Behind the Altar: Behind the Love Trilogy (4 page)

Leah walked down the
breezeway between the kitchen and church offices in search of either Geraldine
or Jacob. The door to Jacob’s office was ajar, but she didn’t see her fiancé at
his desk. She moved down to Geraldine’s office. She knocked on the closed door
and heard Geraldine tell her to come in.

“We need to talk,”
Leah said when she entered the dimly lit room.

Geraldine sat at the
desk writing. Where Jacob’s office was bare and white, Geraldine’s was rich and
complex. A large painting of the church hung on one side, and on the other
side, a painting of her husband and Jacob in their white robes. Geraldine had
commissioned the painting as soon as she found out Big Jim was dying of lung
cancer. He may have been a minister, but he never could give up the habit of
smoking cigarettes, even after his diagnosis.

“Yes, we do, Leah.
You go first.” Geraldine put down her pen and leaned back in her chair, smiling
warmly at Leah. “What is it you’d like to discuss, dear?”

“Dean. I want to
discuss Dean.”

“I bet you do. What
is it you want to discuss?”

“I want to know why
you and Jacob lied to me about him.”

“How did we lie,
sugar?” Geraldine came around from behind the desk, and stood in front of Leah.

“You told me he was
dead, but obviously he’s not, and you knew it.”

“He is dead to me;
he’s dead to Jacob, too. And if you know what’s good for you, he’ll be dead to
you as well.”

“He’s not dead. He
was right there in front of us.”

“Yes, he was, and
he’s just as evil as he ever was. Evil is dead to us. Why do you think he lured
you out back and forced himself on you? He’s a rapist, and he’s damn lucky that
poor girl decided not to press charges against him.”

Leah put her hand to
her mouth and felt the heat rush up her neck into her face. She hadn’t
considered the possibility that someone might have followed her out to Dean’s
bike behind the hall. For the hundredth time since it happened, she wondered
how she ever kissed him.

“He didn’t force me
to do anything,” she said after a few minutes of Geraldine looking at her with
satisfied eyes. “And I don’t believe you about him being a rapist.”

“That’s the worst
thing about an evil person,” Geraldine said. “They take the most innocent of
all creatures and force them to eat the apple in the garden—all the while the
person who devoured the apple thinks they did it willingly.”

“You’re wrong about
him,” Leah said. “I don’t know what happened all those years ago, but he’s
changed.”

“How could you
possibly know that after just one kiss? You still believe people can change and
that all people are good at heart. Just like that stupid little girl who
thought that and then was put to death in the concentration camps. Was Hitler
really good at heart?”

“You mean Anne Frank?
Her words are a beacon of hope.”

“They are the words
of someone not wise in the ways of the world,” Geraldine said. She leaned down
and cupped Leah’s face between her hands. “You will learn, but I hope not from
that person who showed up here today with evil intent in his heart. He’s even
stamped himself with the evil sign of the serpent.”

“You don’t believe in
redemption like the Bible teaches?” Leah asked.

“Not in some cases;
in some cases there is no hope for redemption, and we must fight the evil
forces when they appear. The heartbreak of my life is that I gave birth to one
such person.”

Leah pulled away from
Geraldine and headed for the door.

“You still lied to
me,” she said. “I may have done something I am ashamed of, but I was angry with
you and Jacob, and wasn’t thinking straight.”

“It wasn’t a lie
meant to hurt you,” Geraldine said. “It was how we all felt, even Big Jim.”

“During my mother’s
darkest days in her heroin haze, she never lied to me. I’m not the innocent
little bird you imagine me to be.”

“No, I imagine not,”
Geraldine said. “For now, don’t worry. Your little secret is safe with me,
unless it happens again. If it does, I can make your comfortable life here end
in an instant.” She snapped her fingers in Leah’s face.

Geraldine went back
to her desk and sat down. Leah stared at the person sitting there as if seeing
her for the first time. Geraldine could threaten all she wanted. Leah’s whole
world changed the minute Dean walked into the hall and looked into her eyes.
Leah knew for her that nothing would ever be the same.

Geraldine was not the
charitable woman Leah thought her to be. Jacob, while preaching love and
charity, was a coward when it came to living his words. Dean proved within a
few hours of meeting him that he didn’t respect anyone. From her to Sally Jean meant
that he didn’t care about anybody but himself. At this rate, he must be onto
his third victim, Leah thought.

The only people in
her life who were just as they appeared lived down on the banks of the Deer
River. She’d lived among them for several years through harsh conditions and
devastating circumstances. Not once had anyone lied to her or treated her with
disrespect.

Leah left Geraldine’s
office more confused than before she entered. What happened to the charitable
woman who took her in at a low point of her life, Leah wondered as she
continued down the hall toward the sanctuary. She opened the door and let the
soothing smells of lemon oil and musty old wood and books wash over her. From
the moment she’d first come to Sunshine Church, she’d felt safe in the
sanctuary. Today, the soothing effect of the red carpet and wooden pews and
stained glass windows spraying sunlight through the colorful depictions of the
Bible story didn’t quite reach her.

She sat down on the
front pew on the other side from the pulpit where she looked up at the cross
hanging from the vaulted ceiling over the center of the altar. She closed her
eyes and asked for a moment with God. Then as she’d done for the past five
years, she asked her mother for guidance.

“I’m so confused
right now, Mom,” Leah said as she kept her eyes closed and her hands clasped
before her in prayer. “I don’t know why I kissed Dean, and I don’t know why
Jacob and Geraldine lied to me. I trusted them. When my faith faltered, I
depended on them to help me.

“Now Geraldine acts
like someone I don’t know, and Jacob’s avoiding me. Please help me find the
answers, Mom. And God, please keep me from making another mistake with Dean.
Take away the feelings I had when I looked at him. Please God. I love Jacob and
want our dreams of a life together to come to fruition.

“I can do so much
here, God. Please give me the courage to face the Church board to reinstate
Soup’s On. Or give me some kind of sign on the direction for helping those
folks down at the river.”

Leah bowed her head
further and tried to listen for signs from God to show her the way. Just then,
the front door to the church opened, and Susie came rushing down the aisle
toward her.

“I thought I might
find you here,” Susie said as she sat down beside Leah. “I wanted to tell you
about an idea that just came to me after you left the dry cleaners this afternoon.”

Leah broke away from
her listening reluctantly. She needed God to show her the way, but she forced
herself to listen to Susie instead. There would be time for reflection and
listening later, she thought, as she turned to her friend.

“You said the church
won’t fund Soup’s On, and they don’t want you using the facilities, right?” Susie
asked.

“That’s right,” Leah
said.

“What if you found a
way to fund it and found a place to serve the food?” Susie asked.

“I could continue,
but how?”

“Do you remember that
old barn down on the edge of Big Jim’s property?” When Leah nodded, Susie continued.
“It’s just standing empty since he stopped farming on it. It’s not in bad shape,
and it’s down close to the river but out of sight of the church. I’m pretty
sure there’s electricity and maybe even a well.”

“And I know I could
get enough folks to fund the place,” Leah said as the possibilities spread out
before her. “Maybe some businesses would donate furniture, lumber. I could
devote the whole barn to a facility for the homeless. The loft could be made
into a dormitory-style room for nights when the weather was too bad to sleep
outside.”

“Do you think
Geraldine would let you use it?”

“I don’t see why
not,” Leah said. “Like you said, it’s not being used for anything else. You
can’t see it from the church or the parish. It’s perfect. And it’s what I’ve always
prayed for.”

Susie smiled and put
her arm around her friend’s shoulders. Leah looked up at the cross and smiled.
She’d received her sign.

“I know how much it
means to you, and I felt so bad after you left,” Susie said. “And then it just
came to me, like a lightning bolt.”

Leah smiled and
hugged her friend right back. “I was sitting here praying when you came in. I asked
God for a sign. I guess you’re it.”

Jacob walked into the
sanctuary from the side door by his pulpit.

“What are you two
scheming?” Jacob asked when he walked around the pulpit and down the two steps
to stand in front of the pews.

“Do you think your
mother would mind if I used the old barn out on the edge of the property?” Leah
asked.

“The old barn? It’s
been abandoned ever since Daddy got sick. What could you possibly want to use
it for?”

“Soup’s On. I want to
turn it into the new Soup’s On kitchen. It’s perfect, Jacob. And no one in the
church can say a thing.”

“That’s a pretty
far-fetched idea, Leah,” Jacob said. “I don’t see how that old barn could be
much of anything but a storage shed for hay.”

“It’s got good
bones,” Susie said. “With some work, it would be the perfect, permanent place
for Leah to do her work.”

“What do you have to
do with this, Susie?” Jacob asked. “Are you putting silly ideas into her head?”

“I have my own ideas,
Jacob,” Leah said. “Susie supports the kitchen. I wish you did, too.”

“I can only do so
much and helping those vets down at the river is not on my agenda right now,”
Jacob said. “There are a lot more pressing matters with the church right now.”

“Such as?” Leah
asked.

“I’ll talk to you
about those things later,” Jacob said. “But now I have to get back to writing
Sunday’s sermon.”

He turned and walked
back through the same door he entered. Susie and Leah looked at one another,
and Leah shrugged.

“I know it seems as
if he doesn’t care,” Leah said. “But he really does. He has a lot of pressure
on him right now. The Board hasn’t been giving him an easy time of it.”

“I’m sure you’re
right,” Susie said. “Jacob has done a great job with the church ever since Big
Jim died. There have been lots of positive changes.”

“They just haven’t
happened as quickly as he’d like,” Leah said. “I still like the idea of the
barn though.”

“Why don’t you work
on the funding aspect before you go to Geraldine?”

“You’re right. I need
to show them that I know what I’m doing. If Jacob thinks it’s a stupid idea,
Geraldine will bury it. But if he sees I’m prepared, he might be able to
convince her.”

Dean settled on his
bed at the motel before he called Joe Moran.

“They don’t have a
clue,” Dean said when Joe came on the line. “They told Jacob’s fiancé that I’d
died. Everybody else in town thinks I raped a girl, and that’s why I left.
Small towns suck.”

“Cities do, too. Did
you tell them anything about why you just showed up?” Joe asked.

“I never got the
chance. They were too busy telling me to get the hell off church property.”

“Are you going to
tell them before the meeting on Monday?”

“Probably not. Might
as well let you do that since Big Jim paid you the big bucks.”

“Thanks a lot,” Joe
said. “I didn’t know what I’d gotten myself into when Jim Davis walked into my
office and asked me to draw up a new will. I should have given him my partner’s
number.”

“For some reason, my
dad trusted you to do the job. Did you contact Harlan?”

“Your dad’s attorney
in Victory wasn’t all that pleased to hear from me, but when he learned I was
the lawyer who drafted the new will, he decided to cooperate. We’ll hold the
reading of the will at his offices.”

“I’ll see you
Monday,” Dean said. “Should be an interesting meeting. You might want to wear a
bullet-proof vest.”

Dean hung up the
phone and lay back on the bed with his arms folded behind his head. Returning
to Victory where he’d been raised was the last place on earth he wanted to be,
but it was time to take care of unfinished business. Besides, his daddy wanted
him to come back all along and make things right before he died. Now it was too
late for that, but he could help fulfill Big Jim’s final wishes.

Geraldine is a
coward, he thought as he gazed at the water stains above him. He never realized
it until today when he’d seen the way she refused to come close to him and
allowed Jacob to be her shield.

“And to think I gave
her so much power when I was a kid,” he said aloud.

He smiled, but
quickly grimaced when he thought of Leah. He knew from looking in her eyes that
she was a good person. He’d love to know how she got hooked up with Geraldine.
With the closing of her kitchen, Leah might realize a few things, but it would
be difficult to stand by and watch her dreams die. He shut his eyes. She
appeared in front of him, and he felt her lips on his. His arousal was so
immediate and fierce, he jumped up from the bed and headed into the shower. Why
the hell did this woman make him feel things he’d buried for so long? As the
water rushed over him, he vowed that no one, even someone as beautiful as Leah,
would get in the way of the business he’d come back to settle.

He couldn’t lie on
the bed in this motel thinking about her. He decided to take his chances on
heading back to the Victory Tavern for one of Reggie’s self-proclaimed famous
burgers with fried onion rings on top. Reggie was going to get a lot of
business from him over the next few days. If Sally Jean was there, he’d sit at
the other end of the bar and ignore the daggers she might throw his way. She’d
made herself vulnerable to him, and most folks hated it when that happened.
It’s why he kept others at a distance. No one would ever see his weak side.

When he entered the
dimly lit tavern, he scanned the stools and saw that Sally Jean was nowhere in
sight. Reggie was still behind the bar. Dean sat down a couple of stools away
from a woman who looked vaguely familiar. Reggie was leaning over the bar talking
to her.

“If it isn’t the
prodigal son come home for the slaughter,” the woman said. “Hello, Dean. It’s
been a long time. I’m Susie Williams.”

“Susie. I didn’t
recognize you all grown up. I think you were in braces when I left town, but
I’d recognize that red hair anywhere. You and your sister Lisa always were the
best looking redheads in town.”

“I don’t know about
that, but yep, I’m all grown up and still drooling over this guy.” She pointed
to Reggie who grinned at Susie before looking at Dean.

“You’re back,” Reggie
said. “Must be Sally Jean couldn’t hold your attention like those South Beach
beauties.”

“I got hungry for one
of those burgers you were bragging about.”

“You bet. Beer?”

“Sounds good.”

Dean moved a couple
of stools closer to Susie. “So how long you two been together?”

“Almost five years,”
Susie said. “Since I graduated from high school and convinced him I wasn’t jail
bait any longer.”

“And you’re not
married yet?” Dean asked.

“No, Reggie wants to
make sure the bar and dry cleaners are going to support us first.”

Reggie set the beer
down in front of Dean.

“Reggie, you bought
the dry cleaners, too?” Dean asked.

“Last year. I figured
someone better be paying my gal a decent wage. Susie manages it and keeps the
books for both businesses.”

“You better make her
an honest woman, then. She knows too much to let her go.”

“One of these days, I
might just do that,” Reggie said. “But right now, I’m going to personally make
that burger for my favorite tattoo artist.”

“That’s good; I’m
real happy for you, man.” Dean raised his glass toward Reggie. “I’m glad you
kept the grill going after you bought it. My folks used to bring us here once a
week for the burgers when I was growing up.”

“Not only that, but Bessie
comes in a couple times a week to make her famous meatloaf,” Susie said.
“Remember Bessie the cook at the old tavern?”

“Sure do. She’s the
best. I’ll have meatloaf next time,” Dean said. “Where’s your sister these
days?”

“Lisa moved to New
York after high school. She’s an actress.”

“I remember her in
Our
Town
. She was a perfect Emily. She’s getting jobs?”

“I think she mostly
waits tables near Broadway, but she goes on auditions. She’s determined.”

“That’s good,” Dean
said. “I hope she makes it.”

“How long you here in
town?” Susie asked. “I hear you didn’t get such a warm welcome from your
family.”

“How’d you hear that
so fast? I know news travels fast in a small town, but that’s quick.”

“I’m friends with
Leah—Jacob’s fiancé. She stopped by the dry cleaners and told me about it.”

“Leah. Yes, I met her.
I can’t figure out what a sweet girl like her sees in my brother.”

“They told her you’d
died, and she was upset about it,” Susie said.

“I guess she couldn’t
believe they lied.”

“Leah takes everyone
at face value,” Susie said. “She’s the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

“Then why in the hell
is she marrying Jacob? He’s a jerk.”

“You and Jacob always
were like oil and water,” Reggie said, as he returned from the kitchen with
Dean’s burger. “I never understood how two brothers could hate one another so
much.”

“You didn’t have
Geraldine as a mother, and you don’t choose your family,” Dean said. “Sometimes
even siblings don’t mix well together.”

“Jacob’s not as bad
as you think, and Leah’s a good person,” Susie said. “But right now she’s
really upset about the closing of Soup’s On. She wants to help those vets down
by the river, but the church seems to have other ideas.”

“What’s in it for
her?” Dean asked as he sipped his beer. “Most folks have an angle.”

“Not Leah,” Susie
said. “Her mom died a few years back. Heroin addict with a heart of gold, but
it left Leah on the streets of Tampa. That’s where Geraldine found her and
brought her back here. Ever since, Leah’s been trying to find a way to give
back.”

“Does she know what
she’s going to do now?” Reggie asked. “Those folks depend on her.”

“I suggested she
change the location and get some local funding,” Susie said. “I told her to ask
Geraldine if she could use that old barn on the edge of the property that backs
down toward the river.”

Dean whistled as
Reggie went down to refill the mugs of two men sitting at the other end of the
bar. Dean wondered what Geraldine would say to that. He’d love to hear her
answer. Monday was going to be even more interesting than he thought.

“Geraldine might say
no,” Dean said.

“If she does, then
we’ll find someplace else,” Susie said. “I’m going to help her figure it out.”

“You’re a good
friend,” Dean said. “I’m glad you and Reggie are together.”

“Reggie told me you
and Sally Jean might be back together. Is it true?”

“That’s past history,”
Dean said. “We’ve both moved on.”