A Season of Angels Page 0,18

something to do with finding Monica a husband?"

Goodness nodded energetically. "I found the most suitable young man who has a wonderful heart for God. He directs the choir and he's half in love with her already."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Monica isn't the least bit excited about him. She has this dangerous attraction for that . . . that private eye. They're completely incompatible. Why, a union between the two of them will never do, and I fear I'm the one responsible for them meeting."

Mercy frowned. "Goodness, when will you ever learn?"

"Me!" Flustered, she wrung her hands and eyed her fellow angel. "You don't think I know that was you riding up and down the escalator just now?"

"You couldn't have known that was me."

"Let's just say I made an educated guess," Goodness said confidently. "A woman's being treated with smelling salts and two kids are telling everyone what they saw, and it sounds to me as if they were describing you. Who else do you know with long, blond hair, deep blue eyes, and magnificent wings? You know better than most that children's spiritual eyes have yet to close. You were taking a terrible chance."

"Ah . . ."

"Just as I thought. Mercy, what are you going to do if Gabriel hears about this? You know he will eventually. Why, he could pull you off of this assignment in nothing flat and with good reason."

"But he won't," Mercy said with utter confidence.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he'd never have assigned me to this prayer request if he had anyone else to send. We both know that."

"But he might never give you another assignment if you continue to do crazy stunts like that."

"Sure he will. Gabriel has a soft spot in his heart for the three of us. I venture to say we're his favorites, although he'd never let us know that."

Goodness stared at her with round, disbelieving eyes.

"He'll forgive me just about anything," Mercy continued, undaunted, "because I'm going to find a way to teach Leah what she must learn and as soon as she does, she'll become pregnant."

"Mercy, have you been sniffing the eggnog again?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"But you've got the most difficult assignment by far. How can you be so confident Leah's ever going to learn what she must when so many others have failed?"

"Simple," Mercy said with a cocky tilt to her head, "I'm going to teach her. Now stop worrying about me. Let's concentrate on what's happening with you and Monica Fischer."

Goodness adjusted her wings around the troublesome light fixture. "I hate to admit it, but I'm worried. She really likes this Chet fellow."

"Chet who?"

"Chet Costello. He's a private investigator and from what I've managed to learn of him . . . let me just say this, Gabriel would need to assign a legion of angels to work with him."

"You're sure Monica's infatuated with him?"

Goodness nodded. "I read her journal this morning and it was full of all the things she felt while he kissed her. She said she never knew that kissing could be this good or that a woman felt those kinds of things when a man touched her."

"Oh, my." Mercy waved her hand in front of her heated face.

"And that's not the half of it."

"You mean there's more?"

"She wrote that she felt herself responding to him even when she promised herself she wouldn't and how disappointed she was when he stopped."

"Do you think Michael knows about Chet?"

"No one knows, not even her father. She raced home afterwards and went directly to her room where she wrote everything down. When her father came to ask if she wanted dinner, Monica claimed she wasn't hungry."

"Kissing is better than food?" This was a whole new thought to Mercy.

"Apparently so."

Goodness wrung her hands once more, then blurted out, "Say something. Anything. I need help."

Mercy slowly shook her head back and forth. "You've got trouble."

"I know that, otherwise I wouldn't be here. What do you suggest?"

Mercy thought long and hard. "We both need to talk to Shirley. She's much better at deciphering these matters than we are."

"Let's meet at Reverend Fischer's church at midnight in the choir loft," Goodness suggested as she elegantly slid off the dangling fixture. "I'll see you then."

Mercy nodded.

Goodness fully intended to leave the shopping mall right then and return to Monica, who was sitting in the church office typing up the bulletin for the Sunday morning worship service. But when she shot past a video store, she skidded to a stop. Mercy seemed confident that Gabriel