Page 88 of To Bring You Back
Adeline’s shin bumped the first step, and the weight of her tote and purse made her turn her attention from Gannon to prevent a fall. “Talk about what?”
“Life. Love.” She shrugged one shoulder with a helpless smile. “The pursuit of happiness.”
Wasn’t the phrase from the Declaration about liberty, not love? Either way, their pursuits of happiness were at odds with each other. “I should get my bags up to my room.”
“That thing is as big as you are.” Harper waved her hand again. “One of them will carry it for you.”
John and Gannon were definitely praying. Matt had his gaze pointed at the ground, eyes open. It was hard to tell if he was waiting the other two out or if he was a willing participant.
“It’s not about Gannon, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Harper gazed at him, undermining her words. “Well, it is about him a little bit. I’ve never known anyone else like him. I mean, look at him.”
Adeline watched Gannon’s mouth move. What was he saying? Every time they’d spoken, he’d had so much to say to her that rang truer than most of what she told herself, but they hadn’t prayed together. What would he say if he were to pray over her as fervently as he appeared to be praying now?
“Well, I mean, don’tstareat him. He’s hot—right?—but that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the Christian thing. You’re like that too, aren’t you? I read that you work at a church. That’s probably why he likes you.”
Adeline wasn’tlike thatat all. Her meek prayers were nothing compared to whatever Gannon poured out now.
Harper watched her, plainly hopeful, though the bruised swelling still dimmed one of her eyes. “I can’t hide out here forever, but I don’t know what to do, and no one wants anything to do with me—not that I blame them, really—but I’m so alone and I need …” Her bright manner faded into something tremulous, and her nose turned pink. “What does it take to become a Christian?”
Adeline had walked in expecting something from Harper, but not this. Could she refuse this conversation?
With a sigh, she let the actress usher her into Harper’s room. Harper closed the door most of the way, then sat on the bed, leaning against the elegant curves of a driftwood headboard similar to the one in Gannon’s room. She motioned, and Adeline took a spot against the footboard.
“So? Can I be one?”
“A Christian?”
Harper nodded vigorously.
Did she seriously want to turn her life over to Jesus here and now? Was she in any place to do that? For that matter, was Adeline’s faith in any condition to lead someone else to Christ? “What do you know about God?”
“I know about Jesus dying. John three-sixteen—God loves us.”
“That’s a start. God loves us, but we also have to love Him, and if we do, we’ll change the way we act. Jesus died to pay for our sins, and for us to be right with God, we have to repent and turn our lives over to God.”
“The whole sex thing, right? But you can still be a Christian and do that stuff because—”
“No, you have to change.” The words came out harsh. She softened her tone. “I mean, if you love Him and want to follow Him, you’ll obey what He says to do—and not just in your relationships with men.” She pulled her hair away from her face and breathed deeply. “Another example might be considering what films you act in. How do your characters behave? What do the films encourage your audiences to do and believe? Do you see what I mean?”
“Oh. Like how Gannon refuses to take his shirt off for photoshoots?” Harper giggled. “But then they follow him around on the beach until they get what they want, so the whole thing is silly. If anything, it makes them more curious. He works out. He has nothing to be shy about.”
“And you would know.”
Harper gave a guilty smile but no explanation.
Unless she was bluffing, Harper would know if Gannon had a cross tattoo. Though Adeline hadn’t realized he’d drawn a line at shirtless photos, she could understand why he had. Even the photo of him in a tank had been pretty steamy. Shirtless … Her throat tightened. “If he believes he’s doing what’s right, then that’s a good thing.”
“Sex scenes are part of, like, every good role. But it’s just pretend. I’m sure God doesn’t mind. A girl’s got to pay her bills.”
Men’s voices sounded from the great room. The guys must’ve finished on the patio.
Adeline pressed her hands over the thighs of her pants. “I don’t know specifically what Christ will ask of you, but putting Him first instead of money is part of having faith in Him.” She heard fast, clicking steps—one of the dogs.
Adeline needed to wrap this up. She wasn’t doing any good anyway, wasn’t presenting things right, though she didn’t know what to change.
“Is that why you’re poor? God wants you to be?”
Poor? She had food, a house, two jobs. She wasn’t poor, though to Harper’s point, she had taken the modest jobs because she’d thought working for the church would please God. She’d done it out of duty. But had God asked her to take that rather than finding a better fit?
