"How about you guys come on into the parsonage and get warmed up, while I call Tom's Towing and see if he'd be able to come out and put a tire on. I think I can figure out what size these are."
Relief washed over her face, but only for a second. Then her brows drew down in a stubborn, mulish look.
"I couldn't possibly impose."
"You're not imposing at all. And I don't mind or I wouldn’t have offered."
"It's not that far." She bit her lip. "But I didn't put coats on the boys. I just assumed... they're only wearing their jammies, because it was so close to bedtime."
"And my house is right here." Then he realized that sometimes it was better to sweeten the pot a bit, so to speak. "I've been getting the church rec room ready just in case the electricity goes out in town and people need a place to shelter. Would you mind coming in, checking it out and giving me any advice or tips that you have?"
Yeah. That did it. She tilted her head, and then a smile lifted the corners of her mouth up. "Sure. I'd be happy to."
"All right. I'll give you a hand getting the boys in, and then you can look it over while I call Tom's."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked, brows knit together.
"I told you. I don't mind at all. I visited Tom earlier this week, and I'm actually welcoming a chance to reach out and to remind him that the invitation to come to church is still open." He winked at her, and she laughed.
The sound made his insides twirl a bit. Why was the sound of her laughter so intriguing?
He walked around the car to the other side and opened the door.
"What are you doing?" Aiden asked, staring up at him from his booster seat.
"Your mom and I are gonna get you out of your booster seat and take you inside for a bit. She's gonna check things out and let me know how I did getting ready for the storm that's coming."
"Mommy was making deliveries before the storm. And we almost had them all done," Aidan said, obviously parroting something that Olivia had said.
"Is it snowing yet?" Ethan asked his mother as she unbuckled him.
Mark looked up, and his eyes met Olivia's across the backseat. He smiled at her, and while there still seemed to be some worry on herface, she smiled back. "Not yet. And we're gonna go check and see if the church is ready for it to snow."
Aiden came to him easily, his outgoing and inquisitive personality clearly on display.
Ethan clung a little tighter to his mother, but he didn't seem overly fearful. Probably as long as his twin was around, he would be okay.
The parsonage door was closer, so Mark walked up the walk, and then opened it, holding it for Olivia to go through first.
"Thank you," she murmured as she walked in.
"Head to the left. There's a door there, and that leads through my office directly to the church."
"That's neat," Olivia said. "I've been in the parsonage, and I've been in the church, but I've never used the secret passageway," she said.
He laughed. He hadn't really thought about it as a secret passageway, but he supposed it probably was something that was designed for only the pastor to use. Especially since it went through a room that he used for his office, and he suspected Pastor Johnson had too, since there were empty bookshelves in there when he moved in.
"It's just through that door right there," he said, flipping on the lights as he walked in after her. "And don't mind the mess. I don't have things quite unpacked."
"That doesn't surprise me. It seemed like it was more important to you to get to know the people of your congregation rather than getting everything in line perfectly."
She was making a general statement, he was pretty sure, although he also thought that she seemed a little impressed.
He kind of hoped so. He'd always thought that people were more important than things. And his ministry was more about people than anything else. Even more important than giving a good sermon. Although that was the second thing that he spent the most time on during the week for his job. Although spending time in personalprayer and Bible study was probably his top priority. How could he help others if he wasn't nurturing his own relationship with the Lord?
"So this is where this door goes. I've always wondered about it," Olivia said.
"It's pretty nice. You can get to the parsonage without getting wet on rainy days or cold on winter ones."
