Maybe it’s his pureness, or those magnificent features of his. I wasn’t lying when I called him an angel, he looks ethereal.
Fuck, my thoughts are consumed by Ewen. I’ve been sitting here for over an hour, just thinking of him. I thought him being closer would curb my desires, but I’m more drawn to his aura than ever before.
Once I finish my job here, I’ll call Shamus to see if he has anything critical for me. Maybe getting my hands bloody will slow my craving for Ewen.
Our crew must come first, but my Aingeal will be what I fill my thoughts with tonight. Maybe I can get a glimpse of him through his windows. Just one little dose and I’ll be fine.
Fuck me. I’m such a junkie for that man.
I shake away thoughts of him. I have duties to take care of, and hopefully I can kill someone soon to wash these thoughts away in blood.
5
EWEN
“Look what the cat dragged back to B-town!” a smiling Caleb says as he walks into the church. A smile curves my lips. “You look good.”
He gives me a giant bear hug, complete with the stupid back slaps. I’ll never tell him I don’t like that part. It’s just a thing he does, and I accept Caleb for everything he is. He’s my best friend.
Caleb is an ER doctor and rarely has time to escape so whenever he can, we hang out. Even if it’s just him helping around the parish, he’s always all smiles. He’s a jokester but also the most serious person I know. You have to be to do what he does. High pressure situations are where Caleb thrives. It’s the basic day to day that bores him. He’s always keeping himself busy.
“You’re early,” I point out. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour.”
“Yeah, the department head wanted to have a glory day so he cut me early. I didn’t want to go home quite yet. Trish is still moving out her stuff, and shit is awkward.” He shrugs and looks around at the old stained glass.
Caleb and Trish got married shortly after we graduated, but after a couple years of him always working, she decided Calebwasn’t who she wanted to grow old with. I was crushed for him. His heart was more into his job of saving lives. It takes a strong relationship to weather that.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We can talk about it, pray, or just anything to get your mind off of it.”
“Nah, my dude. Helping you here and just being with my favorite priest will help. I promise I’m okay. Trish and I grew apart as people early on. I think we kept it going because of those old feelings. We fell out of love a while ago. I don’t want to be the cause of her not finding who she’s meant to be with.”
He nudges my shoulder, changing the direction of our conversation. “Enough about me, tell me how great your life is. How’s being the priest of the very church you loved in college panning out?” The smile he gives is genuine.
I grin and look around. He’s right, I loved this parish then and I love it even more now. “It’s amazing. I knew God had a plan for me, and it led me to where I feel the most at ease. I love the community and giving back. I feel so light during Mass, I could be a feather floating away.”
“Man, I could never do this.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
He waves his hand toward the space surrounding us. “This. Being in a creepy church all the time. Reading, teaching, everything revolving around the Bible and God.”
“You save lives. See people bleeding and dying, yet an old church is a space you couldn’t handle?”
His eyes dart around. “I’m not a religious person. I don’t even know if I believe in God. I believe in evolution and science. But I know you believe and I always support you.”
“God has given us everything. He gave us His only son to absolve us of our sins. He knows some don’t believe, but He believes in you.”
“Tomato, potato, whatever.” He laughs at his own joke. “Let’s get things done. I’m here to be your work horse.”
We move to the side entrance and head toward the large kitchen where we prep the food that we hand out. The nuns do all the cooking. I’ve tried helping but they banned me after burningonething. Clearly God didn’t think cooking was a valuable thing for me to do, which is fine by me. No one can excel at everything.
As we enter, I announce our presence. “Hello sisters. We have an extra hand today.” I motion to Caleb. “This is Dr. Caleb Henderson, and he has offered up his time to be here with us.”
Caleb’s cheesy grin pops. “Use me however you see fit.”
A few of the younger nuns chuckle at his comment, but not Mother Helen. I don’t think I’ve seen her smile since I met her.
“We greatly appreciate all the help we can get.” Helen comes over and pats his arm. “Please just tell me you are more adept in the kitchen than our father here. He’s officially not allowed to cook.”
