Desire of the Heart

CHAPTER ONE

Sierra’s world was shaken.

The unforeseen encounter triggered her to question everything she accepted as truth. The instantaneous tremble in her hand, the sensation of her heart melting within her body, and the fact that she could hardly breathe at the mere sight of Grayson caused her to rethink the notion of love at first sight.

Frozen at the threshold of the back door to the little country church she had grown up in, Sierra’s life flashed before her eyes. Could this also be the threshold of the next chapter in her life? Could this be the answer to the prayers she was beginning to think God chose to ignore?

The rusty chairs arranged in a semi-circle around the old wooden podium in the center of the fellowship hall sparked a memory of childhood, a time Sierra often wished she could return to, a time before insecurity and distrust had become a part of her very being.

‘Sierra, I want you to meet Grayson Raines, our new Associate Pastor,’ said her mother, who was standing with him on the other side of the outdated, green and mustard yellow colored counter top separating the church’s tiny kitchen from the fellowship hall with an antique piano in the corner where it had sat for over one-hundred years.

As she attempted to respond, Sierra’s heart pounded uncontrollably. She became light headed. She could barely grip the glass in her hand. ‘My goodness, what is happening to me,’ she thought to herself as she rushed outside to regain her composure. At that moment she was glad that she parked her new little grey car near the back entrance of the church. She stumbled over to her car, put her glass on the hood, and took a few deep breaths.

She wasn’t sure why, but Sierra knew that her life would never be the same again. She could not think straight enough to remember Grayson’s last name, but she felt with every inch of her being that he was the man she would marry.

‘But God, I am so unworthy of such a gift,’ she said to herself. The same insecurity that has caused her to doubt God on so many occasions before this one crept into her thoughts – but only for a second. She knew she had to go back through that fellowship hall door again. She knew he would be standing there - waiting. ‘Lord, carry me and speak through me right now because I can’t walk on my own, and I am speechless,’ Sierra prayed as she walked toward the rusty door. As she reached out for the handle, the door opened from the other side. ‘Are you alright?’ exclaimed Grayson as he reached out and touched her shoulder. The moment his hand made contact, Sierra felt a shock, like an electrified chill. It started from the top of her head, shot through her entire body, and exited through her feet. She felt weak, as if she were going to faint.

‘Here, let me help you,’ Grayson uttered as he took the glass and papers out of Sierra’s hands. He sat them down on the cracked kitchen counter and grabbed one of the chairs from the semi-circle for Sierra to sit down in.

‘No, no really – I am fine,’ exclaimed Sierra. ‘I don’t want to sit down. I just needed to get some air, that’s all.’ She hated being the center of attention, yet she loved it at the same time. The feelings she was experiencing were new and quite overwhelming. What about PJ? How could she have these feelings for a man she knew for only five minutes when she had tossed the idea of love back and forth for nearly two years over PJ?

It was as if there was some sort of invisible force drawing her to Grayson. ‘Um, what did you say your last name was again?’ Sierra said quietly while nervously attempting to make eye contact with Grayson. ‘Raines,’ he responded with a deep, strong, voice that resonated throughout Sierra’s entire being. ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Sierra managed to voice as she made a visual scan of Grayson from bottom to top. His burgundy dress shoes were shined to perfection.

Tomorrow would make one week since her honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, so she noticed such things. His khaki dress pants were perfectly fitted to his masculine frame. ‘He must work out a lot,’ Sierra thought as she noticed the tight, jutting muscles of his thighs beneath the fabric of his slacks. Moving her focus to his beltline, Sierra realized Grayson’s waist was equally as tight, and his abs defined beneath his white dress shirt that was tucked neatly into his slacks and held in place with a gold buckled belt that matched his shoes. An emerald green, paisley tie hung from his neck between his broad shoulders and lay against his man-of-steel chest. Breathless, Sierra moved her glance upward to Grayson’s face. As she quickly beheld his thin lips, his prominent nose, and clean-shaven jawline, her gaze became more focused. She fixed her interest on his crystal blue, hypnotizing eyes. Was it her imagination, or did Grayson feel the same mesmerizing chill upon his glance into her eyes? Just as she pulled away from the magnetized stare to notice his curly, dark hair, someone walked around the corner of the room by the old piano.

‘Sierra will be bringing our special music in this morning’s service,’ Pastor Will Allen bellowed upon entering the fellowship hall on his way to the sanctuary and pulling on his suit coat. ‘I see the two of you have already met. That relieves me of the responsibility of introducing you.’ ‘Finish up your planning, the service will begin in about ten minutes,’ Pastor Allen said cheerfully as he rushed out the rusty door.

With a chuckle, Grayson broke the ice. ‘Are you ready to sing? What song have you chosen? Let’s look at the plans we have made for the service and see where it would best fit,’ he suggested as he snapped back into reality. Flowing Creek was a traditional church. Services were still conducted much the same way they had been at the time of the church’s foundation.

Hymn number 78, Rescue the Perishing, was first on the agenda, followed by the opening prayer that would be brought by Brother Bill Younger. Greetings and welcome handshakes would be orchestrated by the instrumentalist’s version of We are One in the Bond of Love. Tithes and offerings would follow as the ushers made their way to the front at the end of the instrumental ensemble. Prayer would then precede two more hymns to be chosen by the congregation. The choir members would then take their seats, and Sierra would be introduced by Pastor Allen as the one bringing special music before the message was delivered.

‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ responded Sierra as Grayson looked to her for approval. Gathering his papers, Grayson made a suggestion. ‘Okay then, that’s a plan, let me grab my sports coat and I will walk you to the sanctuary. Come this way, we will go in through the back entrance.’

‘I am so nervous,’ exclaimed Sierra. She wasn’t sure if she was more nervous about singing in front of the whole congregation for the first time in years, or by the chance encounter that had rocked her entire world in the past thirty minutes, but her body trembled with a healthy fear that she had never experienced before that day. ‘Sure, that’s fine, you lead the way,’ she said while she thought to herself, ‘will he be the one to lead the way for the rest of my life?’

Because Grayson and Sierra were both on the agenda for the morning service, Pastor Allen directed them to the front pew where they were to sit as not to be a disturbance while making their way to the platform at the appropriate times. Sierra felt anxiously awkward, yet excited. She watched as Grayson got up and went forward to help Pastor Allen with a microphone cord that had become tangled under the platform. She had taken a good look at his features from the front in the fellowship hall, but now his back side was on display, and it was a pretty picture. When he leaned down to loosen the cord, his sports coat tightened up around his upper body.