Awakening Veronica(Divine Creek Ranch 17)(43)

“What is it, Ann? I have to get to the church foyer. I’m scheduled to be a greeter this morning.”

Ann’s eyebrows shot up at that announcement and she bit her lip, her eyes darting around before she finally rose to her feet as Tabitha did. “The pastor’s wife has contacted me about starting a new Sunday school class.”

More competition! If they kept adding new classes, she’d lose all of her students, which were already too few in number. “Well, I hope that works out well for you. What will you be teaching?” In Tabitha’s opinion, Ann was too timid to teach anything besides her kids how to be hooligans.

“I’m starting a study of the Book of Daniel next Sunday. Um…you should come…maybe?”

Tabitha frowned and then shook her head. “I can’t. I have to teach.”

Ann smiled weakly as she backed away toward the door. “Well, I just wanted to let you know. It’s a ladies class, like this one, and—”

“You’re stealing all of my students, aren’t you?”

Ann had the audacity to roll her eyes as she said, “Don’t look at it that way, Tabitha. You’ll always be welcome.”

“And where will your class be?” Tabitha asked, hands on her hips.

Ann chuckled weakly as she stood in the doorway. “I’m…not really sure. Anyway, they asked me to let you know, and suggested that I invite you to join the new class.”

With all the kindness she could muster, Tabitha said, “No, thank you. I plan to continue on with teaching my class.”

Ann grimaced at that news. “Okay then. Talk to you later! Have fun greeting everyone this morning.”

Tabitha shook all over. They’d been dividing and subdividing the women’s class she and Elizabeth Owen had taught for years until there was practically no members left. She still missed Elizabeth. Sure, she’d made some errors in judgment, but she’d been a great teacher, as vehement in her defense of the truths they taught as Tabitha was.

Tabitha wished there were more loyal friends around her like Elizabeth. Beverly Dumphrey on the school board had proved she couldn’t be trusted or relied on. She’d fallen victim to her sympathies toward that Maizy Owen. If she’d kept her trap shut and stuck to the plan, that’d be one less poly-pervert group in the area.

“Did she not understand I was trying to save her?” Tabitha muttered, ignoring a church member as they stared at her when she walked past. She knew what she was talking about and no one seemed to be listening to her “cries in the desert,” as it were.

Speaking of Owens, that Roberta Owen had been a turncoat, too! Calling her up and yelling at her for showing around that picture of Maizy with her three men right after they all three asked her to marry them. It was unholy! Then Roberta had the gall to get mad at her for using that picture against her sister.

“Both idiots!” she growled as she grabbed up the stack of church bulletins outside the church offices.

On her way out of the building, she caught up with the pastor, who glanced at her and hurried on through the breezeway. “Pastor Robert!”

He looked back, seeming like he was in a great hurry, and then stopped and smiled. “Good morning, Tabitha. Did Ann talk to you?”

“She did. That’s what I wanted to speak with you about.” He looked pained and ready to run off so she hurriedly continued. “Each time your wife asks someone new to teach, I lose members of my class. Soon, I’ll be teaching my class on marriage to an empty room.”

“About that, Tabitha. A new class on marriage, being taught by my wife, will be starting next week as well. She and I talked about it and we feel the class on marriage should be taught by…someone who is married. And actually, your classroom has been assigned to Ann for her class as of next Sunday.”

“But—”

“Your class has been running for quite some time and I…we, the education committee, too, feel that it’s time to move on.”

“But it’s so important. If I don’t teach, they won’t understand why it’s so important that we stamp out all those polyamorous marriages in this town. If we don’t do something—”

“Tabitha, may I be blunt?”

“I thought that’s what you were being, Pastor.”

Robert smiled at her as they continued on the walkway. “Pastor Ryan paid a visit to us last week and he told us—”

Tabitha had to hold back a growl. She hated the reminder that soon she would have to make a hard decision about her living circumstances, since that coward Ryan had fired her from her job, accusing her of gossiping. “Told you how he fired me, for doing my job as a God-fearing—”