Free Hearts in Harmony by Gail Sattler

back.
    â€œI knew that you had only been to our church a couple of times, so I find it unusual that Adrian pushed so much for you to be on the worship team without knowing you really well first. It’s not like Adrian to do anything…impulsive.” One eye narrowed slightly as he continued to watch her.
    Celeste felt like a bug under a microscope. She felt as if she was being interviewed, to be sure she was worthy of their friend.
    A knot formed in her stomach. Adrian was solid and stable, the exact opposite of her with her new job, her recent move, her new church and her complete lack of anyone she could call a friend, regardless of what she was trying to do with her life. She wasn’t ready to tell them what she was trying to put behind her. It had been hard enough to tell the pastor, whose job it was to keep sensitive issues confidential.
    The truth was that if she wanted to take advantage of Adrian, she knew all the tricks. If Adrian was as innocent and trusting as his friends indicated, he would be an easy mark—his friends were right to think Adrian needed protection from her. If she wanted to, she could taint him simply by being a bad influence, just as Zac had eventuallytainted her. She wasn’t going to do that to Adrian. One ruined life was enough.
    The words of their pastor, her pastor now, echoed in Celeste’s head. He’d even helped her memorize the reference from Corinthians.
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.
    As of three weeks, two days and seven hours ago, she was a new creation. The old Celeste was gone. The new Celeste was on the worship team, where she would be serving the God who had loved her before she loved Him. Even though it was Friday night, she found she now wanted to do ‘church stuff’ when everyone else was out partying.
    â€œImpulsive or not, I’m really grateful for the opportunity to settle into a nice church so quickly. It’s something I really need to do.”
    Paul blinked, and his smile resumed. “And impulsive or not, we really needed a good pianist. A strong female voice from the front is a definite bonus, too. I’m glad we’ve all come together like this. Now let’s go, before Adrian starts to worry.”

Chapter Five
    A drian struggled not to pace.
    They were late. All of them.
    He could see Randy being late. Maybe Paul. But never Bob.
    He peeked through the blinds, then strode into the kitchen to check the coffee for the tenth time.
    He didn’t know if Celeste was habitually late, or if he should worry about her. What he did know was that she had told him she would try to be early. Not only was she not early, she was late. She hadn’t even phoned, despite the fact that he’d helped her program his number into her new cellular phone.
    Adrian returned to the living room and peeked through the blinds again. Her earlier assurances that the car ran fine once it started did nothing to convince him it was mechanically sound. He’d heard the way it chugged. Fortunately, her e-mail address showed the name of the company where she worked. If he couldn’t reach her via her cell phone, it would be a simple matter to retrace her route with his car.
    He let the slats slip from between his fingers. He didn’t remember praying for patience recently, but if he had, he was receiving a very ironic lesson.
    He walked to the CD player, where he selected some music to pass the time and to occupy his mind while he waited.
    Celeste was getting to him.
    She was different from anyone he’d ever met, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what he found so fascinating about her.
    She appeared ambitious because she’d talked of signing up for night-school classes while working full-time. She’d also mentioned a part-time second job she’d recently quit. She hadn’t told him exactly what it was, only that it involved a partnership that was now dissolved.