Forever Blessed (Women of Prayer) (9 page)

Laney looked at the address written on the little piece of paper. Yep, this is it. She knocked on the door and waited for Ella to answer. Ella was going with her to introduce her to her neighbors and to look at the little house. She couldn’t wait to see it. Maybe, just maybe, this would work out and she’d have a place of her own.

The door creaked open and Ella, already in her coat and boots, slipped out before Laney could get in.

“Right on time. I like that in a person. Says good things about them.”

Ella had a thing for timeliness and Laney had planned her morning so she would be right on time. She didn’t want to disappoint the older woman. “Thank you Ella. I aim to please.”

Together they walked the short distance to Ella’s neighbor’s front door and rang the doorbell. A large, brown-skinned man opened the door and invited the two of them in. Ella introduced them. “Laney, this is Mr. Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs, this is Laney, the girl I was telling you about.”

Mr. Jacob’s extended his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Laney. I have heard good things about you.”

Laney wasn’t sure why, but his name sounded familiar, like she’d heard it before. She shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too.”

Mr. Jacobs led them through the house and out the back door. “My wife will be home shortly and will join us. Ella finally came and introduced herself to us. We have been neighbors for a few months and we didn’t have the opportunity to meet until she came knocking on our door, asking about the little house behind ours. I had just placed the for rent sign in the yard the day before. We even go to the same church. Crazy, huh?”

Not knowing what to say, Laney tried to look interested in what the man was saying. What captured her attention was the little house that they were walking toward. Grey with white shutters and a little flower garden below picture windows on either side of the walk, it was picturesque, and quaint. She instantly fell in love with it. Once again she found herself praying.
Lord, please let this work out.

Laney followed Mr. Jacobs through the front door into a small living room with hardwood floors. Behind the living room was a kitchen with a built-in table and bench seats. It was small, but bright and clean. White cabinets with yellow-painted walls softened the dark wood of the floor. On the other side of the living room were three bedrooms and a bathroom. There were stairs leading to a basement that housed space for a washer and dryer and a storage room. There was also a bigger open area that might work for a playroom. The house wasn’t big. But, it would work.

Mr. Jacobs was watching the girl with interest. Was she interested? She was hard to read. “Well, what do you think?”

“How much is the rent? Is there any…?” Laney looked up to see Mrs. Jacobs, the woman who had hired her, walk through the door of the house and paused mid-sentence.

Vanessa looked from her husband to her next-door neighbor, Ella, then toward heaven. “Ella, I just hired Laney yesterday for a position with our accounting firm. I had no idea she was the friend of yours that was interested in the rental. Yes indeed, God does work in mysterious ways.”

It took Laney a moment to catch her breath and find her voice. “I had no idea. Truly, I didn’t. I’m so sorry. I feel so embarrassed.”

Vanessa stepped forward and took Laney’s hands in her own. “Honey, you have nothing to apologize for. Nor should you feel embarrassed. We made a decision to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, to trust the voice of God, because he knows what is best for us. Many of us at our church have made a commitment to help the center in whatever way we are able. We chose to make a difference right here in our own community, which is why we chose to help the center. Which is exactly why we are going to help you, isn’t that right, Marcus?”

Marcus loved his wife. He loved her boldness, her sassiness and the direct line that she had to the Father’s ear. Her heart, full of compassion, soothed the times when she ruffled his feathers. It was hard to stay mad at someone whose intentions were always good, even if she sometimes went about things the wrong way. “Yes, dear, that is exactly why we are going to help Laney.”

Vanessa started toward the house. “Let’s sit down and have some tea, shall we?”

Neither Laney nor Ella spoke but both followed Vanessa toward the main house and into the kitchen through the back door. Marcus watched his wife take charge. He picked up the rake and started raking, leaving the women to settle the details. He trusted his wife to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit. No sense in him wasting time. He might as well get something accomplished. He chuckled. With a new girl starting at the firm on Monday, he might be spending some longer days at work. This might be his last chance before the snow flew to get the leaves raked.

The ladies sat around the table, discussing the house. Vanessa pulled up her chair to the round oak table and poured tea into fine china teacups. “This tea set was my grandmother’s. It is the one material thing I treasure the most. So delicate. So fragile. They remind me of life. God breathed life into us and in an instant it can be gone. Like the cups, one must handle their life with care, taking time to gently wash away the grime from the past to be filled anew with the love of God. If we look hard enough, we can find the answers to so many of life’s problems all around us.” Vanessa added honey to her tea. “So, tell me Laney, what can my husband and I expect if you live here behind our home?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you live at the shelter, so I assume you have left an abusive situation. Do you think he’ll hunt you down? Will he chase you this far? Will he show up unexpectedly here at your home? I’m asking so we know what could happen. If we are knowledgeable about the situation, we’ll be able to better handle it if it should come to pass.”

Uncomfortable with such direct questions, Laney took a sip of her tea, then continued. “Um, well, I expect he will try and find me and the kids. He can be violent, but usually it’s only toward me. Recently he had begun to pick on Matt and that is where I drew the line. I won’t let him hurt my children.” Laney took another sip then continued. “I expect he will do his homework before he shows up. I’m hoping he doesn’t find us, but I know my husband better than that. He will search until he finds us. He will make that his one goal in life, to pay me back for my indiscretions.”

Vanessa listened carefully, taking in each point. She’d have to give a detailed accounting of everything later to Marcus, so it paid to pay attention. And her guess was he might have to deal with this man at some point in their lives, so the more he knew the better. “Do you have a picture of him? So if we see him we’ll know what is coming?”

Wow…this woman crossed every
t
and dotted every
i
. “Yes, I do. I’ll get it for you. If you’d rather not rent to me, I’ll understand. No one wants to deal with this sort of situation.”

“I’m sorry, Laney. I didn’t mean to come across as sounding negative. The accountant in me deals with facts and figures daily and that is how my brain best operates. I am positive this is where the Lord wants you. Which translates to if God wants you here, then we do too. Please don’t be offended by my direct approach. It is a blessing and a curse, if you know what I mean.”

Laney thought for a moment before she replied. “It’s been so long since I have been in the business world. I have forgotten what it’s like to be a professional working woman, let alone a woman who has the freedom to voice her opinions and thoughts without retribution. After college I worked for a little less than a year. Then I got married. My husband wanted me to stay at home and take care of him so there went my career. Then the kids started coming and there was no question that I would be home with them. Twelve years later, here I am, penniless, homeless, and totally reliant upon the goodwill of others for my most basic needs. So, I apologize if I seem overly sensitive. It has been a long few weeks and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around everything that has happened.”

“Laney, I understand. I‘ve never been in the place you find yourself. But, I do want to help. Let me talk with Marcus and we can discuss things on Monday. Sound good?”

Ella and Laney finished their tea and walked the short distance to Ella’s house. “Laney, come on in. We can talk a for a bit before you have to be heading back.”

Laney accepted the cup of coffee offered to her, then sat on the couch in the living area. Ella walked around the room, occasionally picking up picture frames and holding them for a few seconds before setting them down again. Finally, Ella handed a framed picture to Laney. “This is my daughter, Marsha. I don’t hear from her very often. She lives in Chicago with her husband and her children, my grandchildren. She doesn’t have time for a mother who failed her.”

Laney’s heart hurt for this woman who had some major pain of her own. She felt connected to Ella, as if she had something to give, someone to help. Laney realized it gave her a purpose and hope for her own situation. Obviously this lady went through some tough times and made it. Maybe she would too.

Ella realized she had started to reveal a part of her past she wasn’t ready to let go of. She sat down next to Laney and took her hand. “The reason I’m telling you this is because the time we have shared at the shelter has been so precious to me. I finally feel like I am part of a family. A real family. Each time we sit around the table together, my heart is full. I am so thankful that God has brought all of you into my life.”

Laney had been so focused on her own problems, on her own pain, she had forgotten there were other people out there hurting. “Ms. Ella, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes spilled over as she thought about what her elderly friend might have lived through. Even now, when she was finally supposed to be free, she was still suffering from her past.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, dear. I just wanted to explain how much you and your children have come to be like family to me. In the short time I have known you I have come to love you like I do my own daughter. I want to help you, Laney. I am in a position to help you. Will you let me, please?”

While Laney didn’t want to accept charity, she knew that denying this woman the opportunity to help would devastate her. She understood Ella’s need to do something, to make a difference in someone’s life, to atone for her supposed sins. “I would be very grateful for your help. Thank you.”

Ella and Laney walked back to the shelter together, laughing and making plans. Ella would care for Melanie while Laney worked. The days she was at the shelter, she would watch Melanie there and the other three days a week she would watch her at home. Ella also made arrangements to pay Laney’s deposit and first month’s rent on the little house. It was the least she could do and she just knew Frank was turning in his grave. Giving his hard- earned money to a stranger, much less a woman who didn’t lie down and be a doormat to her husband like she "ought to." Ella kicked a rock. “Take that, Frank!”

             
             
             
             
Chapter Twelve

Maintaining control was getting to be difficult. He’d checked everything, every lead he could think of, and still he couldn’t find her. He’d gone over every phone bill. Talked with every teacher at the kids’ school. He’d talked to the neighbors. He called their church, not that they’d gone in quite some time, to see if she’d met and talked with anyone. There was nothing. The only clue she left was she didn’t take anything. That meant she had a destination in mind. Someone had been waiting for her on the other end of the line. Someone had prepared for her arrival.

Paul spoke out loud to the empty room. “Who is that someone, Laney?”

The sound of the phone interrupted his tirade.

“Paul, it’s Dave. Barbara remembered the nickname of Laney’s friend from college. Everyone called her 'Shera'. Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Paul ended the call quickly. It might not lead to anything, but the information was more than he had so far. He was going to need some help on this one. After making some phone calls, he set an appointment for later that afternoon with a local PI. Hopefully, this guy would be as good at getting results as he’d heard he would be.

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