The Pastor's Heart (12 page)

“I’m good because I know she will be fine.”  Kingston r
eplied as he was offered a small pastry by a passing waiter.

“Pastor Carter.”  Someone called out.

“Yes.” They both answered as they turned to see who was speaking to them.  

Several hours
later they finally arrived back at Sinclair’s apartment exhausted from the long drive home.  Sinclair’s hair had half fallen out of the bun and Kingston had loosened his bow tie.

“I didn’t me
an to stay that long at the gala but I wanted to make sure my parents got home safe.  I just wish they would have told me before the end of the event they had rented a room at the hotel to stay the night.”  Kingston said as they parked in front of Sinclair’s apartment and Kingston went to open Sinclair’s door for her.

“You are a good son for looking after your parents.  That’s a good
thing and besides I had a blast,” Sinclair said while grabbing her purse.  “I really had fun tonight especially hearing the old stories about you from your parents, they were too funny.” Sinclair laughed hysterically.

“Please don’t remind me, I get chills thinking about that.” Kingston was having a flashback and it was not good.  “Anyway I am glad you had fun.” Kingston said as he stood just staring at her.

”What?”
Sinclair noticed him staring.

“Nothing
,” he said smiling and then went to embrace her. “Everyone loved you tonight and I do believe my parents have already started planning our wedding.” He said with a laugh.

“
And what makes you say that Pastor Carter?” Sinclair questioned him.

“Because you a
re the first woman my parents ever bent over backwards for.”  Kingston knew his parents liked Sinclair just as much as he did and that was good.

“Well I aim to please,” Sinclair batted her eyelashes while Kingston held her in his arms.  Kingston pulled a hairpin out of S
inclair’s hair causing her curly hair to fall.  “You’re wonderful,” Kingston said with such softness as Sinclair stood on her tip toes to kiss him.

With the two windows sitting at an angle in this corner office, the sun was able to shine brightly. The wood desk and large shelves complimented the taupe colored walls.
Rounding out the well decorated office were matching chairs for visitors and a leather high chair with its back to the window.  Various awards and documents hung nicely on the small but cozy room.  

“Excuse me Mr. Car
ter, your lunch has arrived.”  The young woman informed Kingston during his meeting.

“I didn’t order anything,” Kingston replied in a confused voice.

“What would you like me to do Sir?” She asked while standing in the doorway.

“
Beth, you can bring it in here.”  He responded even though he knew for a fact he hadn’t ordered anything since he had been in a meeting all morning and lunch hadn’t crossed his mind.

The y
oung woman returned with a paper bag with a note attached to it.  “Enjoy this special lunch just for you.  Sinclair.” Kingston read the note out loud forgetting that he had a client in his office with him.

Kingston opened the bag
to find lunch from his favorite restaurant Sam’s in Washington DC.  He chuckled when he saw a box of his favorite Fig Newtons inside the bag.

“By the huge grin on your face Mr. Carter I can tell that your wife su
rprised you with lunch today, you’re a very lucky man,” the Caucasian man commented while sitting across from Kingston.

Chad Dunbar sat wearing a black three piece suit with a matching black and white tie.  With his hair smooth back and pocket watch hanging from his vest pocket he had high hopes in this meeting with Kingston.

“I am not a lucky man, I am simply blessed.  Now if you’ll excuse me for a minute Mr. Dunbar,” he said as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

“You’re the most beautiful and thoughtful person I know.  Not to mention your legs are absolutely sexy.”  Kingston said as soon as Sinclair answered her cell phone.

“I take it you got your lunch Mr. Carter?” Sinclair said smiling.

“I sure did.  I don’t know how you knew but I needed these Figs.  This meeting was getting heavy so these Figs are just what I need right now.  I had already eaten one box of Newton’s and my whole stash is already gone.”  He replied as he tore open the box of Fig Newtons and popped one into his mouth.

“Well, I’m glad that you like it.  I know how hard you work and I just thought you could use a little extra today.  Besides I knew
you would enjoy the Figs and Sam’s is just a bonus.”   Sinclair said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“I didn’t know that they
delivered and especially over here,” Kingston said to Sinclair.

“
They don’t deliver at all.  I know how much you love their food so I called in a favor from a friend of mine.”  Sinclair knew Kingston would enjoy the meal because it was his favorite.

Kingston was smiling from ear to ear just talking to Sinclair on
the phone.  “You have me spoiled.”

“There is nothing wrong with getting a little spoiled every now and then.  Sound familiar Pastor Carter?” Sinclair teased him.

Kingston found himself now smiling more than ever.  “It sure does Miss Madison.”

“I may not be able to cook but I do know the way to a man’s he
art is through his stomach. I don’t care if it has to be cooked by someone else as long as you’re eating I’m fine.” Sinclair smiled and took a sip of her iced tea.

“Well, you already have the pastor’s heart and we are go
ing to work on the cooking part.” He informed her as he bit into his sausage.”  Speaking with his mouth full he continued. “I need to tell you something but I don’t want you to get scared?”

“Sure go ahead.
I’m all ears,” she said as she put down her iced tea.

“You
simply blow my mind.  Now I’m going to leave it at that for now because I have to get back to my meeting.”  Kingston could not believe how God had blessed him with Sinclair, the most beautiful and thoughtful person he knew.

Sinclair started blushing over the phone.
“Awe, that’s so sweet of you.” Sinclair replied in a soft voice trying to hold back her tears. “Now get back to your meeting and knock it out the park like you always do.”

“Okay I ‘m going and are we still on for tomorrow night? He as
ked as he continued eating his Figs.

Sinclair simply replied, “Yes we are.
”

“Great then see you
tomorrow night.”  He said as he hung up to go back to his meeting.

Sinclair sat at her desk having the rest of her lunch when she realized what Kingston ha
d said to her.  Kingston said she has his heart.  She was clearly mistaken she thought to herself.  Her cell phone started ringing, awakening her from her thoughts.

“And yes, I said you have my heart in cas
e you are wondering.  Truth be told I love having you in my world.  Enjoy the rest of your day,” Kingston said just as quickly as he had called her.

Kingston
ate two more cookies before leaving his lunch with his secretary.  “I’m sorry about that Mr. Dunbar but when God blesses you with a good woman you never let a day go by that you don’t tell her how much she means to you.”

“I total agree,
I have a wife myself and not a day goes by that I don’t tell her I love her.”  The slender man said while brushing off his three piece suit of invisible dust.

“Okay now back to this land you were telling me about.  Can yo
u tell me exactly where in DC this property is?” Kingston asked as he popped a newton into his mouth.

“The area is close to the Metro as well as being a both a residen
tial and business neighborhood.  The location is perfect because not only do you get the resident’s business but the professional businesses as well. Most working people love to shop during their lunch hour because that’s less shopping they have to do after work.  The property is located at 12179 Reutuf Street near Wealth Ave.”  The man explained with great detail.

“Hmm.
Sounds like just what I’m looking for.  Is there anything on the land right now?” Kingston knew inviting Chad Dunbar to meet with him was a good idea.

“Right now the property is empty but the
owner is very eager to sell for the right price so now will be the perfect time to put in a bid.” The man said as he smoothed his hand over his slicked back hair again.

“Mr. Dunbar
if you could just get me the numbers on this property that would be great.  I can then present it to the rest of my business associates and see where it takes us.”  Kingston stood as the man grabbed his hat and they walked to the door.

“I will get you those n
umbers, Mr. Carter.  I’ll see you soon.  Oh and congrats on that lovely woman you have.”

“Thank you and thanks for coming.  Enjoy the rest of your day.”  Kingston
said while leading the man out of his office.

********************

Sinclair could not believe her luck
.  She had left the office an hour early and yet she was still in DC.

Sinclair sat in her SUV behind
a white mini-van filled with little kids jumping around as they sat in the snarled traffic.

“Crap!!!” She shouted before picking up her cell and dialing Kingston’s number on her cell phone.

“Hey beautiful where are you?” Kingston answered on the first ring.

“Still in DC,
I had to go pick up my car and now I’m stuck in traffic.  The president and his wife must be going out tonight too.”  Sinclair said while sitting in traffic and upset.

“No
worries, just get here in one piece,” Kingston replied as he prepared things in his kitchen.

“I’m sorry.  I really did try to
get there on time.”  She said feeling really bad that she was late yet again for their date.

“Don’t worry about it;
Mr. President isn’t the only one who wants to spend quality time with this special lady. Just get here safely.”  He said so lovingly that Sinclair had to smile.

“Okay.  Then I’ll see you soon.”  Sinclair said just as the traffic finally started to move.

After an hour long delay Sinclair finally made it to Kingston’s house.  Rain started to pour just as she rang his bell, thankfully he answered rather quickly.

“Hurry and come inside,” Kingston said as he pulled Sinclair inside his house and into his arms.  Before she could even say a word he gave her a very passionate kiss
, leaving her breathless.

“Wow!! What was that for?” Sinclair asked while Kingston still held her in his arms.”

“For the Figs and lunch yesterday,” he said as he winked at her and started walking toward the kitchen.

“Hmm, I’d love to see what I’d get if I sent you a three course meal.”  Sinclair teased him as she put her purse down on a nearby table by the door and followed Kingston.

Kingston stopped in his tracks causing Sinclair to bump into him.  He looked Sinclair directly into her eyes.  “Well we will just have to see now won’t we?” Kingston asked with a wicked smile.

They entered the kitchen to find the stove and countertops filled with various and bowls and cooking utensils everywhere.

“What are you making?” Sinclair quizzed Kingston.

“We’re making Hawaiian Chicken and sautéed Vegetables over a bed of
wild rice.”  He explained as he reached behind Sinclair and tied an apron on her.  Seeing the scared look in her eyes he tried to calm her.  “You’ll be fine, we’re doing this together.”  He added as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

In a childlike voice Sinclair replied, “But I didn’t bring my fire extinguisher.”

“We won’t need it.  Now let’s begin, I am starving.”  He said as he went to the refrigerator and retrieved a large covered bowl.

He placed the covered bowl in front of Sinclair.  “This, my sweet, is chicken that I marinated last night.
All you have to do to this is add the pieces of chicken to this glass pan.”

“Okay,” Sinclair said in a shaky voice as she followed the instructions Kingston gave her.

“Now that you have done that, we are going to pour the remaining marinade all over the chicken.”  He instructed her as he stood close to her making sure she was okay.

“Why are we pouring the sauce on it when it alread
y is covered in it?” She questioned him as she poured the sauce all over the chicken.

“Because it will
cook in its own juices giving it a better flavor,” he answered while letting Sinclair taste it off the spoon.

“That’s good.”  She told him as she tasted it from his finger.

“And it will only get better once we cut up the vegetables and add them to it.”  He explained as he handed her a pepper to cut while he cut up an onion.  “We will let that bake for about forty minutes to an hour.”