Sweet Dreams (The Bakery Romance Series Book 3) (11 page)

Chapter 16

Sterling and Rachel, one of the soup kitchen volunteers, lugged the dirty serving pans to the sink full of hot dish water. All of the guests were gone from the soup kitchen and washing dishes was the last chore to be done. Dunking the pans into the soapy water, Sterling glanced at his friend. “So, what’s been going on with you, lately?”

She shrugged. “Not much, mostly working and spending free time in this soup kitchen.” They scrubbed the pans until they were squeaky clean.

“How have you been doing?” she asked.

He blinked, placing the clean serving tray onto the dish rack. Whenever he was in the bakery, making desserts, thoughts of his father would slam into his brain so hard that it almost made him dizzy. He no longer cried very much, which was a good thing. He grabbed another serving tray to wash. “I’ve been okay. I still think about my dad a lot so, it’s been hard. But I’m getting through it.”

They finished their dishwashing chore. Sterling wiped his hands on a towel. “I’m glad that’s done. I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He glanced around the soup kitchen, re-checking to make sure all of the chores had been done by the volunteer staff who had already taken their exit. The white-tiled floor gleamed, and the cafeteria-styled tables were cleaned of crumbs and debris. All of the cleaning utensils had been put away into the utility closet and one volunteer had even wiped the windows, causing them to sparkle. Darkness had settled into the area, and Sterling yawned, glancing at his watch. It was ten o’clock and it was time for him to go to bed. On soup kitchen dinner night, he could sometimes make it home earlier, but, they were a little short on volunteers that night.

Rachel grabbed her purse. “I’m so tired.”

He nodded, fishing the keys from his pocket. Since he was one of the senior-ranking members of the soup kitchen, he’d been given a set of keys to lock up on the nights he volunteered. “Yeah, me too.” He glanced at Rachel. “But, it’s a good kind of tired, you know what I mean? It makes me feel glad that I’m tired because I helped somebody hungry.”

“Amen to that,” Rachel mumbled, placing her hand over her mouth, yawning. “What’s up with Latisha? That girl’s been after you for weeks. Sometimes I wonder if she volunteered to work in the soup kitchen just so that she can find a man.”

Sterling shook his head, not wanting to ruin the rest of his evening talking about Latisha. “I don’t know what her problem is.” He again recalled Misty’s question about Latisha having any friends. The woman had shown up at the soup kitchen with a heavily made-up face. She’d finagled into a position to work beside him. As they’d served food, she touched or stroked his arm whenever she could. And she talked…a lot! She talked so much that he wished he’d had a pair of ear plugs to stop her incessant chatter. “Do you know her very well? Do you know if she’s always lived in Miami?”

Rachel shook her head, her dreadlocks swaying. “No, I don’t know her at all. Now that I think about it, I don’t really know who her friends are. People seem to avoid her. You know what I mean?”

He nodded. “Let’s get out of here. I’m ready to go home and go to bed.” They opened the door and stepped outside. He then turned and locked the door. The Miami heat sweltered and sweat formed on his brow. “Where’d you park?”

“Down the street.” She gestured to the left, indicating where she’d left her vehicle.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” The rancid odor of an overflowing trashcan filled the air, and he spotted a rat scampering across the sidewalk. Wrinkling his nose, he wondered if they’d ever clean up this disastrous section of Miami.

“It sure does stink around here,” said Rachel.

“Tell me about it.”

The sound of heavy footsteps pounded the pavement behind them. A large man sporting dark clothes slammed into Rachel, pushing her into the glass front of a building. Her head cracked against the glass and Rachel screamed. Sterling’s heart slammed into his chest as he punched the man’s face. In seconds, the man grabbed Rachel’s purse, pulled a knife and he sliced Sterling’s arm. Red hot pain shuttered his arm as Rachel screamed again. The man took off down the street, and Sterling was about to go after him, when Rachel whimpered. The thief had slammed her into the glass so hard that the window had cracked and blood ran down her face. Lifting his phone from his pocket, he dialed 911. Cradling Rachel’s head, he told the authorities about the crime, hoping they could catch the man who’d stolen Rachel’s purse.

*

Misty, Adrian and Jennifer sat at the kitchen table the following Sunday morning, enjoying their breakfast. Adrian had made eggs and sausage and Jennifer enjoyed a bowl of cereal. After they’d eaten, she dressed Jennifer in her favorite pink dress. She took a deep breath, anticipating their visit to church that morning. Since Misty had returned from her visit to Lehigh Acres a few weeks ago, Jennifer had gotten used to the volunteers at the church daycare. Misty had left Jennifer there last Sunday without any drama, and, for that, she was thankful.

Once Adrian was ready, Misty placed Jennifer into her car seat and drove them to church. When they arrived, she spotted Sterling in the church’s parking lot. He was getting out of his car, and she longed to call out to him. Jennifer spotted Sterling and clapped her hands, smiling brightly, pointing at him with her chubby finger. “Mommy, look!”

Grinning, Misty was again amazed how Jennifer had taken a liking to Sterling.

“What’s Jennifer so excited about?”

Misty gestured toward Sterling. “She saw Sterling in the parking lot.”

Adrian chuckled. “I’m not surprised. She’s really taken a liking to him.”

Sterling spotted them and approached their parked vehicle. After Misty had unsnapped Jennifer from her car seat, she ran over to Sterling. “Hi!”

“Hey, you!” He swung the child up into his strong arms, and Jennifer’s laughter rang throughout the parking lot. As he cooed to Jennifer, Misty noticed the long red gash on Sterling’s hand.

She touched his hand. “What happened?”

His grin faded as he set Jennifer back onto the ground. “I’ll tell you about it after we take Jennifer to the nursery.” He looked toward Adrian. “Hey, Adrian.”

Adrian returned his greeting. “Hi, Sterling.”

They entered the building and Misty dropped Jennifer off at the nursery with no fuss. Misty, Sterling and Adrian then made their way into the sanctuary. After they sat, Misty again asked Sterling about his arm. “What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, he told Misty and Adrian about Rachel’s mugging. Misty gasped. “Is Rachel okay?” Both Adrian and Misty knew Rachel since she was a member of the church.

He nodded. “I went to visit her yesterday. She has a huge bump on her head and she was too shaken up to go to work for a few days. Anyway, she told me she’s quitting.”

Adrian gasped. “You mean she’s not going to work in the soup kitchen anymore?”

Sterling nodded. “She said she’s too scared, and I can understand why she wants to quit.”

“Did they catch the mugger?” asked Misty.

He shook his head. “No, they didn’t catch the mugger but they found her purse about a mile away from the soup kitchen. Her credit cards and cash were gone, but I’m just glad she’s okay.”

Misty shook her head, saddened about the news. “That’s such a shame. You and Rachel were only trying to help feed hungry people and both of you got hurt.”

Sterling shook his head. “I didn’t really get hurt. I’m just worried about Rachel. I’ve never seen her so down.”

The piano music sounded from the pulpit, bringing an end to their conversation. The choir, sporting their red, swaying robes, entered the pulpit from the side doors, clapping their hands, their melodious voices raised in song as they began the praise and worship service. Misty stood, swaying her arms, closing her eyes, focusing on the music and feeling the presence of God in His house. She glanced at Adrian and her sightless eyes were closed as she swayed to the rhythm of the music. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at Sterling and noticed him looking directly at her. He offered her a tentative smile and she smiled back.

Once the pastor came to the podium, he made an announcement as the music faded. “We need to say a special prayer for our sister, Rachel Hawkins.” He made the announcement about the mugging and several parishioners gasped. He continued, “A lot of people in the congregation have already heard about Rachel’s mugging and since the community soup kitchen is located in such a bad area, there are several volunteers that have quit. The soup kitchen is reaching out to all the area churches, trying to muster up volunteers.” A lot of murmuring rumbled through the church like wildfire, and Misty glanced around the congregation, noting everybody’s reaction. “We need to pray for the community food ministry. They really need more volunteers or they might end up having to close their soup kitchen.” More rumbling spread throughout the church and the pastor clapped his hands, desperately trying to silence the congregation. “I wanted to remind the congregation about all of the good we’ve done with the soup kitchen.” The lights dimmed and a montage of soup kitchen pictures displayed on the screen. Misty recognized Sterling in several of the shots and when photos of families, eating together at the soup kitchen, filled the screen, strong vivid memories rushed through her mind. Blinking, she fought to control her tears. “Let’s pray.”

Misty bowed her head and her stomach flipped when Sterling grabbed her hand. As his fingers closed around hers, her soul filled with warmth and comfort. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the pastor’s prayer, knowing deep in her heart what she had to do. She needed to volunteer in the soup kitchen. She’d been aching for an opportunity to do this, and now that opportunity had arrived. This was an answer to a prayer. She recalled the phone calls and endless attempts for her to help in community based soup kitchens. Well, looked like they needed volunteers and Misty would happily serve. Could it also be possible that the Lord wanted her to do this to help the community and to help with her mission to get Jennifer into Juliette’s?

When she’d initially asked Sterling about working in the soup kitchen. He’d not been enthusiastic. Well, now there was no excuse. The soup kitchen needed her.

Once the service was over, Misty turned toward Adrian. She touched her cousin’s shoulder. “Adrian, I wanted to ask you something,” Misty said in a rushed tone.

“What’s wrong Misty?”

“Do you think you can keep Jennifer on Saturday nights?” She hurriedly explained that Jennifer had a playpen and she should be easy to watch for a few hours. Misty reminded Adrian that she’d successfully babysat Jennifer while Misty went grocery shopping the previous Saturday.

Sterling touched her arm. “Why did you need Adrian to babysit Jennifer?”

Misty sighed. “I was going to work in the soup kitchen on Saturday nights. Remember? You said that I should volunteer once Adrian was comfortable with watching Jennifer.”

Sterling’s mouth dropped open. “You’re not volunteering to work there.”

Misty folded her arms in front of her chest. “Why not? The pastor said they needed volunteers.”

Adrian touched Misty’s arm, frowning. “Misty, are you sure you want to do this? There are other ministries that you can get involved in that aren’t as dangerous.”

Sterling nodded, and Misty’s heart raced as he took her hand again. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. What if you get mugged like Rachel did?”

Swallowing, Misty recalled the events from her childhood, things that Sterling still didn’t know about her. Her voice faltered. “But, I have to. Adrian, you know why.”

Sterling spoke up. “Is it because of that scholarship?”

Misty shook her head. “No, that’s not the only reason.” She focused on Adrian.

Adrian nodded. “Honey, just think and pray about it for a few days.”

“No, I want to do this.” She turned toward Sterling, her voice faltering. “Sterling, I don’t mind doing this. I’ve been in rough neighborhoods before.”

He took both of her hands into his, his voice softened. “Misty, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re crying.”

“I’ll explain later,” she whispered. An usher suddenly appeared, handing Misty a tissue. She thanked the usher before using the Kleenex to dab the moisture away from her eyes. Embarrassed, she hadn’t realized that the vivid memories had made her cry. Some of the parishioners glanced at them as they made their way toward the exit. Adrian took her elbow, and Sterling stood on her other side as she made her way to the lobby.

“Mommy!” One of the nursery workers held Jennifer at the window. Jennifer’s mouth curled into a bright smile.

“Hold on, sweetie.” Misty stopped at the desk in the middle of the lobby to sign up for the soup kitchen volunteer group. Glancing at the paper, she found that all of the slots for Saturday night had been taken for the next several weeks. She sighed.

The female worker at the table glanced at the paper. “You can always sign up for the dinner shift on Wednesday night. I think Saturday’s easiest for most people and that’s why it filled up so quickly.”

Sterling appeared by her side, touching her shoulder. “You need to sign up for Wednesday. That way, I can keep an eye on you.” The authoritative tone of his voice set her teeth on edge.