Page 32 of The Truth

“That’s beautiful, you know. You are very lucky.”

“Blessed, I know.” His hand brushed against her spine while they walked across the yard. He was walking close—not too close, he gave her plenty of room to maneuver with her crutches, but close enough she could smell the clean woodsy scent of him. “You look very pretty today.”

Her cheeks flamed immediately. “Thank you. So do you, you know.”

What was she supposed to say here?Carry me off, please? Somewhere where we could be alone, away from this crowd, and I can see if you can make me tingly everywhere?

That would probably shock him to his toes. “So… what exactly do people do at this thing?”

“Usually just wander around and chat with people. I’ll probably have to do that. A great deal of my congregation is here today. I want to say hello to as many of them as possible.”

“I have heard you are very good at being Reverend Hiller, you know.” His sisters had talked aboutallof their brothers in great detail the night they’d all slept over at the ranch. Ayla had been very curious about Greer’s brothers—she hadn’t met them before that day—but she hadn’t been super curious about anyparticularHiller brother.

Not until the night he’d first picked her up at the library.

“I hope so. That is really one of the few things I want most in the world. I want to serve God, I want to help people, and I want to be there for my family and friends.”

“What about something for yourself? Do you plan to get a Mrs. Reverend Hiller someday? What Guthrie said?” Guthrie had teased him about the ladies vying to catch Gunn’s attention earlier.

“Probably. I want a family of my own. I do feel that’s my next step. I’m established in my calling, I am financially stable. If I get involved with a woman, it’s going to be because I really care about her and am serious. I don’t do casual dating. I haven’t in a long, long time. I’m not very good at it.” And he was looking right at her.

Yikes.Getting serious. Which… exciting… but beyond terrifying here.

“See, I haven’t done any casual dating at all. I don’t know if I am very good at it at all.” Somehow, she found herself under a big, shady tree. There were really comfy looking yard chairs there, almost as if they had been waiting, just for the two of them. There was a small cooler there.

When he helped her get her crutches arranged next to one chair, and then handed her a bottled water, she suspected she had found Reverend Hiller’s little nest. Which was just fine with her—she was quite content to just sit there next to him and people watch. But… he had said… “You don’t have to Ayla-sit, you know. I can usually handle myself just fine. I get a little wobbly sometimes, no denying it, but I’m good, if you need to go talk to people.”

“I will in a little bit. I have all day. I want to spend today with you. I’ve been waiting for you to get here. I saved you these.” He pulled something from his cooler and handed it to her. While she was sitting there processing the idea that he wanted to spend the day at his family’s big party withher.They’d seen each other every day since the attack at the hospital. Sometimes, twice a day. “I grabbed them before the girls could gobble them up.”

Ayla unwrapped the little bundle. Cookies. He’d saved her cookies. “Oh, they look just like Wonkus and Rufus. So cute.”

“Dr. Alvaro’s wife made them and dropped them off with Ronnie.”

“Wonkus even has the right color curly hair.” Ayla licked the frosting off her finger. “Chocolaty. I wonder if we can get her to make some of these for the kids at the library. The newWonkusbook comes out next week; Jake already preordered five copies. We are going to have a real release party. Jake emailed the publisher forWonkusbooks and they are sending a video with a special interview withWonkushimself for the kids, too. It’s a free program the guy who playsWonkusis trying to get started. Quade Davis isreallybig into children’s literacy. I think that’s why I like his work so much. He comes across as… genuine, you know?”

“I like Wonkus McBubbles. I love how he learns to work with the other characters. For a children’s villain, he’s very relatable.”

They just sat andtalked.People came by, to talk to him. And she knew several of them too. But… it took a moment, then she realized: People werecuriousabout her. And being next to him, maybe?

Her sister and Guthrie joined them, along with Ronnie’s brother Murdoch and his family. They weren’t much of a buffer from the rest of the crowd though.

It felt likeeveryonewas watching them now.

24

Dinah triedto stay where she could see Reverend Hiller at first. He wasn’t hard to find. He was usually near the center of every crowd, especially when his parents were around. He helped his mother do things, carry things, quite frequently. He also kept a close eye on his sisters, the way a good brother should. She tended to stay close to him and other members of thechurch,so that her father would stay away from her at church events. He and Hezekiah tried to avoid the Hiller family as much as they could.

Sometimes she wondered why her father attended the Value Hope Life Church at all. All he ever did was say things about the people that went there. About how unholy they truly were and if it washischurch, things would be done differently.

She checked for her own brothers quickly, in case they needed her to fetch them something again. Hezekiah was standing with a few of his friends from town. They called him Zeke, and he got to go hang out with them on the weekends, and play video games and act like he was a part of thenormal world,or something. While she and Judah stayed home and did the chores.

Because Hezekiah was the eldest boy, and he brought in the most money, and because their father had always thought Hezekiah was special or something. She had always tried to take care of Judah when she could. To make things easier for him. He was only twenty-three now, and he just… didn’t always understand the world around them. He was naïve, in a lot of ways. Sheltered, too. Like… he didn’t really understand the way the outside world worked.

It took her a bit longer to find him, but eventually she saw Judah near the edge of the crowd. He was with some of the men they had gone to church with in Della. Who had moved down here after the feds’ attack three years ago.

Judah wasn’t friends with them, but because they had been a part of Father Rei’s True Hope Lifers, they let Judah sit with them sometimes. She would have to make a point of saying hello to them, where her father could see. She was supposed to pick one of them, so he could speak with them. Maybe… they would start dating next. He was determined Dinah would marry… and soon. Whether she liked it or not.

Either she chose a husband, or her father would finally choose one for her. And Jeremiah topped that list. She felt almost sick to think about it.

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