Caroline and the Preacher by Anna Schmidt

Author:Anna Schmidt [Anna Schmidt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459257849
Publisher: Harlequin

John paused to take a look around the large fellowship hall of the church. Clare and Lydia had done an incredible job of getting volunteers to turn out and help with the cleaning and painting of what had once been a dark and fairly unpleasant hall. Under their guidance it had started to come to life. He glanced toward the door as he had off and on all morning, hoping to see Caroline, but apparently she had decided against coming. He turned the noisy floor polisher on and continued working through the layers of old yellowed wax on the floor outside the church kitchen.

“Hey, Rev,” Luke Turbow shouted above the jackhammerlike clamor of the machine.

John clicked the polisher off and wiped his hand on his jeans before offering it to Luke. “What brings you out on a Saturday morning, Luke?”

“I came to help. Brought the whole family. This is my wife, Louise, my sons—Luke Jr. and Larry, and my daughter, Lucy. God help us if we have another— we’re running out of names that start with the letter L” He laughed heartily and John saw that his offer to help with the cleanup was sincere. “So, Rev, where do we start?”

“Let me introduce you to our captain.” John led them across the room and introduced them to Clare. Within minutes she had assessed each person’s abilities, made them feel as if they were exactly the person she’d been praying would come, and set them to work. “John, take Louise and Lucy over there and let them help Missy with that mural. Lucy won first prize in her high school art fair. Isn’t that a blessing that she would show up here today of all days?”

Lucy Turbow beamed and she and her mother needed no encouragement to get right to work with Missy, painting large colorful designs across one windowless wall. Next, Clare sent Luke’s two sons to help them. John gave a thumbs-up sign to Clare who then turned her attention to Luke.

“Well, Mr. Turbow, since you’ve worked in construction all your life, let’s see how well you can swing a hammer. Earle and Bucky have been over in that corner trying to put together a simple row of shelving for the past two hours. Perhaps you can speed things along.”

“Piece of cake, Clare,” Turbow replied and headed across the hall, nearly colliding with Caroline in the process. The two of them paused and looked at each other in shock then mumbled apologies and moved quickly in opposite directions.

“Why, Carrie, what a lovely surprise,” Clare said with obvious delight when she saw her daughter.

John watched Caroline smile radiantly at her mother as she shrugged out of her jean jacket and immediately pitched in to help with the scrubbing of the walls and window ledges. It was the first time he’d seen her in casual garb, even if to her that meant designer jeans and a T-shirt that looked as if she’d just picked them up from a fresh pressing at the cleaners.

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