Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“I’d be happy to help, Father. If anything comes to me, I’ll be sure to come to you first”, she quips with a devilish smirk.
Devilish indeed, as the sins traipsing through my mind will force me to lose my priesthood. I decide to keep my words to myself, offering her a nod and smile as she walks away to rejoin the volunteers.
“She is something special, am I right?” Dennis Winstan asks a few moments later, walking into the pulpit.
“All of God’s children are special, Dennis,” I tell him, even though I know what he means. He’s right, but if he’s not careful, I’ll make him regret speaking so loosely about Harper in front of me. I don’t know how or why, but she belongs to me.
“Of course, Father Hudgens. Of course, they are. I just meant that Harper Haven is … um … special to our congregation, with everything she does for the drives and charities. I would love to sit down with her and see what insights she has to expand our youth engagement.”
I don’t know what Dennis is trying to get me to do, but I know he’s wearing my patience thin.
“I’ve already passed the idea along to her, and she’ll give it some thought.”
Dennis smiles. “That’s great. I should follow up with her in a day or two. You think she likes to date men of the cloth, Father?”
“Dennis.” I load my tone with a warning. “It’s inappropriate for you to take advantage of your position as a deacon with this church. The parishioners are not here for your dating enjoyment. We are here to shepherd the flock, Dennis.”
“But, Father Hunter, seriously.” Dennis shrugs his shoulders up and down like we’re just supposed to forget we’re standing in a church. “The babes here in Conklin are undeniable—”
I hold my hand up to stop him from talking further. “Don’t make me tell you again about the inappropriateness of this kind of talk, especially in your position over the parishioners.”
“You can stop pretending around me, Hunter. I know why you came here from your last parish.”
That gets my attention as I turn away from the lectern to face him. Dennis Winstan is about an inch taller than my six-foot height. He outweighs me by about 30 pounds. The strands of his widow’s peak are thinning, and his beady little eyes make him look far more sinister than he actually is.
He’s a pervert whom I’ve had to talk to occasionally, but whatever he thinks he knows about me, he feels like it’s an open invitation to drag me into his debauchery. My mind only delves into sexual deviancy when Harper crosses it. Even then, I want her to love every minute we share. I want her to love everything I teach her. I want her to love me, and she will.
For now, I keep my attention on Dennis as I wait for him to elaborate. He puts his hands against my chest with a smile, like we’re friends, whispering. “I heard about you and that little wildcat. She was making a big thing about you and her—”
I stop him, slowly swiping his hands off of me. “There was no me and anyone. The last relationship I was in happened before I became a priest. I’ve been on my path, straight and true, ever since. The rumors only tell half the truth. A woman wanted me, but when I rejected her, she made a big thing out of it. Instead of making her uncomfortable, I left that church and the Archbishop sent me here.”
“Okay, man—”
“It’s Father Hudgens, deacon, and if you value your position in this church, then I advise you to focus your attention on the lessons God teaches us rather than the rumors of why you think I’m here. The why is never a reason for you to be concerned with. Just know that whatever has brought me here, it is God’s will.”
I grip him by the shoulder with enough force to let him know that under this collar and robe, I can make him sorry to even think ill thoughts about me. My past is in the past, and the only congregation I’m focusing on is this one. The only woman I’d ever consider breaking my vows for is Harper Haven, and that’s no one’s business but hers and mine.
“You’re right, Father Hudgens,” Dennis says, wincing from the tightness of my grip on his shoulder. “That’s my mistake. You have my apologies. I’ll keep this talk in mind.”
I release his shoulder and him from this conversation with two sharp slaps to his back. He practically stumbles away from the pulpit, drawing the eyes of the volunteers near the back. There she is, blue eyes laser-focused on me.
Someday, someday soon, Harper’s eyes are going to open with me directly in front of her, inside of her, and making her yearn for more. She will yearn for me.