Becoming His Awesome Beauty: Volume 2

Books by Sheila Holmes

Wedding Woes Series

A Wedding Disaster… Or Was It?

A Catastrophic Wedding Reception… Or Maybe Not?

Wedding Designed by Email… KiirstiAan's Nightmare?

Non-Fiction

With This Ring: Creative Ways to Give Your Purity Ring to Your Future Spouse

Christmas Romance Plans (How-to) Series

Christmas Romance: 25 Dazzling Days to Romance Your Spouse 'til Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Romance Plan

Awesome Love Series

Becoming His Awesome Beauty: Volume 1

Becoming His Awesome Beauty: Volume 2

Fixing His Broken Ballerina: Volume 1

Fixing His Broken Ballerina: Volume 2

All in a Name Series

Joyful, Joyful

From Grace Abounds Grace (coming Winter 2016)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Books by Sheila Holmes

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

A Word about Fixing His Broken Ballerina

About the Author

"And we know that all things work together

for good to them that love God, to them who

are the called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28, The Bible.

Prologue

Awsty couldn’t believe what the last handful of years had unfolded in her life. It was beyond believable! It was like something out of a storybook.

She even thought occasionally about how she could most concisely put in words what had transpired in her world. It seemed like the beginnings of a really good romance novel.

She’d escaped her horrendous home life to live on the streets several years, almost immediately after graduating high school… barely. While she was spending those depraved years in urban alley ways and under freeway bridges, eating at soup kitchens or out of garbage bins, her druggie mom had died from a heroin overdose. And, Awsty didn’t even know about it when it happened. Nor, would she have cared. The woman hadn’t cared at all about her. She had always known she was to her mother merely an inconvenience. Why would she mourn someone of so little value in her life? A mother-daughter bond? Seriously?!

After spending her days (and nights) cheating, stealing, drugging-up and living in immorality that she’d never have thought she’d have participated in, then witnessing the death of her only real street buddy friend, she’d had enough and ran straight into the religious world of her Grammy. And, that created a whole new nightmare!

Grammy would only let her stay at her apartment if she’d cook, clean, find a job, go to school, and… go to church! Church… the horrible six-letter C word. A boring and horrible place filled to capacity with hypocrites… lots and lots of hypocrites! Every size, shape, and color of total and complete hypocrites! She hated that place… and then she didn’t! Go figure!

It was in that horrid place that something wonderful had happened. A tragically sin-sick goth girl found that God loved her. Really, truly loved her. So great was His Love for her that He sent His Only Son to die, thus paying her sin penalty, so that she didn’t have to. Amazing! Absolutely amazing! And, true! She was free! And clean! And totally righteous in God’s Eyes.

She was ready to live for Christ. But, just as Adam was lonely before Eve, she was lonely for the one that God was preparing for her. Oh, sure. She knew that being single for life was God’s Gift for some, but she had such a yearning for a soul mate with which to share her life. And, she hoped the fact that she wanted it so badly- actually ached to fall in love, get married, and have children- was the Lord’s Indication that He was planning someone wonderful for her. She desperately hoped so!

And, that’s where her story stalled. It just didn’t have an ending yet, but she was hoping that the Lord would bring a godly man into her life that would simply knock her socks off! And, when He did, she hoped that she’d be ready. She wanted to be the godly wife the Lord wanted her to be.

If she were to admit the truth, she was hoping that one of the two men she called her friend at Open Door of Faith would be The One.

There was raven-haired Associate Pastor Greg. Yummy! That dimple in his left cheek looked big enough to swim in when he smiled. She’d just admit it… He was built! Lean at the waist, with arms and shoulders filled with muscle. Gorgeous, just gorgeous!

But, medical resident, Mason, was no slouch! Awsty felt feminine and delicate when standing next to him. She loved having to look up so high into those bluer-than-blue eyes. She had caught herself several times when talking to him, staring into his eyes. Not looking at… staring into! He didn’t have Pastor Greg’s dimple, but his smile was every bit as beautiful. Was beautiful the right word? When describing a man, weren’t words like handsome, masculine, powerful, and strong the ones that were supposed to be used? Well, ok. That’s fine. Because all four of those adjectives fit Mason perfectly.

Unfortunately, or fortunately perhaps, neither of these Christian men had made any romantic overtures to Awsty. She could understand their hesitation. She remembered with total embarrassment what she looked like, and how she acted when she first arrived at Open Door of Faith. Trashy-looking, haughty, tacky, curt, and mouthy. Yep, that about summed her up.

But, since meeting Jesus, she had changed radically. She looked different, acted differently, and truly had a heart for the Lord.

When she attended Sunday school first service that morning, she had no idea what events would take place. Nor, who would be involved. She just never dreamed what happened would happen.

Would it be the beginning of God’s Answer to her prayer for a soul mate? She didn’t know, but she was taking the first steps to find out.

All she knew for sure was that she was sitting in her Sunday school class, holding an unfolded note that asked her what she was doing Saturday night, and asked her to meet him in the church courtyard after class between services.

Chapter 1

After checking her appearance in the mirror of the Sunday school classroom restroom, and dabbing a little perfume on her wrists and neck, Awsty left the room and began the walk down the lengthy Sunday school building hall. If anyone had asked her, she would have denied it, but in her mind at that moment she was hearing the romantic song that opened the movie, While You Were Sleeping. Its words played through her mind. So, as she walked down the long empty hall to the exit doors that would lead her out to whichever of her admiring young men awaited her, she gave way to what was already in her heart and head, and softly began singing the words.

This will be an everlasting love

This will be the one I've waited for

This will be the first time anyone has loved me

I'm so glad you found me in time

And I'm so glad that you've rectified my mind

This will be an everlasting love for me

Loving you is so kind of wonderful

Because you show me just how much you care

You've given me the thrill of a lifetime

And made me believe you've got more thrills to spare, oh…

The hall was empty. All parishioners that had completed their first-hour Sunday school classes had exited the building quickly, and were probably making their way to the worship center, where that day the worship dance team would be dancing before the Lord, ministering to the congregation. In a very few minutes, an onslaught of second-hour Sunday schoolers would invade this hall, dashing to their respective classes. But for now, it was empty and within its confines could be heard the beautiful voice of a young woman softly singing a very romantic love song. Albeit, a secular song, she was singing it with all the reverence her heart could muster.

By the time Awsty had vocally expressed the words of about half the song, and was wearing the look of unabashed love that one might wear when welcoming home one’s sweetheart returning from war, she reached the doors. Her anticipation level was off the charts. She was breathing in short bursts. One of her hands involuntarily flew to her chest. She knew that if she didn’t calm herself down before going outside to him, she’d pass out. Wouldn’t that be something?! A full-body plop right there in the church courtyard. And, with her luck, there would be absolutely nothing about it that would be graceful. Just a great big splat, legs and arms askew. Her beautiful and summery new dress having blown up during the fall, wouldn’t do her the courtesy of coming back down and modestly covering her. It would probably all roll up around her neck, exposing all her undergarments. Oh, that would be a nightmare! Wow, take a breath, girl!

As excited as she was about it, it was really kind of strange to her that she hesitated opening the doors. Somehow the longer she waited, though, the more time she’d have to think that both men were waiting for her to walk through those doors. It was kind of like having symptoms of a disease, but not going to the doctor. As long as the practitioner didn’t pronounce a diagnosis, the ailment wasn’t real. You didn’t have anything wrong with you. But, as soon as the doctor voiced his findings, it was a done deal… official. Once she opened that door, there was no more guessing. She’d know exactly who her admirer and prospective date would be. There would be a finality to it.

But, she couldn’t just stand there in the hall forever. So, with one final deep breath inhaled and slowly blown out, Awsty Truesdale opened the portal, took two or three steps out, turned her head to the left, and there he was. The smile that stretched across her lips was immeasurably broad. Her request of the Lord had been answered. The one she had truly wanted was indeed the one before her.

Awsty. His smile was only rivaled in size by the dimple she so loved in his left cheek.

Greg, she sighed softly, then slowly exhaled.

It may not have been the scene of a great romance movie, where the couple ran in slow motion through the field of flowers until they met and enclosed each other in a passionate embrace. But, it was no less memorable to either of them. They were delighted to be in each other’s presence. The electrical charge between them could have lit the entire city… for a month!

I see you got my note, he said, then took several more steps toward her.

Yes, Mark gave it to Ben, and Ben gave it to me, she responded, as she took the last few remaining steps to stand before him. She held the note up to Greg, almost as though she needed to show him proof that the entirety of what she said was true.

When she raised her hand to reveal the handwritten message, she dropped it on the brick patio between them. Awsty bent down to retrieve it at the exact moment that Greg did. The sound of their heads butting together was only rivaled in intensity by the groan that came from each of their mouths. They’d collided hard… very, very hard!

Greg took fierce hold of Awsty’s arm to keep her from shriveling to the ground. And, through the tear-filled eyes born of immense pain, he compassionately asked if she was ok. Before she could even respond, he pulled her a few steps to one of the charming wrought-iron benches that were scattered within the courtyard, where he gently pulled her down.

Oh… my forehead hurts so bad! By now the tears were streaming unbidden down Awsty’s cheeks. As though her life depended upon it, she held tightly to the offended area. A number of moans passed her lips, before she could bring her hands down.

Greg, whose forehead pain rivaled Awsty’s, took one look at her already bruising skin, brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes, leaned over to her and came very close to kissing her on the wounded lump. Merely three or four inches from contacting her forehead with his lips, he realized that mere instinct had led him to almost making a radical and irreversible error. He’d had no intention of kissing her. It’s not that he’d never thought about it, but during the course of any relationship, this was far too early. Geez, he’d never even had a date with her! Something he had been planning to rectify this morning.

Rather than abruptly pulling back from her, Greg kept his face close to her forehead, where he began a rather convincing performance of a concerned friend examining her bruise. Not that he wasn’t concerned. He felt horrible that he’d just injured the very woman that he had sought out this morning to ask out on a date for Saturday evening.

Pressing his hand to his own right brow, he barely made contact when he realized that not only was the point of impact incredibly sore, but the vision in that eye was blurring. Returning his attention to Awsty, he asked how he could help. But, she was crying so hard that she couldn’t answer him. The only thing she could do was use the hand that was not covering the forehead lump, and reach out to squeeze his free hand, the one that wasn’t covering his own eye.

As they sat there in this pose for several minutes, it was Doris who first saw them as she walked through the courtyard. Spying her two friends together made her smile, until she paid closer attention. Seeing their unnatural postures, she hurried toward them to find out why they huddled together, heads bowed, and holding hands. Almost like they were praying, but different somehow.

Awsty? Greg?… Doris began a question, but wasn’t sure what the question should be. She just knew that this was not a normal occurrence, and she had no idea what to do.

Awsty was the first to raise her head to respond.

Through sniffles, she said, We were standing here talking and I dropped a paper. We both bent down at the exact same time to pick it up, and we bumped heads. Doris, my head is killing me! There’s no way I can stay for second service. I’m feeling a little dizzy. If you could walk home with me, I’d appreciate it so much.

Of course. What about your grandmother? Won’t she wonder where you are after second service? asked Doris. At the very moment she completed her question, they all three saw Mason crossing the courtyard, headed toward the Sunday school building.

Mason! yelled Doris.

When Mason turned his head, his first glance was toward Awsty. She was semi-crumpled on the wrought-iron bench, shoulders shaking, making it easy for him to identify her behavior as that of a person crying. He dashed over to the three of them, but gave all his attention first to Awsty.

What’s wrong? Did something happen? he demanded, as he took hold of her hand, which no longer held Greg’s. He looked up at Pastor Greg, as though he must have been the one to cause distress to this beautiful young woman. It was at this point that Awsty lifted her face to his in an effort to begin an explanation. He could see what was a large, purpling lump protruding from her forehead.

Looking back up to Greg, before Awsty said even her first word, his eyes opened widely as he spied Greg’s eye. The brow was protruding extensively, his eye was beginning to close with puffiness, the color purple was becoming predominant, and he looked to be in excruciating pain. What in the world had just happened?!

I’ll go to your grandmother’s Sunday school class and let her know you’re going home now, Mason said to Awsty. Turning to Doris, he continued. Doris, could you drive her home, please, and stay with her until her grandmother gets there. Turning back to Awsty, he further instructed. And, I’m not sure, but it may be a good idea for you to go to the emergency room to get it checked out. Actually, maybe I should take you there right now."

No… I’m not going to the emergency room. I just need to take a couple of pain pills, and lie down for a while.

Well, ok… for now, anyway.

Before hurrying off, Mason spoke quietly to Doris on the side. Don’t let her fall asleep when you two get to the apartment. I’ll be there as soon as I’m finished giving announcements. I’m still not sure it wouldn’t be the wisest thing to take her to the hospital and let them look her over. And, having completely taken over the planning of each of their activities, minus Greg’s, for the time being Mason hurried off first to the worship center to seek out Grammy and let her know about Awsty’s accident, then headed to the Sunday school building, where he needed to make a few announcements in the college class.

During Mason’s whole assessment and instructions, Pastor Greg had stood with them motionless, frankly glad that someone else was taking charge. His vision was