Читать книгу Forbidden Falls - Робин Карр, Robyn Carr - Страница 8

While Ellie made her own way out of his office and the church, Noah stayed behind his desk. He hadn’t really expected to immediately find someone he could hire, anyway. In fact, he thought the search would probably be long and difficult. But the last thing he’d expected was to interview someone who could do the job, and do it in a push-up bra and short skirt. Whoa, he thought. He was actually having a reaction. He shifted in his chair to get comfortable, trying to ignore his body’s response. Nature was a practical joker.

Reflecting on the past several weeks and remembering Ellie’s dejected posture as she left the interview got Noah thinking. When his wife, Merry, died a few years ago, the grief bit hard and the adjustment was terrible; marriage really worked for him and the loss was devastating. Merry’s death left him a thirty-year-old widower, just about the last thing he ever envisioned for himself. For a year he felt like a pebble banging around inside an empty tin can and then, with George’s encouragement, he headed for the seminary.

Noah had nurtured a lifelong aversion to the ministry because of his father whom he considered a mean-spirited hypocrite. Jasper Kincaid was a semifamous preacher who had his own cable television mission in Columbus, Ohio. Big-time church, big-time money, big-time fame and power. But Jasper had treated his wife and son with indifference, and that was on a good day. They were too often the objects of his anger and recriminations. No way was Noah ever going to follow in those footsteps.

“Stop judging how everyone else treats their faith and study your own,” George had counseled. “It took a bloody ton of it to get where you are today.”

Indeed. While still a teenager, Noah had fled his Ohio roots and headed for the Pacific Northwest. He worked as a laborer anywhere he could get work, but fell in love with the fishing industry, with the ocean and the livelihood it offered. While he worked, he also studied—sometimes as a part-time student, sometimes full-time.

His mother, too loyal and kindhearted to ever defy his father, stayed in touch and even visited. She wanted to give him money to assist with his education, but Noah refused. His mom met Merry only once and, for the first time in his life, Noah saw his mother weep with happiness that Noah should find a young woman so full of love and joy. Only two years later, his mother came, alone, to Merry’s funeral.

Noah and his father had spoken only once in the past seventeen years and that was at his mother’s funeral a year ago. He had no desire to reconcile with Jasper. He considered it a matter of survival.

Noah had been at his desk about an hour, trying to write up a schedule for himself but doing nothing but thinking and remembering, when he looked at his watch. Three o’clock. There wouldn’t be a crowd at Jack’s at this time of day and he thought maybe a cup of coffee was in order. He gave Lucy a pat on the head and promised to be back soon.

When he walked into the bar, he was surprised to see Ellie Baldwin seated at a table not far from the empty hearth. A cup of coffee sat in front of her, her hands were folded in her lap and she gazed out the window. Instead of looking brassy and sexy, she looked a little lost. Noah lifted a hand in her direction, but she was deep in thought and didn’t even notice him. So he went up to the bar.

“Hey, Noah,” Jack said.

“What’s she doing here?” Noah asked.

Jack shrugged. “Disappointed, I think. But what are you gonna do?” Jack put a mug in front of Noah and poured coffee without being asked.

“Disappointed?” Noah asked.

“She said she didn’t get the job.”

“I said I’d get back to her about that,” Noah said.

“Maybe that’s not what she heard, Noah.”

“Hmm.” He took a sip of coffee. “How about two slices of pie, right over there.”

“Sure thing,” Jack said.

Noah migrated to Ellie’s table. He stood there until she looked up at him. Oh, man, he was in trouble. Her eyes were red rimmed and wet, her mascara a little smeared. Grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand. “You mind if I join you?” he asked.

She straightened and her eyes immediately cleared and narrowed. She was one tough customer. “Knock yourself out,” she said coolly.

He pulled out a chair and set his coffee cup in front of him. “You seem upset, Ellie. Was it something I said?”

“It was something you didn’t say,” she replied.

“Oh? What was that?”

“You’re hired,” she said.

“I thought I should give all the applicants a fair shot.”

“Are you kidding me? I sat in my car outside waiting for my turn. I saw the other applicants—all two of them. One could barely get up the stairs; not a good bet for moving furniture. The other one had such a mean schnobble, she could break glass with her face.”

“Schnobble?” he asked.

“What my gramma used to call a sourpuss. Now, that’s a church lady, all right—if you’re looking for one as mean as a junkyard dog.”

He laughed before he could reel it in. “Who knew you were checking out the competition.” Jack brought the pie, put it in front of them and got the heck out of there. Noah lifted a fork. “Pretty accurate, too. But I told you I’d get in touch.”

“If you do, it’ll be to say I didn’t get the job.”

He was quiet a moment, then he said, “Have some pie. Nobody makes pie like Preacher.”

“Preacher? You made the pie?”

“No, the cook—he goes by the nickname Preacher. That could lead to problems.” He nodded toward the plate. “Try it.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m not hungry.”

“Give it a chance, you’ll be amazed. And between bites, tell me why I don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”

Slowly, reluctantly, she took a bite of blackberry pie. She chewed and swallowed, but clearly the ambrosia of Preacher’s pie was lost on her. After one bite, she put down the fork and her hands went back into her lap. Noah had to concentrate to focus on her eyes. That cleavage was killing him. “No hard feelings,” she said quietly. “I haven’t had much luck in the job market lately. I think it’s made me a little cranky.”

“Well, what are you looking for?” he asked, digging into his pie.

“Anything proper,” she said. “It’s like I said, it’s for my kids.”

“And they’ll benefit from their mom having a proper job?”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “Look, it’s kind of personal—my kids are going through a hard time. I don’t think I should talk about it. No way I want people to know all that stuff …”

Noah considered this for a second and against his better judgment he said, “If you feel like talking about it, Ellie, you can trust me with a confidence.”

“How can I be sure of that?” she asked with a lift of one eyebrow.

He sat back and smirked. “I’m a minister. I took Secret Keeping 101.”

“But you’re not my minister,” she reminded him. “It’s all pretty messy.”

“And of course I never hear anything messy in this job,” he said sarcastically. “I don’t mean to pry. I was just offering you a chance to—”

“I lost my kids,” she blurted. “My ex-husband filed for custody and got it. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. I was dancing in a club where some of the girls take off their clothes sometimes.” She shrugged. “Not sometimes—all the time. They think the more they’re willing to take off, the better the tips, and that was usually true.” She swallowed and looked away, her eyes threatening to fill again. “My tips were about average.”

“You were an exotic dancer?” he asked.

She looked back at him. “There was nothing exotic about it.”

Truthfully, she looked like someone who’d be more than comfortable taking it off. Noah was hardly shocked; while he was working his way through seminary, he had a casual little ministry down on the docks. His best customers were bums, strippers, homeless people, addicts and others.

“Are they okay with their dad?” Noah asked with as much sensitivity as possible.

The question got an instant reaction out of her. Her face became angry and hard, erasing some of the youthful beauty buried under too much makeup. “He’s not their dad. He was their stepdad for less than three months, and this isn’t about giving them a good life, it’s about holding them hostage. He wants me, that’s what he wants. I dated him for quite a while and I thought he was a nice, normal guy, but he’s not. He’s weird, abusive, mean and controlling, so we got out.

“After we left him, I found myself a real nice setup—I rented half a duplex next to a great lady who could keep the kids at night while I worked. I needed the sitter, she needed the extra money and we had a good arrangement. She was super to the kids, they hardly knew I was gone. I fixed dinner and left at six, she got their baths, read with them and put them to bed, then she’d nod off on the couch till I got home. It was one of the first times I could afford both the rent and the babysitting on just one job. But Arnie wanted us back. He doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way. Taking my kids away from me was the only thing he could think of. He’s one of those people who has to be in charge all the time. In control.”

Noah’s fork was frozen in midair. After all that, all he could say was, “Abusive?”

“Mean,” she said. “He doesn’t hit, but he’s real rigid, demanding as hell and says hurtful things. You don’t like what’s on your plate, you go to bed hungry after you’re called a whole bunch of names. You don’t snap to attention, and you’re called stupid and idiot. Don’t rinse the dishes and wipe the table just perfect, you go to bed without stories or playtime. There’s no TV in the house, no talking at the table, no playing outside unless an adult is standing over you. No sleeping together—that’s dirty.” Her eyes watered. “Trevor is only four! And even when I did manage to get a place where they had their own room, they were always crawling in with me! It’s what kids do!”

Noah couldn’t move. She was pushing some buttons he didn’t feel like having pushed. He started hearing his father’s voice. What do I ask of you besides respect and decency? You have to learn discipline and restraint for your own good before you’re completely lost! No dessert/football/summer camp/TV/friends/et cetera et cetera et cetera!

Her voice lowered and calmed. “Danielle is only eight, and she’s expected to make sure everything is perfectly tidy and clean. And if it isn’t exactly how he wants it, which she’s just too young to do, he calls her names and takes away privileges.” Her laugh had a hollowing. “They’re not things I call privileges—like dinner? Like reading before bed? A privilege? I call it a necessity. How’s Danielle going to grow up smarter than me if she doesn’t get to read?”

Noah cleared his throat. “And this is better for them than a mother who dances for a living?”

She shrugged and looked down for a second. “It was the kind of dancing I did, I guess.” But she met his eyes when she said, “I don’t see the problem. It’s not like I took the kids to the club. It’s not an illegal place.”

“And the judge awarded custody to their stepfather?”

Her lips curved in a cynical smile. “The judge isn’t such a good tipper, either,” she said.

Noah felt sick. He put down his fork. “How did the judge figure in this, Ellie? Did you know him before?”

“He came into the club sometimes. He asked to buy me dinner a few times and I said no—he’s an old man! And besides, we don’t date customers. I explained that, but he wasn’t happy with the answer. But he fixed me, didn’t he?”

“Did the judge tell you that if you found a ‘proper’ job, you could have custody again?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “He said he couldn’t, in good conscience, leave the children in the hands of a stripper when there was a better alternative. All he knows about Arnie is that he’s a principal for a private school. He doesn’t know the real Arnie. The real Arnie can have a mean mouth on him. The judge said this was just temporary—he’d look at the custody again in ninety days.” She glanced away. “Eighty-two and counting.”

“Are you seeing your kids?”

She nodded and that’s when things fell apart for her; she couldn’t keep the tears back. One big one rolled down each cheek. “Every Saturday, just during the day. They can’t even spend the night with me. They’ve never been away from me before. I’ve never spent a single night away from them since they were born, except to work! Do you know the only reason why I haven’t done something like snatch them and run? Because Arnie is obsessed with winning, with having his way. I believe he’d hunt me down and have me locked up. And that would be even worse for the kids than this.”

Noah’s pie sat untouched, as well. He didn’t feel so hot. “Have you tried to get help, Ellie? Like legal aid?”

“Sure,” she said. “They were very nice to me. But there’s not a lot they can do with the decision at this point. Their advice was to try to find an acceptable job. They said they’d go back to court with me, maybe even sooner than ninety days, and they’d make sure I got my kids back. And make sure Arnie didn’t get any visitation—we were only married three months and they’re not his kids. Once I have my kids back legally, I’m running for my life. I’ll go as far as I have to go. I’ll change our names. I’m never letting something like this happen to them again. I made a lot of mistakes … I know I’m not the best mother—the best mother wouldn’t dance for strange men. But I love my kids. I take as good care of them as I can and I love them. And they are, for God’s sake, going to be able to read before bed!”

He smiled at her. “I think that’s something a good mother would insist on.”

“I try. I do everything I can. What else you going to do? It’s really hard when you have to work two jobs. At least at the club, I didn’t have to have a second job to make ends meet. And it was a job I could do while they were asleep.”

“Ellie, do you mind if I ask—how old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

Well, she said she had them too young, he thought. “Where’s their biological dad?”

She shook her head and heaved a defeated sigh. “Oh, what the hell, you’re not giving me that church job anyway. A church job would really kick ass, but—” She took a breath. “This is all part of that Secret Keeping 101, right?”

“You bet.”

“I got pregnant in high school and then my boyfriend got killed in a motorcycle accident before we could even get married. It took me a long time to pick up the pieces and then I made my second big mistake—Trevor’s daddy went to prison when I was just barely pregnant. Robbery. He had a cigar lighter that looked exactly like a gun—how about that? He decided to play a joke on a store owner and ask for the bank deposit. We don’t have any contact at all and never will. And then, as if I couldn’t be smart even once in my life, I married Arnie Gunterson.”

“Wow,” Noah said. “Why’d you marry him?”

“Come on, he didn’t act crazy when I was getting to know him. He was real nice. And he offered me something I’d never had before—a chance to live in a real house and stay home to take care of my kids. He treated me careful, with respect. He never even tried anything, he was saving himself for marriage—remind me never to fall for that one again! I didn’t know there was anything wrong with him. I mean, I knew he wasn’t fun. But the last fun one, Chip, was a laugh a minute, all the way to jail.” She took a breath. “Honest to God, I don’t even know why Arnie wants me. I wasn’t married to him for three days before he started acting all jealous, asking every day if I talked to any men, acting as if he didn’t even really like me. But he wanted me there, in his house, taking orders. And I don’t take orders very well. I must have been like a bad dream to him and he still wouldn’t let me go.

“But you know what? I’m going to figure this out. I’m going to get on my feet, get my kids back, and we’re going to be fine. There have been three men in my life, one of ‘em dead and two of ‘em too lousy to talk about, and that’s the total number of men there ever will be until I drop dead. How’s that? I don’t care what it takes, I’m getting ahead of this. My gramma always used to say the stuff that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Pastor Kincaid, meet Hercules Baldwin.”

Right away Noah’s thought was, You might’ve sworn off men, but I bet they haven’t sworn off you—not with

that face and body. Shew. He was starting to feel a little warm. Let me seek to understand rather than to be understood. Where there is despair, let me offer hope. And dear God, could you please get her to cover up that cleavage for a while?

“Look, Your Reverence, I just need a job like this for ninety days. That’s all. Maybe even less. I just have to convince the judge I’m a good mother, that I have a proper job, and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“You know the judge shouldn’t have been able to take them from you without a pretty exhaustive investigation, right? You know he overstepped his authority, right? Did the legal-aid people explain all that?” Noah asked her.

“That the judge went his own way on this because he could?” she asked. “Oh, yeah, I know he was just screwing with me. And it was also explained that challenging him right now could drag things out even longer—it would make his decision more of an issue than the custody. And believe me, I don’t cut him any slack here, but he doesn’t realize what he’s doing to the kids by giving Arnie control any more than I did when I married Arnie. I’m sure he didn’t think it would be horrible for them. That’s no excuse for ignoring some real important rules, like giving the kids a lawyer of their own … That isn’t going to happen twice, I promise!”

He thought for a second, studying his pie. He looked up. “Ellie, I’d like to ask you a question and I don’t think there’s a way to do it that won’t be offensive. I apologize for that. Could there be any other possible reason the judge chose your ex-husband as the guardian?”

“Like?” she asked, as if confused.

He shrugged. “Problems with the law? Parenting problems? You know …”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t do drugs. The only law I ever broke was not getting my license tags renewed on time because I didn’t have the money. I have a potty mouth, but not in front of the kids … I hardly ever slip. I don’t leave my children alone, and I’ve lost jobs when the sitter stood me up. I can’t give my kids everything I want to, but I take care of them the best I can.”

“You understand, I can’t even consider you for the job unless I ask.”

“I can do your stupid job,” she said defiantly. “And you can bet I’ll do a damn good job. No one has ever complained about my work. I work hard. I always do two days’ work in one, just in case one of the kids gets a fever or something and I have to call in sick to stay with them. I swear to God, if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s lazy!”

“You know, Ellie, the pay I’m able to afford is low. Very modest,” he said. “There are some benefits, but they’re not the greatest.”

“I figured,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t care about that.”

“How would you make that work? You obviously need money.”

“I’ll make changes,” she said. “Give up the duplex. Find one room somewhere. I don’t need a house when I can’t have my kids overnight. We’ve lived in one room before and we could do it again.” She shrugged. “Cozy. We just curl up and tickle and laugh and play and—” Again her eyes misted over. “I’ll manage whatever life throws at me. That’s what I’m used to doing.”

“The church job—it’s not a piece of cake,” he said. “I need help with heavy jobs. You saw the place. I have to fix it up before I even get to the preaching part.”

She flashed him a smile. “Sounds like fun. More fun than listening to a lot of bible beating.”

“At least I’m not going to have to work at getting you to come out of your shy little shell,” Noah said, and she laughed. “You’re in a tight spot. You need just under three months to get back to the judge and for me to find someone permanent. We could try it. But it’s not going to be easy.” On either one of us, he thought.

“Do I seem like someone who knows what to do with easy?”

He smiled and shook his head. He knew better; this was a bad idea. But the kid deserved a break, didn’t she? He dared a glance down from her eyes. A tremor ran though him. She sure didn’t look like a church secretary. But then, he didn’t look like a preacher. “You’re out of work right now?” he asked.

“I quit the day the judge gave Arnie the kids. I have to find something right away.”

“Tomorrow’s Thursday. If you want to start then, you can. But like I said, it’s dirty work. Do you have … ah … Jeans? Sweatshirts? Some shoes that aren’t high heels?”

“Sure,” she said, beaming. “Cool. I haven’t been in a church in years!”

“No kidding? I’d never have guessed. Well, people will have certain expectations …”

“Okay, no swearing. I’ll be totally polite. And I’ll leave my pasties and G-string at home.” Noah went completely red and she burst out laughing. “I don’t have pasties and G-strings. That club? It wasn’t that bad.”

“Just out of curiosity, what was your part?” he asked.

“Well,” she said, rolling her eyes upward. “That’s the interesting thing—sometimes a certain costume or look does more for the guys than being totally naked. The two most popular outfits were the cheerleading costume and the candy striper’s costume. The men—they really go for pom-poms.” Ellie looked at Noah. “Hey—are you all right?”

“Fine. I’m fine,” Noah said weakly. He’d been in his share of strip clubs, but not for a while. And he hadn’t had much female companionship lately, either. Until today, he hadn’t realized how much he missed that. “Now, try that pie.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Are you just doing this to be nice?”

“Pretty much. Are you conning me?”

“Out of a job that’s really hard and pays practically nothing?” she asked. “Why? So I can steal and hock a crucifix? Please. If I could figure out how to con someone, I’d go after that judge. What a jackass he turned out to be. Oops. Sorry. I’m going to have to work on my language, huh?”

“Probably,” Noah grumbled.

After finishing their pie, Noah and Ellie stood, shook hands, and she left. Noah took the empty plates and cups over to Jack at the bar.

“She seemed a lot happier when she left than when she came in, if you know what I mean,” Jack said.

“She assumed she wouldn’t get the job at the church,” Noah said. “Not exactly church-secretary material, I guess.”

“I guess,” Jack said. “Nice-enough girl, though.”

“She needs a job,” Noah said.

“That a fact?”

“What she needs is a break. And it turns out she has all the qualifications.”

Jack grinned. “I couldn’t help but notice.”

Noah sat on a stool. “Better give me a beer….”

“You bet. What’s your pleasure?”

“I’m flexible.”

Jack drew him a cold draft. “You gave her the job, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Noah admitted.

“Whoa, this is going to be fun.”

“For who, exactly?” Noah asked.

Jack laughed at him. “I only talked to her a minute, but she seems okay, don’t you think?”

“She could be a little rough around the edges for a church job.”

“Ya think?” Jack asked with a laugh. “So could you, Noah. But you’re an old softie. You sure she’s not just using you?”

“At eight dollars an hour? Come on. I’m going to have to pray for forgiveness all night for taking advantage of her.”

“Well, there’s a point.”

“But we’re going to have to do something about those … Maybe a shawl? A nice big, concealing shawl?”

“I don’t know, Noah. How about a tarp?”

“God help me.” Noah took a drink of the beer. “Jack, it’s been a real trip, getting to know you and the town. But when the locals get a load of the pastor’s assistant, I’m going to be run out on a rail.”

“Easy, Noah. This is Virgin River. We like things a little on the interesting side. You’ll manage.”

Noah took another drink of his beer. “Let’s hope so,” he muttered.

For her first day of work at the church, Ellie chose to wear something conservative. She dressed in overalls with a white, sleeveless tank top underneath that laced up the front. She slipped into sneakers, pulled her plentiful, curly, copper-colored hair up in a clip, lined her lips and eyes and off she went to Virgin River.

“I’m here,” she yelled as she walked into the church.

“I’m in the basement,” Noah yelled back.

She clomped down the steps, jumping off the bottom step. Noah was patching cracks in the unfinished cinder-block wall, a plasterer’s hawk with a mound of wet cement in one hand, a putty knife in the other. Lucy lay not far away on her bed, lifting her head and wagging her tail as Ellie came down the stairs. Noah smiled at her, then his smile froze. He looked her slowly up and down. And again.

“What?” she demanded hotly, hands on her hips.

“Nothing,” he said, turning away.

“No. What? What’s the matter?”

He turned back slowly, put his tools down on top of the ladder and approached her. “I don’t know how to say this. I think it would be in the best interests of both of us if you’d dress a little more … conservatively.”

She looked down at herself. “More conservatively than overalls?” she asked.

He felt a laugh escape in spite of himself. He shook his head. “Ellie, I’ve never seen anybody look that good in overalls before.”

“And this is a bad thing?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s provocative,” he tried to explain. “Sexy. People who work around churches usually dress a little more … What’s the best way to put this …?”

“Frumpy? Dumpy? Ugly?”

“Without some of their bra showing, for one thing.”

“Well now, Reverend, just where have you been? Because this happens to be in style. And I’ll do any work you give me, but you really shouldn’t be telling me what to wear. The last guy I was with tried to do me over. He liked me well enough when he was trying to get my attention, but the second I married him, he wanted to cover me up so no one would notice I had a body!”

“The husband?”

“The very same. It didn’t work for him and it’s not going to work for you. You didn’t say anything about a dress code. Maybe I’ll turn you in to the Better Business Bureau or something.”

“I think you mean the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Or maybe you should go straight to the American Civil Liberties Union.” He stepped toward her. “Ellie,” he said, using his tender but firm minister voice. “I’m a single man. You’re a very beautiful young woman. I would like it if the good people of Virgin River assumed you were given this job solely because of your qualifications and not because you’re eye candy. Tomorrow, could you please wear something less distracting?”

“I’ll do my best,” she said in a huff. “But this is what I have, and there’s not much I can do about that. Especially on what you’re paying me.”

“Just think ‘baggy,’” he advised.

“We’re going to have a problem there,” she said. “I don’t buy my clothes baggy. Or ugly. Or dumpy. And you can bet your sweet a … butt I left behind the clothes Arnie thought I should wear.” She just shook her head in disgust. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You know how many guys would rather have something nice to look at than a girl in a flour sack? Guess you didn’t get to Count Your Blessings 101.” She cocked her head and lifted her eyebrows.

“I’m counting,” he said. But his eyes bore down on hers seriously. He was not giving an inch. “Just an ounce of discretion. Do what you can.”

She took a deep breath. “Let’s just get to work. Tomorrow I’ll look as awful as possible. How’s that?”

“Perfect. Why don’t you get started by sweeping up in the kitchen. It’s large enough for a dozen people to work in there together—it’s a big room. The appliances are all gone, but it’s going to have to be cleaned up before I can put down new flooring and paint. It’s accumulated a good ten years of dirt. Some of my household things are being delivered in a few weeks. After I get the walls patched, textured and painted, and put down flooring over the concrete, I can store my shipment and other things down here while we work on the upstairs.”

“Sure, fine. Are there supplies somewhere?”

“Already in the kitchen.”

“I’m on it, Rev,” she said with a salute, turning on her heel to march off toward the kitchen, treating him to a little skip and fanny wiggle on her way.

Noah grimaced. He looked down at Lucy, who lifted her head and wagged her tail—maybe in sympathy, so he gave her a pat on the head. That went well, he thought. He’d offended Ellie and judged her all at the same time. He already knew she was forced to pinch pennies and couldn’t buy new clothes for a job of cleaning and painting. Besides, the absolute truth was, she was a pleasure to look at. And frankly, you could see more skin and curves on prime-time TV. So what was he afraid of? That stodgy church ladies were going to get uptight, seeing her around town, knowing she was helping him work on the church?

The girl’s having a hard enough time, going up against a judge who is, himself, a patron of the very strip joint he condemns her for working in. She was taking a low-paying church job just to gain enough credibility to get her kids back—credibility she shouldn’t need. Any woman her age willing to work more than one job to afford the most rudimentary stuff of life, having never been separated from her children before except to work, should be plenty convincing.

For a second he wondered if he’d been sucked in by her lost soul. “Pah,” he scoffed aloud. Ellie didn’t seem at all lost. She was a fighter, and that impressed him. He barely knew her and he already admired her. Plus, it was good that she was sassy; she shouldn’t let anyone tell her what to wear.

He was right about one thing, however. She was distracting, even when she wasn’t in the same room. It wasn’t just the visible edges of her bra. Her thick, curly hair, pulled up and cascading down, her creamy skin, sultry, deep brown eyes, full lips, teasing smile, long legs, narrow waist, perfect hips and nice round booty—all that added up to an appearance that couldn’t help but bring sex to mind. And it reminded Noah that he’d been on a serious sex diet for the past few years. Not exactly a starvation diet, but still …

He climbed back up on his ladder and continued to patch the walls while Ellie worked in the kitchen. And while he worked he thought a lot about what had brought him here to this run-down church in Virgin River.

He thought back to something his mom used to ask him from time to time. “What are your goals, Noah?” she had asked.

“I will never be a minister, Mom. Never.”

After a long period of silence, she said, “I’m relieved. I think your father and I have thoroughly ruined you for that.”

As he continued to repair and patch the walls, Noah smiled at the irony—he was embarking on a career he never thought he would have. It was a shame that his mom and Merry weren’t here to see this. They had always supported him and he knew the irony of his current situation would not have been lost on them, either.

Even though it had been a few years since her death, Noah still missed Merry sometimes. Their couple of years together had been magic. She had been such a free spirit; she made him laugh, brought him wisdom and optimism. She was edgy and fun—she took chances and encouraged him to do the same. Merry was a committed soul who cared deeply and loyally about her “causes,” as he called them, and all the people in her life. After she was gone he made a point of remaining in touch with her family. Her parents and siblings were a great support to him even as they contended with their own grief.

The whole idea of considering going back to the seminary came from George, who described it as a combination of dredging the soul for the innermost spirituality, personal faith, teaching, counseling, community and theater. Only George could come up with a combination like that. “You’ve had those leanings anyway,” George had said. “Just check it out.”

“But I will never preach,” Noah said.

“Not that many ordained ministers do,” George said with a shrug. “They’re therapists, minister to sick and needy folk, teach—there are more options than I can list. But along the way you might find out a thing or two about yourself. No harm there.”

In short, Noah was convinced. During his studies, he found out he was meant to try to hold a group of believers together in faith, to lend a hand, to communicate, to educate, to bring hope. To be a friend. There was only one thing that was required of him that he could not do—and that was to forgive his father.

Just last year his mother passed. She had slipped away in the night, having had a stroke at the age of seventy. Noah attended the funeral, even though he hated the idea of seeing his father. But it was the only time in Noah’s life he could remember having the last word with his dad.

Jasper said to him, within the hearing of many others, “Do you see what leaving the family and the faith did? It killed your mother.”

Without missing a beat, Noah replied, “You should be aware that Mother and I have been in touch ever since I left home. She visited twice even though I wouldn’t come back. She was always there for me and we loved one another profoundly. The truth is, I think staying with you was what killed her.”

The shock on his father’s face was priceless; and the insult bit Jasper deep. It had obviously never occurred to Jasper that his wife would keep secrets from him. Maybe it was just that he paid so little attention to her, he was unaware that she kept a close relationship with her son. The reading of the will hammered Jasper with a few more home truths—Inez Kincaid had brought a trust fund to her marriage to a poor preacher who was ten years her junior. Her personal wealth had helped Jasper build a big following, televise his services, evangelize and collect members. She willed half of the fund to Noah. Jasper had expected to receive all of it.

And now Noah was going to run through a great deal of his inheritance fixing up this old church.

He looked in the direction of the kitchen. Another free spirit, he admitted to himself. In a completely different form.

There was a crash, a splash, and Ellie said, “Fuck.”

Lucy came to her feet and Noah looked up. “Very funny,” he said to God. “That kind of thing isn’t going to go over well.” Then he walked to the kitchen, Lucy beside him.

He stood in the doorway and watched as Ellie used the rag mop to try to capture the flood that resulted from a tipped bucket. But that wasn’t where his focus was—he frowned and looked at his watch. The morning had passed without him even realizing it. He’d been completely lost in thought. And while he’d been thinking of his past and patching wall cracks, Ellie had been working like a demon.

The huge, restaurant-size kitchen almost glowed. The floor had been swept, mopped, and was being mopped again. She’d done some things that had made an enormous difference—the high windows were cleaned and spotless, the frames scrubbed of dust, spiderwebs and dirt. The countertops were scoured and disinfected. The cupboards were washed out with their doors standing open. The few remaining kitchenware items that had been abandoned were washed and drying in a dish drain she’d found; all four deep sinks were scrubbed clean, the faucets shining. The room didn’t look like new, but it was clean and fresh and ready for painting and flooring.

She squeezed her mop, straightened and wiped a hand across her forehead, pushing up a curl that just bounced back to hang over one eye. She blew out of her lower lip to cool her face, making that curl flutter in her breath. “Let me guess,” she said. “You heard me say fuck. Sorry. I’ll try not to say it. But I bet if you’d dumped a big pail of nasty mop water on your clean floor, you would have said fuck, too.”

He laughed and just shook his head. “Maybe. It looks good in here, Ellie. Who knew you could do something like this with long, blue, sparkly fingernails.”

“I figured you meant for me to clean it, so I cleaned it.”

“It’s fantastic. I bet you’re hungry. It’s after one.”

She got a very strange look on her face, as though a thought just came to mind or she’d forgotten something. Then she just continued mopping. “Nah, I don’t think I could eat. I really pigged out on pizza last night and I’m still stuffed.”

“I’m going next door for a sandwich. Come with me.”

“Nah, go on. I’ll just finish up here. If I do a good job, maybe you’ll let me out of here early or something. I have to get looking for a new place to live.”

“You can leave whenever you’ve had enough—you’ve done an incredible job. I’ve been chipping away at the dirt in this place for weeks and it looks like you conquered it in no time at all.”

She straightened again. She pushed that curl back. Her neck and chest were damp with perspiration, which made her look even sexier. She smiled almost shyly. “I cleaned office buildings and sometimes houses for cash—under the table. One of my many second jobs. I don’t think it was listed on that sheet of jobs.”

“Résumé,” he corrected, then damned himself for being so uppity. Why couldn’t he just accept her the way she was?

“Résumé,” she agreed. “I got some great tips from the girls who had more experience than me. Clean is good. Fast and clean makes more money.”

He laughed with genuine pleasure. “You’ve been in the trenches,” he said with appreciation. Admiration. “Come on—let me buy you a sandwich. If you’re not real hungry, Preacher will make you half, but it’s your first day working for me. My treat—come on.”