Genesis House Inspirational Romance and Family Drama Boxed Set: 3-in-1 Read online

  Genesis House Inspirational Romance and Family Drama Boxed Set: 3-in-1

  by

  Angela Benson

  EBook Copyright Angela Benson, 2012

  EBook Published by Angela Benson at Smashwords, 2012

  Cover Design by Jimmy Gibbs at www.fiverr.com/jimmygibbs

  Cover Photo © Depositphotos.com/montana

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this Collection

  Awakening Mercy

  Finalist, Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction

  Finalist, RITA Award for Excellence in Romance Fiction

  Will the past ruin their future together?

  CeCe Williams and Nate Richardson were not looking to fall in love. After being deserted by her son's father, CeCe was content making a life for herself and her four-year-old son. Nate, recovering from a recent divorce, devoted his energies to his job as director of Genesis House, a social services center in inner city Atlanta. Neither is prepared for what grows between them when CeCe comes to work at Genesis House, an inner city ministry in Atlanta. Can they let go of the pain of the past and build a life together or will secrets from CeCe's past destroy any hope they have for a future?

  Abiding Hope

  Winner, Emma Award for Favorite Inspirational Romance

  Winner, Romance in Color Reviewers’ Choice Award

  Will their marriage survive their loss?

  Marvin and Shay Taylor lost themselves and their ministry after the death of their six-year-old son. Time and God's grace brought them back to a place of renewal. As they step back into their ministry, Shay also wants to step back into motherhood. But Marvin's fears make him reluctant to share her dream. Can this couple come together to overcome the pain of the past and build the family they've always wanted or will their fears and mistrust destroy their marriage?

  The Amen Sisters

  Winner, Emma Award for Favorite Inspirational Romance

  Essence Bestseller

  Would you believe a friend who told you she was pregnant with your pastor's child? Francine Amen doesn't and it leads to drastic consequences for both her and her friend.

  Francine Amen burned a lot of bridges when she left her home town to join a traveling ministry. When she's forced to return broken and alone, she finds that making amends is not easy. Her sister, Dawn Amen-Ray, is having her own set of problems. With her marriage to Francine's ex is in trouble, she's not ready to deal with Francine's return.

  The Amen Sisters is a compassionate look at the lives that are forever changed when a pastor abuses his power with the women of his congregation.

  About the Author

  Angela Benson is the award winning and bestselling author of fourteen novels, two novellas and a non-fiction writing book. Her most recent print work is Delilah’s Daughters (Avon, 2014). Her next print book, The Summer of Me, will be released by Avon in early 2015. While you’re waiting for Angela’s new title, be sure to check out her backlist recently released in eBook format. Join Angela on the web at http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBensonBooks or http://www.AngelaBenson.com.

  Author Booklist

  Genesis House Inspirational Romance & Family Drama Series

  Awakening Mercy, Book 1, Genesis House Series

  http://www.angelabenson.com/awakeningmercy.html

  “Ms. Benson paints a fine picture of the trials of a couple who must rely on their faith to make a go of a relationship in this 4-1/2 star read. She is just as compelling a writer in Christian romance as she is in contemporary.” —Affaire de Coeur Magazine

  Abiding Hope, Book 2, Genesis House Series

  http://www.angelabenson.com/abidinghope.html

  “Christy Award nominee, Benson, continues the momentum she established in Awakening Mercy as she explores the lives of Shay and Marvin Taylor, the founders of Genesis House. . . Benson is a leading author of African American romances and Christian fiction, and her insight into God’s impact on our lives make her work a requirement for growing collections.” —The Library Journal

  The Amen Sisters, Book 3, Genesis House Series

  http://www.angelabenson.com/theamensisters.html

  " . . . Kudos to Ms. Benson for dealing with one of the last remaining taboo topics in today's church in such a straightforward and compassionate manner. " -Fallen Angel Reviews

  Enduring Love, Book 4 (coming November 2014)

  http://www.angelabenson.com/enduringlove.html

  Book 4 in the Genesis House series features the long-awaited romance of Daniel and Vickie, who were first introduced in Abiding Hope (Book 2)

  Single Title Inspirational Family Drama

  The Summer of Me (coming January 2015)

  http://www.angelabenson.com/summerofme.html

  The nationally bestselling author of Delilah’s Daughters and The Amen Sisters returns with a moving story about a single mother who discovers the woman she can be in one unforgettable summer.

  Delilah’s Daughters

  http://www.angelabenson.com/delilahsdaughters.html

  "...instead of Samson’s secret, it’s Delilah’s that threatens to destroy the spiritual foundation she and her late husband, Rocky, build for their three daughters...Delilah’s Daughters is a captivating story from the beginning to the breathtaking end." 4.5 stars (out of 5 ) — Romantic Times Magazine

  Sins of the Father

  http://www.angelabenson.com/sinsofthefather.html

  “Sins of the Father is a powerful story of revenge, betrayal, and forgiveness. Benson uses three-dimensional characters to prove that regret, shame and hatred can give way to acceptance, forgiveness and love. The storyline will surprise you while the outcome will increase your faith in God. If you love reading about real life issues, this is a book that will keep you glued to the pages.” –Real Page Turners

  Up Pops the Devil

  http://www.angelabenson.com/uppopsthedevil.html

  "Angela Benson writes a commanding and enthralling story on the power of salvation and how temptation works to unravel it. . .Benson’s writing is fluid and demonstrates her ability to incorporate biblical principle in everyday living." – RAWSISTAZ Reviews

  Showers of Blessings, a novella in A Million Blessings

  http://www.angelabenson.com/amillionblessings.html

  Assistant pastor Ronnie has a shameful secret: he's a compulsive gambler. And just when it seems he's run out of luck, he finds salvation in a miraculous win. But nothing can keep Ronnie from recklessly betting his family's future. His only way out is through renewed faith–and a desperate act of redemption.

  Nonfiction

  Telling Your Tale: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction for Print and eBook

  Telling Your Tale Workbook: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction for Print and eBook

  http://www.angelabenson.com/tellingyourtale.html

  “[Benson’s] writing advice is constructive and sincere; writers would be well-advised to follow her advice and practice their craft by completing the exercises in the book.” —WritersWrite.com on Telling The Tale (first edition)

  Sweet Passion Contemporary Romance Series

  Friend and Lover

  http://www.angelabenson.com/friend
andlover.html

  “. . . a sham engagement between two longtime attorney friends leads to the real thing just in time for New Year’s Eve in Angela D. Benson’s funny and engaging ‘Friend and Lover’.” —Library Journal

  The Nicest Guy in America

  http://www.angelabenson.com/thenicestguyinamerica.html

  Angela Benson, a veteran romance writer, has earned her “stars and bars” with this sensational, subtle and sensual battle of the sexes. —Romantic Times Magazine Top Pick! 4.5/5 stars

  The Way Home

  http://www.angelabenson.com/thewayhome.html

  “ . . . with THE WAY HOME, [Angela Benson] emerges as a writer of great depth, sensitivity, and unparalleled talent.” —Romantic Times Magazine Top Pick! 4.5/5 stars

  Bands of Gold (coming August 2014)

  http://www.angelabenson.com/bandsofgold.html

  Christina’s ambition has taken her to the top of her profession, but new employee Jackson makes her wonder if she’s sacrificed too much for her success.

  For All Time (coming September 2014)

  http://www.angelabenson.com/foralltime.html

  "FOR ALL TIME will touch every woman's heart with its pathos and passion as Ms. Benson takes a heartrending look at the stark realities of marriage after the honeymoon is over." – 4 stars –Romantic Times Magazine

  Between the Lines (coming October 2014)

  http://www.angelabenson.com/betweenthelines.html

  "BETWEEN THE LINES is author Angela Benson's latest romantic confection, with the heady flavor of an Amaretto Liqueur and the rich sensuality of smooth, sweet cream!" – 4 stars –Romantic Times Magazine

  Awakening Mercy

  by

  Angela Benson

  First published by Tyndale House Publishers, Heartquest, 2000

  Print Copyright Angela Benson, 2000

  EBook Copyright Angela Benson, 2011

  Cover Design by Jimmy Gibbs at www.fiverr.com/jimmygibbs

  Cover Photo © Depositphotos.com/digiartfoto

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  I'm always grateful to God for the people he places in our lives just at the time that we need them. One such person for me has been my personal Gertrude Brinson. Though she's not the character in the book, the character's care for CeCe is very similar to the care my Mrs. Brinson has shown to me. Over the last twenty-plus years, she's prayed for me and with me, when we were together and when we were apart. She prayed for me and loved me during a time when I couldn't pray for myself and when I found it difficult to believe that God still loved me. This book is for her.

  Prologue

  Alabama, Five Years Ago

  CeCe stood alone on the back porch of the house where she'd grown up. The late November evening was cool, and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to ward off the chill she felt. "It's all going to work out," she murmured to herself. "He'll come around. He loves me, after all. I know he does."

  "CeCe?"

  She turned around at the sound of the masculine voice she'd come to love. A voice whose very timbre caressed her skin like a kiss. It had been a long time since she'd felt the loving caress of his voice. Their last meeting had been anything but loving. He'd told her that he was still in love with his old girlfriend and planned to marry her, and she'd told him that their past relationship was soon to bear fruit. "Eric?"

  "It's me," he said, coming around the house and up the steps. She moved back and sat on their old green glider, hoping he would join her as he often had in the past. He chose, instead, to remain standing. "Have you thought about what we talked about last time?" he asked.

  The strident tone of his voice made her skin crawl. Why was he so distant? Why didn't he hold her? He used to hold her. Why didn't he hold her now, when she so needed to be held? She turned away from him and focused her attention on the bare muscadine vine. Her fondest childhood memories were of sneaking out with her father on warm August nights to pick the first berries of the season. Those had been such good, happy times. Not like tonight. She rubbed her hands on her arms again. I should have worn a sweater, she thought. Instead, she had chosen a light sheath that had been one of Eric's favorites. But what had been the point? He no longer loved her, and he couldn't care less what she wore or how she looked.

  "CeCe," came the strident tone again.

  "I can't do it, Eric. I won't do it."

  He grabbed her by her shoulders and turned her around to face him. The emptiness she saw in his brown eyes confirmed that he had no feelings left for her. There was no trace of love in the dark eyes now condemning her. She wondered if there ever had been. "We have to be mature about this, CeCe." His voice calmed. "Look, we have our whole lives ahead of us. What about your plans to go to law school?"

  She pulled herself away from him. "You mean your plans to get married, don't you?" She and Eric had spent many nights together talking about their future. He'd go to med school at Howard, and she'd join him there for law school next year. When she graduated, they'd get married. But that was before. She knew he and Yolanda were planning to get married at Christmas. Apparently they were so in love they couldn't wait until they graduated.

  "I'm doing the best I can here, CeCe." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his light wool pants and rocked back on the heels of his loafers. "I don't know what you want from me."

  I want you to love me the way you said you did, she thought, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud. She'd given up everything she believed in because of some girlish notion that she and Eric were soul mates, but she wouldn't give up the last vestiges of her pride. "Does Yolanda know?"

  He flinched and she was glad. Bull's-eye!

  "This doesn't concern her."

  CeCe had known he wouldn't tell Yolanda. She didn't think Miss Perfect Yolanda would go for marrying a guy who had gotten some other girl pregnant. "Maybe Yolanda needs to make that decision."

  "This is between you and me, CeCe. Yolanda's not a part of it."

  CeCe heard the fear in his voice, and the sound made her feel more in control of her life than she'd felt since learning she was pregnant. She shook her head and dropped her hands to her side. She was no longer cold. She hadn't wanted it to come to this, but what choice did she have? She was twenty-one years old, pregnant, and a senior in college. What real choice did she have? "I'd say it's between you, me, Yolanda, and our baby."

  His eyes flashed anger, and he moved closer to her. "Leave Yolanda out of this."

  CeCe wondered if he wanted to hurt her as much as she wanted to hurt him. She would have laughed if her tears weren't so close to the surface. Didn't he know there was no way he could hurt her more than he already had?

  "Did you hear me, CeCe? I said to leave Yolanda out of this."

  CeCe looked at him—really looked at him. How she'd loved this man! The dreams she'd had of life with him still burned in her heart, and she guessed the baby inside her guaranteed that the embers would always flicker. But she had more than her feelings for him—or his lack of feelings for her—to consider. She had to think about her unborn child. Placing her hands across her stomach in a protective gesture, she told Eric exactly how things were going to be. "I'm going to have this baby, Eric, whether you want me to or not. If my telling Yolanda is the only way to make you accept your responsibilities, then so be it. I'll do whatever it takes to protect my—no, our child."

  Chapter 1

  Atlanta; The Present

  Cecelia "CeCe" Williams clicked her left mouse button with fervor. She still couldn't believe she had to do one hundred and fifty hours of community service. One hundr
ed and fifty hours! That crazy judge. Why hadn't he just let her pay the fine and be done with it? After all, it was only a few measly parking tickets.

  As she finished running the numbers for her client's monthly audit report, CeCe considered how she could repay the esteemed judge for his Solomon-esque wisdom. She ought to send a letter to the mayor. And the governor. Murderers and drug dealers were getting off scot-free. Embezzlers and swindlers did no time. And here she was, getting one hundred and fifty hours of community service for a few measly parking tickets!

  How many parking tickets, CeCe? came the voice of conscience she sometimes wished she could silence.

  "OK, OK," she muttered aloud. "Maybe it was more than a few."

  "Talking to yourself, CeCe? Now I don't know why you're doing that, when the two of us could be lunching in a quiet booth someplace making plans for our next date."

  CeCe didn't have to turn around to know the words came from Larry Meadows, God's gift to women—or so he thought. "I'm busy, Larry," she said, her eyes fixed on her computer monitor. The Excel spreadsheet displayed before her held more interest than her unexpected and uninvited guest.

  "But you've got to have lunch sometime," Larry said in the exaggerated drawl that he turned on and off at will. "How about having it with me today? We can go to the Ritz."

  CeCe turned to look at the tall, lean, brown-skinned guy standing in the doorway of the cubicle that was her home for at least eight hours of each day. He was handsome, she had to admit. Most of the women in the office considered his aristocratic profile and boyish charm a lethal combination. Too bad they only served to remind her of someone she'd much rather forget. "That's not a good idea, Larry."

  Larry looked over his shoulder as if to see whether anyone else was around. He turned back to her. "Look, CeCe," he said, his voice tight and minus the drawl now, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his tan slacks. "I've apologized a thousand times for that first date. I just got carried away. I promise you I'm not that kind of guy. I really would like to take you out again."