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As the strains of “How Great Thou Art” filled the air, Faith couldn’t help but be amazed at the wonderful harmonies blending together to make such fabulous music. It always gave Faith goosebumps when the group achieved such a high standard of excellence. She could feel a huge grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she stood before the group and led them in song.
Suddenly, she saw Lanie’s eyes widen as she looked behind Faith. Several of the other female choir members were staring right along with Lanie. Half of them had stopped singing.
Faith turned around, wondering what had shocked everyone so much. Faith let out a surprised sound at the sight of Micah. He was standing at the entrance to the room looking more adorable than a person had a right to look in a crisp pair of khakis, a button down oxford shirt and a pair of fancy-looking loafers.
What in the world was he doing here? She’d never seen him at Holy Child before. Was he trying to join the choir? Or was he looking for Pastor Banks? Her church family was relatively small, so she knew he wasn’t a parishioner.
“Micah! What are you doing here?” Her surprise rang out in her voice.
He looked around at the group and raised his hand in greeting to everyone. Faith wanted to roll her eyes at the admiring glances that were being sent in Micah’s direction. Not that she could blame the ladies. He was an eye-catching man.
He stuffed his hands in his front pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I heard you might be looking for a strong alto.”
Faith felt her jaw go slack. An alto? It was absolutely true that her choir needed a few alto voices to add to their harmony, but she couldn’t figure out if Micah’s appearance here was a total coincidence or a bit of planning on his part. For a brief second she wondered if he had come here tonight because of her.
She wanted to laugh out loud at the notion. A man like Micah didn’t need to do anything at all to attract women to him like moths to the flame. She was being silly and fanciful. When had a gorgeous man ever pursued her?
Faith began to stammer—a bad habit she’d developed as a teen. “Y-you w-want to join the choir?”
“I love to sing. I love the Lord.” His straight white teeth were on fully display as he smiled. “And I’m a people person. I might be a great fit for the group.”
Faith cleared her throat. “Are you a parishioner here?”
“No,” he admitted, his lips twitching. “I attend New Hope Church. Do you have to be a regular member to become a part of the choir?”
“No,” Faith said after deliberating for a moment. She encouraged anyone who had a love for the Lord and wanted to share it through song to become a member of the choir. But, all of the other members did attend Holy Child Church.
“Your church doesn’t have a choir?” she asked in a low voice. She didn’t want the members of the choir to think she was interrogating Micah. They were probably wondering why she hadn’t been more gracious about welcoming him. Frankly, she was still surprised by his appearance at her choir rehearsal.
“They do but they meet several times a week. Because of my work commitments I travel pretty frequently. I heard this choir only meets once a week.”
“Yes we do,” Lanie said in an overly enthusiastic voice. “Why don’t you grab a choral book and join us?” Lanie beckoned to Micah, who picked up a choral book from the stack by the entrance.
“Great idea, Lanie,” Faith said, wanting to giggle at the look on her best friend’s face. She looked as if she’d died and gone to heaven. Micah walked over toward the group and the women parted as if he was Moses entering the Red Sea. Clyde, one of the senior members of the choir, was muttering under his breath. He was glaring at Micah, who seemed rather oblivious to the older man’s reaction to his presence. Faith imagined Clyde didn’t like all the attention Micah was getting from the choir ladies. She had to bite her lip in order to stop herself from laughing. Just because you were sitting in God’s house didn’t mean you couldn’t feel envy.
“Okay. Let’s pick up where we left off.” Faith tried not to look in Micah’s direction as she led the group in singing “Oh how we love you.” It was a new song they were practicing and it was proving to be both challenging and inspirational. Faith glanced in Micah’s direction. He was singing in perfect harmony and giving it his all. She felt the corners of her mouth lifting upwards into a smile. There was just something about Micah that made her feel happy.
He reminded her of something her mother used to say to her. “Faith, there are some people who will bring chaos into your life and there are others who will radiate joy. You’ll feel it shimmering and bouncing off them in waves. Those are the people you should surround yourself with.” Her mother would have thoroughly approved of him in every way.
By the end of the practice, Faith felt a deep sense of pride in her singers. They had been working so hard lately and all of their efforts were finally paying off. Faith couldn’t have been more ecstatic. In six weeks they would be performing at the Summer Fair Choir competition. In her heart of hearts, she honestly thought they might have a decent chance of winning.
“Great job everyone. I’ll see you at Sunday service. Next week we’ll have practice at the same time. Have a great rest of your week,” Faith said, smiling as she looked around at the choir. Micah was grinning back at her. She felt a tugging sensation in her belly. This man oozed raw charm!
Lanie wagged her eyebrows at Faith and made a lot of hand motions behind Micah’s back. Faith could tell her best friend was barely containing herself. It was extremely difficult for Faith to keep a straight face when her friend was cutting up.
“Micah. I have a few things for you to fill out as well as a schedule if you can stay for a few minutes,” Faith said, making eye contact with Micah from across the room. It was a little intimidating to imagine herself alone with him.
“Sure thing,” Micah said as he shook hands with a few of the members before they began to file out.
As Lanie walked past Faith she whispered, “Call me later. We need to talk.”
Knowing Lanie, she wanted every single detail about Micah. Not that Faith knew much, but that wouldn’t stop Lanie from asking. Her best friend was a bit man crazy and she was the first to admit it.
Once everyone was gone, Faith turned her attention to Micah.
“Thanks for letting me join in,” he said, handing her back the hymnal.
She nodded. “Thanks for coming. You have a great voice.”
