I kissed her again, and when I finally pulled back, she looked up at me with that same steady heat I’d come to crave.
“We’re gonna go slow,” I said, more statement than suggestion.
June nodded. “Yeah. Slow is good.”
“Like...glacial,” I added.
She arched a brow. “Glacial?”
“Snail-paced. Tectonic. One plate shift at a time.”
She laughed, full and bright, and I felt it settle somewhere deep in my chest.
“You sure you’re not just scared I’ll rock your world too fast, Ward?” she teased, voice low and smoky.
“I’m terrified,” I said. “But that’s not why.”
Her face sobered a little, like she felt the weight of what I wasn’t saying.
“You deserve more than a man who jumps into things just to feel something again,” I said. “I don’t want this to be a coping mechanism. I want it to be real. Lasting.”
June nodded. “You’re not the only one with ghosts, you know. I’m not just here for afling either.”
I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “So we take it slow.”
She caught my hand in hers and brought it to her lips. “Slow,” she repeated. “But not stagnant.”
“No, ma’am,” I said, lips quirking. “No stagnation allowed.”
Behind us, Whit hollered again. “Are y’all voting or what?”
June shot me one last look. “Come on, Mr. Ward. Let’s go ruin their evening with our emotional maturity.”
“Lead the way, Reverend,” I said, and followed her up the porch steps, the scent of cedar and honeysuckle trailing in her wake.
I didn’t know what the hell would come next—maybe curses, maybe ghosts, maybe worse—but I knew one thing as sure as I knew how to carve a hexafoil.
This time, I wasn’t walking away.
CHAPTER 13
June
Going backto the church didn’t feel quite as scary as I’d expected.
Yeah, my snakebite still burned a bit—and the bruising was ugly as all hell—but I wasn’t going to let it scare me off. So I got dressed, wrapped my worn wooden rosary around my wrist, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and work boots…and went back to work.
Silas was already outside when I pulled up, standing by the steps in a faded Henley and jeans, sleeves pushed up to the elbows. He didn’t wave—didn’t come to meet me. Just watched as I killed the engine and climbed out of the Jeep, then went to the back to grab my bag.
His eyes immediately tracked to my wrist.
“You sure you’re good to be back?” he asked. “Don’t wanna have to drive you out to Perry again.”
I raised a brow and shut the back door. “Good morning to you, too.”
He didn’t so much as crack a smile. “I mean it, June.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and started toward him, only for Silas to meet me halfway and take the bag from me.
