Page 5 of Janessa

Except that Will sometimes carried a bit of resentment when following through with things that he felt forced into doing, even though it was his own fault for not saying no. He was aware that it was an issue he had that seemed to get worse when he was under emotional stress.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why his girlfriend had broken up with him. Daphne had commented more than once that he had no backbone.

Rather than argue with his siblings or his mom, Will focused on his meal, enjoying the delicious food rather than dwelling on the faults of his personality. His mom was a great cook, so it was rare that he turned down an invitation to eat a meal with them, even if it meant dealing with stuff like he had had to that day.

The next evening, as Will headed to the church for the meeting, he rehearsed a few excuses to give for why he couldn’t be part of the committee. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to use them. A lot of it depended on who he had to give the excuses to. There were a few people in the church he really hated to disappoint.

He was able to park his car close to the church building. It wasn’t like Sunday mornings, when there was a battle for premium parking spots. There were a handful of cars already parked there, so Will hoped that maybe they’d have too many people for the committee, and he’d be able to bow out.

Not too likely, if he was being honest with himself, but he could always hope.

The sun was still up since the long days of summer hadn’t shrunk very much yet, even as they neared the end of August. It had also been a hot day, and it hadn’t cooled off a whole lot, which meant he was grateful to step into the coolness of the building.

The first person he saw as he stepped into the room where they were meeting was Miss Eva, and Will knew he was now doomed to remain on the committee. He would definitely get a disappointed look from her if he left, and he couldn’t handle that.

“Will, darling.” Eva came toward him, her arms outstretched. “What a joy to see you here.”

Will bent to give her a gentle hug, the familiar scent of her perfume lingering in a cloud around her. “Good to see you too, Miss Eva.”

“I’m so glad you’ll be helping with the Fall Dinner. We need some young blood on the committee.”

And that sealed his fate. “Mom suggested it might be good for me to help out in some way.”

“I realize that it might not seem like a lot of fun for you young ones,” Eva said. “But it’s a blessing to many, especially the people who benefit from the fundraising we do.”

“I’ll do my best to contribute.”

“I’m sure you will, dear. You’ve always done that.”

She would know. She’d been at the church since before they’d arrived for his dad to fill the position of pastor, so she’d known him since he was a little boy.

“Oh, look,” Eva said with a smile. “Another young one.”

Will glanced over at the door of the room, his eyes widening when he saw that Janessa Halverson had just walked in. Of all the people he’d thought might show up, she hadn’t even crossed his mind.

She might regret her decision to join the committee once she realized he was there. Ever since things had gone down with Jay, she’d been upset with him, as well as her brother. He hadn’t thought that he’d come into the crosshairs of her anger like Jay had. But boy, had he.

Turning away from her, Will made his way to one of the tables that had been set up for the meeting. Before he sat down, he noticed that there was a coffee urn set up, so he veered in that direction. After filling a cup, he also grabbed a muffin from the container next to the coffee.

With coffee and muffin in hand, Will headed for a seat as far away as possible from one of the older women who had also just shown up. It didn’t surprise him that his ex-girlfriend’s grandmother was there, but he could have done without her presence. That was the downside of dating someone who—along with her family—attended the same church as him. There was really no avoiding any of them after the breakup.

After choosing a seat that didn’t have anyone on either side, Will sat down. He smiled and nodded at the others seated nearby. Most those present were women, and closer to his mom’s age than his, which wasn’t too surprising.

He took a sip of his coffee, then pulled out his phone. As he waited for the meeting to start, he tapped out a message to Jay.

Mom roped me into joining the committee for the fall dinner. Not sure if Janessa lost a bet or something, but she’s here, too.

Jay:Seriously? I mean, I’m not surprised you’re there if your mom got involved. But Janessa? No clue why she’d be there.

I’d ask her, but I’d like to keep my head.

Jay:Yeah. Don’t blame you.

When there was movement next to him, Will glanced up to smile at whoever was sitting beside him. He froze when he saw that it was Janessa. Wondering if every other chair had been taken while he’d been texting with Jay, he glanced around.

“Hi, Will,” Janessa said as she lifted her cup and took a sip. “How’s life?”

“Can’t complain.” Well, he could, especially about being there, but he didn’t. “How’re things with you?”

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