Lark felt riveted in her seat, every word the pastor said singing through her own heart and soul. In that moment, she felt chastised by the Spirit, knowing that she had not shown her gratitude as fully as she could. Not to her parents, not to her roommates, not to her professors or her boss.
She blinked, realizing that she sat next to a beautiful man who’d let her stay in the house he was house-sitting several times, and he’d taken her surly attitude with grace and wit. He’d made her a delicious dinner last night, let her intrude on his hot tub time, and had gotten up early to make doughnuts for her that day.
“That leper had to pause his celebration with his own family,” the pastor said. “He had to delay his reunion with them to go and thank Jesus first. It cost him time, and it cost him effort, because real gratitude is inconvenient. It may interrupt our schedule and plans. We assume people know we appreciate them. We think, ‘Oh, my husband knows I’m thankful for him working late to support our family. My mother knows I appreciate that she babysits my kids when I need her to. My friends know that I appreciate them listening to me.’ But unexpressed gratitude is perceived as ingratitude. Unless you walk back and say the words, theydon’tknow.”
Tears pricked Lark’s eyes, though she knew she had said thank you to the people important in her life. She certainly hadn’t made it an event, and it had not cost her anything. Not in the way the pastor had spoken of.
“So as our conclusion, before I let the choir do a few numbers to fill your heart and soul and mind with the Spirit of God, I want to ask you a couple of questions. Who is waiting for you to walk back? Who has poured into your cup and you just drank it and walked away? Don’t let this Thursday be about the food, anddon’t let this holiday season go by without making the walk back to those who need to hear from you.”
He ended with his blessing, but Lark focused on making sure the evidence of her tears did not show on her face. She made the mistake of glancing over to Cash, whose dark eyes had always consumed her in less time than it took to blink. They did so again, and held fast as well.
Without any hesitation, he leaned over and pressed his lips against her cheek, his mouth easily moving to her ear, where he whispered, “Thank you for coming to church with me today.”
She pressed her cheek against his, everything between them charged and filled with emotion. “Thank you for that beautiful dinner last night,” she said. “And letting me hot tub with you and putting up with my attitude.”
Cash started to chuckle, but Lark meant every word. She pulled away and looked at Cash, who hadn’t gone far.
“I’m serious, Cash,” she whispered, barely able to hear herself above the singing of the choir.
Cash’s smile faltered slightly. “I know you are, baby,” he said. He leaned in closer, his lips catching on her earlobe as he spoke. “But I don’t think you understand that it’s no sacrifice for me to be with you. Ilikeyour attitude. And I like watching your face light up when I prove to you that I can cook. And I’m hoping you and I can end every evening while you’re here in the hot tub together.”
They definitely still needed to talk through what a relationship between them would look like, especially because of her brothers and the fact that she did not live in Dog Valley. But at the same time, Lark almost felt like he’d just defined it with perfect clarity.
CHAPTER
NINE
Cash found Boston and Cora parked in front of the house as he went by and pulled into the driveway. The ride home from church, though it only took ten minutes, had been done mostly in silence, as both he and Lark seemed to be absorbed in their own thoughts, either from what the pastor had said or their quick gratitude session immediately following the sermon.
Cash knew he had said too much, too fast, but he’d wanted Lark to know that she was not a burden to him, and that he actually enjoyed her sassiness and personality, just as she was.
“Looks like they beat us here,” he said, pulling into the garage. “They live on the other side of town, and I told them they could come here after church.”
“It’s going to be fine.” Lark gave him a smile. “I can be pleasant, I promise.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Cash said. “It’s just…we Youngs are a lot, you know? And I only invitedthreecousins.”
“Do you guys ever all get together?” she asked, and since she hadn’t gotten out of the truck yet, Cash stayed too.
“At New Year’s,” he said. “That would be the soonest time we’d do that.”
“So no one hosts a big family Thanksgiving or Christmas?”
Cash shook his head no. “We usually split up into groups, and those change all the time. My daddy and my uncle Jem are best friends. They only live a couple blocks away from each other, and I’ve always done the most with their family and their kids growing up.”
He took a moment to think through his family. “Bryce is ten years older than me, and he’s got a horse rescue ranch up here in Dog Valley. We seem to gather at his house for Halloween. They do a spooky Halloween walk.”
“That sounds fun,” Lark said.
“Yeah, it’s because we have sixty kids in our family,” he said. “Sometimesfunis not the word that I would use to describe it.”
“But you said you’ve been out of town,” Lark said, a frown appearing between her eyes.
“Yeah,” Cash said. “Honestly, I kind of needed the break, though I missed my family and I’m glad to be back.”
Lark nodded, and then she sighed as she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her purse at her feet. “I think a big family is a blessing,” she said.
“That’s because you don’t have one.”
