Pulling into the high school parking lot, Cooper shook off the fantasy of having a ring on her own finger one day. After all, she and Nathan had just had their first official date, and she wasn't ready to think of him as more than someone she was just getting to know. Cooper suddenly faced the unpleasant realization that he might still be searching for the perfect woman on [http://RichmondMatchmaker.com] RichmondMatchmaker.com. She decided that the next time they were alone together, she would muster up the courage to find out whether theirs was an exclusive dating relationship or not.
Outside the classroom where the Sunrise members gathered, she paused.
Maybe I should wait until he makes it clear what he's looking for,
she thought glumly.
What does a kiss mean these days? After all, I thought I knew where I stood with Drew and look what happened there! Maybe I shouldn't even like another guy until I can think about Drew without his very name giving me heartburn.
Lost in these confusing thoughts, Cooper didn't hear Jake strutting down the hall until he had almost reached the classroom door.
"Mornin', Cooper. Mind gettin' that for me?" He gestured with his chin at the door, his arms filled by a box from the liquor store. "It's my turn to bring in food but I didn't remember till it was too late to get anything decent."
"So we're having Wild Turkey for breakfast?" she teased.
Jake grinned and returned the jibe. "Hey, I can only kick one habit at a time, lady."
The rest of the group clapped as Jake set down his burden and pulled out two boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. "They're still warm," he announced triumphantly. He then produced a 107-ounce can of Del Monte tropical fruit salad and waved a can opener in the air. "I know it ain't fancy, but I'm a bachelor with no skill in the kitchen--unless ya need me to fix your sink."
"What are we supposed to use for bowls?" Trish asked, eyeing the fruit salad with disdain.
"Cool your jets, lady." Jake elbowed Trish playfully. "I brought Dixie cups and helped myself to a few plastic forks from the 7-Eleven while I was gettin' gas. See? You won't have to get corn syrup on your fingers."
"You're quite chipper today," Savannah said to Jake as she accepted a cup of fruit from him. Cooper noticed that Jake had picked out several cherries and piled them into Savannah's cup. It was the kind of overture a grade-school boy might do to express a crush on a cute classmate.
Jake then placed a box of doughnuts under Savannah's nose. "Chocolate glazed. Take a whiff." As Savannah inhaled blissfully, he placed a paper towel on her desk. "I'm
chipper
'cause I haven't had a cigarette in almost a month, so I'm feeling like I really might've quit for good this time."
After receiving words of praise from the other group members, Jake opened his study workbook and folded his hands together. "Cooper's doin' great too, and she doesn't even use the patches."
"I told you," Cooper argued good-naturedly, "that I've been eating way too many cookies to numb the cravings."
Jake gave her a sideways smile and continued, "But I gotta make a confession. I almost had a smoke after that Little League game last week and again after findin' out about Reed gettin' pushed off a bridge. I mean, it's all I could think about. I was even gonna mooch one off the mailman. I was
that
freaked out."
"I know what you mean," Bryant agreed. "I'm afraid I had a few more glasses of merlot that night than usual. The image of someone falling through the air toward the dark water ..." He trailed off.
"And we've just got to sit back and hope things work out for the best," Quinton muttered, as he neatly broke up a glazed doughnut into bite-sized pieces.
"Today's lesson topic makes it seem even harder to give up our cause," Nathan added. "In Ephesians Six, Paul tells us that we are going to have to deal with spiritual struggles and that mankind has faced these struggles since the Fall. Well, I've got to admit,
my
spiritual struggle is that I don't want to simply
pray
and
believe
that good will triumph over evil, I want to
act
!"
Savannah gestured at her Bible. "Paul details our weapons, friends. Our armor, our shields, our swords are comprised of faith, truth, righteousness, and peace. We won't help anyone without God at our side and we fight using the Word and with a commitment to prayer."
"I also understand how Nathan feels," Trish countered softly. "I think I've been seeing our involvement in Brooke's murder as some kind of test. The test that Paul talks about right here." She thumped her workbook. "Our call is to fight against darkness, against evil. I felt energized by fighting for good, in trying to bring a murderer to justice, but now I feel a little lost."
Savannah nodded. "I hear you, Trish, but I think Paul is telling us that we can't fight against evil without putting our faith first, before all other things."
Bryant sloshed some fruit salad around in his Dixie cup. "When I read the words 'you can stand against the tactics of the Devil,' in verse eleven, I thought about how this killer, this person who has brought darkness into the lives of the Hugheses, the Newcombes, to Hazel, and who knows who else, has
got
to be stopped!"
"Actually, Hazel is okay," Nathan stated somewhat guiltily and then went on to explain how he and Cooper discovered Hazel's address and found out that she was out of harm's way in Danville.
"Well, thank goodness
she's
safe and sound." Trish exhaled in relief. "And despite Investigator McNamara's warning, I haven't been able to stop mulling things over in my mind. Personally, I think Lynda Newcombe has a hurt and angry soul and seems perfectly capable of pushing her husband off a bridge."
"She may have harmed Reed, but why would she kill Brooke?" Bryant immediately argued. "I think our villain is Cindi. Reed broke up with her at the game. You all saw how upset she was!"
"But Brooke's murder was about money, remember?" Quinton disagreed. "I think Reed was involved in something illegal at Capital City. Brooke found out and he killed her."
Quinton threw out his arms. "Then who shoved him into the river?"
"What about Vance Maynard?" Cooper piped up. "There was a moment at the game where he didn't look too pleased with Reed."
"Yeah, that guy has the cat-who's-caught-a-canary look about him," Jake grumbled. "Too slick for his own good."
Savannah had listened to these tangents with genuine patience, but she finally grew exasperated. "Friends!" she spoke firmly. "We're doing a fair amount of judging and finger-pointing here with no evidence to back up our statements." She tapped on her Bible. "It is not our purpose to decide someone's guilt based on how they look or even how they act. Can we see inside their hearts? There is only
one
who can." Savannah drew in a breath. "Now, let's get back to the lesson, please."
Looking abashed, Quinton pulled out several sheets of paper from his workbook. "Sorry, Savannah. I'm afraid my pride has taken precedence during this whole investigation. I think we all need to do exactly as Paul counsels us. Perhaps now, more than ever, when we're feeling so low." He stood and shyly placed one of the papers taken from his workbook in front of each group member. "I wrote this song because I was inspired by Paul's final lines of Ephesians. In verse twenty-four he says, 'Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.' "
Quinton drew in a deep breath and continued. "I was really moved by Paul's prayer, which was meant for all of us. I want to be worthy of grace and hope that my humble song will serve as a reminder of my Christian role--that my main purpose is to practice love and kindness and charity. And to pray." He bowed his head as though emphasizing his point.
"Even Jesus took time out to pray and, like Paul says, we have to commit to prayer." Quinton sat back down and stared at his hands. "My song is a kind of prayer. It's called "Let Me Wash Your Feet, Lord." I've written songs for years, but you're the only group of people I feel comfortable sharing one with."
Cooper looked down at the paper Quinton handed her and read:
Let me wash the dirt from your feet, Lord,
You've walked so many miles.
Let me wash the dirt from your feet, Lord
I long to earn your smile.
Let me wipe the dust from your hands, Lord,
You've healed so many souls.
Let me wipe the dust from your hands, Lord,
All Your glory was foretold.
Let me clean the blood from your wrists, Lord,
Those who hurt You don't understand.
You've already risen above them
Son of God and King of Man.
Let me fetch You some water,
Drip it on Your loving brow,
You've given everything to save us,
Let me do the giving now.
You've given everything to save us
Let me do the giving now
Let me clean the blood from your side, Lord,
Those who hurt You don't understand.
You've already risen above them,
Son of God and King of Man,
Son of God and King of Man,
Son of God and King of Man.
Several minutes passed before anyone spoke, but then Trish, her face covered with rivulets of mascara-streaked tears, covered Quinton's plump hand with her own and whispered, "This is beautiful."
"It really is, Quinton," agreed Nathan as the other members nodded their heads and murmured their compliments. They had all clearly been moved by the song's lyrics.
"You got any more of this stuff?" Jake demanded, his eyes aglow. "We could set it to music, make one of those demo tape things. You've got a gift, man."
Quinton blushed. "Can you write music, Jake?"
Jake fidgeted with his coffee mug. "Yeah, a bit."
"Well, folks." Savannah stood and held out a clipboard for Bryant to take. "Before we head to worship, I asked the church secretary to make us a sign-up sheet to should help us accomplish some of the goals Paul set before us. Like Jake mentioned, let's begin by living a life of prayer and then continue by spreading love. I've got open time slots to visit Wesley, Eliza, and Lynda Newcombe. I'm sure she could use some casseroles with a husband in the hospital and four kids to feed."
Cooper spoke up quickly, before Bryant had a chance to volunteer his time. "Could I add someone to this list?"
"Of course," Savannah answered.
"Her name is Rose." Cooper told the Sunrise members about Hazel's next-door neighbor. "She could use baby gear for her granddaughter and some company. When Hazel gets back into town, Rose is going to put her up. She's a giving person and could do with a little taking for a change. I'd also like to ask that my coworker, Ben, be added to our group prayer list. I think his wife's got an alcohol problem, and he seems pretty lost. I don't know how to help either."
"I've got a brochure you can give him," Savannah said, passing Cooper her bag. "It's a telephone hotline for loved ones of alcoholics. Just get that brochure into his hands and trust in God to do the rest."
"Thanks." Cooper removed the brochure from Savannah's leather tote.
Bryant then added Rose's name to the chart and everyone filled in spaces until there were no blanks left. Then they clasped one another's hands and prayed for all of the people written on the list.
Cooper had signed up to visit Eliza Weeks on Wednesday afternoon. Savannah also chose to visit Eliza and asked Cooper to be her chauffeur. Cooper was slightly disappointed that she and Nathan wouldn't be heading to the Weekses' home together, but Jake was markedly dejected as he eyed the list and noted that Savannah would be accompanying Cooper one day and Bryant the next, leaving him no opportunity to spend time alone with her.
"Why don't you just ask her to dinner?" Cooper felt like advising Jake, but she kept her mouth shut. After all she'd learned that Savannah's husband had passed away a long time ago, but perhaps that man had been the love of her life. And what did Cooper know about romance? Though Nathan had smiled warmly at her and had sat beside her during church service, he hadn't mentioned getting together in the near future. As a result, Cooper spent the first three days of the workweek preoccupied by doubts concerning her date with Nathan. Was she a bad kisser? Had there been too much garlic on her Strawberry Street Cafe chicken breast? Had he found someone online that he wanted to meet in person?
"You're kind of quiet today," Savannah commented once she and Cooper had been in the car together for ten minutes and had barely spoken a word.
"Sorry. I'm just spacing out a bit." Cooper sniffed the air. "What did you cook? It smells delicious."
"Pearl, the woman who helps me with house hold chores is an excellent cook. She whipped up this Greek spaghetti in no time flat." Savannah smiled sadly. "It's one of my few regrets about not being able to see clearly. Cooking takes a certain amount of finesse that my blurred vision can't produce."
"Well, you make up for it with your paintings," Cooper assured her friend.
Savannah nodded at the compliment. "How about you? Did you bake something? I smell cinnamon."
"I made an iced cinnamon-raisin loaf and picked up a basket of strawberries from a farm stand near my house. I thought it might make a nice afternoon snack for Eliza and her sister."
