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None of them, however, had gone through as tough a time as Gabe. Sometimes it was hard for Ethan to remember the gentle healer his brother had been. Throughout Ethan's childhood, there had always been an injured animal somewhere in the house: a bird with a broken wing in the kitchen, a stray dog to be nursed back to health in the garage, a baby skunk too young to survive on its own hidden away in Gabe's bedroom closet.
All his life, Gabe had wanted to be a vet, but he'd never planned on becoming a multimillionaire. His sudden wealth had amused everyone in the family, since Gabe was notoriously indifferent about money. It had happened accidentally.
His brother was insatiably curious, and he'd always liked to tinker. Several years after he'd opened his practice in rural Georgia, he'd developed a specialized orthopedic splint to use on one of the championship thoroughbreds he was treating for a local breeder. The splint had worked so well that it had quickly been adopted by the wealthy horse-racing community, and Gabe was making a fortune from the patent.
He had always been the most complex of the three brothers. While Cal was aggressive and confrontational, quick to anger and equally quick to forgive, Gabe kept his feelings to himself. Still, he'd been the first person Ethan had run to when he'd gotten into scrapes as a child. His quiet voice and slow, lazy movements could calm a troubled boy just as well as they soothed a frightened animal. But how his gentle, pensive brother had turned into a bitter, cynical man.
Ethan was distracted from his reverie by the arrival of Laura Delapino, the town's newest divorcee. She'd tossed a gauzy lime-green blouse over a black halter top, which she wore with a pair of tight white shorts. Her long fingernails were polished the same deep shade of red as the toenails visible through the straps of her silver sandals. Her breasts were lush, her legs long, her hair big and blond. She exuded sex, and he wanted some of it.
Men of God who secretly lust after trashy women! Live today on Oprah!
He groaned inwardly. He wasn't in the mood for this.
But it was no use. The Wise God knew a ratings hit when she saw one.
Tell us, Reverend Bonner—we're all friends here—why is it you're never interested in any of the nice women who live in this town?
Nice women bore me to tears.
They're supposed to bore you. You're a minister, remember? Why is it only our more flamboyant sisters who catch your eye?
Laura Delapino bent over to talk to her little girl, and he could see the outline of a pair of very lacy bikini underpants beneath those tight white shorts. A shaft of heat shot straight to his groin.
I'm talking to you, Mis
ter, Oprah said.
Go away, he replied, which only made her mad.
Don't you start with Me! Next thing you'll be whining about how you're not cut out for the job and how the ministry is ruining your life.
He wanted Eastwood back.
Pay attention to Me, Ethan Bonner. It's time you found yourself a nice, decent woman and settled down.
Could you please shut up for a minute so I can enjoy the view? Laura's breasts strained against the cups of her halter top as she leaned forward to regard her daughter's artwork. Damn it! He wasn't meant to be celibate.
He remembered those wild years in his early twenties before he'd gotten the call. The beautiful, busty women; the nights of hot free sex—doing it every way he could think of. Oh, God…
Yes? Oprah replied.
He gave up. How could he enjoy Laura's body with the Greatest Talk-Show Host of them all listening in? As he turned away, he found himself wishing he could counsel teenagers to celibacy and preach on the sacredness of marriage-vows without actually living those beliefs himself, but he wasn't made up that way.
He greeted Tracy Longben and Sarah Curtis, both of whom he'd grown up with, then he commiserated with Austin Longben over his broken wrist and admired Taylor Curtis's pink sneakers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Edward Snopes standing off by himself.
Stone, he reminded himself, not Snopes. The boy's last name had been legally changed. Too bad Rachel hadn't done something about that first name. Why didn't she call him Eddie or Ted?
His conscience pinched him. The boy had been at the child-care center for three days, and Ethan hadn't once sought him out. It wasn't Edward's fault that he had dishonest parents, and Ethan had no excuse for ignoring him except misplaced anger.
He remembered the phone call he'd received from Carol Dennis the day before. His anger, was nothing compared to hers. She was furious that he'd let Rachel stay in Annie's cottage, and he'd been too protective of Gabe to tell her it had been his brother's decision.
He'd tried to reason with her, gently reminding her they needed to be careful about passing judgment, even though he'd passed it long ago, but she wouldn't listen.
He didn't like crossing Carol. Although her brand of religion was more restrictive than his, she was a woman of deep faith, and she'd done the town a lot of good.
"If you let her stay in that cottage, Pastor," she'd said, "it will reflect on you, and I don't think you want that."
Even though she was right, her attitude had irritated him. "I guess I'll have to deal with that when it happens," he'd replied as mildly as he could manage.
