Lakeside Sweetheart by Lenora Worth Page B

long.”
    â€œIt’s fine. We don’t have a lot going on.” He shrugged. “Today is sermon day. I’m usually holed up in my office on Thursday afternoon, trying to decide what to say on any given Sunday.”
    â€œHow do you decide what to say?” she asked, her ever-changing hazel eyes shining with questions.
    Rory felt that rush of joy he always got whenever someone wanted to know about God. “I pray about it and I search the Scriptures and I follow the calendar—the seasons.”
    One of her eyebrows lifted while her eyes narrowed. “Ah, the seasons. You mean, like Christmas and Easter?”
    â€œAnd a whole lot of other seasons,” he replied. He could tell her all about that, but now that he’d moved from ministering to possibly making the moves on her, he had to tread very lightly. “Right now it’s spring and the flowers are blooming and it’s the season of rebirth and new beginnings. Spring always gives me hope.”
    â€œHope?” She looked hopeful. She looked beautiful with the afternoon sun chasing at her.
    â€œYes, hope. We have to have hope, don’t we?”
    â€œI don’t know,” she said, her smile dimming. “I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”
    â€œWell, then, we’ll have to remedy that.” He stood and drained the sweet, icy tea. “I will see you tonight for the meeting. That’s the first order of business.”
    She followed him to the side gate. “And what’s your next order of business after that, Preacher?”
    Okay, she was flirting with him.
    Now he was hopeful. He turned and lifted a finger to her wispy bangs. “That you’ll have dinner with me one night soon.”
    She looked surprised, and then she looked confused. “Are you going to Marla’s cookout this weekend?”
    â€œYes,” he said, the one word hinging on so much. “Are you?”
    â€œYes.” She didn’t move. “We can let that be a test date.”
    â€œA test date? Is there such a thing?”
    She turned and tossed a grin over her shoulder. “There is if you’re asking me .”
    â€œOkay,” he said, calling after her. “The cookout it is. I love cookouts.” And he’d pass the test. He hoped.
    â€œSo do I,” she shouted back. “I’ll see you across the way, Preacher.”
    â€œYes, ma’am.”
    Rory grinned all the way back to the church.
    When he got to the office, he found Barbara standing there, staring up at him with a soft smile. “I think you got lost over there.”
    â€œYou could say that,” he replied. Then he went into his office and closed the door.
    Or maybe he got found .

Chapter Ten
    W ell, she’d been in this spot before. Caught between a rock and a hard place, as her mother used to say.
    Rory was coming by to walk Vanessa to the cookout. Which was a surprise since he’d been all business at the rummage sale meeting the other night. Nice, polite, full of charm and wit, but he’d also been focused and full of suggestions. He’d glanced at her a couple of times, but always with a shy smile.
    He stated their business at the meeting. “So the plan is to open our gathering hall up for the public to come and shop at the Annual Millbrook Lake Church Rummage Sale.”
    He said this in a booming, official voice, a bit of mirth in his vivid eyes.
    â€œAnd we’ll send our shoppers over to Vanessa’s estate sale and encourage them to find some good bargains there, too. Right, Vanessa?”
    â€œYes. I’ll have it all organized and tagged so they can move from room to room. I’m willing to negotiate, too. I have to empty my house and put it up for sale.”
    Rory had nodded and moved on to other business, but she’d noticed that bit of regret in his gaze when he’d smiled at her.
    Maybe he was being careful since several church members had attended the