Page 7 of Desert Thorns

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Uh-oh, had I gotten him into trouble?

Chapter 4

Kingsley

My heart jackhammered against my rib cage as I fumbled for words to explain Father Cruz why I was sneaking around with a woman at dawn. What even could I say? I’d been caught in flagrante delicto. Me, a monk only months away from becoming a priest.

I groaned inwardly. Could this get any worse?

“I’m all ears.” Father Cruz smiled, but his voice betrayed subtle concern.

My chest constricted. An abbot couldn’t get more laid-back than this man. As a former member of a Mexican cartel, there wasn’t much that could faze him. Apparently my actions did.

I looked at Harley for permission, but before I could get a word out, she cut in.

“Brother Samuel did nothing wrong.” Still sitting in the driver’s seat of her VW Beetle, she gripped the steering wheel. “In fact, he helped me. I was in danger.”

Father Cruz glanced at me with an unreadable expression, then back at Harley. “Danger?”

The word had me scanning the jungle surrounding us and the road leading down the mountain. The clear sky slowly brightened with the rising sun, birds welcoming the new day all around us. No signs of anything alarming.

“It’s nothing.” Harley gave a forced smile. “I was just about to leave.”

“I think it’s better if you stay,” I blurted.

This earned me more scrutiny from Father Cruz. His brown eyes pinned me for an unbearable moment. “Brother Samuel, can I have a word?”

Cold sweat broke out down my back. “Yes, Father.”

We moved under the banyan tree out of Harley’s earshot, but I kept my eyes on her VW. Didn’t want her to leave. Not if she was obviously still in danger.

“Would you like to explain to me what’s going on?” Father Cruz asked.

I fingered the beads on my rosary, once again trying to figure out how to best word what’d happened. “I was doing a midnight prayer walk when she showed up out of nowhere. Must’ve climbed the walls.” How, though, I still didn’t know. “She was terrified, so I offered her to stay at the guesthouse. I would’ve told you, but I didn’t want to wake you. And she didn’t want me to tell anyone.”

Father Cruz’s forehead wrinkled under his slicked-back salt-and-pepper hair. “Do you think she’s in danger?”

“I do. I wouldn’t have done it if not. I couldn’t just let her—”

He held up a hand. “You did the right thing.”

The tension tightening my shoulders slowly seeped out. “No discipline?”

“Of course not.”

I almost wet my habit with relief. Father Cruz was like a father to me. A whole lot more than my own had ever been. The thought of disappointing him . . .

“You need to stop looking everywhere for punishment, Brother Samuel.” Father Cruz placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I would’ve expected nothing less of you than to protect this young woman.”

I gritted my teeth. Nodded. It had been nine years since I left my family to join the monastic community of Saint James, yet I was still scared to make mistakes and suffer the consequences. Would I ever be able to cut the ties?

“How about you set her up in the guesthouse and tell her the rules? After Mass, that is.”

“Of course.” Which meant she would be joining us for Vigils, Angelus, Lauds,andMass. “For how long?”

“However long she needs to stay.”

“What about clothes? I doubt she has any in her car.”