alone. I have three siblings—who I grant you don’t live with me anymore, but are still around. And I have my friends. Reverend Morgan has three children. And I met his aunt this morning in Sunday-school class. She lives with him. That certainly isn’t alone.”
“Boy, you need a man worse than I thought if you think children and an aunt are the same thing as a spouse.”
“What are you two conspiring about?” Darcy Markham paused next to Beth, her hand at the small of her back.
Relieved at her friend’s timely interruption, Beth smiled. “When are you going to have that baby?”
“I wish any minute, but the doctor says another month. Maybe I’ll have it on my anniversary. If this child is anything like my son, he will take his sweet time. I’m not sure who is more anxious, me or Joshua.”
“I sympathize with you two, but I’m glad it’s you and not me.” Beth’s gaze caught Reverend Morgan moving away from the door and making his rounds to the various groups in the room.
“Well, I should hope so. You aren’t married,” Jesse said with a laugh.
Heat singed Beth’s cheeks. “You know what I mean. I’m too old to have children. Besides, after raising my two brothers and sister, I’m through.” After she’d turned thirty-five with no prospect of a husband, she’d given up hope of having her own children.
“Too old!” Darcy shifted her stance, rubbing her back. “You’re only thirty-eight. Beth, if that’s too old, then Jesse and I don’t have long before we’re over the hill.”
“She’s gonna be too busy traveling. She’s leaving Sweetwater this summer and has informed me that we’ll have to be in charge of the annual auction.”
“Us?” Darcy pointed to her chest, then rested her hand on her stomach.
“Yes, you two. In fact, you and your husbands are invited to a party I’m having next weekend.”
“A party? Isn’t that Jesse’s domain? You don’t give parties.”
Beth narrowed her eyes on Darcy, pressing her lips together. She had always been so predictable. That was about to change. “I am now. It’s a celebration. I’m going to choose where I’m going this summer.”
“Choose?” Jesse’s brow furrowed.
“You two will just have to wait and see how. Can I count on you all coming to the celebration?”
Both Darcy and Jesse nodded their heads, big grins on their faces.
“Celebration?”
At the sound of the deep, gruff voice behind her, Beth blinked, then swallowed to coat her suddenly dry throat while the reverend stepped into view.
“I just wanted to thank you again, Beth, for rescuing Jane and me the other day.” Samuel Morgan extended his hand toward her.
She fitted hers within his and shook it, aware of the curiosity of her two friends. “It was nothing.”
Still holding her hand, Samuel smiled, the warmth in his expression reaching deep into his chocolate-colored eyes. “So what are you celebrating?”
Chapter Two
My great escape, Beth thought, but decided not to voice that answer. “This is the celebration I told you about. I’m planning a long vacation and having a party to celebrate the fact.”
“That’s as good a reason as any to have a celebration.” Samuel finally released his hold on her hand.
“You’re invited if you want to come. It’s next Saturday night at my house.” When Beth thought she saw hesitation in his eyes, she hastened to add, “It’ll be a good way for you to get to know some of the congregation in a less formal environment.” Now, why had she said that? That had always been Jesse’s role.
“Darcy and I will be there along with our husbands.” Jesse shot a look toward Darcy that conveyed a message that Beth couldn’t see. “I’ll volunteer to help you with the preparations, Beth, since giving dinner parties is my specialty.”
Beth knew she would have to put a stop to her friend’s matchmaking scheme that she could almost see percolating in her mind. She couldn’t very well exclude the reverend after he’d overheard their discussion of her celebration. Yeah, right.
“I can help, too,” Darcy said, rubbing her stomach. “We can meet at your house for our Saturday-morning get-together instead of at Alice’s Café.”
Beth forced a smile to her lips. “Thanks,” she murmured, again noticing a nonverbal exchange between Darcy and Jesse.
“Oh, I see Nick waving to me. Got to go.” Jesse hugged Beth and Darcy goodbye and hurried away.
“And I need to sit down. I’m going to find Joshua and a quiet corner to rest in.” Darcy kissed Beth on the cheek, then nodded toward Samuel before lumbering toward her husband, who was leaning against the piano.
That was the fastest getaway her two friends had ever made. Beth made a mental note to call them and set them straight the second she got home from church. She was not looking for a man. Didn’t they know she was the plain town spinster who was a good twenty or thirty pounds overweight?
“Since that just leaves you and me, can we talk a moment in private?”
You and me. Those simple words conjured up all kinds of visions that mocked her earlier words that she wasn’t looking to date. “Sure. Is something wrong?”
Samuel gestured toward an area away from the crowd in the rec hall, an alcove with a padded bench that offered them a more quiet environment. He sat, and waited for her to do the same. She stared at the small space that allowed only two people to sit comfortably—and the reverend was a large man who took up more than his half of the bench. While she debated whether to stand or sit, a perplexed expression descended on his face. If it hadn’t been for Jesse insisting on fixing her up with Samuel, she wouldn’t be undecided about something as simple as sitting and talking with him, she thought.
With a sigh she sat, her leg and arm brushing against his. Awareness—a sensation she didn’t deal with often—bolted through her. “What do you need to discuss?”
“Jane. She won’t let me help her with her homework.” He rubbed the palms of his hands together. “I’m at a loss as to what to do with her. Any suggestions?”
“Let me see how we do tomorrow when she stays after school. At the beginning of every year I give a learning-styles inventory to see how each student learns. I haven’t had a chance to give it to Jane yet, but I will this week. I’ll know more after that.”
“Learning styles?”
“Whether she’s a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner. Then I can use that information to teach her the way she learns best.”
“I appreciate any help you can give me. I suspect tomorrow when I talk with her other teachers I’m going to find she hasn’t done any work for them, either.”
“You said she hasn’t taken her mother’s death well. Have you considered counseling?”
“Tried that, and she wouldn’t talk to a stranger. She just sat there, most of the time not saying a word.”
“How about someone she knows?”
“Aunt Mae has tried and Jane just clammed up.” He rubbed his thumb into his palm. “I’ve tried and haven’t done much better. Jane has always been an introvert. She doesn’t express her emotions much.”
“Let me see what I can do,” Beth said, knowing she didn’t have long before she would be gone. Four months might not be long enough to establish a relationship with the teenager and get her to open up about what was bothering her. She would encourage Jane to go to the school counselor. Zoey Witherspoon was very good