Chapter Four
Seth
“Iknow it’s a mess, but I’m not afraid of hard work.” Seth wanted to reach out and touch Evie’s arm in condolence or support or just to make sure she didn’t run away. But he’d found out that touching her made his head go blank—kissing her had almost knocked him over. So he refrained.
They’d driven separately to the small house behind the church. He’d hoped to soften the run-down look with words of promise as he painted a picture of their future together.
She looked like she wanted to hide in the bushes.
“Confession? I haven’t been inside.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “The board promised it was livable.”
She smiled indulgently. “They just said that so you’d take the job.”
His chest warmed. She’d been nothing but grace since the moment they’d met. He couldn’t believe that her good spirits would last. His experience with women told him that the sunshine eventually dimmed.
She did have a unique quality about her, though, something deep and abiding that spoke to his very soul. He hoped he learned to trust it, to trust her, over time. What he felt, more than anything else in this moment, was that he’d married far above his station in life.
Dear Lord, I hope you aren’t mad at me for this.
Everything about Evie, from the elegant tilt to her nose to the softness in her touch, said that she was one of God’s chosen women.
“That’s kind of you,” he said, unsure how much of the trepidation of his job situation he should share with her. How much sharing would cause her to run for the hills? “But I’m still not sure they want me here. Being married to you will improve their opinion of me greatly.”
She put her hand on her hip. “Aww, what a sweet thing to say.”
He flushed—deeply.
She turned to face the front of the house and gave it a critical eye. “Tell me what you think needs doing?” She’d changed out of her skirt sometime between the ceremony and arriving here. He wasn’t sure how she’d managed that one, but he was glad. Had she been in that beautiful dress, he wouldn’t have let her near the house that time forgot.
“The grass. The flower beds have more weeds than flowers. The tree needs to be trimmed back. New mulch. The rail on the front porch should be stabilized.” He looked around, seeing more but afraid to list it. Already they had several days’ worth of work ahead of them. “And I’d like to have a summer picnic here.”
Evie’s face lit up. “That’s a wonderful idea. There’s plenty of space for folding tables, and the lawn is big enough to set up some games. With enough food, we might even draw in the teenagers.”
His heart plummeted at the mention of teens. “There aren’t many teenagers to draw in.”
“There has to be some.” She spun in a circle, taking in the houses on the other side of the street. “This is a residential area.”
“I’m sure there’s kids out there.” He circled his arm out toward the town. “There just aren’t some in here.” He waved to the church building.
“Oh.” She mulled that over. “Well, we’ll just have to change that, then, won’t we? I had an amazing youth group growing up. I’d love to be a part of one now—I mean, as a supervisor.”
Before he could come up with a response to her matter-of-fact declaration that they’d change the makeup of the congregation—which the board was firmly set against—she clasped her hands together in front of her and gave him a pleading gaze. “Please tell me there’s a riding lawn mower.”
He thought back to his brief glance in the gardening shed when touring the ministry. “I believe there is.”
She bounced on her toes. “That’s for me, then. I’ve always wanted to try one.”
He laughed. “You want to start yard work? Now?”
“Well, standing here’s not getting anything done,” she joked.
“But I didn’t—I mean, you don’t have to do any of this.” He threw both his arms wide. He’d had every intention of rolling up his sleeves, but he hadn’t given a thought to what she would do while he pruned and weeded.
“What are you talking about? We’remarried.” She wiggled the impossibly small diamond on her left hand at him. “Do you think Noah actually built the Ark by himself?”
“Well. I—”
She shook her head and winked at him.
