Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“He walked in just after I’d gotten off the phone with you. I was upset,” she tried to explain. “Like I told you earlier, I had a flat tire last night. The Shadowridge Guardians MC came to my rescue. One of the bikers talked to me while two of his brothers put my donut on.”
“How nice of them to stop and help you.”
“It was. I was scared at first, but they took care of my tire in minutes. I liked them.”
“And one of them came to your rescue again?” the minister asked with a smile.
“Yes, Faust came in this morning to offer to fix my tire. I was upset after getting off the phone with you. He didn’t ask any questions but comforted me.”
“Comforted,” Lester snorted and received a disapproving look from the head minister.
“This is the same man who helped you last night?” Steve asked, refocusing their conversation.
“It was. He saw the church sticker in my window.” Molly smiled. The stickers had been her idea to advertise the church.
“And now there’s a motorcycle in the parking lot. That could scare off new churchgoers,” Lester observed.
“That’s Faust’s. He took my car to get a tire to replace the donut. I told him I’d take care of it, but he insisted,” Molly told him.
“Faust, hmmm. I think I’ll like this guy. The Shadowridge Guardians MC are known for doing some good things for the community. They’re also known for not hesitating to bend the rules. Be careful, Molly.”
“I will,” Molly promised.
“I’ll go work on those messages,” Steve said, finishing the conversation. “Lester, did you get all the volunteers you needed for the chili competition after church next weekend?”
“I’m still working on it,” Lester admitted.
“That should be your first priority for today. Molly, need anything from me?”
“There are some bills for your approval, but they can wait until you have a free minute,” she answered quickly.
“Thank you, Molly. Let’s get busy.” Steve waited until Lester turned to walk into his office before entering his.
Molly collapsed into her chair. Lester always was unpleasant, but he’d never threatened her job. She picked up Angel and hugged her close. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered before forcing herself to tuck the stuffie back into her tote bag.
As she shifted the motorcycle helmet to the side of her desk, she caught a whiff of Faust’s distinctive scent. Leaning forward, she inhaled again and felt her body’s reaction. Molly squeezed her legs together as she felt herself becoming wet. She rubbed the top of the helmet before forcing herself to get to work.
Grabbing her own checklist for the chili cookoff from her in process clipboard, Molly noticed that Lester had written on her sheet.
Find twenty volunteers.
She rolled her eyes. This wasn’t the first time he’d dumped a job on her. Molly always did whatever he didn’t. It was easier that way and she made sure the church event went off smoothly. He’d obviously added that to her list the evening before and didn’t think of mentioning to the head minister that he’d asked her to cover for him.
Pulling up her church directory, she scanned the names and started making calls. She had twenty people quickly. Jotting their names down in a post, she sent them to Lester without any comment.
Just before lunch, the door opened and Faust strode in. He commanded a room, seeming to occupy all the space. She stood up and forced herself to not to dart to hug him.
“Faust, hi!”
“Your car’s back in its space with fresh tires in place.”
“Tires?” she echoed.
“They were one sharp rock away from springing a leak.” He held out her keys.
Molly looked down and thought furiously. She was never going to afford to pay him back. “Faust, I’m sorry. I don’t have money for four new tires. Is there a way I can do something at your shop to work to pay back the money? If you’ll let me pay you back over time.” Molly crossed her fingers, hoping he wouldn’t be mad.
“No charge, Little girl. The shop owed me a favor. You’re all set,” Faust assured her. He leaned forward and set her keys on her desk before bracing one hand on the desk to look into her eyes. “Taking care of you is your Daddy’s job.”
She nodded before she even processed what she was agreeing to. As his words registered fully in her mind, Molly felt her cheeks heat. Darting a glance around the room, she double-checked that her bosses were still in their offices. “You just met me, Faust. You can’t be this sure we’re supposed to be together.”
He simply looked at her for a few seconds. “I’m off to work. I’ll be at the shop for a few extra hours tonight. Will you go out with me tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll pick you up at five. Write your address down for me,” he directed.