“Good, good. Then there’s the other thing.” He let that set a moment before continuing, “You see, Pastor, a lot of the folks who’re members here at the church live back in the hills.”
Gil hadn’t thought about that, but realized that it would be a natural occurrence.
Richard went on, “But the problem is that you’ll never get to most of those places in that little car of yours with it setting so low to the ground and those little bitty tires. Those dirt roads can be murder. In fact, some of those places, you have to cross over some dry creeks that ain’t always dry, if you know what I mean. You need either a truck or a Jeep to get over those.”
“That’s great!” It was far from great. It was just another setback in a seemingly long list of setbacks. “Thanks Richard, I’ll have to think about that.”
“Well if you decide to get something, then my cousin has an old Jeep that runs real good and he’ll let you have it for a decent price.”
Gil went on into his office with a dog, a stoic photo, dirt roads, not so dry creek crossings, and Jeeps on his mind, everything but the service to come and especially his sermon. That would have to change and quick.
* * *
Jo was sleeping like the dead when a loud noise awakened her enough to open one eye and look at her alarm clock, which wasn’t ringing. Ten o’clock! Too early! Since it was Sunday, the bar didn’t open until two so she had plenty of time to sleep. She rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head hoping to shut out the noise. Probably just Carla dancing to her music. She could get loud without knowing it with those earbuds in her ears.
The noise continued and if anything only increased in volume. She lifted her head again, enough to recognize the sound as that of someone pounding on her door.
She pulled on a light housecoat and struggled to get to the door only to find Sue Ann grinning at her through the window.
As soon as Jo opened the door, Sue Ann pushed past her and flopped down in a chair at the table. “You need to get dressed quick girl.”
Jo was sure she heard her friend correctly but couldn’t process what she’d heard. The only intelligible sound she could make was, “What?” Then, “What for?”
“You heard me, Jo Jo. Get dressed. I’ve decided that we need to check out this new preacher some more and what better way than to go and hear what he says to that church this morning. He’s bound to be telling them all about what his plans are.”
Jo shook her head in an attempt to clear her sleep deprived mind. “Sue Ann, I just went to bed a few hours ago. I had to close last night or actually this morning. And besides, doesn’t that church start at eleven?”
“No problem Jo Jo. Evelyn told me that the preacher won’t start preaching until eleven thirty. So we got plenty of time.”
Sue Ann was on her feet now and already busy making coffee. “So go on Jo Jo and by the time you finish with your shower, I’ll have coffee and breakfast waiting for you. You’ll feel like a new woman then.”
Jo knew from past experience that if she continued to argue with Sue Ann, not only would she be wide awake anyway, but she’d still wind up doing what Sue Ann wanted her to do after all that. So she headed back to her room to take a shower.
An hour later, Jo knocked softly on Carla’s door then peeked in to find her little sister still asleep. So she placed a note on the refrigerator and left with Sue Ann.
Sue Ann talked non-stop on the way to the church but Jo wasn’t listening to her. She knew that if Sue Ann said anything important, she’d just fuss at Jo for not listening and then repeat it for her.
She was wondering what possible good could come out of her going to the Baptist church today. You might say it was kind of like going into the enemy’s camp. What would the people say when they saw her and Sue Ann go in there?
That was when she remembered Sue Ann’s six-year old son. “Where’s Andy?”
“Oh, he’s with his dad in Springfield this weekend. He won’t be back before six this evening.”
Sue Ann had been right. When they slipped inside the big room from the church foyer, the music was just quitting and the preacher was stepping into the pulpit.
They quickly found seats near the back and settled in quietly.
Jo looked up at the preacher. Even though he’d had a tie on the other day, he still looked different today with not only a tie on but a suit as well. She couldn’t help but notice that like her, his pale skin tone looked good against the navy suit. Even though she had red hair too, she didn’t think she’d ever seen a shade of red quite like his was. It was so light that it almost looked bleached. Bleached red hair? She’d heard of bleached blonds but never bleached redheads.
* * *
Gil couldn’t help but notice the two women who came in just as he approached the pulpit to preach. Several emotions swept over him almost at once. He was pleased that they were here because he didn’t think they usually came to church, at least not the bar owner. What was her name? Oh yes, Mary Jo Early.
Then the other one being here really shocked him. She had been so hostile the other day. Oh well. Go figure. He couldn’t worry about that right now, he had a sermon to preach.
He opened his Bible on the pulpit and placed his notes next to it. When he looked back at the congregation, he was reminded that even they hadn’t been overly friendly or welcoming as they came in this morning. It was probably due to that newspaper photo and Jillian’s reference to his having a doctorate. One more time, he wondered just what he was getting himself into?
He took a deep breath and started talking.
“Good morning everyone. It’s good to see all of you here this morning. I don’t know all of you yet, but I hope to rectify that soon.”
He paused to scan all the faces turned up at him, with his gaze again stopping on the two women in the back. The bar owner, Mary Jo’s face was a big question while her friend, the beautician’s face was the same as before, hostile.
“I stand before you this morning a humble servant of the Lord who wants only to be there for you when you need me. In the meantime, I intend to preach the Gospel and only the Gospel. I will not stray from what the Bible teaches. Therefore, I will never attack any person or institution in this town.”
He paused and waited for the ripple of small talk that raced around the room to settle down. He knew he’d made an impression already. He just wasn’t sure whether it was a good one or a bad one.
After his sermon and during the invitation hymn, he saw Mary Jo and her friend slip out of the church. That was too bad. He had really wanted to talk to them before they left to see if he could learn why they had come.
* * *
Jo only had one thought going around in her head as Sue Ann rushed her to the car so they could leave before anyone else came out of the church. The preacher had sounded sincere. Could she believe him? And most important of all, would he always be that way? After all, the other preacher had been here for several years before he suddenly began attacking all the bars.
As they both slipped into Sue Ann’s car, Jo turned to her best friend and said, “Sue Ann, do you think he was sincere when he said he would never attack anyone for any reason?”
Sue Ann snorted. “Yeah, about as sincere as a cat swearing off mice while licking his chops in front of a mouse hole.”
* * *
Gil had just said goodbye to the last couple to leave the worship service when someone slapped him on the back. He turned around and Richard was standing there smiling at him. Gil had noticed before that Richard hadn’t worn his bib overalls this morning. But he did have on what looked like a fairly new pair of jeans though. Gil was just going to have to get used to how casual everybody was in this town.
“Well, Pastor, if no one else asked you, why don’t you come on out to my place and have Sunday dinner with me and my family?”
Now that he thought about it, Gil was a little surprised that no one had asked him to dinner. He didn’t want to think about what that might mean.
Richard frowned and said, “I think it might be best if you rode with me in my truck. Then you can ride back with me later on for the deacon meeting.”
When Gil started to protest, Richard added, “It might be best if you took your first look at the back roads around here in my truck before you decide if you want to take that little car of yours on them.”
Gil certainly couldn’t argue with that logic. “Okay, you’re probably right.”
On the way out to Richard’s farm, Gil tried to keep track of all the turns they made. First, they turned off the state road onto a county blacktop then onto a gravel road, still not bad. Then they turned off on a dirt road that didn’t look quite wide enough for two vehicles to meet. It still didn’t look too bad. He did have a small car after all. He changed his mind when the road just seemed to disappear into the horizon over the hill ahead of them.
Richard laughed and said, “My boys always call this the jumping off place.”
Gil certainly agreed with that description.
When they topped the hill, they went almost straight down the other side all the way to a creek that wasn’t dry and there was no bridge over it.
As Gil was looking out his window and down at the water, which came almost to the middle of the large truck tires, his stomach felt queasy.
A few minutes later, Richard turned off the small dirt road onto an even smaller dirt road that could only be a drive and it was full of bumps and holes. The tree branches were so low that they almost formed a tunnel. The big truck dipped and bounced its way about a hundred yards up to a large two-story house in need of a coat of paint.
When Richard joined him at the steps to the front porch, Gil looked at him and said, “How much did you say your cousin wanted for his Jeep?”
Richard laughed loudly and slapped Gil on the back again. “I figured that little drive would make you see that you couldn’t drive that car of yours very many places around here.”
When Gil looked back at the drive they’d just traveled on, Richard laughed again and said, “And this road isn’t even the worst of them. There are several that are worse. Why, wait ‘til you see Jake Hollis’ road. He’s one of the deacons you know.”
When Gil continued standing there staring at the drive, Richard said, “We’ll give Lonny a call after dinner, okay?”
Gil simply nodded his head and followed Richard inside wondering just how much of his savings would be needed for this new necessity that he had never realized he would need.
After a huge meal and pleasant conversation with Richard, his wife Naomi, and their three teenage sons, Gil was getting rather sleepy. It didn’t help that he had forced himself to get up an hour earlier than usual that morning.
As Gil and Richard were leaving the house to go back to the church for the deacon meeting, Gil heard one of the boys tease another one about having a crush on a girl named Carla Sue Early.
He turned to Richard and said, “Early? Isn’t that the name of that woman who owns a bar?”
Richard smiled and said, “Yep, Mary Jo is Carla’s big sister. A sweeter pair of females you’ll never find.”
“I noticed that the sister, Mary Jo, was in church this morning. Is she normally?”
Richard laughed and slapped the steering wheel with one hand. “No sir. That was the first time I recon I’ve ever seen her there. She was there with Sue Ann Vickers who used to come off and on, but she stopped completely when Bill began his attack on the bars.”
They were soon back at the church and in the small conference room next to Gil’s office. It was just big enough for the table, which had twelve chairs around it.
Gil knew there were four deacons counting Richard but he didn’t know what to expect from the other deacons. He could only hope they would be as congenial and helpful as Richard was proving to be. But, he wasn’t so sure after the reception he’d had that morning in church.
Richard motioned for Gil to take the head of the long table and he took the chair on Gil’s right. The others began to come in after that, one at a time and Richard made the introductions.
Once everyone was seated, Richard began the meeting.
“Fellows, I’d like to start this first deacon meeting with our new pastor with prayer then we can get down to business.”
Richard prayed a short, simple prayer then looked around the table and said, “I want all of you to know that I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Gil here over the last several days and I think he’s just what this old church needs.”
He leaned back in his chair as if waiting for a storm to blow in and it did.
The first to speak was J.C. Davis, who Richard had introduced to Gil as the president of a local bank. He was in his late fifties, thin and bald.
“How old are you Son?”
Gil had known that he was probably going to be tested and this was probably only the first one.
“I’m twenty-nine, sir.”
Leroy Wilton who Richard had introduced as the owner of a garage was a big man with huge muscular arms. He looked over at Davis and said, “What has age got to do with it J.C.? If the man’s qualified and wants to come to a church that’s been about to split for the past five years, then I say more power to him.”
Gil was shocked. He looked at Richard who had the good grace to blush a little. Why had no one told Gil that tiny, little detail? What was he going to do now?
The rest of the meeting went rather smoothly with Richard chairing it. Several items of business were handled and they adjourned.
Gil was glad that Richard left with the other deacons. He just wanted to go to the parsonage so he could sit comfortably and do some serious thinking.
* * *
Jo was again thinking about the new preacher and not paying attention to Sue Ann’s running monologue. It took her a moment to realize that Sue Ann was calling her name.
“What?” She turned to look at Sue Ann.
“I swear girl, you haven’t heard a word I’ve said all morning. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you got a man on your mind.” She laughed then said, “I was just saying that I sure would like to have some of Thelma’s meatloaf and a slice of her apple pie.”
Thelma’s was a local café that had an official name that no one ever used. It had just been known as Thelma’s for as long as Jo could remember.
Jo thought for a moment and then said, “Sure, let’s swing by and pick up Carla.”
Carla was excited about eating anything other than what Jo would have fixed them from the grill downstairs.
Soon they were all three situated at a table in the center of the café. As usual, it had taken them a few minutes to get from the door to their table with having to stop and talk to various other diners on the way. Between the two business owners, their clientele just about included most people in town not to mention the fact that they had both grown up here.
Jo took one look at her little sister and knew she had something on her mind so she smiled at her and waited.
“Jo? You said in your note that you went to the Baptist church this morning.” She looked at Sue Ann as if she suspected it had been her idea, then back to Jo. “Why?”
Before Jo could answer, Sue Ann jumped in. “Because we had to hear for ourselves what that new preacher had to say for himself.”
Jo knew that Carla wasn’t satisfied with Sue Ann’s answer especially since her little sister didn’t always get along with her best friend. So she tried to explain it better. “It was Sue Ann’s idea, but I’m glad I went though, because I don’t think he’s going to cause trouble like the last preacher did.”
Jo ignored Sue Ann’s snort of disbelief and continued, “In fact, I think that he seemed very sincere when he said he just wanted to be a pastor to his church.” She thought for a second. “He even said that he wanted to help the town heal from the troubles of last year.”
C
arla was about to say something to that when she looked toward the entrance and grinned. Jo turned to see what or who she was grinning at. All she saw was a tall, muscular brown haired man that she didn’t know who was now being led to a table.
When Thelma was leading him past their table, Carla jumped up and said, “Hi, Mr. Bates.”
The man stopped and looked first at Carla then at Sue Ann. Finally, his gaze landed on Jo and he smiled. When he turned back to Carla he said, “Carla isn’t it?”
If possible, Carla’s smile became even broader. “Yes, I’m in your third hour American History class.” She looked down at the two women and said, “This is my sister Mary Jo and her friend Sue Ann.”
He stepped toward them and held out his hand, first to Sue Ann who was closer, then he turned to Jo. “It’s good to meet you ladies. I’m Mike Bates.”
Jo was too surprised to react to the closeness of the man. Her hand felt small in his huge one and she noticed that he didn’t let go as quickly as she thought he should have. He was looking directly into her eyes and smiling. What was going on here? She didn’t like this one little bit.
Sue Ann had that look in her eye that Jo knew quite well. She smiled at the guy and said, “Why don’t you join us Mr. Bates?”
Jo was not pleased. What had happened to her little sister and her best friend? Even if the guy was nice looking, she just wasn’t ready to spend her limited time off with a stranger, especially a man.
He smiled at Sue Ann who gave him a smile that Jo knew meant trouble. “I’d love to do just that ladies, but please call me Mike.”
Jo looked at Carla and said, “Not you.”
Carla only grinned and continued to stare at her teacher. And Jo thought oh, oh, looks like a case of puppy love coming on here.
It didn’t take long for the duo of Carla and Sue Ann to tell Mike everything there was to know about all three of them, including Jo. And that wasn’t too pleasing to her right then either. At least there was one thing that neither of them told him about her.
No Easy Solution (Crowley County Series Book 1) Page 5