Authors: Noelle Marchand
“Sean,” she breathed for lack of anything better to say. She finally glanced up to meet his gaze. “Do you really mean it—about being sorry?”
He nodded solemnly.
“Thank you.” Impulsively, she rose on her tiptoes to kiss him gently.
He stared down at her in surprise. Slowly, a smile tipped his lips, and he shook his head. “We just can’t get our timing right on this. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Yet, even as she spoke, his head dropped toward hers. His lips hovered over hers for an achingly eternal second before they captured hers. She could feel the sun shining down on those infernal seeds of hope inside of her, and at the moment she didn’t care a whit.
* * *
He could have gone on kissing Lorelei all day, but somehow he managed to set her away from him. Only the self-control gifted to him by the Holy Spirit kept him from hauling her into his arms and doing it all over again when he caught sight of Lorelei’s dazed expression. His voice came out at least half an octave lower than it normally was. “Were you acting?”
“No.”
He set her away from him. “In that case, we’d better not make a habit of that just yet.”
She blushed. He winked at her, then caught her hand in his to lead her through the woods back toward the house. She dragged a bit behind him. He glanced back but found her gaze already on him. He sent her an inquiring look, and she glanced away.
“You’re going to be incorrigible after this. I can already tell,” she muttered.
He grinned as they stepped out of the woods and walked to the front of the house. He felt like singing, but he knew better than to try. They still had a long way to go, but they’d definitely made progress. He paused at the sight of Ellie waiting for them on the porch steps. She bounced up to her feet with a smile. “I’m sorry I’m so late. Kate has been feeling poorly and everything that could delay me did. I’ve been waiting here about fifteen minutes. I figured you two would make it back eventually.”
Ellie paused to take a breath. When no one responded, she gazed at them curiously. Her eyes widened at the sight of their joined hands. Lorelei seemed to notice at the same time because she abruptly jerked her hand from his and tucked it into her skirt pocket. Ellie tilted her head thoughtfully. A curious smile curved her lips as she sent him a questioning look. He shrugged.
“Well,” she said briskly before a mischievous smile graced her lips. “It looks like you two have been having a lot of fun without me.”
Chapter Seventeen
“‘T
his is what I command you: that you love one another.’”
Lorelei sighed at the message she couldn’t seem to get away from.
Reverend Sparks closed his Bible and set it on the pulpit. He looked at the congregation. “This is probably going to be the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my ministry.”
Lorelei watched in confusion as Reverend Sparks looked at his wife who sat in the front row. The woman rose to her feet and went to stand by his side. He turned to face the congregation again. He straightened his shoulders. “Today I’d like to announce that I am stepping down as the reverend of this church.”
A gasp rang through the church, leaving only silence in its wake.
“I’m still going to live in Peppin. I will still be involved in this church. I even promise to preach the occasional sermon. However, the time for me to shepherd this flock is over. God has made that abundantly clear to me and to my wife.”
He smiled peacefully. “In fact, just as I was seriously thinking of stepping down, I received a letter out of the nowhere from someone whom I would eventually regard as a son. Someone whom I am fully convinced is being called to this town.”
Lorelei shifted in her seat along with half of the congregation who now craned their necks to watch the proceedings.
“I received the first letter a few weeks ago. We’ve been corresponding regularly since then. I have gotten to know this man and his family through the letters. He is a traveling preacher who has been looking for a place to settle down with his wife and five children.”
Lorelei stopped breathing. Her eyes narrowed.
Impossible.
Lorelei frowned and shot a glance over her shoulder to Sean. He met her gaze to share a look of suspicion. Reverend Sparks’s voice drew her gaze back to him.
“He heard about our little town and felt compelled to write to the church to find out if there were any open positions on staff. I told him there might be a position opening up. The rest, as they say, is history.” He grinned. “James Brightly and his family will arrive in Peppin in two weeks.”
“Oh,” she breathed in alarm. Thankfully no one noticed because everyone started talking at once.
This is not good. If they mention anything about what happened with Miss Elmira—even accidentally—everything Sean and I have been doing will have been for nothing.
“I hope to make the transition a very smooth one,” she heard Reverend Sparks say, but the rest of his words faded into mumbles.
The congregation began dispersing, but Lorelei didn’t move. She glanced up to find her mother hovering over her. “Are you all right, Lorelei? You look so pale.”
She looked from her mother’s concerned face to her father’s. They didn’t know. They didn’t recognize the name, and she didn’t have the strength to tell them. She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
The words weren’t true, but they needed to be. This was not the time to cause a scene.
Sean. Where is Sean?
She turned in search of him just as he appeared at her side. He looked just as bewildered as she felt. She saw his gaze slip to her parents and the moment he realized they didn’t know that a crisis could be at hand. He slid into the pew next to her. “Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins, would you mind if I had a moment alone with Lorelei?”
Richard frowned. “I don’t know. She looks like she had a fainting spell. She needs to go home.”
She sent him a pleading look. “Please, Papa. I need to talk to him. He’ll take care of me.”
She watched indecision war across his features before he nodded. “Come on, Caroline.”
Once her parents left, they had the sanctuary to themselves. Sean’s arm stretched across the back of the pew, and she turned toward him. She finally felt the color begin to return to her cheeks. “I can’t believe it.”
“We should have told them we hated this place.”
She let out a nervous laugh. She glanced up at him as amusement overcame her dread. “We should have told them how muddy the sidewalks get. How you can hear the noise from the saloon three blocks away because everything else is so quiet. How frightening it is to hear the train whistle when you least expect it.”
His shook his head. “Lorelei Wilkins, we have a major problem on our hands. What are we going to do?”
“You’re the one who always has the plans.”
He quirked a smile at her. “I thought you hated my plans.”
He coaxed an answering smile from her as she widened her eyes innocently. “Oh, no. I love your plans. They are always extremely well thought-out.”
“Sure you do.”
She looked him over with a measuring glance. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t have a plan?”
He shook his head slowly. “Don’t tempt me. I’m trying to reform.”
She sent him an unappreciative look.
“Hey, you should be proud that you made your point so well.”
“I don’t see how it’s doing me any good.”
“Where’s your faith? ‘None of your plans will turn out right if you don’t surrender them to God,’” he parroted.
“Do you really believe that now?”
His gaze turned serious. “I don’t know. I’m trying.”
“Maybe our first step is to pray.”
“We can do that.” He caught her hand in his. They both bowed their heads as Sean began to pray. He asked God to lead them and give them wisdom in how to respond to this new challenge. Lorelei was feeling much calmer by the end of the prayer. Her mind spun with possible answers to their problem. “We should write the Brightlys a letter.”
Sean pulled her to her feet but didn’t move out of the aisle. He seemed to be assessing her steadiness. “What would we say?”
“We could explain everything,” she said as he guided her out to the aisle and they walked toward the exit. “We can tell them that we’re planning to get married. We could ask them to keep what happened to themselves.”
“It might be worth a shot.” He stayed close to her as they walked through the small foyer.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m not going to collapse.”
He ignored her as he opened the door for her to step outside. She surveyed the milling groups of people who were gathered around either the Reverend or his wife. She gasped. Sean was instantly beside her with his hand supportively catching her arm. She turned to meet his gaze. “Forget the Brightlys. What if they told the Sparkses?”
“I’d better talk to the reverend.”
“I’d better talk to his wife.”
They split apart, and Lorelei managed to get close enough to Mrs. Sparks’s conversation to hear what they were talking about.
“I hate to see you two step down,” Mrs. Williams said. “There’s a time for everything, though.”
“Yes, I’m actually very pleased about it. This move has been coming for a long time. I’m especially glad that such a nice family will be taking our place.”
Mrs. Stone smiled as she resettled her baby on her hip. “It’s just amazing that he happened to write you at just the right time.”
“It looks like Peppin is the talk of Texas,” Mrs. Bradley said. “I wonder who might have told them about us.”
Mrs. Sparks’s gaze connected with Lorelei’s. “I think we have Lorelei to thank for that.”
Lorelei glanced around at the large group of women who now focused entirely on her. The question lingered in the air so loudly she wondered why someone didn’t just say it. “I met the Brightlys when I ran away.”
Mrs. Greene leaned forward as though she couldn’t help herself despite their agreement. “Where did you have your sights set on going again?”
Her smile felt rather stiff, but she offered it anyway. “California. I have a great-aunt who lives there.”
Mrs. Lettie touched her arm. “Well, what is your take on our new pastor?”
Grateful for the well-timed subject change, she met the kind eyes of the woman who had almost been her mother-in-law to concede, “He and his wife and children are wonderful.”
Mrs. Lettie nodded as if that settled it. “The family should be a good addition to our town.”
Lorelei stayed in the circle a few more minutes until she was satisfied that the conversation had completely moved on. She stepped away and began looking for her parents. Her mother waved at her. She wound her way through the crowd toward them.
“Miss Wilkins.”
She turned to see Silas at her side. “Silas, I’m sorry but I really can’t talk right now.”
“When?”
She tried to think quickly. “Tomorrow at one. I’ll be dropping a letter off at the post office at that time. You can meet me then.”
He nodded, then slipped away.
A moment later, she met her parents. They insisted on escorting her right home, and she let them. She needed to talk to them privately anyway. It would be unfair of her to keep this from them. Yes, she’d tell them, then write one very important letter.
* * *
Lorelei held the sealed envelope tightly in her hand as she stepped onto the wooden sidewalk that ran alongside the boardinghouse. Two men stood on the sidewalk just ahead of her. One of them noticed her coming and made the others move out of the way for her. “Good afternoon, miss.”
She nodded politely and tried to ignore their stares as she passed. She stiffened as one of them let out a low whistle. They made no attempt to hide their conversation from her. “I’ve never seen so many pretty women in one place.”
“It makes me glad we’ll be here a few days,” the other responded.
She tried to step out onto the street, but a wagon abruptly turned in front of her so she had to step back.
“What do you think my chances are with that one?”
Lorelei dashed a glance toward them. They were still watching her. She gave them a cold stare, then lifted her chin. “Nonexistent, and I’ll thank you to keep your comments to yourself.”
That left them dumbfounded enough to allow her to escape across the street before their hoots of laughter echoed behind her. She stepped onto the sidewalk, then looked up to meet Silas’s brown eyes. He took her arm, then speared the men on the other side of the street with a quelling glare. “Did they say something uncouth?”
“No, they were just overly outgoing,” she said as she pulled her arm from his grasp. “I hope they aren’t staying at Bradleys’. I would assume Mr. Bradley would be more cautious than that with his daughters working there.”
“They aren’t staying at the boardinghouse. They’re just a couple of fools making a nuisance of themselves,” he said with a bit of aggravation, then smiled politely. “I see you have a letter to mail. I was heading in that direction myself. Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all,” she said as they walked. When he didn’t immediately begin a conversation, she figured he must think they’d be too easily overheard on the bustling sidewalk. “How is Amy?”
His face seemed to turn pensive. “She’s well.”
“Are you two still spending time together?”
He nodded but wouldn’t meet her gaze.
She lowered her voice, so only he could hear her. “You’re going to break her heart.”
He pinned her with a piercing gaze. “What about you and your sheriff? I hear you two seem to be getting pretty serious. How do you feel about breaking his heart?”
“Not nearly as bad as you feel about breaking Amy’s,” she guessed.
The color heightened in his face. “Leave it alone, Lorelei. We need to focus on getting the job done.”
“Fine,” she said as they passed the seamstress’s shop.
“Has that new manager come in yet?”
“He’s here.”
“Good. I need you to meet me Thursday at two o’clock outside of the courthouse. We’ll go over a few last-minute things, and I’ll let you know when we’ll be ready to move.” He tipped his hat and was gone almost as quickly he appeared.
He has to be one of the strangest people I know,
she thought to herself as she stood behind the only other person in line at the post office.
He sure doesn’t seem like a hardened criminal. Maybe he’s new to the job. He needs to get rid of some of that politeness if he wants to make it as a bank robber. He seemed truly upset that those men were bothering me. I would believe those men were criminals before I would believe Silas was.
This was not the time to worry about Silas she realized as she stared at the letter in her hand. She bowed her head and prayed, her lips barely moving along with her entreaty.
Please, God. Let the Brightlys want to help us by keeping quiet about the whole thing for now. Please—
“Miss Wilkins, did you want to mail something?” the young man behind the counter asked.
She glanced up to see she was now the only one in line so she stepped up to the counter. “Yes, I’m sorry. I was thinking about something. How fast do you think this will get to where it needs to go?”
He took the letter and stared thoughtfully at the address. “Reverend Sparks usually hears back from this fellow in a couple of days.”
“Am I sending it to the right address, then?” She handed him the money for postage.
“Yes, ma’am.” He postmarked it and placed it into the mailbag behind him. “Just check back in a few days.”
“Thank you.” With a parting smile, she turned away breathing quietly, “Your will be done.”
* * *
“Thanks, Maddie,” Sean said as Maddie slid the cup of lemonade he’d requested onto the table.
“Sure thing.” She straightened, then paused to peer out the window. “Why didn’t you tell me Lorelei was coming?”
“She isn’t.”
“Sure, she is. She’s right there. Aren’t you going to have lunch with her?”
He followed her gaze to see Lorelei crossing the street toward the café. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
Maddie placed a hand on her slim hip. “Well, here’s your chance. Go get her. Tell her I’ll have a slice of my pecan pie waiting. That girl hasn’t been in here in ages.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed as he slipped past Maddie.
Lorelei had just passed the door by the time he made it out. She was only a few feet away so he called out, “Hey, beautiful! Where are you going?”
She slowly turned around. Then, narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head at him. “I assume that means you want me to stop and talk to you.”
He grinned. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No.”
“Would you like to have lunch with me?”