Page 19 of Desert Thorns

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I laughed. “Yes, but I was full of adrenaline and practiced parkour in the past.”

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t impressed.”

“Can I do anything while I’m here?” Safer to get off topic before he could askwhyI had climbed the walls. “I’d love to help with chores.”

Leaning back in his seat, Father Cruz ran a hand over his clean-shaven chin. “Brother Aurelius and Brother Matthew can always use an extra hand in the kitchen. If they don’t need assistance, you can help Brother Lucien with laundry.”

My heart sank. I wanted to do yard work with Kingsley.

I nodded nonetheless. “Okay, thank you.”

“Thankyou. Allow me the odd question—was your name giver a Harley-Davidson fan?”

That made me grin. “Yes, my dad. He still is.”

“He has great taste.” Father Cruz pulled up the sleeve of his black shirt, revealing a Harley-Davidson tattoo on his right forearm. “I’m a fan, too.”

Wow! That came unexpected. And the Harley wasn’t the only tattoo. He had a lot more. Some of them looked gang related.

Father Cruz pulled the sleeve back down. “Everyone here has a story, Harley. Whatever yours is—you’re welcome here.”

His words seeped into my soul, warm and comforting. Something about Father Cruz reminded me of Dad. They exuded the same calmness. Didn’t judge.

Which, shockingly, seemed to be rare among Christians these days. The amount of times I’d heard people say behind my back, or even to my face, that working in a club wasn’t biblical was ridiculous. These places were exactly where Christians were needed the most. Four party goers had already joined my church after I invited them. Where else would they have heard about the Gospel if they never frequented Christian gatherings?

I’d also been called a harlot for having sex outside of marriage. Harley the Harlot.How about you walk in my shoes for a couple of weeks, Karen, and we’ll see how long you last?I was all for keeping each other accountable, but to tear someone down for their problems was a whole other story. The energy those people wasted on throwing rocks at others would better be invested in spreading love.

“Is there anything else you need?” Father Cruz asked, once again yanking me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head. “Nope, I’m all set.”

Fifteen minutes later I was in the old kitchen, chopping potatoes for a soup we would cook on the hearth later this afternoon. Brother Aurelius, probably in his forties and a very quiet individual, kneaded dough for bread. My mouth watered at the thought of how delicious it’d soon smell in this kitchen.

“One time we kept a couple of cows here so we had our own milk.” Cutting chicken into bite-sized pieces, Brother Matthew had been rattling away since I’d arrived. Most of his stories revolved around Kingsley. “One of them, Mathilda, loved bedsheets. She would eat them off the clothesline like it wasgrass. I had the brilliant idea to send Mathilda into Brother Samuel’s cell while he was asleep.”

I grinned. Oh, this was going to be good.

“Picture this.” Brother Matthew waved his butcher knife in the air as he spoke. “She goes straight for his bed, chomps into the mattress, and jerks so hard that Brother Samuel falls to the floor. You should’ve seen his face.” He mimicked a mask of shock—mouth agape, eyes wide.

Something akin to a cackle broke out of Brother Aurelius, and I cracked up, too. My weird snort-laugh made both monks guffaw even harder.

“I did not make that face.”

My stomach did a little flip at Kingsley’s baritone. He came into the kitchen, sweat running down his temples into his beard. Grinning, he headed for the wooden cupboards over the sink, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water.

I couldn’t stop staring at his Adam’s apple bobbing with every gulp. Good Lord, since when was a man drinking water attractive?

“Yes, you did.” Brother Matthew stabbed his knife in Kingsley’s direction. “And you rearranged my bookmarks in my Bible so I read from Song of Songs instead of the Psalms.Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.Do you even know how embarrassing that was?”

Kingsley’s grin widened. I’d thought the man couldn’t get any more handsome, but oh, I’d beenverywrong. “That was just in front of us. Imagine if I would’ve made you do that in front of the whole congregation.”

“Who cares about the congregation? Father Cruz was there!”

“He laughed the hardest.”

I could see that. He was very laid-back.

Kingsley washed the glass and put it back in its place in the cupboard. Those greens drifted to me. “Don’t believe everythingthey say. Especially the kid. He talks a lot. You know the disciple shouldn’t open his lips for idle words.” In passing, he popped the back of Brother Matthew’s head.