Page 7 of Evan

People loved him, loved having him around. He was always the first to be picked for a game. Always ready to lend a helping hand. When he was a little boy, he would knock quietly on their door and ask to be admitted so that he could get help with praying for the monster that was living inside his closet.

Ingrid felt the tears leaking from her eyes. She was exhausted, physically, and emotionally. She no longer had any urge to be with her husband.

She had been silently relieved when he was the first to suggest that he sleep in another room. She could not bear for him to be near her. She knew she was not being obedient or following what the Bible said, but she couldn’t help herself. She had also stopped praying.

That most of all was weighing on her mind and her conscience. She had been brought up in church and the natural course was for her to marry a pastor. But it had not been just following tradition. She had fallen in love with William, the first time she laid eyes on him.

She still loved him, that wasn’t going to change of course. But she had lost her beloved son and could not find it within herself to go on as if nothing happened. She could not accept that it was God’s will to take her son from her. Bowing her head, she closed her eyes and tried to find the words to say to her Savior, but as usual, words failed her.

*****

“My dear, how nice of you to drop by,” Aunt Eleanor was genuinely pleased as she greeted him at the front door.

“I should have called…”

“Nonsense.” Taking his hands in hers, she squeezed gently before letting go, conscience of his aversion to being touched. “Come on in. The housekeeper just retired for the evening.”

She led the way into a cozy blue and white salon where the floor to ceiling windows overlooked the stunning landscapedarea where flowers were blooming in profusion. “I was out in the gardens earlier tending to my plants.”

She gestured for him to take a seat on one of the antique chairs, facing the cherry wood table. “How have you been?” Without asking him, she was already pouring her herbal tea into two dainty cups.

With an inward grimace, Evan accepted the dreaded beverage and plate of sugar cookies. Eleanor Davenport was a creature of habit and living alone for years had not robbed her of her rituals. She had tea and cookies every night after supper no matter what the temperature was outside.

“I am well, thank you.”

She eyed him over the rim of the delicate chinaware. She was also very perceptive and aware of what was happening around her. She kept up with the latest news and owned a small share in the company that Evan had taken over as CEO when his uncle died. Ever since he was a child, he had been highly groomed for the part.

His father was the eldest son, so naturally, the company had reverted to him, leaving his younger brother with a lesser role. Evan knew there had been dissension between the siblings over the running of the company, but he had been left out of the discussions, even when he was old enough to contribute.

“Are you?” Aunt Eleanor asked quietly as she placed her cup carefully on the saucer. “I have read the papers my dear and know that it’s bad.” A sigh escaped her as she stared at her hands clasped on her lap.

“George wasn’t a man who took any sort of advice…,” she looked over at him. “Your father was even worse. “They had a specific way of doing things and to them, having a woman tell them what to do was tantamount to handing over the reins.

Neither your mother nor I were privy to any business dealings, and we were always excluded from the meetings. In essence, we were decorations, arm candy as you young people would call it.” She shook her head.

“It did not matter that we had gone to college and could have made a difference. Instead of veering towards a different path from what their father and grandfather took, they continued thesame tradition of doing things the old way. Cutting corners and making unscrupulous deals, leaving a string of enemies behind them.”

Picking up her cup, she took a pensive sip. “Now it is left up to you to clean up centuries worth of mess and I fear it’s not going to be easy. Have you considered how to begin doing so?”

Evan smiled grimly as he took a sip of the dreaded tea. “I have a few ideas.”

Chapter 3

Pastor William Weeks took the time to stare around the concave room of the main sanctuary. It was packed to capacity, with almost every pew occupied. That was mainly due to it being baptism Sunday. The choir was worshiping in song and the congregation was all revved on the Holy Spirit.

He smiled slightly as he listened to the lead singer. Cassandra Daley could sing a soul into heaven. Her soprano was clear and loud and beautiful, with a wistful sadness to it that touched the soul.

Unaware that he was being watched by his wife who was seated next to him on the pulpit, he turned his head to stare at her, a softened expression on his face. She was so beautiful, he thought whimsically.

The peach dress and matching cardigan she had on was not showy and not too straitlaced either. Her face was in profile from where he was sitting, but he could see her eye sparkling as she sang the lyrics.

Turning away, he stared at the Bible and iPad. It had taken him some time to adjust to the new ways of doing things.

He still jotted down notes in his notebook whenever he was preparing a sermon, but Cassie would do the typing and upload it into his sermon page. She had created one for him and he had to admit it made things a lot easier. She had done it in a way that if he wanted to make any changes, he could.

Today he would be preaching on ‘God’s Love.’ It was simple, but he wished he had asked one of the local pastors to take the sermon.

He felt guilty. He had sinned, committed adultery and had been with a woman who was not his wife and had comfort in her arms. She was seated in the front pew, and he had studiously avoided looking at her.

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