She shrugged. “The Lord has been good to us. We haven’t seen you in a while.”
He nodded. “I was out of town on assignment.”
With a teasing smile on her face, she asked, “Are those for me?”
Adam blushed. What had he been thinking bringing these things for only Olivia when there were children and other workers here as well?
But that was it. He hadn’t been thinking straight at all, which was always the case when thoughts of Olivia filled his mind.
“I’m sorry. They’re for Olivia.”
The woman laughed emphatically. “But, of course, I was only pulling your legs.”
Adam let out forced laughter.
With a twinkle in her eyes, she said, “You know, Olivia is a very fine woman. She has been a blessing to us.”
A thrill ran through Adam. He had known that Olivia would make a good impression. He was glad he wasn’t wrong.
Giving him a knowing look, she added, “She’ll make a fine wife for a lucky man someday.”
Adam lowered his head. Why everyone was bent on matchmaking him and Olivia was beyond him. It was becoming embarrassing. Almost every day, Stephen ribbed him about his preoccupation with Olivia. Annie was no help either. Cora and Boone never failed to mention her whenever he visited them.
Adam sighed inwardly. If only he had peeped into the compound before barging in, he would have waited for her to go inside no matter how long it took.
“I bet she will,” he responded when Mrs. Harrison continued to look at him expectantly.
The woman opened her mouth to say something. She apparently changed her mind and simply said, “Anyway, Olivia is inside. She’s in the second classroom by the left.”
“Thank you.” Adam quickly moved inside the building, glad to be away from her.
Adam’s heart quickened at the thought of seeing Olivia again. He arranged his clothes and looked down at his boots to see if they were dusty.
With his pulse racing, he strode down the hallway. He was just about revealing himself through the open door when he paused.
Olivia’s sweet voice sent waves of pleasure traveling through him. He decided to wait a little to enjoy her voice as she told the children a story from the bible.
“Esther was so worried; do you know what she decided to do?”
The children chorused, “No.”
“She knew that the only thing that could change their situation was prayers. So she went on three days fasting and prayers so that she would gain favor in the sight of the king.”
“Wasn’t she hungry?” a child asked.
Olivia laughed a little. “Of course she was, but her quest was more important than food.”
“I would be hungry if I were the one,” another child said and the others agreed with him.
“Oh, children, when you grow up, you’ll discover that there are more important things than food. Jesus said when He was being tempted on the mountain that ‘man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out from the mouth of God.’”
Nice answer, Adam thought.
A child laughed and said, “I like bread.”
The children agreed again and laughed. Olivia also laughed and Adam smiled at the sound.
“But we don’t eat only bread,” another child pointed out.
