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After he had purposely waited a day before bringing in her things, he had expected to see her all happy and healthy at work. Instead, she had been passed out in bed for almost three days before he found her. Alone. Because of him.
Finding her disoriented had actually scared him. At first, he had thought that she was blind drunk, but when she had passed out again, he found the bottle of pills in the bathroom. That’s when he called his sister Mandy, who was a nurse practitioner. She had been happy to explain what hives were, that the pills were what she needed, but that they’d knock her out. There was nothing else he could do for her but wait.
Then sadly, she had teased him about being mean to the girl he liked, like a little kid. Which, looking back on it, is what had happened, except Tess had loved almost every minute of it, and so had he. He had liked talking to her and seeing her excitement over the little things.
He wanted to apologize to her, but he knew she had left to see her family for the weekend, and he didn’t know her phone number. Oddly, he knew a lot about her but not her phone number. He knew Mia would have the number. Maybe he would ask for it after church that day. Then he could apologize for getting upset with her.
His loan had been approved, but he was now hesitating because of Tess. Was she right? Was he overextending in his rush to get bigger? Could he lose it all if the markets went bad? Was it possible that she was looking out for him and not just being a witch?
Math followed the kids into the church and to the pew his parents and sister Mandy were sitting in. He took his seat at the end of the row. His family had sat in the same pew every Sunday for years now. Mia’s parents were in the pew in front of them, and behind them were a couple of teachers at the high school and their kids. Like every week.
Except Mia wasn’t there. Math wondered if she was coming. If she didn’t come, how was he going to get Tess’s number?
Just as the service was starting and the minister walked to the front of the church, Mia snuck in with a friend. They sat down as quietly as they could in front of him. He knew that backside well. He had spent hours looking at it naked in her bed just three days before. Tess Thorn.
But she had told him she was going home for Easter. She’d even told her sister that same thing. Why was she in Landstad for Easter? Was it the hives? Had they not been better like she said it would?
Today she was wearing a white sundress with large red and gold flowers on it, and it had a back that dipped down to her bra line. Analyzing her back, he saw no signs of the angry red welts that had covered it, just smooth, soft white skin. Skin his fingers inched to touch again.
Why had she lied? She shouldn’t be here now. Why was she here giggling with his cousin, Mia? Both turned and waved at his sister, Mandy, who waved back. How did Tess know his sister? This town was too small!
In the front, the minister started to pray, and he watched Mia nudge Tess and then lean over to say something and giggle quietly. Tess turned to her and put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. Mia was worse than a kid in church, always had been.
After the prayer, the pastor asked everyone to greet those around them. Mia jumped to her feet and went to her parents to say hi, leaving Tess alone. She turned to see if there were any familiar faces, and she waved at someone behind Juniper, and Juniper waved back at her.
He saw the moment she saw him behind her. Not knowing what to do, he held out his hand, and she took it.
“Good morning, Tess.”
“Mathias,” she responded with a smile.
“I thought you were going home for Easter?” he questioned, still holding her hand, unable to let it go.
“I am.”
Around them, people had started to sit back down, so he finally dropped her hand as Mia rushed back towards them. He hoped she hadn’t noticed the handholding since she was a known gossip. He was sure she had missed it, but a glance at Mandy told him she had not. His sister might not be a gossip, but she missed little.
He studied her back throughout the service. What else was he supposed to do? During the songs, he watched her sway to the music and page through the hymnal, looking at all the songs. During the prayer, she read them from the book, and he watched as her finger followed along.
At some point, Juniper had moved up to sit between the two women. Math knew that his youngest daughter really liked to spend time with Mia. But now she was sitting next to Tess, who, since the pew was now full, had her arm running along the back of the pew and was twirling Juniper’s blonde hair around her finger absentmindedly.
When the pastor announced the closing hymn, he heard her ask Mia if it was really over. Not like she was excited for it to be over, but amazed that it had taken so little time.
With the end of the service, the minister moved to the back of the church to greet everyone as they left. Tess got up following Mia as she bounced from her seat to leave. Ignoring Math as she did it, she was sure he was glowering at her without seeing it.
Mia greeted the pastor, who then turned to Tess with a smile. “Happy Easter.”
“Not until next week, Pastor Ruston.” She smiled at him, taking his hand in hers.
Math had always liked the pastor, that was until he touched Tess. Then he wasn’t such a big fan. Not that he had any claim on Tess, but he had more of a claim than this man.
Ruston Abbott laughed at her answer, not pointing out that there is one Easter. “Eastern Orthodox, then?”
“Yes, it was a good service, but a little short for my taste. Barely worth getting ready for.” She finally let go of his hand, and Math could breathe again.
“Next time you come, I could try and get another half hour in for you, but any more than that, and I will be fired.” The pastor was still smiling when he shook Math’s hand, though he had little to say to someone who wasn’t a pretty woman, it seemed.
Moving on, the Pastor greeted his children, and everyone shuffled outside to the warm sunshine. He immediately spotted Tess talking with Mia, Mandy, the teacher’s kid, and another blonde woman with a kid on her hip. His Juniper was standing in front of Tess, and Tess had her hands on the girl’s shoulders like this happened every day. They were giggling about something. The younger women both said their goodbyes as their families left for Easter dinner.
