Page 46 of Wilder

“So if I invited you, you’d expect me to pay?”

“Probably not.”

Lexi gave him a quick smile. “So let’s just make a deal that we’ll pay our own ways if we hang out.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. There’s no reason you should pay for me.”

Wilder nodded. “I get it.”

“Thank you.”

Lexi appreciated the fact that he wanted to treat her, but she also appreciated that he backed off when she asked him to. Often, she and Mik had butted heads when she objected to something that he’d decided for them both without talking to her. And her dad could be the same way with her and her mom.

When the waitress returned with their takeout orders and their bills, they quickly took care of them, then left the restaurant.

On the trip back to Serenity, Wilder once again did most of the talking. This time, he shared about his life growing up there, how he ended up working at the resort, and he also touched on his faith.

“Do you attend church?” he asked, glancing over at her.

“I used to. My dad made us go to church every Sunday. Well, I guess he didn’tmakeus go because my mom was a Christianand wanted us to go as a family. I figured out later that my dad wanted us to go because he thought his church attendance would balance out the bad that he was doing behind the scenes.”

Lexi knew that her voice probably betrayed her feelings about her father, but she couldn’t seem to contain it.

“Not everyone who goes to church does so with a heart to worship God. But you shouldn’t let the actions of your dad dictate your own feelings regarding Christians and the church. There might be people who are hypocrites when it comes to God and their faith, but we can’t control them. We can only control our own hearts and actions.”

“Why do you choose to be a Christian?” Lexi asked.

Her mom’s faith had been important to her, and Lexi had never asked herwhyshe’d become a Christian. It was just a part of their life. She thought she’d understood why people went to church. Why they claimed to be Christians. But that understanding had flown out the window when her dad’s actions had been revealed.

Once that had happened, she’d begun to wonder about people’s motives and who she could actually trust in the church or who claimed to be Christians. Even though her mom’s faith had remained steady—and she’d married another man who claimed to be a Christian—Lexi’s faith in God had faltered.

“I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember,” Wilder said. “Being raised in a Christian family, I learned what being a Christian meant at a very young age. But as an adult, I’ve chosen to continue to embrace the faith of my parents and make it my own, believing it to be true.”

“Is that the case for everyone in your family?”

Wilder didn’t answer right away, seeming to give her question some thought. “To be honest, I’m not sure about two or three of them. It’s been awhile since I’ve had an in-depth conversation with them about where they are in their walk with God.”

Though they’d attended church regularly, Lexi hadn’t really socialized with anyone from the congregation. However, her mom had. Since she hadn’t worked, she’d built a small community of church friends. Sadly, they had turned on her once her husband’s misdeeds became known.

Being around a whole family who were Christians was something new to her. They weren’t preachy about their faith, but she’d gotten several glimpses of it as she spent time with Kayleigh, Hudson, and especially Wilder.

“If you want to go to church, you’d be more than welcome at ours. It’s the church we’ve attended our whole lives, and Will’s dad is the pastor there.”

“Janessa’s husband?” She was still putting names and faces together.

“Yep. He’s been the pastor there for a long time.”

“I can’t go because I work on Sundays.” It was a valid reason, which Lexi was glad for because she wasn’t altogether sure that she wanted to go, anyway.

“Yeah. I do too. Thankfully, I managed to adjust my Sundays so that I go to work at one. If someone wants to book a one-on-one session with me, they know not to book anything before that time on Sundays. You could probably work out something similar if you wanted.”

“I’ll have to see,” Lexi said, uncertain that she wanted to ask for that just yet.

“If you do decide you want to come to church, let me know, and I’ll get you the information.”

“Okay.” That might not be a conversation that ever happened, but anything was possible, she supposed. Like her dad being a convicted felon, and her losing her whole career.

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