Redeeming Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

minutes
later, they reemerged. Octavia seemed refreshed from her gospel
workout. The other two in the group followed her. He stood.
    “Landon, this is Kai,” Octavia said, pointing
to the woman with the braids, “and this is Deb.”
    While Deb was the tallest and a looker, her
smile was forced. Kai, on the other hand, had a pretty smile, and
that was where the attraction stopped. “That’s nice of you to sit
through our rehearsal. My husband doesn’t have the same patience.”
Deb paused. “So Landon, what do you do for a living?” She scanned
his wrinkled shirt.
    “He’s in between jobs,” Octavia intervened.
“If you and Cedric hear of any vacancies, pass it on to me.”
    “Well, ladies, it’s getting late. I’ll be
happy to escort you to your cars.” Landon released his killer
smile, but if he didn’t get to a free dental clinic soon, he may
lose a tooth to a loosened filling.
    Kai beamed. “Thank you, Landon.” She dragged
out his name. “One should never turn down security.”
    “Or an iron,” Deb murmured, but Landon heard
it.
    An elderly man in work clothes met them as
they were leaving the sanctuary. Clearly, Landon’s presence had
surprised him. “Hello.” He frowned, then turned to the ladies. “You
sisters truly have the gift of dancing. Let God keep using you. I
didn’t want to stop the music.”
    The unseen conductor, Landon surmised.
    Thank you, Brother Jeffries,” Octavia said,
then turned to him. “Ready?” she asked as if inviting a man to stay
at her home was a normal occurrence. How could she leave the
anointing behind? She was making it easy for him to seduce her, but
something about Octavia made Landon want to be a gentleman, protect
her and see her smile—all this in less than a day of knowing she
existed.
    Landon didn’t understand it as he escorted
Kai and Deb to their vehicles before accompanying Octavia to hers.
Once she was behind the wheel and strapped in, Octavia paused
before starting the ignition. Landon wondered if she was having
second thoughts about inviting him into her home.
    He braced for Octavia to rescind her offer as
he glanced out the window. It was probably for the best. She
didn’t. Instead of playing the radio, she opted to hum the song
she’d danced to numerous times. No doubt, he would hear music in
his sleep, but who cared. He would be in a soft bed.
    About thirty minutes later, Octavia drove
into a neighborhood with overbearing trees. The bright street
lights cast shadows against them. The block was a mixture of
strategically placed apartment buildings between every couple
houses. It worked in the overall landscape.
    Parking in a driveway, she turned off the
ignition and faced him. “Okay, we’re here. Get your things.”
    This woman was too easy, too trusting and too
beautiful. The temptation was too ripe. “I appreciate this,
Octavia, but I hope you don’t pick up strays—” he didn’t like the
sound of that—“I mean, don’t do this all the time,” Landon felt
obligated to mildly scold her as if she was one of his two sisters,
although he might be talking himself out of a soft mattress.
    “I’ll never tell. Besides, what you consider
as strays, in Luke 15, God calls lost sheep.”
    Right, being led away for the slaughter.
Can we forget the Scriptures? Landon clenched his teeth to keep
from asking. After getting his suitcase, he turned around and
scrutinized the building. As a real estate agent, he would have
expected her to live in a classy house or pricey condo. Landon
cleared his throat. Beggars couldn’t be choosy. “Hey, nice
place.”
    “Glad you like it.” Together, they walked the
short path. Stopping at the door, she pressed the bell.
    He frowned. Where were her door keys? Landon
didn’t consider she might have a roommate. An older gentleman
opened the door. She had said her father and step-mother relocated
to Florida, so who was this guy? Landon squinted. The man didn’t
look that old, even with his receding