The Calling Read Online Free

would not only have to tell David that she couldn’t marry him, but that she was going to marry someone else. As much as she hoped that Justin would ask her to marry him, she dreaded the time when she would hurt David.
     
     
    Caught between her love for Justin and her reluctance to hurt David, Cate lived a secret life, or so she thought. It wasn’t a secret to her parents, and they lovingly confronted her, first her mother and then, her father.
    “Cate, what are you doing?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean it’s clear to me that you’re involved with two men at the same time,” her mother said. “And, I expected better of you.”
    “I know, but I care about both of them.”
    “Well, you need to make up your mind which one you care more about and cut the other one loose.”
    “I know which one I love more,” Cate paused and bit her lip, “but I don’t want to hurt the other one.”
    “Cate, what you are doing is not fair to either of them. You need to straighten this out.”
    Cate knew her mother was right, but couldn’t find the courage to hurt David, so she continued to keep him in the dark. She was in her room waiting for David to arrive for New Years’ Eve when her father gently tapped on her door.
    “May I come in?”
    “Sure,” Cate said.
    “Catie, I know that your mother has spoken with you about the situation with David and Justin. I also know that she encouraged you to straighten things out, but you haven’t.” Cate stopped what she was doing as he continued, “Cate, I’ve never been ashamed of you, but I am now.”
    Cate hung her head. She had always been daddy’s girl, and his words hurt.
    “Cate, what you are doing is not right and I think you know it.”
    Her head still down, avoiding his eyes, Cate murmured, “Yes sir, but I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
    “But, you are. You’re hurting David, Justin, yourself and your mother and me. We expect you to be straightforward and honest in all of your dealings with people. You need to make up your mind which man you want, and tell the other one that you can’t see him anymore.”
    “I’ll tell David tonight.”
    “David,” her father said.
    Cate heard the disappointment in his voice. She watched him as he took his glasses off, rubbed his face, ran his hand across his hair and let out a deep breath.
    “Catie, do what you have to do, but straighten this thing out.”
    “Yes, sir”
    She watched him leave her room with a look of disapproval on his face. Her mother had reacted the same way when she confessed that she thought that she was in love with Justin. Cate knew he was not their choice for her, but he’s my choice .
    Cate couldn’t put off telling David any longer, and it wasn’t just because of her parents’ insistence. Justin had proposed to her the night before. She had met him at a restaurant on campus and he’d finally confessed his love and proposed. Cate immediately said “yes” to his proposal.
    After her conversation with her mother, and still dreading to hurt David, Cate decided to do the cowardly thing and break things off in a note. She carried the note around in her purse for days, but her father’s confrontation reminded her that David deserved to be told face-to-face.
    However, her plan to tell him face-to-face never materialized.. Before she could tell him, he found the note that she had written. It had fallen out of her purse and when he picked it up, he realized that it was for him. Cate entered the room just as he was reading the note. She could tell he was upset and pleaded with him to give her the note; trying to explain that she hadn’t meant for him to see the note.
    “David, I never intended for you to read that note. I–I, wanted to tell you in person.”
    His shaking hands held the note and his voice quivered, “So tell me.”
    “You’ve got to believe me. I never meant for this to happen. I love you-”
    “Love me,” he held the note to her face, “how can you love me and let this