Читать книгу Delilah - Shelia M. Goss - Страница 18

Samson hoped he could trust Delilah. He destroyed the disk, but he wondered if she had the recording saved on her camera. If word ever got out about his affair with her, Julia would cancel the wedding, and his parents would be disappointed. He had to do whatever he needed to keep the thing between them private. He loved Julia, and he was still going through with the wedding.

The attraction he had for Delilah was a distraction, but he couldn’t allow it to overshadow his good judgment. Allowing himself a few minutes of pleasure shouldn’t hurt anything. He worked hard in the ministry, and sometimes the stress from being everyone’s confidant became a little too much for him to bear. Even with all the prayer and meditation, he needed an outlet.

Samson knew Delilah wanted him the moment he met her. He encouraged her to open up to him, and when the opportunity presented itself, their counseling sessions overlapped into something more. He could be an imperfect Samson around Delilah. She didn’t expect anything from him—that was one of the things that attracted him to her.

He never expected their secret relationship to get out of hand. For him, it was only an affair, but Delilah allowed her feelings to cross the line. Now he had to figure out a way to pacify her enough so she wouldn’t destroy the relationships he had built up around him.

Samson attempted to justify his actions as he quoted, out loud, a scripture from the third chapter of Romans. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Samson’s phone ringing brought him back to the present. “Son, I need to see you,” Regis said from the other end of Samson’s cell phone.

“I’m driving now, so where do you want me to meet you?” Samson asked.

“Your mother’s gone, so just swing by the house.”

Samson ended the call with his father. His dad normally asked him how he was doing, but today he didn’t waste any time. He wondered if there was something wrong with his health. Samson turned his vehicle around and headed to his parents’ house.

Fifteen minutes later, Samson used his house key and entered his parents’ home. He called out for his dad but got no answer. He located his dad in the den, sitting in a brown leather recliner and engulfed in a movie.

Regis’s body jumped a little when Samson appeared next to him. “Son, you startled me.”

“I called out your name.” Samson took a seat in one of the other brown recliners in the room.

“You know when I’m watching something I tend to tune things out around me. Years from being with your mother.” Regis laughed and so did Samson.

“I can come back another time.”

“Nonsense. I called you over, remember?” Regis located the television remote and muted it.

Samson decided to get straight to the point. “Is everything okay with you? With Mom?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Regis responded. “I called you over here to talk about you.”

Samson, puzzled, said, “I’m doing fine.”

Regis positioned his body so he would be looking directly in Samson’s face. “Some people have been telling me some things, and frankly I don’t like what they are saying.”

Samson fidgeted in his chair. “Like what?”

“Now, I have never been one to judge because the Bible says, ‘Judge not that ye be not judged.’ But from what I can see, Delilah Baker is nothing but bad news.”

“Dad, you know you can’t believe everything people tell you.”

Regis laughed. “Son, I might be old, but I’m not dead. Women like Delilah have been trying to bring down the men of God for generations.”

It was Samson’s turn to laugh. “Come on now. It’s not even that serious. She comes to me for advice. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“If you think I believe that, then you, my son, have a bigger problem than I thought. Do you think you’re the only man who’s been tempted?” Samson didn’t answer. Regis said, “Answer me.”

“Dad, maybe we should talk later.”

Regis ignored him and said, “Do you think it was easy for me to resist temptation when I was a pastor of Peaceful Rest? No, it wasn’t.”

Samson had always known his father to be faithful to his mother. He never heard any rumors of him stepping out on her. Now he wondered if that was the case.

Regis said, “We’ve been blessed to have some good genes. And women around here love men with good hair because in their minds we would make good-looking babies.”

“I’m not trying to have any kids right now, but when I do, it’ll be with Julia.”

“Good intentions can lead to lifelong despair if God is not involved.”

Samson stuck out his chest. “Dad, I got this. Everything is under control.”

“From where I sit, things are about to get out of control. Anytime people are murmuring about something and it gets back to me, there’s an issue.”

“Who is saying these things?” Samson asked.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you be careful. Every day, you have to put on the full armor of God in order to resist temptation that surrounds us.”

Samson thought about what his dad said. “I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t chase women like some of the preachers I know. I’m a pretty stand-up guy.”

“But you’re not perfect. Even I, who’ve been in the ministry since I was twenty-five years old, have fallen short. Don’t ever think you’re above reproach. Every man has an Achilles’ heel, and Satan knows it.”

“Dad, I’ve never known you to step out on Mom. So are you telling me you cheated?”

“I cheated, but not the way you think.”

Samson shook his head from side to side. “I don’t understand.”

“My addiction was alcohol. Being a minister can be stressful, so instead of taking my burdens to the Lord like I preached to my congregation, I turned to the bottle. My love for alcohol almost destroyed my marriage and my ministry. But thank God for His grace and mercy. See, that’s why I can sit here and tell you, son, that without putting on the full armor of God every day, you can’t fight this battle by yourself.”

Samson listened. If his dad could get over drinking alcohol, he surely could resist Delilah. But did he really want to? That’s the question that plagued his mind.