Rescuing Vanessa (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance) by Christina Li Read Free Book Online

so she didn’t see much of him either.
    Mr. and Mrs. Givens were both also talking to people. When she had an opening, Vanessa suddenly felt shy, so she missed the opportunity. Later she wanted to kick herself about it. After the kindness Mrs. Givens had shown her at the Coffee House, how could she think it would be different at church?  
    All in all, Vanessa decided coming home was a good place for s tarting over. Pastor Flowers had offered to check around for job openings. For the first time in months, Vanessa felt as if there might be hope for her future. She may never deserve a family of her own, but at least she could be happy here.
     
    ***
     
    Vanessa didn’t see Daniel much that coming week. It seemed he had one meeting after another. Even those couple of meals he was able to join, he seemed distracted and ate on the run.
    She spent the week fruitlessly job hunting. For every job she found onli ne either she wasn’t qualified, or after reading the description she realized she would hate it. She knew she couldn’t be too picky, but it had to get better than that. Finally, she found a couple of jobs that sounded promising. Unfortunately, when she went in for interviews, they had already been filled.
    On Wednesday , Vanessa put her purple outfit back on to see how much she needed to take in on the sides of the skirt. Feeling the silkiness of the fabric, her spirits immediately rose. Maybe she didn’t have a job, but she sure cleaned up good. Mrs. Carmel’s gift was a beautiful feathered headband. Vanessa felt like she was wearing a crown. For once, her hair cooperated and fell in long soft curls onto her shoulders and down her back.
    The only thing that was wrong with her outfit was the fact that her boxes from California still hadn’t arrived. She hoped they weren’t lost. It shouldn’t take this long. Unfortunately, that box held most of her good shoes. The ones she had now weren’t quite ‘right’.
    “G randma, what if my boxes aren’t here by Friday? I can’t afford shoes.”
    “You wear a size 8 right?” her grandma asked. At Vanessa’s nod, she said, “I have an idea. I’ll just call around and ask some of our church ladies if they have any shoes that would work. We can send a picture of your dress on your cell and see what response we get.”
    “I am so embarrassed. What will the church ladies think of me? Would anyone want to share their shoes?”
    “You are family and these people care about one another. When a person is in need, we help. Now, stand still as I take a picture of you.” With a quick click, Mrs. Bennett took a picture with her cell and sent out a text to several of her church friends.
    Within moments, three texts came back.
    “What a l ovely dress! Sorry, but none of my shoes match, but I’ll ask around.”
    “Your granddaughter is so beautiful. I’ll check my closet.”
    “Would black work?”
    Finally, Mrs. Givens from the Coffee House texted. “I think Violet is a size 8. I forwarded your text to her. I hope she’ll get back to me soon.”
    Later, Violet, Mrs. Givens’ daughter-in-law, texted that she was indeed a size 8 and had some shoes that color. She even offered to bring them with her that night to church. Vanessa marveled at everyone’s kindness. She had never even met Violet, but the woman was willing to share her shoes! Vanessa determined to figure out some way to thank her. Perhaps a painting?
    With that crisis over, now she could concentrate on being nervous for Friday evening.
     

Chapter 7
     
    Denny was tired of waiting. It was Wednesday evening and Vanessa and her grandparents finally left the house. Finding her had been tricky because she lived with her grandparents in one of those townhouses that were all similar in design and color.
    E arlier that week, he parked his car in a lot next to the mail boxes and went for a walk. Pretending to live in the area, he had done a lot of walking in the last couple of days. He congratulated himself on his