Page 25 of His Tenth Dance

“I’m sure Tag or Mike can take him,” Opal said.

Mission did his best not to run out, and he shook Tag’s hand and thanked him too, denied taking any apple pie with him, and finally managed to exit calmly through the front door.

The drive back to his cabin took about twenty minutes, giving Mission plenty of time to think about what he was doing.

“Two dates in two days,” he muttered. It had been a long time since he’d been this eager to spend time with a woman.

There was something about Kristie that drew him in—her intelligence, her confidence, the way she lit up when she smiled. And last night, dancing with her under the stars, he’d felt something he hadn’t experienced in years.

Connection. Real connection.

Inside, Mission changed into fresh clothes—dark jeans and a navy button-down that his grandfather had once told him brought out his eyes. He debated wearing his good boots or more casual ones, finally settling on the nicer pair. This might be a casual dessert-only event at her place, but it was still a date.

At least in Mission’s mind.

He’d been home for ten minutes, but he couldn’t sit idle—and alone. So he headed back out to his truck, aiming it toward the town of Ivory Peaks—and Kristie’s house—this time.

Now, he simply had to hope he didn’t come across as too eager when he showed up less than an hour after texting her.

nine

Kristie pushed the vacuum cleaner across the flat, burgundy carpet, the familiar hum filling the empty chapel. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns across the pews and floor.

Pure peace filled her, and she loved being in the church when everyone else had gone home.

She hadn’t actually gone to church that morning, due to her late night at the Clovis farm. Thus, she’d completely forgotten it was her Sunday to clean the church after Sabbath services. When the pastor’s wife had called twenty minutes ago, that familiar wave of guilt had washed over her.

Doesn’t matter, she told herself.You’re here now—and vacuuming was her favorite chore. There was simply something about the white noise and the vibration of the machine in her hand—and the way she could put perfectly even lines in the carpet.

Well, hers at home, anyway. The church’s carpet was too flat and thin to see many lines.

Once she finished vacuuming and tidying up the chapel, she’d empty the trashcans in the classrooms, shine the glass inthe front doors, and clean the bathrooms. With any luck, and with her working at a steady clip, she’d be back home in ninety minutes.

Mission had been at lunch with the Hammonds; surely he wouldn’t be at her house for another couple of hours anyway.The thought made her stomach flutter with anticipation all the same.

She’d really enjoyed their date last night, and she’d hoped her flirtatious teasing had come through in her texts. Mission was a pretty literal cowboy, though, so she’d decided to simply spell it out in exact words and letters that he couldn’t misinterpret.

But the dancing made up for it, and the handsome cowboy I was with didn’t hurt either.

Yes, she’d sent that text, because he hadn’t seemed to get her teasing. It was hard to do via text, and Kristie wasn’t a great flirt anyway.

She finished with the vacuuming and moved onto the bathrooms. She’d just finished in the women’s when her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out and wiped her hair back out of her face at the same time.

Mission:I’m at your house but you’re not answering the door.

Her heartbeat fell to the soles of her sneakers.She’d told him she wasn’t planning on going anywhere, and then the call to clean the church had come in.

She tapped to call him, only imagining his displeasure at the change of plans. His phone rang a couple of times, and then he said, “Hey, there.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said in a rush of words. “I forgot it was my turn to clean the church, and the pastor’s wife called after I told you I’d be home for the rest of the day.”

“So you’re at the church?”

She couldn’t tell if he was upset or not. “Yes,” she said, quickly calculating how much longer she’d be there. “I’m probably going to be another thirty or forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll come over,” he said. “See you in a sec.” He ended the call, and Kristie stared at her phone for a moment. She swallowed, because she knew Mission went to church. She’d seen him sitting in these very pews with various cowboys over the years.

She simply hadn’t anticipated telling him about her service in the church quite yet. Not that she had a plan for when that came up, but usually not on the first date.

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