Boundless Love (A Limitless Love Series.): (Christian Romance)

CHAPTER 14

Driving through the dark chilly desert night, Ryan thought back to a day well spent shopping and cooking with a woman who was hard to comprehend. He saw the way she looked at him, the way her body stiffened every time he got close to her, the way she kissed him. She was as attracted to him as he was her. But something held her back.

He had never met anyone who wielded such passion and restraint all in the same measure. Her faith definitely played a big part in keeping her in check but he wondered if it wasn't more of an obstacle.

A surprising pang of guilt constricted in his heart as the careless thought left his mind. If Halima gave in to the temptations of giving herself to him, what would make her different from all the other women he had been with?

He had so long searched for a worthy partner and something in his gut told him that Halima was the one. Also, if it was true that her God had sent her here, might He have had a hand in bringing him here as well, almost at the same time? What was the policy for believers and non-believers engaging in relationships? There was a reason she held back and he would do everything in his power to understand the reason, maybe then he would give a rational argument against such unrealistic beliefs and win his woman over. After all, God brought them together He would certainly let her bend some rules, this was His idea after all!

With new determination, he drove into the hospital parking lot and pranced to the office where he found Gwen sitting in his chair.

"Oh, thank goodness you are here." She beamed when he walked in.

"Yeah, what's the problem? Halima said there might be an emergency..." He regarded her scantily clad body and hesitated from moving any closer. "You look like you are dressed for bed," he said bluntly.

"Oh I am, I was getting ready for bed when Dr. Sanjay called, letting me know that the plane will be landing in an hour with the medicine, we need to prepare the patient files and figure out how much dosage each one gets."

"The results came in?" He moved closer.

"Yes, hours ago," she smiled, "but you disappeared before lunch, I have been looking everywhere for you then Joe suggested that you might be with the nurse." The smile turned into a slight scowl.

"Her name is Halima!" He said calmly. "And were it not for her, I wouldn't have come tonight because I am not on call, Dr. Munene is. The hospital's protocols are back in place and we report to their doctors now. I only rushed over here because I thought this is an emergency, Gwen. Besides our camp is full of doctors who have way less to do, unlike me who was...busy!"

"Are you saying that whatever you were doing with her is more important than finally administering a cure to these patients, finally riding them of a disease that has plagued them for weeks?" She threw him a challenging glare knowing she had cornered him.

He stared right back, his expression, displeasure. "I am saying that you interrupted my date!" He moved to Halima's desk ignoring the slight flash of hurt that had crossed her delicate visage. "So what did the results find?" He pulled out his laptop and turned it on.

*******

After a busy morning cleaning and organizing her apartment, Halima was ready to make her promised lunch stop at the hospital. She showered and dressed as the scorching sun demanded. The twenty minutes walk to the hospital left her mind with nothing much to do, her thoughts drifted back to him. Truth be told she hadn't thought of anything else since he left last night.

She knew that what he had suggested, was against what her beliefs allowed. 2 Corinthians 14- 15, "Do not be yoked with unbelievers..."  Rung in her mind on a continuous loop. It was written in plain text that she should run for the hills, but why oh why did she feel so drawn to him? Surely there was nothing wrong with befriending the man. That was certainly harmless. She would keep his friendship, then continue praying, that the Lord would soften his heart.