Touched by Angels (Angels Everywhere #3)(9)
“Joshua is Jewish, isn’t he?”
“Yes, but that has nothing to do with the issues here. Goodness, listen to me. You’re stirring up a hornets’ nest if you continue in this vein. I absolutely forbid it, do you understand?”
“Yes, but—”
“There’re no buts about it.” Gabriel’s brow was knit with a thick frown. He opened his mouth and Goodness was convinced he was about to argue further with her when a breathless but elated Shirley arrived.
“I found Brynn Cassidy,” the other angel announced gleefully. “She’s with Suzie Chang, one of the girls from her class.”
“We’re discussing something important here,” Goodness said. She refused to let Shirley interrupt her now. Not when she was about to make an important point. She glared at the archangel. “Didn’t you notice Joshua and Hannah together? It’s as plain as the wings on your back that they’re right for each other.” Anyone with eyes would recognize how lonely Joshua was. Success wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It seemed to her that he’d come to this realization himself recently. As far as Goodness could tell, Hannah Morganstern complemented his life, and she wasn’t about to let Gabriel tell her otherwise.
“What I’m saying,” Gabriel insisted, “is that you must leave well enough alone. You think I didn’t notice the way you manipulated Hannah and Joshua? I’m not blind. You practically steered her right into him.”
Goodness released a pent-up sigh. Dealing with Gabriel often required persistence. “I realize you find this difficult to believe, but I’m something of an expert in matters involving the heart. Remember last year?”
“I’m not likely to forget it,” the archangel muttered. “I was nearly sent back to singing with the choir because of you three.”
Goodness ignored his comment, which she was sure was a gross exaggeration.
“Promise me you’ll keep your hands off of Hannah and Joshua,” Gabriel warned, “otherwise I’ll have you restringing harps for the rest of your days.”
The threat was an empty one, and Goodness knew it.
“Did anyone hear me?” Shirley asked excitedly. “I actually located Brynn Cassidy. Don’t you realize what a miracle that was in this crowd?”
“I heard you,” Gabriel told her with a sour look. “Miracle or not, you won’t be working with Brynn Cassidy. The schoolteacher needs far more help than you can offer. You can’t work with Brynn and those kids from the high school. I have another assignment waiting for you,” Gabriel insisted with a hard edge to his voice.
“But—”
“It’s a take-it-or-leave-it situation.”
Goodness feared that Shirley was about to blow it. She was relieved when the other angel snapped her mouth closed. At times, Shirley could be downright argumentative. If Shirley made the mistake of debating this Brynn Cassidy issue, the archangel just might pull all three of them out of New York City. Goodness didn’t want that to happen just when matters were beginning to look promising.
Without being obvious, she scanned the dispersing crowds, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hannah and Joshua. She found them strolling through Central Park, deep in conversation. The two were oblivious of everything around them. They made a striking couple, she mused, immeasurably pleased with herself. Archangels might be high-and-mighty creatures, but they knew little of dealing with humans and love. When it came to affairs of the heart, Goodness was far more knowledgeable than Gabriel. The problem, and admittedly it was a big one, was convincing him of that.
Joshua wasn’t sure what had happened to him. He’d suggested this walk in the park with Hannah for purely selfish reasons. The Thanksgiving Day parade had been enjoyable, but it hadn’t been nearly as much fun until Hannah had joined him.
He remembered her with a clarity that surprised him. She was the daughter of the deli owner. When he’d claimed her father made the best pastrami in town, he hadn’t been exaggerating. Over the last few years he’d visited the deli a number of times, but generally he had his lunch delivered. Hannah might well have been to his office.
Hannah was a delicate creature, beautiful in ways that struck a man’s soul. She wasn’t like the crisp, business professionals he knew and worked with on a daily basis. She inspired him with her gentle goodness. Although he’d never met the man she was with—Carl, if he remembered his name correctly—already he found he didn’t much like him. If Joshua had become separated from Hannah in a crowd, it would have taken a lot more than a little congestion for him to stop searching for her. Hannah hadn’t said a lot, but it was obvious Carl didn’t enjoy parades.
Joshua had taken Hannah’s hand while strolling through the park. The snow had long since stopped, but the afternoon remained crisp and cold. A perfect winter day.
The moment their hands linked, Joshua experienced a faint stirring of emotion. Faint stirring, nothing, he mused with a bleak smile. It felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach with a pipe iron.
He wondered if this was the woman he’d been searching for all these months. He certainly hadn’t expected her to be the daughter of a deli owner. It didn’t matter, he decided. Who was he to question fate? They’d met, and being with her, laughing, joking, talking, had felt instinctively right. Never had he been more comfortable with anyone.