A New Day (95 page)

    
He closed his eyes.  “I prayed like I'd never prayed before.  I wrote her letters, sent her cards and flowers.  She ignored everything I sent her. I had nothing but God's promise. I prophesied it, and it wasn't long before I wanted it, with all my heart.  But when I got back from my tour, it seemed that I hadn't gained an inch.  So, I had to go crawling back to Salt Lake, and force myself into her life again."

    
The parents looked distinctly upset, but they said nothing. 

    
"I showed up in Salt Lake, only to find the house empty. Tasha was in Idaho, but their awesome housekeeper Lucinda, called Tasha's father.  He was, thank God, on my side.” 

    
"He got her back to Salt Lake, and I pushed her to the breaking point.  She called my bluff, and did exactly what she thought would make me back off.  And Pattie got it all on film."  He said wryly.

    
Tasha developed pink spots in her cheeks, and looked at her hands, folded in her lap.

    
"I really didn't blame Tasha.  She'd told me a hundred times she didn't want me around, and I kept pressing her.  I really think she thought this poor nut would run like hell, if she came on to me.  But she was wrong.” 

    
"Still, I was out of her graces big time, and I didn't see any point in sticking around.  I was making a mess of things.  I decided I should leave, and she gave me a very cold acknowledgment that it was probably a great idea."              Tim could see that Tasha was getting extremely uncomfortable, so he went  on quickly. 

    
"I got a call the very morning I left Salt Lake, telling me that a story was going to break.  I had no idea of the magnitude, or that it was going to involve Tasha.  I wasn't even worried about it at the time.  I couldn't have
imagined
that Pattie had any information that could hurt Tasha.  I figured I could handle anything Pattie could dish out.  That was really stupid.”

    
"Tim, but when you did that broadcast from New York, you intimated that everything was fine between you two."  Gloria said with bewilderment.

    
"Strangely enough, it was."  He chuckled.  "Pattie shook this girl to her toes.  It was Pattie's very story that helped Tasha understand what I was up against, how much risk I'd taken, and how much I loved her.  When I called her the morning the story broke, the door was open, so I got a flight to Salt Lake, post haste.  I had less than an hour to catch the only flight that would get me there.  She met me at the airport with a kiss, and all the barriers had simply disappeared.  She even flew to New York with me that afternoon, and stood by me while I did the broadcast.  And when I got on my plane to leave New York, I thought I had her, for good." 

    
He grinned down at Tasha lazily.  "But the battle wasn't over yet.  When Pattie got hold of us the second time, she just about demolished the whole thing.  Tasha couldn't take anymore, and I didn't blame her at all.  Pattie was pretty smart to wait until I was in Brazil, to go for Tasha's jugular again."

    
"Thank God, you didn't give up."  Tasha sighed.  "Even though I was a fool, and broke up with you."

   
"I did try to give up, more than once.  But the Lord wouldn't let me stop.  I kept going back to Him, and He'd always give me some shred of hope or faith, to keep me fighting for our relationship. 

    
"You know, if Tom hadn't given me that prophecy the second night of the conference, I don't know what might have happened."  He admitted.  He smiled at Tasha. 

    
"That night when I called you from South America, and you told me to forget the whole thing – I hit rock bottom.  If my Uncle Paul hadn't been there, I don't think I could have made it.  I didn't have the heart to fight, anymore."  He stopped talking, and collected himself.             

    
"Then, the morning that the Deming Smith story broke, Tom sent me a copy of a tape with his crazy prophecy on it, and a note telling me the Lord had told him I
had
to have that tape; and listen to it, immediately. 

     “
He included a picture someone gave him, of the three of us on the floor that night at the Cedars when the Lord told me you were the one.  In fact, I think the picture was probably taken at just about the very moment that I knew you were the one.  That just knocked me flat. I sat there listening to that tape, and staring at the picture for hours.”

     “
Then, Dana called and told me there had been a third story, and the Lord gave me immediate release to go to L.A., and He told me he was all through letting the press knock you around.  I saw His fist closing around us and the entire situation.  He told me that if I would rise up and press in one more time, everything would be taken care of.  And to think … once again, if Pattie had left well enough alone, we might yet be apart.  It was her going on television that flushed you out and made you go public."

    
"I hope He takes care of Deming Smith."  Tasha said uncertainly.  "I'm very surprised that he's taken it all so quietly.  The Deming Smith that I used to know would be giving someone a run for their money, right now."  She puzzled.

    
"Maybe he knows this was bound to happen someday." Tim suggested.  "Don't borrow trouble, honey."

    
"Tasha, what did make you go on television, if you had already told Timothy it was over?" Gloria asked worriedly.

    
Tasha shrugged.  "I could see that they were going to ruin Tim's ministry, whether I ran and hid, or not.  I saw Pattie Danniels on Norm Nielsen's show; and she just made me so angry that I picked up the phone, and gave him a piece of my mind.   He asked me to come on the show and set the record straight, and I told him I'd be happy to.  None of what happened was Tim's fault, and I was bound and determined that the world would know it before I got finished.  Besides, I missed Tim.  I was beginning to believe that maybe, after all, he was right.  I was beginning to really need him."

    
Tim laughed, and dropped his head back against the wall behind him.  "Bless Pattie, she tried so hard, and all she managed to do, was give me the breaks I needed to win Tasha’s heart.  But, I’ll admit I was darn worried when I got to the television station, and walked in to find Rick Snyder kissing you.  I just stood there in shock.  Helene warned me that she thought he might have come on to you.  Luckily, I was obedient to the Holy Spirit; and just waited and watched.  You'll never know how relieved I was when you began to struggle, and finally decked him."

    
"Oh, my.  Tasha, did he really ask you to run away with him?" Gloria asked incredulously.

    
"He certainly did."  Tasha  assured her darkly. 

    
"And when I saw her response, I knew the battle was over.  I knew she was mine."  Tim laughed.  "And the rest, Thank God, was easy.  Pattie fell into my trap at the airport, and repented in front of the whole world.  Tasha finally said she'd marry me, and we came out smelling like roses."

    
"Then, you went back to Salt Lake together from L.A.?"  Jerome asked uncertainly.

    
"Yep." Tim confirmed.  “I was worried about what the press might do to her if they found her alone; and besides, I didn't want to let her out of my sight, with everything so volatile.”

    
"And then, you called to tell us you were getting married.  And we asked you to come home."  Jerome pieced things together thoughtfully.

    
"Yep.  I thought at the time that it would kill me, but Tasha made me leave.  She was smart enough to know that she didn't have a chance with Dana, unless I came home first and worked through the mess Rick had made.  But I decided that the
next time
I went to Salt Lake, I wasn't coming home without her."

    
Tasha smiled up at him.  "And a more tenacious man, I have never met."

    
"That's quite a story, you two."  Jerome whistled.

    
"It wasn't much fun to live through.  I have a suspicion that it'll be worth it, though."  Tim chuckled.

    
"It certainly sounds different coming from you two, than it did from Pattie Danniels."  Gloria sighed.

    
Tim gave his mother a perplexed look.  "What do you mean?" he asked darkly.

    
Gloria looked at him lovingly.  "Just that I'm relieved to hear the whole truth from you directly, son.  I'm very happy for you.  And I’m glad to know for certain that you didn’t do anything you’d have to regret."

    
Tim stared at her thoughtfully, and then closed his eyes.  "Just when did you find out about Tasha?" he asked tiredly.

    
Jerome knew that Gloria couldn't say anything.  "Well, son, I'd have to say it was when Pattie Danniels did her first story."

   
Tim shook his head, and looked out the window.  "I didn't tell you anything, did I?" he asked quietly.  "Not when I met her, not when the first story hit, not when I did my broadcast, not before I left for South America.  Not much, even, before I went back to Salt Lake to bring her home.  And you never said a thing.  I can't believe I was so insensitive.  I can't tell you how sorry I am."  He said brokenly.  His eyes were filled with shame and pain.  “I didn't know if we'd ever et together, when I left the conference, and all the time after...”

    
Gloria's eyes filled with tears.  She put up a hand to stop him.  "Son; do you know that we trust you?" she asked gently. 

    
"That doesn't excuse the way I've treated you.  I want you to know that it was never intentional.  I guess I was just fighting so hard to keep my head above water, that it never occurred to me what you must be going through.  Please forgive me."

    
"Son, we could tell that you were under enormous pressure."  Jerome reassured him.  "There's no need for you to ask forgiveness."

    
"Perhaps it was the greatest compliment you could have paid us."  Gloria said thoughtfully.  Tim looked at her as though she'd lost her senses.  She smiled, and explained. 

    
"You never questioned our love and support.  It obviously never even occurred to you that we might question your behavior.  And so, it is just a testimony of your trust in us, and our trust in you.  Although it was painful, I think really, in retrospect, I like the way you handled things.  I can't say that it was always easy, but it was perhaps for the best.  We were worried, but we had nothing to give the press, so they left us pretty much alone after the first rush.  I think that if I’d known the truth of what you were going through, I’d have been in a lot more torment."

    
Tim could see that she meant it.  Tears welled in his eyes, and he had to close them, to contain them. 

    
"What I do want more information about, Timothy, is this whirlwind romance of Dana's."  She went on sternly.

    
Tim sighed.  "
That
, thankfully, I know more about than anybody, except James." He said, glad of the diversion.

    
"Son, don't you suspect that this is on the rebound?" Jerome asked worriedly.

    
"If it is, James will make a place for himself in her heart." Tim assured them.  "But I don't think it's anything of the kind.  James has been watching her and waiting for a chance to get close to her, for two years.  I tell you, they were made for one another.  He’s prayed his way into this relationship.  I know it’s sudden, but I believe that Dana is just responding so quickly because she’s getting the green light from the Holy Spirit."

    
"So, you know him quite well?" Gloria asked.

    
"Very well, actually.  He and I have been skiing together for about three years.  He has been in Music ministry at a church that I know well.  We've become very close.  "I was a bit surprised when he told me he'd set his cap for Dana, but I can't say I'm sorry.  I made it my business to know him very well after that, just the same."

    
James and Dana walked in just as the words were spoken.  Dana's eyes were sparkling, and she was grinning from ear to ear.

    
They no sooner had their coats off, than the doorbell rang.  Exchanging surprised glances with her parents because of the hour,  Dana went to the door.  She was astounded to find herself face to face with Rick Snyder.               

   
"What are
you
doing here?" she demanded quietly.

    
He pushed past her, and entered the living room.  "That's not a very nice greeting."  He accused sarcastically.  He looked around the room haughtily, and smiled with a disrespectful leer at Tasha.  He gave Timothy a glittering, hateful look before he turned back to Dana. 

    
"I came to tell you I really didn't enjoy being arrested."  He answered smoothly.  "And to ask you why you're letting James Burton paw you.  Don't you think it's a little soon to be panting at another man's touch?  Or does he know that I was the first one to get you in bed?  Did you tell him, Dana?  Did you tell Mommy and Daddy you were a very bad girl?"