Seth waved from the front lawn. He was picking up the debris from the storm. His constant care for the grounds was a sign of his dedication to making this ministry better than he’d found it.
She waved back and headed inside to change into some gardening clothes. She didn’t have anything pressing, except her crochet project, and that was easy to put off. Mrs. Farmly had been disappointed with her progress, until she’d watched her crochet. She’d ripped out every one of Evie’s painstakingly made rows and told her to try again. It was depressing.
She stopped in the kitchen for a drink when Seth’s phone rang. He must have left it in the front room when he’d gone outside. She hurried, knowing he had a three-ring limit before the call went to voicemail. Mr. White’s name appeared on screen.
“Hello?” she answered. Mr. White rarely called, so it must be important.
“Mrs. Powell?”
“Yes.”
“We’re having an emergency board meeting to determine if your husband will continue with Life of Grace Ministry in five minutes. I suggest he be there.”
The line went dead, and she stared at the phone.A what now?Her brain grasped a few of the words. It was slower than her feet, which were already out the door. “Seth!” she practically screamed. She held his phone out in front of her like a snake ready to strike.
Seth came around the corner where the tool shed lay. “Evie? Is everything—”
She cut him off. “There’s no time.” Two cars pulled in the parking lot. She gulped. “There’s an emergency board meeting right now. Mr. White said they were discussing firing you. What’s going on?”
Seth’s face drained of color.
Car doors slammed, and two more vehicles pulled in. The board members went inside without looking their way.
“I’m sure it will be fine.” He dusted his hands off on his jeans. “Shoot, I don’t have time to change.”
She reached up and combed her fingers through his hair to get it to lay right. “Has there been trouble?”
“No. Everything is fine. I’m sure it’s just a review.”
“Seth, we’re supposed to be in this together.” She locked eyes with him. They were supposed to be honest. Of course, she was holding back some pretty big information from him. Love was the biggest news of all. Still … she sensed there was more to his denial.
“We are.” He smiled, though the brightness didn’t go all the way to his eyes. “I’ve got to go.” He patted her hand, which was still on his cheek, before hurrying away.
Evie watched the church doors shut behind him. As before, her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and she was soon standing at the glass doors. She pulled one open, expecting to see the board standing there watching her.
Her mind was a blank. If they asked what she was doing, she wouldn’t have an answer.
The foyer was empty. The whole building felt evacuated with lights on but no sound. She hadn’t been here with it this quiet since the day she and Seth had shown up. Even then, Mr. White’s booming welcome had filled the space. She shivered. His voice had been cold and calculating during the call, as if he were throwing out the invitation without expecting Seth to appear.
She crept forward, thankful she’d changed into her running shoes. The stairs protested her advance with a groan. She held her breath, waiting for someone to come out of the room at the top and tell her to leave. God’s house had never felt so unwelcome before.
Once she made it to the doorway, she pressed her back against the wall and strained to hear the voices inside. She shouldn’t eavesdrop—she knew that. But her curiosity was bigger than her common sense, and her need to know if Seth had been holding out on her caused her hands to tremble.
If he’d lied … Well, she didn’t think she could handle that. He was supposed to be the good guy in her life—the best guy. She didn’t want to lose that—to lose him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Seth
Seth shook Mrs. Green’s hand. She glanced down at the grit he left behind and brushed her palms together.
“Sorry. I was doing yard work when I …” The room was so quiet that he sounded like a prisoner on the stand, begging forgiveness. He lowered his voice. “I’m lucky to be here.” He glanced at the chairs, arranged as they had been before, with his facing the group. He gritted his teeth. Must he always be on trial? Did he have to prove himself time and again? Or was this a mockery, a formality before sending him packing?
“Let’s sit down,” griped Mr. Green. He’d recently been diagnosed with gout. The doctor said it was due to the fish oil pills he’d been taking to help his heart. Some people had a strange reaction to them. He’d stopped, but it could take a few days for the symptoms to go away.
They took their seats, and all eyes went to Mr. White. He was all hard looks. “I don’t like to have to do this, but it appears that the lot has fallen to me.”
More like you grabbed the stick and took off running.He hadn’t let up on Seth, not even breaking into a smile on Sunday. When so many people had told him their hearts had been touched by his song, that they felt closer to God because of it, and they wanted copies of the words to read with their daily devotionals, Mr. White had alternated between glaring at the floor and glaring at the ceiling.
