Page 51 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
Red immediately stiffens and turns to Katelyn. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
“Sorry,” she replies with a sly smile, not looking sorry at all.
“Faith Williams,” the guy calls out pointing directly at her, “come on up here and show us what you’ve got. Katelyn says you’re better than me and I need to hear it for myself.”
I grunt. She is way fucking better than him. I watch anxiety spark in her emerald eyes and visibly notice her start to shake. But since everyone is staring at her, she pastes a fake smile on her face and stands up.
When I get a look at the outfit she’s wearing, my dick comes roaring to life again. The strapless, cream, lace dress fits snug against her perfect breasts then flows loosely to the top of her smooth, slender thighs. A thick, brown belt cinches at the top of her waist just under her tits and glitters with jewels, matching her brown cowgirl boots. Jesus christ, she’s beautiful. The only thing wrong with her outfit is the big, glittery silver cross that hangs far down her chest. I can’t believe she still wears that shit after everything that’s happened. I’m sure that has to do with her father…
Everyone claps, pulling me from my thoughts, and encourages her as she walks up the stage, especially the girls at our table. Kayla and Katelyn whistle so loud with their fingers I swear my eardrums are about to bust.
Faith sits down next to the guy at the piano and waves nervously at everyone, her hand visibly trembling. Again I notice how haunted her eyes seem. What the fuck is going on with her?
“I take it she does not like singing in front of crowds?” Jaxson asks, with a hint of amusement.
“No, not really. But she will be fine once she starts. Although, tonight she seems more off than usual.” Katelyn sends a pointed glare in my direction; obviously thinking this is my fault. Hell, maybe I’m wrong and it is, but she seems worse than when I last saw her.
Kayla breaks the sudden tension, “Well, I can’t wait to hear her, especially if she’s as good as you say.” They all have no idea what they are about to hear.
Smiling nervously, Red leans into the mic. “Well, I am going to kill my cousin after this is done.” Everyone chuckles while Katelyn blows her a kiss. She looks over at the guy beside her. “I am not really sure what to sing.”
“Sing anything you want, sweetheart. Whatever your little heart desires.” His sweetheart remark makes me want to walk up there and punch him in the face.
I watch something pass over her face as she makes her decision. “All right. The song I am going to sing is probably different than what usually gets played here, but it is exactly what my heart is feeling at the moment. There is a story behind it but I will keep it short,” she pauses briefly and clears her throat. “Two years ago I went to Iraq on a mission trip with my church.” My heart stalls in my chest and I feel Sawyer tense next to me. “During my time there I was lucky enough to meet some of the most honorable, brave and courageous men of my life.” Her eyes make brief contact with mine and the emotion shining in her gaze hits me like a punch to the throat. “One of them happened to be an eight-year-old Iraqi boy, who I’m pretty sure loved music as much as me. One evening he came upon me playing my guitar and singing in an open field. He was so in awe over this song that, from that moment on, he met me every night and I taught him how to play it.”
Her smile slips and I watch her swallow thickly. “He was an amazing boy who stole my heart, and he is also a boy who died trying to save my life.” The way those words trail off with a sad whisper has pain ripping through my chest. Collective gasps are heard throughout the bar and I sense Jaxson and Sawyer both look at me, but I don’t acknowledge them. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“So the song I’m going to sing tonight is the song I taught him. It was his favorite… This is for you Aadil.” She leans over to the guy and tells him the song. He nods and does some adjusting of the mic for her. Then her fingers start flowing across the keys as she begins playing the melody of the song I remember them singing.
“Oh my god, I love this song,” Grace whispers, her emotion evident in her voice.
Faith’s voice is something I’ve never forgotten; it’s a voice that once you hear you could never forget. But as soon as the first words fall past her lips, and flow through that mic, nothing could have prepared me for hearing it again. It was completely heart stopping. Another unison of gasps sound across the room as everyone is blown away by the beauty of her voice.
I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Halleluuuuujah
“Holy fuck! She’s incredible,” Evans blurts out in shock, voicing what I already knew.
“I know,” Katelyn responds softly with a proud smile.
“What is she doing here and not off in Hollywood?”
Both Katelyn and I end up answering at the same time: “She doesn’t think she would love it as much if she did it for a living.”
Katelyn’s head snaps to me and we make eye contact. Something briefly flashes in her eyes, I’m not sure what it was but it wasn’t a death look so I’ll take it.
Looking back at Faith, I notice something change in her tone and expression. You can always tell she sings from her heart, but this starts coming from her soul. You could see the exact moment memories of her and the kid started flowing through her mind.
