Arizona Pastor (7 page)

Greg nodded. “A lot of people go on vacation in June.”

“Usually twenty or so men show up,” added Chad.

“Michael Preston was parking when I pulled up,” said Ron. “Poor guy looks exhausted.”

Chad wrinkled his nose. “I've heard Noah's not sleeping well.” Michael walked in, and Chad motioned him to the table.

“Mel said she and Kristy kept him, and he cried most of the night,” responded Greg.

“That was really nice of them to keep the baby,” said Wade.

“Carrie only allowed it because Kristy's her sister,” said Michael. He nodded to each of them, then sat across from Ron. “It was the best sleep ever.”

Wade sat beside Michael. “I didn't know they were sisters.”

“Yep. Another sister is stationed in Japan. And her parents are missionaries in Brazil. With my family living in Kentucky, Kristy is all the family we have.”

The waitress arrived for their drink orders, and since each of them knew what he wanted, she wrote down their meals, as well. Wade wondered if Michael and Carrie knew about Mel's pregnancy and upcoming wedding. He imagined that while taking care of her fussy nephew, Kristy had worried about how Mel would handle the same situation. He itched to call and check up on her, but his attraction for her made him hesitant.

“Now, you know Wilma and I would watch your little guy anytime you needed us,” said Ron.

“That's very kind of you,” said Michael. He turned to Chad. “I meant to mention it on Sunday and forgot. That new song you presented during worship was awesome.”

“It's one of my favorites, too,” added Greg. “The students begged to sing it at youth group.”

Freddy shifted in his seat. “It was a bit too upbeat to me.”

“And too loud,” added Ron. “And I'm hard of hearing.”

“I don't have a problem with clapping and raising your hands at the service,” said Freddy, “but there was a girl a few rows in front of us actually shaking her rear end.”

Ron shook his head. “Not appropriate.”

“I agree we don't want people dancing provocatively,” said Chad, “but even David danced before the Lord when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to Jerusalem.”

“I bet he wasn't shaking his rear end,” snorted Ron.

“I want to hold the hymnal in my hands,” said Freddy. He turned to Wade. His expression implored Wade to agree. “What's wrong with the old hymns?”

“Nothing,” said Greg. “But there isn't anything wrong with the contemporary songs today, either.”

“It's like the different translations,” said Ron. “I finally get used to the NIV, and now the reverend is reading from the ESV.”

“Wade,” Greg responded.

Ron narrowed his gaze at the youth minister, and Wade cleared his throat. He looked at Ron. “Yes, please call me Wade.” He opened his hands. “I'm sure we can come to some compromises.”

Freddy leaned back in his chair. “The older generation doesn't like all these changes, especially when they're not brought before the church for approval. And let's face it, the bulk of the financial support comes from—”

Wade lifted his hand. “I'm sorry, Freddy. I'm going to have to stop you there.” He swallowed the knot in his throat. He had no desire to upset members when he'd been pastoring the church only a month. After a quick prayer for guidance, he continued, “I never want to know who contributes what to the church's treasury. A person's giving is between him or her and God. As long as I'm pastor, I won't support a single decision that is made on the basis of appeasing those who give the most money.”

Freddy lifted his eyebrows and looked at Ron. “Guess we're under new management.”

“I'm not your manager,” said Wade. “I'm your pastor. My job is to lead this church in following God's will. God's will only. No person.”

Ron's lips parted into a slow smile. He patted Wade's hand. “That's good to hear. I think we should look into forming a committee to help us old folks—” he pointed to himself, then motioned to Greg “—and the young folks compromise in the way worship looks.”

Greg nodded. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

Michael clasped his hands. “We have a business meeting tomorrow night after Wednesday-night prayer meeting. We'll bring it up then.”

Wade forced a grin as the men changed the subject to baseball and the weather. A committee to help them all get along. Wonderful. He needed to add more meetings to his calendar like he needed to add more marriage-counseling sessions. But at least it was a first step.

* * *

Kristy leaned forward in the pew, rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “What just happened?”

Carrie chuckled as she nudged her forearm. “You just agreed to be on the unification committee. You're going to help get all of us on the same page for worship.”

Kristy sat up and glared at her sister. “Why did you nominate me for this?”

“Michael told me to.” She shrugged. “And I'm glad I did. You're a terrific negotiator, mediator, debater.” She flipped her wrist. “Whatever the correct term is. You were always the one to keep the peace between all us sisters.”

“But I don't have time to be on a let's-make-everyone-happy team.” She shook her head. “Why can't I just learn to say no?”

“Quit being such a drama queen.”

Kristy glowered at her sister.

Carrie laughed outright and nudged her again. “Come on, sis. It's not so bad. You're only teaching one class this summer, and Mel won't be moving out for a couple months.”

Kristy bit her tongue. She hadn't shared the big news. Noah was only two weeks old, and only a few days had passed since his digestive system had seemed to settle into his new supplemental formula. Carrie still nursed him, having adjusted to a bland diet to keep from upsetting Noah's tummy. Today was the first time Carrie had left the house, except the times she'd taken him to the doctor.

Carrie looked at her smartphone. “We need to get going. Noah's gonna want to eat in about half an hour, and I don't want Michael to give him a bottle.” She glanced down at her chest. “I need some relief.”

“Okay.” Kristy stood. “I just need to say one quick thing to Wade.”

A sly expression wrapped Carrie's face as she leaned close. “He's kinda cute, don't ya think? You've always liked dark-haired men, and those deep blue eyes of his are perfectly dreamy.”

Kristy rolled her eyes. “Aren't you married? Just had a baby, even?”

“Michael really likes him. Feels like he's gonna be good for the church.”

Kristy tsked. “I hope so, since we just voted him into the pulpit.”

“He thinks Wade's a great all-around kind of guy. You know, down to earth and all.”

Kristy nodded.

“And he's single,” Carrie singsonged.

“And he's our minister,” Kristy mumbled, and then made her way toward Wade before someone heard their conversation.

He looked up and smiled when she approached. Her stomach tightened as she took in the five-o'clock shadow wrapping his strong chin. Deep blue eyes drew her nearer, and she swallowed trying to remember what she wanted to ask him.

“Thanks for agreeing to serve on the committee,” he said.

Standing so close to him, she noticed how broad his shoulders were. He wore a yellow polo shirt, which appeared to be just a tad small. Either that or he worked out more than any pastor she'd ever known. He picked up his Bible, and his biceps flexed with the motion.

“I think we have a good group. Very diverse,” he continued. “Greg and Becca, Chad's wife, represent the younger generation. Freddy and Eustace represent the seniors.”

“Guess that means we represent the middle.”

“Yep.”

Forcing her thoughts away from his straight white teeth and full smile, she said, “I wondered if you'd met with Mel and Joel.”

“Tomorrow.”

Kristy frowned. “Doesn't our committee meet tomorrow?”

He pointed to her, then himself. “We meet at seven. I meet with Mel and Joel at four.”

“You must like meetings.”

“They're why I became a pastor.” He winked, and Kristy couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up inside her. He studied her for a moment. “Would you like to go for a walk with me and Bo?”

“Bo?”

“My dog.”

“Oh, yes. I remember him now.”

“Dalmatians like attention, and they thrive on regular exercise.” He tilted his head. “You could join us. We could confabulate a bit about Mel or whatever you'd like.”

Kristy chuckled. “Confabulate? Really?”

“It's just a formal meaning for talk or converse.”

“Oh, I know. I'm just wondering if you're studying a dictionary in your spare time.”

“Only when I'm not in meetings.”

Kristy enjoyed his quick wit. He surprised her each time she was around him, and her heart beat faster as she considered he might be looking up words in the dictionary just to impress or amuse her.

Carrie walked up beside them. “Hello, Wade. I'm sorry to interrupt, but we've got to go. Noah's getting fussy.”

Kristy turned to Wade. “I'm sorry. I rode with Carrie, and—”

“I'll take you home,” he said. “Won't be a problem.”

“That would be so helpful.” Carrie's eyes twinkled with mischief. “Save me a trip to the other side of town.”

Kristy scowled at what she knew were her sister's matchmaking tactics. Carrie cocked her head, lifted her brows and then hefted her purse higher on her shoulder. “I'll see you later.”

“You don't have to go for a walk. I can just take you home.”

Kristy looked back at Wade. “It's not that.”

“Your sister's just trying to set us up?”

Her face heated.

“Don't worry about it,” he went on. “Someone's always trying to set me up.” He puffed out his chest. “Good-looking, single pastor.”

“And humble,” she added.

He pressed his palm against his chest. “Of course.”

“You're definitely different than any pastor I've known.”

“You know I'm teasing you.”

Mocking his gesture, she pressed her hand against her chest. “Of course.”

He smiled, exposing the straight pearly whites that set her heart to thumping once again. “Come on. I gotta get to Bo before he chews the leg off my couch.”

“He's that destructive?”

He winked. “That might be a slight hyperbole.”

“I think you're trying to find a word I don't know the meaning of.”

“Maybe…or catch you ending sentences with prepositions.”

“You got me.”

He grabbed her arm. “But I do need to get to Bo. Most likely, he needs to use the little boys' room.”

W
ade studied the young couple sitting across from his desk. Mel's long, curly dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a plain white T-shirt, navy blue shorts and flip-flops. A green-and-blue necklace and dangling green earrings dressed up the outfit. The glasses perched on her nose gave her a more mature appearance, but she still looked young. Too young to become a mother.

Joel's appearance wasn't much more mature. He wore long khaki shorts and a blue uniform shirt with his dad's plumbing-business logo on the front and Joel's name stitched to a badge beneath it. His blond hair was in need of a trim, and the patchy stubbles around his jaw only made him look younger.

“We've been praying together, Pastor Wade,” Mel said in her high-pitched voice.

“We want to do this right.” Joel's deep voice was a direct contrast. “We were both raised to wait until we were married.”

“And we know the pregnancy is our fault,” interrupted Mel. “We're not trying to blame anyone or anything. We've asked God to forgive us.”

Joel took Mel's hand in his. “We want a love like our parents have.”

Wade's gut turned. He didn't know much about Chuck and Mary, Wade's parents. Mel's dad and stepmom had been nice, but in the little time he'd spent with them, he felt pretty sure God was not the center of their marriage. And his heart broke for Kristy. While walking Bo with him, she'd shared how she'd always thought she'd marry and have a family, much like Tim and Leah, and how awkward she felt in their presence.

He opened the Bible on his desk to Ecclesiastes. “Solomon talks about the difficulty of breaking a cord with three strands.”

Mel nodded. “Yes. I've heard that. A marriage is stronger when God is the third cord.”

Wade shook his head from side to side. “Of course, theoretically, some want to debate if one is accurate to attribute this specific verse to marriage.” He pointed. “As you can see, in the previous verses, Solomon is talking about turmoil and safety.”

He glanced up at Mel and Joel, and then pinched his lips together. Now was not the time for a theoretical debate. They were here for marriage counseling. Something he was unqualified to do. Sure, on paper, he had the knowledge and background to counsel newlyweds. But as he looked at this young couple, so eager to take their mistake and allow God to mold it into something good, he realized how ill prepared he was emotionally, even spiritually, to guide them.

Leaning back in his chair, he released a long sigh. “What I mean to say is that when God is woven into your marriage, you have a better chance of withstanding life's challenges together. You love each other, right?”

Joel and Mel looked at each other and then looked back at him. They nodded, their eyes twinkling with love and adoration.

“I don't think those cords represent your love.”

They frowned, and Mel started to open her mouth. Wade stopped her. “Sure, God's cord is all about love. He
is
love. Agape love, which means He's going to love both of you, no matter what.”