Brides And Blessings

“Spat? Why, he means nothing to me.”

“Maybe not, but I think you mean something to him.”

Suzann wanted to remind Kate that Josh Gallagher had a girlfriend back home. She never got the chance.

A hush permeated the room. Josh asked Brother Winslow to lead the group in prayer.

Josh couldn’t help seeing Suzann during the meeting, but he acted as if she were invisible. The way he deliberately avoided her gaze exasperated her.

“See what I mean?” Kate whispered.

Suzann rolled her eyes upward.

Josh might never have looked at her if Suzann hadn’t raised her hand in answer to one of his questions.

“Yes, Miss Harmon,” he said without expression. “What kind of refreshments would you suggest for snack time?”

“Snow cones would be nice. They’re easy to fix, and if it turns cold again, we could serve hot chocolate instead.”

“That’s an interesting idea,” he said, “but I understand we had that last year. I’d like to try something new.” He looked away. “Anyone else?”

One of ladies who came into the library on Wednesday raised her hand. “Well, I like Miss Harmon’s idea about the snow cones. Just because we had them last year doesn’t mean we can’t have them again, and the children really seemed to like them.”

“I second that,” Kate said.

Josh’s mouth tightened. “Then if nobody has any other ideas, I guess it’s snow cones again.” He glanced at Suzann indifferently. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

She nodded, looking down at her teacher’s manual.

“So if nobody has anything else to say,” Josh said, “I guess I’ll see y’all here Monday morning at eight o’clock, sharp, ready to teach our autumn version of Vacation Bible School. Oh, and don’t forget the bake sale in the morning.”

Kate groaned. “How could we forget?”

Suzann stuck close to Kate’s side as they walked out to the parking lot. She had no illusions that Josh Gallagher planned to seek her out Still, it was nice to know that she wouldn’t have to face him alone if he did.

Josh went straight to his truck, got in, and slammed the door behind him.

“Wow,” Kate said. “He’s got it bad.”

Suzann shook her head. “What Brother Josh has is a bad temper.”

“He never had it until you came back from vacation. I’ve never seen him like this, and I’ve known him all my life.”

“All your life?”

“Had you forgotten that we grew up together?” Kate asked.

Could Kate Devlon be the girlfriend back home whom she’d heard so much about? No, if she’d been Josh’s girlfriend, Holly would have mentioned it.

“Would you like to go out for hamburgers?” Kate asked. “The Dizzy Dairy should be open, and I’ve got time, if you do.”

“Hamburgers sounds great.”

“Let’s take my car.”

Suzann had already learned that the Dizzy Dairy, or the “D.D.” as it was sometimes called, was the only place in town that served hamburgers, except for Juan’s Mexican Café. Kate drove by the D.D. slowly. Sure enough, Josh’s truck was parked out front.

“I think I’d rather eat at Juan’s,” Suzann said.

“Are you chicken, or what?”

“Let’s just say I’m playing it safe.”

It was ten by the time Suzann got back to the apartment, and she still had a cake to bake. She opened the kitchen cabinet. A box of cake mix and a can of ready-made icing glared back at her. Grabbing both of them, she read the directions on the back of the cartons. Hmm, this sounds easy, she thought. Literally, a piece of cake.

Yes, baking appeared easy enough—until she smelled burning batter. Suzann raced into the kitchen, grabbed a potholder, and opened the oven. A big puff of smoke caused her eyes to water.

Coughing, she pulled her cake from the oven amid a cloud of smoke. Besides being scorched on the bottom, it was lopsided and had an odor that would kill a healthy horse.

She considered tossing the horrible flop in the garbage and defrosting one of the cakes in the freezer. She might have if she’d thought she could get away with it.

Instead, she decided to tell the truth. So she burned a cake…What could they do to her? Even Mrs. Henrietta Beesley probably burned cakes once in a while.

A dry chill hung in the air the next morning as Suzann dressed for the bake sale. In jeans and a white, long-sleeved shirt, she added a green plaid jacket to cut the north wind that was howling outside.

She arrived at the parking lot right on time. A line of card tables were set up to the left of the whitepainted, country church. Josh, in jeans, boots and a blue cowboy shirt, checked his watch. She assumed that he thought she was late.

Suddenly, it dawned on Suzann that she and Josh were the only ones there. Where were the youth group members? Where was Kate when she needed her?

“Kate called in sick.” He examined her suspiciously without cracking a smile, his tan Stetson set firmly on his head. “Something about eating greasy burgers last night.”

“I thought we were here to raise money so the kids can take a ski trip to Colorado during spring break.”

His blue eyes narrowed. “We are.”

“So where are they? Aren’t the kids interested enough to help out?”

“The teenagers are on the parking lot at the back of the church building, washing cars. Of the two, I thought you might like helping with this job.”

“You were right about that.”

His guarded expression slackened. She thought he was on the brink of a smile.

“It’s just the two of us this morning,” he said. “Think you can handle it?”

“I don’t see why not.”

The muscles in his face relaxed. “So, how have you been?”