Read Online Waiting For Lily Bloom by Jericha Kingston - Free Book Online Page A

careful to avoid the inside of her hand. “Father, thank You for another day. Thank You for givin’ us Joseph’s testimony. Thank You for dreams, and for bringin’ ‘em to pass. I thank You for Lily, Ava, and Elsa. Grant us a good night’s rest. Aid us to love You more tomorrow than we did today. In Jesus’s Name, amen.” He lifted Lily’s fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
    The faint glimmer of the lamplight couldn’t hide the glow on her cheeks, nor the way her lips parted.
    He released her fingers.
    She blinked and placed her hand at her side.
    “Sleep well, girls.” He extinguished the lamp.
    “Yes, sir.”
    The floorboards creaked as Lily walked into the hallway.
    “Hold on.” He passed her, walked into his bedroom, and lit the lamp. “Can’t have ya fallin’. Might damage those prize-fightin’ hands.”
    She pressed her lips together and looked at the floor.
    He leaned forward, cocking his head to the right. “Is that…do I see a smile?”
    She looked up, lips pursed, and shook her head.
    He grinned, rubbing the shiner under his eye. “It’s good to have a fightin’ spirit.” He walked toward her. “I asked the Lord for a wife who had one.”
    Her eyes were liquid pools of gold as he approached.
    “Can we talk a minute?”
    She raised an eyebrow.
    He closed his eyes, rubbing his hand over his hair. “I mean—”
    She nodded, then pointed in sequence to his chest, his mouth, her chest, and her ear.
    “Thank you.” He walked to the bed and sat down, and then patted the spot beside him.
    Her eyes widened. She shook her head.
    He looked heavenward. Sighed. Pointed to his bruised cheekbone. “We both know you can keep me in line.”
    She grimaced and walked to the bed. When she sat, she arranged her skirt and placed her hands in her lap.
    “Lily…” His mouth dried up. “I’m so glad you’re my wife.”
    She folded her hands, nodded, and looked at the lamp light.
    “I prayed five years for you.”
    She snapped her head back to him, eyes wide.
    “I did. I asked the Lord to bring me a wife. He answered my prayer yesterday.”
    She fidgeted with the folds of her skirt.
    “I wish I could say that I’d been trustin’ the Lord to answer. That I’d been expectin’ Him to bring my dream to pass. But I didn’t. I was discouraged. I’d been askin’ for so long, I thought His answer was, ‘No’.” It was difficult to swallow past the knot in his throat. “He answered in a way I didn’t expect. In a way that neither of us expected. That shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.”
    Her head bobbed.
    “It’s all I can do to sit here and not reach out to you.”
    She stilled, her pulse pounding in her neck.
    “But I won’t put my needs above yours. I’ve waited too long for you.” He sank to the floor and knelt at her feet, placing his hands on top of hers.
    Her eyes filled with apprehension.
    “Don’t be afraid. I just wanna ask if we can be friends.”
    The lamplight flickered across her face, touching planes and shadows he wanted to caress. Her hair blazed, eyes shimmering with tears.
    Did he use the right words? Would she understand? He’d given all that was in his heart, laid himself before her. “Please say yes. We can move at your pace. Can we try?”
    Eyes that had glimmered gold moments earlier now flashed green. She pulled her hands away.
    His chest hurt. He closed his eyes and looked down. “I’m sorry. I’d hoped—”
    His face tingled as her trembling fingers caressed his cheeks.
     
     
     
     

7
     
    Lily woke to giggles and whispers. She opened her eyes, blinking at the brightness that saturated the room. Raising an arm to shield her eyes, she spied two golden-heads at the foot of her bed.
    “Good mornin’, Miss Lily,” Elsa tittered.
    Heavenly days! What time was it? Lily sat up. The girls dove onto her bed. She hugged them and mussed their cow-licked hair.
    “M-Mr. Bloom said we had to l-let you sleep.”
    There was more hope of returning