Whatever Comes Our Way (Everyday Love Book 2) Read online

  Gina raised the lid on the deck box and tossed her gloves inside. She made quick work of cleaning up her other tools while Brynn watered the new plants. She hadn’t even needed to ask. True friendship, right there. Together they went back inside and washed up. Gina glanced at the clock on the microwave and realized she’d worked through lunch.

  “I’m going to make a sandwich real quick. Want anything?” she motioned toward the fridge.

  “Nah, I met Brendan and Josh at Beck’s for brunch. I desperately needed a grilled cinnamon roll.” Brynn’s face showed ecstasy at the memory.

  Gina had to laugh at that. For a skinny chick, Brynn sure loved her food. If Gina so much as smelled the cinnamon rolls that Beck’s sliced in half, buttered, and toasted on the hot grill…she’d gain a pound for every whiff. Maybe two.

  And now she wanted a freaking cinnamon roll.

  Instead, she reached for the tub of spinach and slapped a handful of it on her boring sandwich as if it had double crossed her. Well, if she had to eat healthy she could at least try to make it worthwhile. After adding some light chipotle mayo she’d made the other day, sliced tomato, and a chunk of avocado, it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t a cinnamon roll, but it would satisfy the gnawing hunger from working in the yard all morning. She was almost used to denying herself sugary goodness after several months of making small but meaningful health changes.

  The two friends kicked back in their chairs and spent several minutes bouncing from topic to topic, as they always did when they had time to talk. Very few topics were sacred, and they shared nearly every detail of their lives with one another. No one knew her better than Brynn, and vice versa. There were a few things she still didn’t talk about to anyone, though. Ever.

  “So,” Brynn hesitated, fiddling with the end of her long blonde braid. “Any chance you’d want to come to church with me tomorrow?”

  Gina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Girl, we’ve been over this how many times? Me and Jesus? We get along just fine on our own. I spend time with God like any other believer, just in my own way. I know you love your church, and I’m sure it’s great. But it’s not for me.”

  Brynn held up a hand. “I know, I know. But I’m not going to stop inviting you. We all need the support and fellowship a church body provides. We need to feed our spirits in a community, not just as individuals.”

  Gina stopped Brynn with a gentle squeeze to her hand before she could continue with the same arguments she’d been presenting for the several years they’d been friends.

  “Honey, you have got to let it go. If I feel like going to church at any point in the future, you’ll be the first to know. Okay?”

  Brynn gave her a sad nod of acceptance. She rose to her feet and Gina did the same. They both leaned in for a conciliatory hug.

  “Just know I love ya, girl. Whatever it is that’s holding you back, I’m always, always here for you. Anyway.” Brynn looked toward the door, her face registering regret and her body, discomfort. Gina hated to see her upset, but seriously, they’d already discussed this how many times?

  “I better head out,” Brynn continued. “I just wanted to stop by and see how things were coming along back here and make sure we’re good for all the bridesmaid stuff next week. And I think I found my dress! I wasn’t even really looking yet! Oh! By the way, your yard looks amazing already! I can’t believe you’ve done all that yourself. Text me later?”

  Gina nodded and walked Brynn to the door. She waited until the little SUV was leaving her street before turning the deadbolt.

  With a quick refill of her water bottle, Gina went back outside to her happy place under the shade of a giant old cottonwood tree. The backyard of the little house she’d worked so hard to purchase was her therapy. She’d taken an overgrown field of weeds and 80s lava rock and turned it into a lush outdoor sanctuary of thriving plants and grass, with a block fire pit she’d built herself from an online tutorial.

  A heaviness had settled over her during the exchange with Brynn about church. She wished she could explain things to Brynn, but there was no way she’d ever be able to understand. Brynn had grown up in a sweet little upper-middle class bubble. Her parents loved each other, and her little brother looked up to her and they actually did things together. Their whole family went to church and always had. Brynn’s sole experience with heartbreak was a cheating jerk of a boyfriend when she was 18.

  How could she ever possibly understand what it was like to fend for yourself because your mom was always at work, strung out, or off God only knew where with some loser? How could Brynn begin to understand what it was like to have people only like you for your body or because they thought they could get something from you? Or how easily they rejected you when you no longer met their expectations? Brynn couldn’t know how hard it was to trust people because so many had let you down and left you all alone.

  Gina knew God loved her. Since coming to Christ, she never doubted that Jesus was her savior and the only reason her heart could even feel partially unbroken. She knew the comfort that the Holy Spirit could bring, whispering words of hope and love to an abandoned girl who’d had to grow up entirely too soon.

  It wasn’t God who kept Gina from church. It was people. And in Gina’s experience, more often than not, it was church people who let you down more than anybody.

  Chapter 3

  Jaydon

  A belly laugh rumbled through Jaydon, who was watching the crazy antics of his little nephews and niece running through the yard chasing the puppy they’d gotten for Christmas. His cheeks were sore from the resonant laughter they evoked on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was warmer than usual for this time of year, and the kids were taking full advantage. Uncle Jaydon was enjoying his role fully. It helped to banish the unexplainable funk he’d been feeling all day.

  “Uncle Jay! Uncle Jay! Watch me play tag with the puppy! He really does it!”

  Jaydon watched his five-year old niece motion to the puppy, who stayed completely still except for a panting tongue and waggling stump of a tail. Sophie tiptoed to the pooch, then tagged her with one finger and took off running, her curly pigtails bouncing on either side of her head. Sophie’s squeal filled the air as she peeked over her shoulder to find the puppy racing after her. Her two older brothers were hot on their heels, with little TJ toddling behind trying to keep up.

  Suddenly, with a mischievous grin, little Sophie let the puppy “catch” her. She giggled and started chasing the puppy. The puppy made several switchbacks, unsure who to pursue next. All four were shouting, “Chase me, Maisy! Chase ME!” Instead, the pup dropped to her belly in the grass, panting hard. She continued to watch her children playing the game without her.

  With all the activity, Jaydon could completely identify with the little brindle pit bull puppy. These kids were a riot, but exhausting. That, and like the puppy, Jaydon had a few lasting scars. His younger brother and sister-in-law had adopted Maisy from a pit bull rescue after its owners had botched an unnecessary tail and ear clipping and left her a mangled heap in a bloody rag-filled box beside a dumpster. While he’d never physically gone through that kind of mutilation, his heart had had its own experience getting shredded and sliced until it had been abandoned, left bloody and barely beating in his chest.

  He made clicking noises that brought the sweet pup ambling to him. She sniffed his outstretched fingers, but when she started to lick them he reached down and scratched her neck. Maisy was a pretty little dog, even with her scars. She rolled over to expose her belly for a rub and closed her tiny eyes in delight when Jaydon’s thick fingers scratched the right spots. No doubt about it, this was a perfect Sunday afternoon.

  “I see you’ve got another little lady wrapped around those fat fingers,” Jaydon’s brother, Nate, teased. Jaydon glanced up from his perch on the steps at his younger sibling and father of the four noisemakers.

  “Like you’ve got room to talk,” he retorted with an eyebrow and chin flick, indicating his brother’s rounded waist.


  “I blame Anna,” Nate laughed, rubbing his belly for effect.

  The screen door slammed with a tinny sound. “What are you blaming me for?” came Anna’s reply, her eyes sparkling with love and humor.

  Nate grinned back at her. “All that amazing food you make is the reason for this,” he kept grinning with two pats to his gut.

  “Oh, somehow I’m thinking it’s not the food, but how much you consume, mister.”

  Anna poked his belly button and looked pointedly at the three cookies in his hand.

  Jaydon felt a prick of envy at their exchange. He should have had that kind of harassment in his life. Kelly had never been one for teasing. Maybe that should have been his first clue that things weren’t meant to be. Yet another thing he’d been blind to.

  “Are you staying for dinner?” Anna’s question pulled him back to the conversation.

  “Uh, sure. Anything I can do to help?”

  “Nope. I just put the finishing touches on dessert and stuck it in the fridge, and Nate just put the chicken in the marinade. Thanks for hanging out with the kids so we could sneak in a little lunch and movie date after church.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze.

  “Sure thing. It’s been fun. They’re convinced they’ve taught Maisy to play tag.”

  “Yeah, that’s the new game. I love watching Sophie try to teach Maisy new games. It’s a lot safer than when she was trying to con TJ into doing ‘tricks’.” She lowered her voice into a loud, laughter-laced whisper, “which, by tricks, I mean teaching him to say bad words.”

  Jaydon laughed heartily. Sophie was about the cleverest five-year-old he’d ever known. With two older brothers who’d practiced plenty of mischief at her expense, she delighted in being able to pass along the mostly good-natured tormenting onto her little brother.

  Little TJ was only two and at the mimic stage in his talking skills, making him a prime target for Sophie to whisper rotten little somethings into his ears that would surely come out at a most inopportune time.

  “Hmmm, and just where would little Miss Soph hear such naughty words?” Jaydon teased, raising an eyebrow pointedly at his brother and sister-in-law while drawing out the words.

  Anna’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she directed her own pointed eyebrow at Nate, who looked only mildly guilty.

  “Hey! You know how it is, bro. We pastor’s kids aren’t immune to bad habits. We just know how to keep a lid on them…mostly.” Nate masked his crooked grin behind his iced tea.

  Tyson and Tate tromped, panting, up the steps. “Mom! Can we have some fruit punch?”

  Anna ruffled the red-brown hair on the older boys’ heads and followed them inside. Nate faced forward, eyes on his younger two and the dog.

  “So, Jay, what’s up with you these days? Not that I mind your shaggy face hanging around or anything, but you’re not really prone to chilling with the family like this. Anything going on?”

  Jaydon stretched his long legs down the steps and brushed his palms down his jeans.

  “Can’t a brother just babysit his favorite niece and nephews and stick around for dinner?”

  “Of course, he can. But I know you, dude. You’re always so busy with church stuff that we hardly see you. And ever since service this morning you’ve been acting weird.”

  Jaydon paused to watch the puppy nip at TJ’s diaper. TJ squealed in delight.

  “You ever get a feeling something’s about to change or happen and you’re just not sure what?”

  Nate cocked his head to the side and stared up and to the right, face scrunched. “I guess, yeah, I’ve felt that before. Any ideas what it could be?”

  Jaydon shook his head in thought before answering, “Nope. Dad’s sermon this morning was good. I enjoyed the ministry time, got to talk with a couple of the youth about their plans for spring break and prayed with them. Harrison and Luke wanted me to pray about the Bible study they’ve been holding in the quad during lunch. I guess there’s a new girl who joined them recently and they’ve got another girl encouraging her to come to youth group. Business as usual. I have no idea why I’m feeling like there’s something coming down the pike, but I do.”

  “Must be a heads up from the Holy Spirit. Best to listen well and pay attention so you don’t miss any opportunities.”

  “Wise words, little bro. That’s my plan.”

  The slam of the screen door put an end to their conversation as Anna came back out the door, preceded by her punch-mustached crew. The carousing resumed on the lawn and Anna set a giant plastic tumbler of iced tea next to him on the steps. “You boys ready to fire up the grill?”

  They both gave her a nod and set to the task. Before long, the yard was filled with the smells of grilled chicken and they enjoyed the meal around the large wooden picnic table Nate and Jaydon had built a few summers ago. It had been a fun project, and Jaydon hoped he’d have the chance to build one for a family of his own before too long.

  Jaydon walked into the church Wednesday evening for the mid-week youth service. He’d been the associate pastor under his dad for a few years, but last fall their long-time youth pastor moved away and Jaydon had stepped into the role, reluctantly at first. Now, he wasn’t sure he’d ever want to go back to his old position and release these kids to someone else.

  He opened the notes app on his phone and typed in a few ideas he had for updating things. The youth room was looking a little neglected and dated. As much as Jaydon hated over-used words like “relevant,” sometimes it was apt. The aesthetics of the space should definitely stay current if they wanted to draw kids in. Teens liked new and shiny. It made them feel important, like the church valued their piece of the building.

  He made note to add new games to the room, too. The foosball was ancient and the threadbare pool table needed new felt. Maybe he should look into air hockey and ping pong. Anything to make the kids excited to linger, work together, and do something that didn’t revolve around a screen.

  He was adjusting their small hand-me-down analog sound board and selecting background music when kids began to trickle in. Eventually the chatter prompted him to check the time on his matte black aviator watch. With less than a minute to go, he cranked up the volume on the music to get the kids’ attention.

  The energetic southern rock sounds of Needtobreathe pumped through the room as Jaydon’s gaze flicked from group to group. He surveyed the interactions between the kids and noticed Addison and Luke approaching the door. Harrison walked in sporting a huge grin and holding the hand of a pretty dark-haired girl who looked about sixteen. Something about the girl gave Jaydon pause.

  Several of the boys’ eyes were drawn to her like magnets, and Jaydon observed more than a few interested expressions. The girl wasn’t oblivious to the looks, but neither did they appear to faze her. Jaydon sensed something in his spirit warning him to remain alert. He silently prayed for guidance and discernment, not quite sure how to put his finger on what it was that was he was supposed to be on the lookout for.

  He didn’t discern anything negative about the girl herself, more an overall sense of an unspoken need. When she furtively glanced around the room, Jaydon saw vulnerability in her eyes and stance, though she wore a careful shell to hide it.

  Jaydon faded out the music as the song ended and the kids took their cue to have a seat. He walked to the front of the room and said a few words of welcome before introducing the youth worship band. The time of worship led by these talented teens was always one of Jaydon’s favorite parts of the night.

  Samantha, one of the adult volunteers, made a few announcements and prayed over a quick offering. Minutes later, it was his turn to give the message.

  Knowing how easily bored he’d been as a youth, Jaydon always tried to keep it fairly short and focused on-topic, often leaving time for an open-forum style discussion. They seemed to enjoy the freedom to ask questions and share thoughts on topics of concern to them. He was constantly surprised at the level of depth in some of their thinking and perspectives
on theology. He often enjoyed the discussions better than any other part of the services.

  Tonight, it seemed everyone was more in the mood to get on with the games and socializing, though, so the questions were brief and the forum less filled with the hot-button topics. He hoped that was a good sign.

  He’d been teaching that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. The passage on fleeing sexual immorality was tough to preach on, and it had been a challenge to get the church board to give him the freedom to talk openly with the teens on a subject many felt was best left to parents.

  Jaydon knew all too well that many parents didn’t talk with their kids, though, and most of the teens weren’t comfortable talking to their parents about it, either. The adults had been surprisingly supportive once he’d shared his plans and intentions, so that was good.

  The youth had been responding positively to his words the past month, and the roundtables had been interesting. Especially that first week, Jaydon remembered with an internal chuckle.

  As he’d been preaching, he made sure to look each person in the eye at least once. A few had the curious look of the truly inexperienced. Some had stared at their phones or feet. Many had that shifting-in-their-seats guilty look. He mentally catalogued which ones he’d like to spend time talking one-on-one with in the future.

  Tonight, it was the new girl who’d pulled at Jaydon’s heart. He had seen the vulnerability earlier when she’d first come in. But as he’d looked into her eyes while delivering the message, what he saw there was concerning.

  He’d seen it in the eyes of a few people over the years and it always gripped his heart—the look of someone whose innocence had been damaged.

  Harrison, Luke, and Addison made their way to him after service, the girl trailing slightly behind as if shielded by guardians. He noted the softness in Harrison’s eyes. Their fingers were entwined and he gently pulled her to his side as he shifted his gaze to Jaydon.