“In,” she said, deciding on the spot, and she nudged Cash to go in front of her so they wouldn’t be blocking the doorway. Bryce and Codi had gone ahead, and Cash reached for her hand as they walked through the foyer and entered the chapel together.
“You want to sit by Boston or by ourselves?” he asked, almost under his breath.
“I don’t care,” Lark said. “You choose.”
“Well, I always sit by Boston,” he said. “I think it would call more attention to us if we sat alone.” And with that, he went down a few rows and stepped into a pew where a man with sandy blonde hair sat with a pretty brunette at his side. He had his arm around her, and his body turned toward her, and she looked up at him and said something in a whisper. She saw Cash first and nodded in their direction just as Cash sat down, leaving room on the very end for Lark to join him. She did that as Cash said, “Hey, Brother,” and bumped fists with Boston.
“This is Lark McClellan,” he said. “Jet and Wade’s younger sister.”
He wouldn’t look at her, and Lark decided not to take any of what he said today personally. They had not defined their relationship, and that was something he obviously wanted to do.
“Hi,” she said, putting a smile on her face.
“Boston and Cora,” Cash said. “They’re the ones getting married in April.”
Boston waved, and Cora smiled as she nodded, and then everything normalized. Families, and other couples, and single men and women, came in and sat down. Boston and Cora cuddled back together, whispering before the meeting started, and Cash leaned over, which caused Lark to tip her head toward him too.
“You see Bryce and Codi right up there?” he whispered, nodding up a couple of rows.
“Yes,” she said.
“That dark-haired man next to Codi is Reggie Avery,” he said. “And right next to him is his wife, Kassie. They’re coming to lunch today too.”
“Okay,” Lark said, appreciating that he’d pointed them out early.
“And over there on the side….” He kept his hand low as he pointed to the left. “You see that man in that navy blue blazer?”
It took Lark a moment to find him, but she did pick out the cowboy wearing the navy blue blazer and the dark brown cowboy hat. “Yeah,” she said.
“That’s my uncle Luke. His wife is that curly blonde next to him, and they’ve got four kids. His oldest is way over against the wall. Her name’s Corinne, and she comes to cousin night.”
“Ah, she’s Luke’s from his first marriage.” Lark turned toward Cash, her face only inches from his right. “Right?”
“Yeah, right.” His breath actually wafted across her cheek, sending a thrill through Lark that told her she might pass out if this man ever kissed her.
Cash straightened, and Lark did too, hoping no one had seen them in that single, intimate moment that probably only she had felt.
“I don’t see Uncle Morris,” he said. “They’ve got five kids, and they sometimes run late.”
Lark nodded, realizing that if she and Cash really were to start dating, she’d have a lot more people to meet, as he told her that not only did his family live here in Coral Canyon, but so didall eightof his aunts and uncles, their families, and the large majority of his cousins. Some of the older ones, like him, were still at college or had gotten married and moved away, but that was a very small percentage, if she remembered correctly.
The choir rose to their feet a moment later and started a song that filled Lark’s heart with the spirit. She stood and clapped along with some of the other parishioners, and when she sat back down next to Cash, he grinned at her and folded her hand into his. Lark crossed her legs and settled their joined hands on her thigh as the pastor stood behind the microphone.
“Welcome to this beautiful Sabbath morning, my brothers and sisters. I’ve promised you all a short sermon today, as we’re close to Thanksgiving and many of you will be doing family events today or preparing for big meals later this week. I’mgrateful that you’ve made time to be here in my congregation today, and I’ve been thinking about this topic for quite a long time, and it’s fitting for the Thanksgiving and holiday season.”
He took a breath, the pause becoming dramatic the longer he stayed silent.
“I want to talk about the silent ninety percent,” he said. “And we’re going to visit the scriptures in Luke, chapter seventeen, which is the story of the ten lepers.”
Lark knew this story, but the pastor had a pleasant voice, and she enjoyed listening to him recount the story of the ten men who were healed by Jesus one day while he traveled to Jerusalem.
“And those of you who know this story…how many of those lepers came back to personally thank the Savior? Ten men were cured. Ten men had their lives saved. Ten men were undoubtedly flooded with the emotions of relief and gratitude.”
Lark heard his next words in her mind just before he said them.
“But only one came back.” He looked left and right. “I don’t believe for a second that the other nine weren’t happy. I bet they ran home to their wives with tears in their eyes. I bet they hugged their children. I bet they felt lucky and chosen and blessed. But they never turned that feeling into a conversation with the One who blessed them. So this holiday season, as many of us turn inward to reflect on the things we’re grateful for, I’m going to challenge you todo somethingabout those feelings that you have.
“There’s a difference between thestateof gratitude and theactof thanksgiving. One is internal, something only you know about. Gratitude is a feeling, and feelings are cheap. Thanksgiving is a verb. It requires action. It requires you to stop what you’re doing, turn around, and walk back to the source. Ifyou don’t tell them that you’re grateful for them and why, it’s just a secret you’re keeping to yourself.”
