“I’m surprised you two are getting along so well since he’s not himself.”
Betty laughed. “Honey, your father may have his faults but we still love each other, even after all our years of marriage.” Her voice mellowed then caught. “If you ever find a man half as wonderful as your daddy, hang on tight and don’t ever let him go.”
Although Whitney seemed focused entirely on her plate, she found herself picturing a certain reclusive barista and wondering how she could hang on tight to him when she didn’t seem able to get a good grip in the first place.
Chapter Six
Josh almost managed to talk himself into skipping church that Sunday. He didn’t know a lot about the Bible yet, but he knew enough to feel guilty if he failed to honor his commitment to worship regularly with the local congregation. Either he was dedicated to his newfound faith or he wasn’t. It was that simple.
The complication was Whitney Leigh, of course. If anyone else in Bygones had invited him to share a meal he wouldn’t have thought anything of it. As a matter of fact, he’d joined Chase Rollins, Patrick Fogerty and others for lunch at The Everything more than once. The food wasn’t the problem. The woman was.
He’d almost made a big mistake with her in the park the night before. What had gotten into him, anyway? Must have been the party atmosphere or something. There was simply no way she could have gotten under his skin so thoroughly that he forgot who and what he was. Even if she did happen to like him at present, she was going to end up furious when she eventually figured out the truth. And she would. There was no doubt in his mind she wouldn’t quit probing until she knew everything.
Josh had left his expensive, hand-tailored suits back home in St. Louis. In order to maintain his modest persona in Bygones, he had adopted a much more casual look. His Sunday best was a pair of pressed jeans topped with a suede blazer or, if the weather was especially frigid as it had been at the tree-lighting, a black leather bomber jacket.
Happily, he’d found that his choice of wardrobe fit the area perfectly. So did letting his hair grow a little longer so it touched his collar in back. One thing he didn’t do, however, was refrain from shaving daily. The scruffy look might suit some men, but leaving whisker shadow on his chin had never appealed to Josh.
The parking lot at Bygones Community Church was already half-full when he turned the van into it. He would have driven a personal car if he hadn’t been trying to perpetuate the image of a struggling shopkeeper.
The more he thought about his well-planned deception, the more it bothered him, particularly since he’d joined this church. It had occurred to him to confide in Pastor Hugh Garman, and he probably would have, if he had not been worried that the elderly man might insist on full, immediate disclosure of the truth.
Groups of people were hurrying from their cars toward the warm sanctuary. Josh joined them. The crew-cut greeter at the front door shook his hand vigorously and handed him a bulletin. “Good morning! Glad you could make it.”
Josh returned his wide grin, said, “Yeah, me, too, Don,” and meant it from the bottom of his heart. It was that kind of total acceptance that he craved. As CEO and founder of Barton Technologies he was always treated with due respect at the office, yet that was not the same as the sense of belonging he’d found right here. Not even close.
Whitney and a middle-aged couple were waiting in the small vestibule at the rear of the sanctuary. The woman looked like a slightly older version of Whitney. The man, who was obviously her father, was scowling and leaning on a cane with both hands.
Josh approached the family with a smile. “Good morning. You must be Whitney’s dad.” He offered his hand but the man ignored it.
“That, I am.”
Whitney interrupted to make proper introductions. “Josh Smith, meet Betty and J.T., my parents.”
“My pleasure,” Josh said. He could tell that Betty was okay with everything. J.T., however, was another story.
“We’re delighted to meet you, Josh,” Betty said, taking his hand and holding it for a brief moment before elbowing her husband and prodding him. “Shake the man’s hand, you old coot. Don’t forget you’re in a house of worship.”
For an instant, Josh saw a clear reflection of Whitney in her mother’s words and actions. It was obvious she had passed along plenty of mannerisms and inflections as well as the intelligence he’d found so appealing—as long as the cute reporter wasn’t using it to pry into his private life, that is.
Josh once again extended his hand. “I guess we’d better get along or the women folk are going to pitch a fit,” he said quietly.
The older man nodded, shifted his weight on the cane and shook Josh’s hand. “Guess so. I ought to know better than to forget my manners when my wife is around.” Although J.T.’s grip was firm, Josh still sensed hesitancy.
“In case you were wondering,” Josh offered, “your daughter and I are just friends.”
“Good to hear.” Demonstrating a change of mood, J.T. clapped him on the shoulder. “We’d better get in there and grab a pew before all the good seats in the back are taken.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Josh said. “The last thing I want is be stuck in the front row where Pastor Hugh can peer over the top of his glasses and give me one of his knowing stares.”
“You got any reason why he’d want to?”
Josh stifled a laugh. “Nope. From what I’ve seen since I joined this church, he doesn’t need a good reason. It seems to me he just throws out the notion of sin and sinners, then scoops up whatever rises to the bait.”
“I like this guy,” J.T. said, winking at his wife. “It’s kinda too bad he and Whitney aren’t serious about each other.”
A frog caught in Josh’s throat and almost made him choke. He’d been worried about the Leigh family not accepting him. It was starting to look as if they’d had the opposite reaction. That wasn’t good, either, but he supposed it beat total rejection.
Or did it? Josh helped Whitney shed her coat while both women let J.T. lead the way into one of the pews and position himself to protect his healing knee. That meant that Betty was between her husband and daughter, leaving Josh the last seat on the aisle. Right next to Whitney.
He unbuttoned his tan suede blazer as he sat down and looked around. Muted light shone through the high, stained glass windows, carrying beams of color onto the rows of wooden pews. At the front of the sanctuary stood a rustic cross framed by a shallow, white-painted arch.
Normally, there was little else up front except the pulpit, a microphone and a tasteful flower arrangement, but today Lily had outdone herself. There were potted, red poinsettias grouped at the base of the altar area like a fiery garden. And in the center of the cluster were seven white plants, arranged in the shape of a cross. It was so unusual it was garnering everyone’s attention.
Josh was about to point it out to Whitney when the overhead lights dimmed and a single spot shone on the white flowers. The pastor, wearing a business suit rather than being robed like the choir, announced, “This season, as we celebrate Christ’s birth, we must also remember why He came to dwell among us. Without His miraculous birth, His death is of no consequence. And without His death and resurrection, there would be no celebration of His birth.”
With that, the choir marched in singing the Hallelujah chorus of Handel’s Messiah, accompanied by an orchestra on a CD.
The congregation rose without being told to.
Whitney slipped her hand through the crook of Josh’s elbow as naturally as if they had stood together to worship a hundred times before.
He laid his free hand over hers and closed his eyes. All this was pretty new to him but one thing was apparent. Something special was happening here. To him.
It had begun when he had gone forward a few months ago. Back then, he’d thought that was all there was to it, yet every time he’d set foot in Bygones Community Church since that day he’d learned something new and amazing—about the gospel and about himself.
&n
bsp; The congregation was singing along with the choir now. The music had switched to a hymn that sounded familiar to Josh and everyone was joining in without having to read the words.
Except him. Would he ever reach the point where he was able to fully participate the way others did? To be a part of the service instead of feeling like a bystander?
It was his fondest wish that he would.
It was also a reminder that once he left Bygones and went back to St. Louis he might never find a church that was as friendly and accepting as this one.
Or a partner to worship with who was half as perfect as Whitney Leigh.
*
Whitney didn’t remember much of the sermon she’d just heard, primarily because she’d been unable to stop dwelling on the way she’d felt sitting there next to Josh.
After the closing prayer she glanced at her mother and father. Betty had put on her coat and was helping J.T. with his without being obvious about it. Their relationship had changed since his knee surgery. At times, it seemed they were more quarrelsome, particularly when her father refused to heed his doctors. Other times, like now, Whitney sensed a glow of abiding love.
She had no doubt that that love had been there all along. It had simply taken the stress of his surgery to bring it to the fore.
“You’re looking awfully pleased,” Betty remarked to her daughter. “It was a beautiful service, wasn’t it?”
“Uh-huh. It’s also nice to see you and Dad getting along so well.”
The older woman’s grin spread, crinkling her face at the corners of her eyes and making them sparkle. “Oh, honey. We’ve always gotten along well, even when it may not have looked like it to outsiders—or even to you. Your father and I have the kind of marriage where we know what the other is thinking before it’s even said.”
“And finish each other’s sentences. I know. I’ve heard you do that a million times.”
“Right.” Betty eyed Josh as he stood back politely to let the women proceed up the aisle ahead of him. “I like your friend. And I suspect you do, too.”
“Of course, I do. I like all my friends.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Whitney warned with an arch of her eyebrows.
Rather than block the crowded aisle she chose to move ahead until they were all outside. Bright sun glistened off the piles of snow that had been cleared from the church parking lot by machine.
She shivered and rubbed her hands together. “Brrr. Too bad the Cozy Cup is closed on Sundays. I could use another cup of hot cocoa about now.”
“Why don’t we all go back to the house together?” Betty was looking straight at Josh as she spoke. “You, too, of course. Maybe you can give me a few tips on making great coffee.”
“Not without bringing my espresso machines,” he replied. “Am I invited anyway?”
“Of course you are. No sense making a big deal about it. We’re having leftovers. You can’t get much more casual than that.”
“Sure,” Josh said with a nonchalant shrug. “Sounds fine to me.”
If Whitney had not been so shocked at the ease with which her mother had handled the situation, she might have commented—and ruined everything.
“Okay. See you in a few,” Whitney said. Smiling to herself, she left the other three discussing the best route to take to the Leigh house and hurried to her Mustang. Josh was coming to share a meal! “Thank You, Jesus.”
She climbed into the car and slipped the key into the ignition, then paused with her hands on the steering wheel and closed her eyes.
“Help me to understand him,” she prayed. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to grow up in a family where there were no special celebrations or times when they shared joy. No wonder he refuses to open up more.”
She could picture him as a forlorn child who had channeled all his interest into computers because he’d had nothing else. Well, that was over. He might not know how to be a part of a loving family like hers but she was going to do her best to teach him, to make him feel so welcome he wouldn’t hesitate to fill her in about his past. Then, they’d both benefit.
He’d taken the first steps toward opening his life to agape love when he’d joined the church. Being around her mom and dad was going to be the next one.
And then what? she asked herself.
In the back of her mind, beyond where she was willing to venture, was the lingering notion that she might want Josh Smith to become even more to her. Much more.
*
The Leigh residence was small compared to many of the others on that outlying block of Granary Road. Painted white with blue shutters, it sat far enough back from the street to give Mrs. Leigh room for summer flowerbeds as well as some lawn. Parallel strips of concrete formed the driveway, in the manner of many older homes, and led to a garage that looked as if it had been expanded from its original size.
Josh parked his van in the street and got out, dallying to give his host and hostess time to enter the house ahead of him.
Before they had triggered the automatic garage door to close after their SUV, he’d noticed that Whitney’s yellow convertible was already there. She had been unusually subdued this morning. Almost a different person. And that change disturbed him.
Trying to decide if she truly embraced a new persona when she was away from work, or if she had merely been quiet because she was up to something, he started for the front door.
It was jerked open before he had a chance to knock. The silly grin on Whitney’s face was so charming, so unexpected, it made him laugh.
She, too, giggled. “Welcome. I’m so glad you could come.”
“I gathered as much. I only hope you don’t have too many ulterior motives, lady.”
“Me?” Blushing, she pressed her fingertips to her neck and stepped back to give him room to enter. “Not me. I am as innocent as a babe.”
“I doubt you were totally innocent even when you were still in your crib, Whitney. There’s too much going on in that head of yours. I can almost see the wheels turning and smoke coming out of your ears.”
“What? You think I was a menace in preschool?”
“Yes. I imagine you told on anybody who broke the rules, even if they didn’t get caught until you’d ratted them out.”
“Well!”
Still amused, Josh stepped into the compact living room. J.T. was already ensconced in a brown tweed recliner with his legs elevated. He signaled to Josh to have a seat nearby.
“You’re right about Whitney,” her father said pleasantly. “I have never known a bigger busybody—in a good way, of course. She has this thing about digging up the whole truth, no matter what.”
A shiver shot up Josh’s spine. “I’d assumed as much.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it.”
“Dad! That’s enough. Josh isn’t interested in your exaggerated stories about me.”
“I might be,” he drawled, working hard to seem casual in spite of the clenching of his gut. “But there’s no hurry. I’m sure your mom would like to volunteer her opinions, too.”
Tossing her head and rolling her eyes, Whitney flounced out of the room, leaving both men grinning broadly.
J.T. shifted his position and grimaced. “Not supposed to sit in one position too long. Those wooden pews absolutely kill me.”
“But still you go to church.”
“Yeah. Seems like the right thing to do. You know, because the good Lord’s blessed me so much.” His expression relaxed and mellowed. “I’ve got a great wife, a fairly easy life compared to lots of men, a smart daughter and a roof over my head. What more could I want?”
“Better knees?” Josh offered.
“They would’ve been fine if I hadn’t played football in college. I blew one back then and it hasn’t been right since. Finally had to have the thing replaced.” He swept his palm over his thinning hair. “Don’t care if I go bald, just don’t want to have to be pushed around in a wheelchair if I can help
it. I’m bored enough as it is.”
“I can understand that.” Josh looked around the room. “What do you do for entertainment?”
“Nothing much. I’m sure sick of TV.”
“What about surfing the web? Do you have a personal computer?”
“Only a laptop like Whitney uses. She gave me her old one but I never have been able to make it work right.”
“I can take a look at for you if you’d like. I’m pretty handy with those things.”
“So my daughter tells me. Did you go to school or learn it on your own?”
“A little of both. My mind just seems to grasp the concepts. I don’t know why.”
“Well, I think it’s over there in that cabinet under the TV. I’d appreciate it if you could do something with it. Everybody tells me the same thing. Time would pass faster if I could keep my mind occupied.”
“I totally agree.” Rising, Josh found the laptop and carried it back to the sofa where he opened it. “First off, charging the batteries would help.”
“I don’t know where the cord or anything is. Why don’t you take it with you when you leave and I’ll have Whitney pick it up for me after you’re done checking it out. If it’s toast, maybe my wife will take pity on me and buy me a new one.”
“I might have a spare unit lying around my place that I could loan you,” Josh told him just as Whitney and Betty started carrying food from the kitchen into the dining room.
J.T. snorted. “Will you look at that? Eating in the kitchen is good enough for me but you get the company treatment. I don’t know whether to be happy for the extra pampering or offended that they don’t do it all the time.”
“Hush, you old complainer,” Betty said, making a face at him. “You’ve had personal maid service for weeks. It’s time you made an effort to get back to normal.”
“See what I have to put up with?” J.T. said to Josh before giving him a sly wink. “Women. They think they run the world.”
“If we did, there would probably be less trouble,” his wife said. She pointed to a chair on her right. “Josh, you sit here.”
“Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked.
Love Inspired December 2013 - Bundle 2 of 2: Cozy ChristmasHer Holiday HeroJingle Bell Romance Page 6