Redeeming Heart by Pat Simmons Page B

blinked. Her mouth opened, but the
words were delayed. “Lan–Land…my Landon? Wow.” She scanned him from
head to toe. “You cleaned up.” She blushed.
    “Your Landon.” Landon snickered. “I like
that. Does that mean I get a hug, too?”
    “No,” she teased and smacked his hand. She
hadn’t meant to call him her Landon, as if he belonged to
her. He wasn’t a stray dog she found—he belonged to God. To keep
from staring, she faced Rossi again. “I see you met Minister
Tolliver.”
    Landon seemed surprised and not too pleased
by the revelation. “I didn’t know he was a minister.”
    Rossi slipped his hands in his pockets and
rocked on his heels, then shrugged. “It’s a title. We all have
them.”
    The man was as humble as pie, handsome and
successful—a good combination for husband material, and every woman
seemed to be after her “big brother,” but Octavia knew his heart
belonged to one woman and Rossi had yet to tell her. “So how do you
two know each other?”
    “I had no idea when I stopped by Mac’s Place
that Landon had met my favorite sister.” Rossi chuckled. “Karyn and
her staff treated him to the works at Crowning Glory, so that he
could network today. Now, I see God was watering a seed you had
planted.” He winked.
    Well, Jesus, You sent the right man to
rescue Landon. He was definitely in good hands with Rossi. She
guessed her assignment with Landon was finished, except to stay
prayerful. If Octavia could read Rossi’s mind, he was probably
thinking like her that God had Landon on some type of course, and
she and Rossi were being used as relay runners to get Landon to the
next destination.
    “I know that Scripture,” Landon said as if in
a warning tone.
    That was a good sign. She was attracted to
men who liked to read and one who read his Bible got her attention.
Before Octavia could engage him more, Terri was in her peripheral
vision, waving frantically at her. “I better go mingle if I want to
roll with the big dogs this year. Minister Rossi, I’ll see you at
the tent meeting next weekend?”
    “I look forward to being there,” Rossi
nodded.
    Octavia chanced another glance at Landon.
Wow. Clothes may not make the man, but clean and pressed garments
uncovered the hunk before her. Plus, he read his Bible! Her heart
danced. Enough ogling, she chided herself as she met Terri
halfway.
    “Girl, where have you been? I’ve been looking
for you,” Terri scolded in a hushed tone. “There are some contacts
I want you to meet.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Who were you
talking to?”
    Peeping over her shoulder, Octavia was
surprised to see Landon and Rossi watching her. When Rossi waved,
Terri, recognizing him, waved back.
    “Who’s that other good-looking guy?” Terri
asked, elbowing her.
    “Landon.”
    “Who?”
    “The guy that was in the house,” Octavia
reminded her.
    Terri seemed to gasp for air. “You’re kidding
me.” She squinted, then grabbed Octavia’s hand and tugged her in
another direction. “We’ll talk about your charity case later. Right
now, I want to introduce you to some new circles of CEOs,
attorneys…”

Chapter 9
     
     
    A minister, huh? Landon thought the kindred
connection with Rossi was because…Landon didn’t know why. Landon
didn’t know what disappointed him more—Rossi’s status or Octavia
not acknowledging him. Rejection empowered him to come back
swinging with a vengeance, but something told him not to tangle
with Octavia because he would lose, and he wasn’t referring to his
meager possessions, but his heart.
    He had never seen a woman of color with that
blondish shade of brown hair. It had to be natural because it
blended with her skin tone, which made her stunning with little
effort. Although the curls she wore the other day came off as
sassy, today with her hair swept up in a ball, she looked like a
princess. Beautiful didn’t begin to describe her. While she had
been chatting with Rossi, Landon admired her shapely