Promising Angela Read Online Free PDF Page A

Beginnings, Ben was fearful of how he would react.

four
    “Amen.”
    Angela added her voice to the others who echoed the close of the final prayer. The naturalness of the act gave her a feeling of warmth and acceptance she wanted to savor. Lifting her face to meet Ben’s gaze, she smiled.
    “I really enjoyed the service, Ben. You were right—this is a great church.”
    Ben’s shoulders lifted in a shrug, shifting his tie. He smoothed it back into place as he said, “The Holy Spirit is here. You can sense it.”
    “Yes, you can.” Angela allowed her gaze to sweep around the room, observing the small groups of chatting congregants. Despite the simplicity of the block building and the essence of grease that lingered in the air, no one seemed in a rush to leave. All appeared at home and comfortable in the makeshift sanctuary.
    And although several people had welcomed her this morning with smiles and handshakes, no one had startled at her name. No one pointed or whispered, as she had feared. She couldn’t deny being relieved about that. Even though Carrie had prompted her to join a church immediately upon her return from rehab, she had hesitated out of worry. If people recognized her, they might steer clear of her based on her past mistakes. The humiliation of her arrest still hung like a chain around her neck. Being reminded of it by people’s reactions added another link to the chain.
    But no one had left her feeling uncomfortable this morning. She felt at ease and eager to be a part of the church family. Turning a slow circle, she sought faces from Sunday school, trying to recall names. She hoped the opportunity for friendship existed among the singles her age. Her drug-abuse counselor had encouraged her to form new friendships with people who were not a part of the “partying” scene. She would be more likely to remain clean if she stayed away from users. Of course she had Carrie, but she didn’t want to rely on Carrie too much. As a newlywed, Carrie needed her time with Rocky. And Angela needed to broaden her horizons.
    “Are you ready to go?” Ben looked down at her, a soft smile in his eyes.
    She liked his Sunday face—contented, open. Sometimes at work she got the feeling he didn’t quite trust her. Her heart raced as she realized how much less he would trust her if he knew about her past. Even though she knew total honesty was important in any relationship, she still hoped he’d never find out. The open friendliness would surely whisk away, and she wasn’t sure how she would handle that.
    They slipped from between the rows of folding chairs that served in place of wooden pews and ambled toward the foyer area, which would have been where the cash register sat when the building served as a restaurant. “I really liked the focus verse from this morning,” Angela commented then frowned, pressing her memory. “What was the reference?” She stopped and consulted the printed program an usher had offered when she’d come in.
    “Ephesians 1:4,” Ben said. A grin twitched his cheek as he watched her open her Bible and search for Ephesians. “Here.”
    He took the Bible, opened it to the right place, and then handed it back.
    “Thanks.” Angela grimaced. “I guess I need to get some of those little tab things with the names of the books to guide me.”
    “No, don’t do that.” Ben shook his head. “You’ll always use the tabs then and never learn to find them for yourself. Try memorizing the order of the books instead.”
    “Oh, okay. I’ll try that.” Lowering her gaze to the open Bible, she slid her finger to verse four and read aloud. “‘For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.’” With a sigh, she closed the Bible and hugged it to her chest. “I never really thought about His creating us to be holy before Him.”
    Ben smiled. “Well, we are created in His image, after all. Sin messes that up though. That’s why God sent His Son,