Unlikely Praise (8 page)

Shade pushed away from the counter and walked to the picture wall. He studied each scene. “This is my favorite,” he said and pointed. “Fishers of Men.”

Candi joined him and gazed at the eyes of a soulful and imploring Jesus as he paused at the Sea of Galilee to invite Peter and Andrew into discipleship. “Why this one?”

“Because I like to fish.”

Candi narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Despite the nets and the boat, there’s more to this painting than catching fish.”

His grin was smug. “I know what it’s about.”

She turned and headed for the door. “And you said you weren’t an evangelist.”

“I do like to fish, though.”

She shouldered her purse. “Come to think of it, I do too. Fishing is so quiet and reflective. And sometimes you catch something.”

He pulled the door open for her. “So let’s go fishing.”

“We have to get to practice.”

“Not
now
, later this week.”

She stopped and stared straight into his sincere gaze.

He was completely serious.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not? We now have an early morning regular meeting on Fridays. Let’s just push it to Saturday and take it to the pond.”

“I don’t have a license.”

“Private property. None necessary.”

“I haven’t had a pole since I left home.”

“I have several.”

“Digging up night crawlers tends to ruin my nails for church.”

He let out an exasperated sigh as she made a swift getaway across the foyer and into the sanctuary. “Aw c’mon now, Candi, I’ll get the bait. It’s just fishing.”

She stopped short and spun around.
Get to know him…help
him…ask him...

“OK, OK, I’ll go. There’s just one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not going anywhere with you in the Del Rio Destroyer.”

4

From:
Pastor Charles Littleton

[mailto:[email protected]]

Sent:
Friday, April 24 8:09 AM

To:
Candi Canaberry [email protected]

CC:
Shade Blackledge <
[email protected]
>

Subject:
Power in Praise
Worship Conference

Candi and Shade:

I’ve attached the information for the Power in Praise Worship Conference in June. Have either of you had a chance to check your calendars? Let me know. It was great talking to you both Tuesday night. We’ll touch base again after you’ve had a chance to put some details together.

Charles

Max was right on time. Shade could tell he was coming by the sound of the muffler Kevin and Max had installed on Max’s mother’s old, red Chevy Cavalier. He peeked through the metal mini-blinds in his kitchen and listened to the low rumble for two blocks before he ever saw the car approach his trailer. It slowed and then sped past. The squeal of brakes followed as Max no doubt realized he’d missed the narrow strip of concrete that served as a driveway. He backed up and slipped into the spot beside the Del Rio Destroyer, just missing a pot of dead geraniums the previous tenant had left behind.

Shade stepped out onto his raised wooden deck. “How’s it goin’?”

Max retrieved three pizza boxes from the back seat. “It’ll be better once I bust into this pizza.”

Shade’s stomach growled. “I can smell it from here.”

“Rocky’s right behind me,” Max offered. “He’s got the movies.”

Shade leaned against the rail as Max climbed the stairs to join him on the deck. “About Rocky, how are we gonna get him in the house?”

Max set the boxes on the dirt-crusted plastic white table in the corner. “No problem. Rocky’s a maniac in that chair. He’ll zip across the yard over there to clear the drainage ditch, then he’ll back up to these steps and we’ll pull him up.”

“So he gets around OK?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Shade flexed his toes in his boots. There was a time they wouldn’t move. How is it God let his toes regain their feeling, but not Rocky’s? He shifted his weight against the rail and crossed his arms. “What happened to him?”

“Crazy story. He was on a crowded balcony at a college party. The thing collapsed. Nasty fall. The ironic thing is he was a college football star. That’s not how he got hurt, but it sure ended his promising career.” Max slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “He doesn’t mind talking about it if you want to ask him.”

Shade nodded.

Max left the deck and peered down the street as if awaiting an ice cream truck. “C’mon, Rock, I need that pizza. Here he comes.”

Rocky pulled his Ford Taurus off the road near the skinny Magnolia tree in Shade’s front yard. It took him just seconds to open the door and pull out his chair.

Shade squinted. “Where’s the passenger seat?”

“His parents took it out so he could get his chair in there easier.”

“You better have my pizza,” Rocky called out as he pulled himself from the car.

“Not for long,” Max yelled back. “Hurry up.”

Rocky dropped the movies in his lap, slammed the car door, and, as Max predicted, rolled across the yard at an amazing clip.

Max glanced up at Shade as Rocky took his position at the bottom step. “If he asks you to arm wrestle, trust me, don’t do it.”

Shade laughed and noted Rocky’s muscular build. As an athlete, he was probably in great shape at the time of his injury. His constant upper body workout had just pumped him up more. “Not a chance,” Shade said and snatched the pizzas. He held the door as Max pulled Rocky up the stairs. “I don’t have much furniture so it shouldn’t be hard to find a place to park near the T.V.”

Rocky did a wheelie/spin combination and landed flush with the end of the couch. “Nice curtains,” he observed. “Martha Stewart do that for you?”

Shade set the boxes on the coffee table. “Yeah, I held up the old quilts while she nailed them to the wall. It was her idea.”

Max laughed and made himself at home at the end of the tan leather couch. “Poor man’s sound-proofing?”

“Yeah, don’t want to annoy the neighbors with my music just yet.” He headed to the kitchen for drinks. “I’ve got all kinds of soda.”

“Just water for me,” Rocky answered. “And if you have any hot sauce that would be good, too.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll drink anything,” Max said and bounced a few times on the couch. “Hey, this is a nice sofa.”

Shade tossed Rocky a bottle of water and set the hot sauce and a roll of paper towels on the table. “It’s from my parents’ den.”

He bounced again. “Does it recli—?” His words were cut short as the foot rest flew out with a squeak and a thump, and laid him out into a full reclining position. He blinked several times as he stared at the ceiling. “I guess it does.”

Rocky laughed so hard he lost his breath.

Shade sat on the other end and popped the top on his Mountain Dew. “It also works if you pull the lever on the side.”

Rocky took a long drink of water and replaced the cap. “Sorry, Shade, can’t take him anywhere.”

Max struggled to get upright. “Does that end recline, too?”

“Nah. It’s broken from my cousin bouncing on it. I think that’s why my mom gave it to me.”

Max pulled the pizzas off the table and peeked inside each box before passing them on. “Sausage for Rock, extra cheese for me, pepperoni for you.”

Shade took the box and slid Max a soda. “Kevin couldn’t make it?”

“No, he had something with his parents.”

“That’s a good thing,” Rocky added. “You think Max is hard on the furniture, Kevin never sits still.”

Max folded over a small piece of pizza and put the whole thing in his mouth. “Sweet T.V.,” he said and ripped a paper towel off the roll.

“That whole entertainment center is sweet,” Rocky added.

Shade set down his drink and stood to snag the remote. “Yeah, well, I focused on the important things.”

Rocky eyed the wall unit and then the door. “How did you get all that in here?”

“One piece at a time. I even crawled under the trailer to check the floor. This is an older home so my dad thought we should brace it with something.”

“Did you?”

“Not yet.”

Max picked up another slice. “What movies did you bring, Rock?”

He pulled the cases from the side of his chair and handed them to Shade. “
Transformers
,
The Fast and the Furious
, and, if you’re interested in a classic, I brought the original
Terminator
.”

“Definitely
The Fast and the Furious
,” Max decided for them. “But I don’t care if we watch ‘em all. I don’t have to get up in the morning.”

“I don’t care, either,” Rocky interjected with his mouth full. “I never have to get up.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Really, Rock? That one’s not even funny.”

Shade loaded the DVD. “I don’t care if we watch them all either, but I
do
have to get up in the morning. Goin’ fishin’.”

“Nice,” Max said. “Headin’ out early for the coast?”

“Nothing that exciting. Just my uncle’s pond.”

“Family thing?”

Shade sat back down and scraped a glob of cheese and pepperoni off the bottom of the cardboard box and flicked it onto the top of another slice. “No, me and Candi are going out there to see if anything’s biting.”

The room became eerily silent except for the quiet hum of the television. The FBI warning appeared in glowing green high definition and illuminated Max and Rocky’s suspicious glares.

Max was so serious he put his food down. “Candi, as in
church
Candi, the one we know?”

Rocky, too, slid his box onto the coffee table. He leaned forward in his chair and crumpled his paper towel into a tiny ball. “You steppin’ out with my girl, Shade?”

Shade alternated between each of their lethal gazes. He felt a nightmare coming on. “Whoa, guys, it’s not like that. And, Rocky, if I had any idea you were seeing Candi I would’ve kept our church business at the coffee shop.”

Rocky’s upper lip twitched as he glanced at Max. They both howled with laughter.

“Gotcha.”

Max jerked his head back so hard the recliner laid him out flat again. “Candi and Rock?” He struggled like a turtle on its back as he tried to pull himself up while laughing. “That’s a good one.”

Shade finished his can of soda and reached for a fresh one. Nothing about this was funny. “You got me.”

Rocky tore off another paper towel and blotted his right eye. “No worries, Shade. Candi and I didn’t hit it off that way. And as for the pipsqueak here destroying your couch, she’s not interested in rowdy
boys
.”

Max pushed the foot rest in and planted his feet firmly on the ground. “I don’t think she’s interested in anybody. I’ve never seen her out with anyone, have you, Rock?”

“Nope, but maybe if we grew our hair out like Shade’s she’d let
us
take her fishing, too.”

Max seemed captivated by the idea. “Dude...let’s do it. Seriously. I will if you will.”

Rocky shrugged. “Why not?”

Shade tugged his pizza apart. “First of all, she hates my ponytail. Secondly, it’s business. The pastor has us meeting regularly to discuss the projects we’re working on. She said she liked to fish so I suggested we meet at the pond.”

This time their silent gazes were more curious than deadly.

“She actually said she liked to fish?”

“Yeah.”

Max plucked a piece of cheese off his chin. “Did you read the manual?”

Shade paused. “What manual?”

“Oh, yeah,” Rocky agreed. “If Candi said she’d go fishing, I’m sure there’s a policies and procedures manual. She does everything by the book. And if there isn’t a book, she writes one and makes sure everyone has a copy.”

“I bet there’s a whole chapter on live bait versus store-bought fish eggs,” Max offered.

“And one called
The Great Bobber-Sinker Question: Is Either Really Necessary?
”

Shade tossed his crust in the box and chuckled. “C’mon, she can’t be that bad.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Max rushed to add. “I love Candi, and she does a great job. I just can’t see her baiting a hook.” He pursed his lips in a thoughtful pause. “Is there a boat involved?”

“Not this time.”

Rocky swiped his brow as if relieved. “Good. ‘Cause there’d surely be a manual for
that
.”

Again they burst out laughing.

Shade cackled along with them, though he found it less amusing by the minute. Sure, she was a bit intense, but any woman who liked to fish was worth getting to know. He grabbed the remote and turned up the sound. “Previews are over. Ready to start the movie?”

“Fire it up,” Max ordered.

Rocky rolled forward and eyed what was left in Shade’s pizza box. “You gonna eat that crust?”

“Maybe.”

Rocky grinned. “How about I arm wrestle you for it?”

****

Early Saturday morning, Candi sat in the drive-thru at the coffee shop and looked over the list she’d made the night before.

Top Five Reasons To Not Go Fishing With Shade:

5. True personality and/or intentions of fishing companion remain unknown. Nice guy? Or sociopath w/ponytail?

4. Why would anyone in their right mind be up at 5:30 a.m. on their only day off?

3. Springtime allergies have left eyes puffier than the skies over Albuquerque during the annual Balloon Fiesta.

2. Fishing will only remind me of my father.

And the number one reason not to go fishing with Shade...

No potty at the pond.

The list of reasons she
should
go never made it past the first one. It did, however, make surprisingly more sense.

You have absolutely nothing better to do.

She pulled the car forward and ordered the two biggest cups of coffee available. It wasn’t as if she could back out now anyway. Shade was probably already waiting at the gas station. Plus she’d already dragged herself out of bed and applied eye cream, light makeup, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Any attempt to renege at this point would be a waste of valuable resources.