His Holiday Matchmaker by Kat Brookes

Author:Kat Brookes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarlequinUKLtd
Published: 2016-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Thank you so much for agreeing to help us out this evening,” Reverend Johns said as he and Nathan carried more lumber around the side of the church to where the nativity scene was being set up next to a large, sprawling oak. “I know you already have a lot on your plate.”

“Glad to lend a hand,” Nathan replied. A part of him hoped that giving something back to the church would ease some of the guilt he felt every Sunday when he sat determinedly tuning out whatever sermon the reverend was giving to the congregation. There had been a time he used to soak up those sermons and leave feeling good about his life. But since losing Isabel and his parents, all he felt was empty. Until his daughter had invited Alyssa to join them for church the Sunday prior. That morning had changed something inside him.

Alyssa’s presence beside him in church had soothed him, giving him a feeling of peace he hadn’t known for a very long time. And, much to his surprise, he found himself really listening to the reverend’s sermon. He had spoken of forgiveness. Would he ever be able to do that? Let the anger and resentment he felt toward God wash away and start his relationship with the Lord anew?

He caught sight of Alyssa as they rounded the corner of the church. She sat alone at the folding table that had been set up a short distance away from where the manger was being constructed. Her head was bent, her focus solely on painting wood cutouts Carter had made of sheep both standing and lying down that would be staked into the grass near the manger. The sight of her hard at work made him smile. Alyssa dedicated herself fully to any project she committed herself to. He admired that in her.

After depositing the two-by-fours onto the stack by the manger, he walked over to see the one woman he couldn’t seem to get off his mind.

He stepped up behind her, taking in the perfectly detailed sheep drying atop the table. She was good. “Is there anything you can’t do well?” he asked with a grin.

Her head lifted, the brush stilling in her hand as she glanced back over her shoulder at him. A sweet smile moved over her pretty face. “A few things.”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe,” he teased. “I’ve yet to see it.”

Setting the paint brush down, she turned in the chair to look up at him. “For starters, you probably wouldn’t want me driving around in your truck.”

The playful smile she had on her face while talking about something that had to be painful for her made him admire her all the more.

“And,” she continued, her smile edging up even higher, “I think I’d hesitate just a bit before asking me to operate a chain saw.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest and then spilled out. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, paying no mind to the looks the sound of his laughter had drawn their way.

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