Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [44]
Were those ulterior motives or was he only taking care of business? She troubled her lip. “To be honest, I didn’t know I’d be working with you. Otherwise I wouldn’t even have accepted this position. I’ll have to resign if it includes private meetings with the likes of you.”
“That’s right. You don’t want me. I get that, but if you back out of this committee now, it will just delay the preliminary process. For the congregation’s sake, we can surely put our personal feelings aside long enough to get this job done.” He gave her a crooked, albeit contrite smile. “Think of all the little Sunday school kids. How would you like to listen to adult sermons without getting any David and Goliath stories afterward to make up for it? And think of all the starving bachelors who count on the church potlucks. And think of—”
“Okay. I get it.” She bit her lip to keep from smiling and raised a brow. “What about the doddy house?”
He squinted those intimidating brows. “You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” He lifted his arms to show he wore no weapon. “Come on, Katy. I’m just a harmless Dutchman. Totally defenseless.”
She ignored his comment and rephrased her question in a voice she might use with Tyler. “Is your work for the church going to slow down your progress at the doddy house? This is a major project.”
She saw his eyes darken; anger and lust with him looked so similar, she couldn’t tell what was going through his thick, tousle-haired skull. “I’ll work overtime, if that’s what it takes. I’m not a slacker. I need both jobs to get references for the construction business I plan to start.” The painter walked by, giving them a once-over.
“They want to lock up,” Katy observed.
“Let me walk you to your car,” Jake whispered in reply.
She started to put her coat on and resented the way Jake helped her shrug into it. She moved toward the door. “Regarding the new kitchen, what kind of information do you need?”
He gave her the quick version, one that fit into the distance between the church and her car, and she realized he could be precise and intelligent when he chose to be. He wasn’t a boy any longer. He was a stubborn, irrepressible man. When they reached her car, she had a vivid flashback of the incident. It shook her. She only wanted to get rid of him. “I’ll make some calls. Talk to Lil and the rest of the committee. Maybe I can stop by sometime at the doddy house and go over it with you.” She reached for her car door handle.
“Wait. Do you have paper and a pencil? I should give you my cell phone number so you can call before you come.” She frowned and slid into her seat. As if she’d ever call him. But he continued to explain. “I’m usually there, but sometimes I have to run after materials. Sometimes I have to sit with Grandma, too.”
Her emotions flickered with instant sympathy, remembering his grandma who now had Alzheimer’s. Minnie had been her favorite Sunday school teacher, a vibrant part of their congregation, but now the elderly woman fell asleep the moment her skirt hit the pew, her snores embarrassing everyone within hearing. He must have misread her expression, because he quickly added, “I can always stay late, if I have to do that. But it’s one of the reasons I moved back home. To give Mom some support. Sis is staying at a dorm at OSU.” He rammed his hands in his jeans.
Trying to tamp down the sympathy she felt for him, she started rifling through her purse. Her bandage caught, and she jerked it free. “I’m sorry about your grandma.”
“Thanks.”
She handed him paper and pen. “I don’t mean to sound like a slave driver. I’m sure you’ll do a great job. I just have a problem with you.”
He shed off her insult and scribbled seven digits on the paper. Then he started rambling about something totally off the subject, and Katy struggled to follow.
He was saying something about God dividing time into days? “Every morning is a new start. He gave us a new birth, too. There’s not much without the hope of new beginnings, Katy.”
Getting his drift, she snatched