t have a past. It’s gone. Erased. Completely forgiven.”

  “Yes, it is.” Guilt lanced through him like a knife. Only a hypocrite would preach a message he couldn’t fully support in his own heart. Did his forced smile look more natural than it felt? Pia didn’t need to see the effect her words had on him. “I’m glad you finally found peace.”

  She lowered her lashes, and a lovely sweep of pink tinted her cheeks.

  After all she’d told him, all the unlovely sins she’d confessed, Pia blushed. And that beautiful wave of sweet color struck David like a bolt of lightning, illuminating his own heart and starkly revealing something within himself he didn’t want to see…a jagged wound from which he might never recover.

  8

  Late the following Friday afternoon, Pia drew a deep breath and stepped outside. A large tote stuffed with tiny gift bags dangled from one arm, and a bowl of baked beans balanced precariously in the other hand.

  All the tenants had been invited to the monthly barbecue Hart hosted in the center court of the complex—a large, grassy area outfitted with an impressive brick grill and several picnic tables under brightly colored umbrellas. Using one booted foot to close her gate, Pia assessed the small group milling about the lawn. Almost everyone had shown up, despite the wintry chill in the air.

  David manned the grill, surrounded by several neighbors. Slightly apart from the crowd, his uncle stood with an attractive older woman who wore a bright pink cardigan over her few extra pounds. Viv Mallory laid a hand on Hart’s arm and said something that made him laugh. Stunned, Pia realized it was the first time she’d seen the man’s humorous side.

  Standing next to David, her brother’s crisp, dark waves shone in the sunshine. He spotted her and raised a hand in greeting. Finally having moved into the complex, Gabe seemed completely at ease in the circle of neighbors. She loved seeing him like this—kicked back and casual, wearing a carefree smile and that old, teasing light in his eyes.

  Who’d have thought she’d ever miss her brother’s merciless teasing?

  Zoe rushed across the lawn. “Here, let me take that.” She carried the hot dish to a table already groaning beneath an array of bowls and platters. “Smells luscious. What is it?”

  “Baked beans.” Pia spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s the only thing I make well enough to offer innocent diners.”

  The other girl’s trilling laughter brought an answering smile to Pia’s lips.

  “Grab a drink and come on over.” Susanna’s sparkling chestnut eyes beckoned from a round table under a purple canopy.

  “Be right there.” Zoe fished a soft drink from a washtub filled with ice and beverages, handed one to Pia, and popped the top on another for herself. She dropped into a chair across from her oldest friend, and Pia claimed the chair next to her. “So how long have you two known each other?”

  Susanna’s eyes sparkled, and her smile lifted Pia’s spirits. “We met a year or so ago.” She tugged on a chain around her neck and pulled a silver pendant from beneath her blouse. Pia’s Angel Wings design. “I thought I told you about it. Pia introduced herself to me at a local trade show and handed me this lovely necklace.”

  Zoe laughed. “The two of you had never met, and she just walked up and gave you jewelry?”

  “Well, I’d been by her exhibit, and we spoke briefly—just casual chit-chat. Then she chased me down because ‘God w
anted me to have this.’“

  “That is so cool.” Zoe shook her head and turned her cat-like gaze on Pia. “How do you do that?”

  Pia shook her head. “It’s not a big deal. The Lord just gives me a little nudge when a certain piece is meant for someone in particular.”

  “It was a big deal to me,” Susanna said. “Without going into details, I’d say it was a God-thing.”

  “I know what you mean.” Zoe indicated the graceful cross resting against her own chest. “When she gave me this cross, it hit me like Saul’s Damascus Road experience. Except, rather than blinding me, God opened my eyes.”

  Susanna leaned in to admire the pendant. “Pia, this has really become a ministry for you, hasn’t it? Isn’t it amazing the things God uses to get His message across?”

  Pia laughed. “Well, I suppose if He can use a donkey to say what needs to be said, like He did with Balaam, He can use me and a piece of jewelry.” She sobered and shook her head. “I’ve never really thought of it as a ministry though. I don’t feel worthy of that.”

  Zoe leaned closer, wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “None of us are worthy. That’s the beauty of salvation. God loves us in spite of our faults.”

  Across the table, Susanna fixed a curious gaze on them. “You two must be related, somewhere down the line.”

  Zoe released Pia and sat back, laughing. “Why? Do only relatives get hugs?”

  “No, it’s—” Susanna looked up as David approached with Gabe. “Hey, guys, come take a look at these two. What do you see?”

  The two men rounded the table to stand on either side of Susanna. David grinned. “I see two bee—eautiful ladies.”

  Susanna elbowed his leg. “Besides that, preacher man.”

  Pia had no problem with her brother examining her eyes, but David’s intense stare set her heart flopping around like a fish on the desert floor. She hadn’t seen him since she dumped her entire history in his lap on Sunday. Her sordid past had changed their relationship, just as she’d known it would.