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"I got hot."
Her hand flew to the child's brow. "You don't feel hot." She grabbed the thermometer from a glass on the bedside table and pushed it between Emily's lips. "Let's see if you're running a temperature."
Russ glared at Rachel, then moved toward his daughter. "Hey, puddin'."
"You said you'd come yesterday, Daddy." Emily spoke around the thermometer.
"Yeah, well, I was pretty busy. But I'm here now." As he sat on the side of the bed and took Emily's hand, he shot Rachel a venomous look.
"Rachel's got a little boy," Emily said. "Her hands is hot."
Russ's eyes grew fierce. "Get out of here."
"Stop it, Russ." Lisa stepped forward.
"I don't want her near Emily."
"This is my house now, and what you want doesn't matter."
"It's all right," Rachel said. "I have to go anyway. Good-bye, Emily. You take care of yourself."
Emily pulled the thermometer from her mouth. "Can your little boy come play with me?"
296
"We're going to be moving soon. I'm afraid he won't be around much longer."
Lisa tried to put the thermometer back in, but Emily shook her head. "Want to read a story. Want apple juice."
"What's going on?" Russ said. "You told me she's been too sick to sit up."
"I guess she's having a good day." Lisa walked over to Rachel. Taking her hand, she drew her into the hallway. "I'll never be able to thank you enough. That money's going to make a lot of difference."
Russ appeared behind them. "What money?"
"Rachel is giving us twenty-five thousand dollars for Emily's Fund."
"What?" He sounded as if he were choking.
"The check is from Cal Bonner," Rachel said. "It's his gift, not mine."
Lisa's expression indicated she didn't believe it, and Russ looked as if he'd been hit by a stun gun. Suddenly Rachel needed to get away from them both. "Good luck."
A small voice called out to her from the bedroom. "Bye, Rachel."
"Bye, sweetie."
She left the house and hurried to her car.
As Ethan pulled into the left lane of the interstate to pass a Ryder rental truck with two bicycles hanging off the rear, Kristy gazed at his calendar boy-profile. "I can't believe you're serious about this."
He slipped back into the right lane. "I'm just not cut out to be a pastor. I've known it for a long time, and I'm tired of fighting it. I'm planning to turn in my letter of resignation on Monday, as soon as we get back."
Kristy started to argue, then shut her mouth. What was the use? He'd dropped his bombshell just as they'd left Salvation. Now they were approaching Knoxville, and she'd been debating with him the whole time. Unfortunately, he showed no sign of changing his mind.
Ethan Bonner had been born to be a pastor. How could he not understand that? This was the worst mistake of his life, but no matter what she said, he wasn't going to listen.
"Could we please talk about something else?" he said.
