the lot and into the first available space he came to.
Well, this was it. Rain dappled him as he locked up. The doors to one of the auxiliary buildings behind the church were opened wide to welcome the day campers in out of the weather. He caught sight of two women standing beneath the awning, with clipboards in hand.
One of them, squinting at him in surprise, was his gorgeous next-door neighbor, Rebecca McKaslin.
Chapter Three
Rebecca couldn’t believe her eyes. Chad Lawson strode through the gray sheets of rain in the parking lot like a hero through the mist. He seemed untouched by the downpour and unruffled by the wind. Something about him made him appear extraordinary. Simply from seeing him, from having him near, the stress of the morning slid from her shoulders like rain from the roof.
No one, except her family members, had ever made her feel so calm.
Marin, the church’s youth pastor, leaned close, so her voice wouldn’t carry. “Here’s someone I want you to meet, now that you’re a free and single woman.”
Uh-oh. “Why does everyone think I need to start dating?”
“Because you deserve a great guy to love you, that’s why. And speaking of one—”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. Good grief. Marin’s newlywed happiness had sadly affected her brain. She loved her pastor, but Marin was looking at relationships through rose-colored glasses. And why wouldn’t she? She was blissfully happy. All it took was one look to see it.
Good for her, right? Rebecca firmly denied any wistful feelings. Some people were just especially blessed in the love department. How could they understand someone who wasn’t?
Visions of Marin’s future matchmaking efforts flashed before Rebecca’s eyes. Time to do damage control before that could possibly happen. She had to be clear, firm and assertive. “I’m not interested.”
“That sounds like a snap decision to me. Maybe you want to think about it.” Marin looked so sure about that.
And why wouldn’t she be? Any single woman in her right mind would want to think about Chad Lawson. And wasn’t that just the problem? She had a No Man policy. It was safer. It was smarter. “I refuse to think about it.”
“You never know, he could be the right man for you.”
“Yeah, but more likely he isn’t. No matter how great he is, because that’s my luck.” Rebecca rolled her eyes. Just what she needed, her pastor, who was also one of her sister’s best friends trying to set her up. “I’m on a vacation from romance of any kind.”
“A vacation? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Like you didn’t date for a long time?”
“Yeah, well it was different for me. I wasn’t on vacation as much as I couldn’t catch anyone. Until my Jeremy came along, of course. Just because you split up with Chris and it didn’t end well, that doesn’t mean you should rule out dating forever and ever—”
“And this coming from the woman who dubbed the different phases of dating, one of them being, the doom phase.”
“That was before I met Jeremy.”
“Excuses, excuses. Believe me, I’m sure about this. Now he’s coming closer, so—” Rebecca didn’t know how to say it kindly. “No more romance talk. We’ve got kids coming in a few minutes.”
“Sure. Fine. I can take a hint.” Marin was smiling a little too widely to be believable.
What was she going to do with everyone? What did she have to do to convince them that she really was fine? Well, as fine as she could be?
Rebecca focused on her clipboard, aware of the slight slap of Chad’s steps coming closer. Marin meant well, sure, but she had forgotten what it was like to be single and wish things were different. To wish you, yourself, were different.
She managed what she hoped was a bright welcome. “Chad. I’m pretty shocked to see you bright and early on a Monday morning. You’re not a member, are you?”
“I’ve been here a couple of times when I was visiting my aunt and uncle. They attend the earliest service. I could barely hold my eyes open.”
“I try to avoid that one if I can or I’m constantly yawning, no matter how hard I try not to.” There she went, yakking on with him again. He was incredibly easy to talk to. “If you’re looking for Pastor Michaels, you’ve just missed him. He left for a meeting.”
“No, I’m where I’m supposed to be. Hi, Marin. I’m here on time, reporting for duty.”
For duty? The clipboard slipped from her hands and hit the concrete with a stunned clatter. How embarrassing. She knelt to retrieve it but Chad was already there, rescuing it with capable-looking hands. Now, why did she notice something like that?
“Here you go.” His smile was genuine. There was that sense of calm again, a steady light in his dark blue eyes. “Are you one of the volunteers, too?”
“No, they actually pay me to have fun with the kids all day.” She took the clipboard he offered her. “Thanks. Again.”
“No problem.”
Why were her knees shaky when she rose? That was a good question. Rebecca straightened the pen, still clipped to the board, needing to look at something other than Chad. She could feel his gaze on her like damp on the wind. Surely he was just surprised to see her, that was all.
Marin was grinning ear to ear. “Since it seems that you two know each other, Chad, take this clipboard and help check in the kids when they start arriving. I’m going to leave you in Rebecca’s able hands.”
“I don’t know about able.” Rebecca shook her head. That Marin, she was always so optimistic and complimentary. Chad was so going to get the wrong idea. “I’m lucky you guys put up with me.”
Marin chuckled as she walked away. “Don’t listen to her, Chad. She’s invaluable around here.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Marin is the invaluable one. I’m just hard to get rid of.”
“So, have they tried and you just wouldn’t leave?” Chad winked at her.
Charming, absolutely charming and she really should not be noticing that. “I’ve been here every summer since I was fifteen. I started volunteering in the church’s day care and it worked into this.”
“You’ve been here ever since? That’s some serious commitment. They must really like you.”
“I’m the one who really likes it here. The kids are great.” She really was surprised how she was just herself around him. It was refreshing. Oh, the dowel. She’d forgotten to thank him. “I found the dowel on my porch. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. I had to stop by the hardware store anyway to pick up a few things.” He gave a humble shoulder shrug. “It was no trouble.”
“It was still very thoughtful.”
