King(13)

Willa was extremely shy and self-conscious of her weight. Personally, Evie didn’t think it was anyone else’s business but her own, yet the woman had received many ugly comments from people who were insensitive and uncaring about hurting her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Willa murmured.

“Did you bake the cake?”

Willa nodded.

“I’ve been to several large cities and a variety of states, and that cake is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you own a shop?”

“No, I bake at home. It keeps me busy enough.”

“Well, if you decide to open a store, let me know. I would invest not only my money, but my stomach, to opening one.”

Even Evie had to laugh at his expression staring at the cake.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Willa lost her self-consciousness, asking King where he was from.

“Did you bring a cake?” Lucky’s voice filled with disbelief, interrupting King’s description.

“Yes.” Willa’s startled eyes flew to Lucky’s.

“You baked a cake to greet the new minister, but never made me one?” Lucky’s accusing eyes were on Willa’s embarrassed face. Evie wanted to kick the dumb man.

“I wouldn’t have baked you one, either. Do you remember when you took over? There were three tables of food and four for desserts.”

“There was?”

“Yes, there was,” Evie confirmed.

“I actually made you a cake when you arrived.” Willa’s soft voice was filled with embarrassment.

“Georgia packed it in. When you saw her, you assumed she had made it.”

Lucky was the one turning red now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter; you ate it. I brought it for you to eat, not for the compliments.” All the single women in the parish had filled the tables, trying to get his attention, but Willa had let someone else take credit for her cake. “Excuse me. I haven’t met the new pastor yet.” Willa moved away toward the new minister, whose wife was standing by his side.

Pastor Patterson was handsome and the same age as Lucky. If he hadn’t been married, the women would have been all over him. From his wife’s glare, Evie sensed she wasn’t going to tolerate any women becoming too friendly with her husband.

Brooke Patterson’s rounded belly showed she was pregnant, although Evie couldn’t imagine her being a mother. The cold bitch hid her true colors from Merrick, but Evie was fully aware of who she really was.

When she had walked into the church and saw Brooke, she had been stunned, almost leaving. The only reason she had stayed was because Evie knew the manipulating woman would find a way to use it to her advantage.

Brooke’s eyes swept Willa from head to toe. After Willa introduced herself she held her hand out to Pastor Patterson, who took it, greeting her back. When he released it, he then introduced her to his wife.

“Dean told me you teach bible study for the youth on Wednesday. I’ll be taking it over if you don’t mind. I consider it my duty as the Pastor’s wife. I hope you don’t mind?”

“No.”

It wouldn’t matter if she did, Evie thought, since Brooke hadn’t really given Willa the choice.

“Anything I can do to help you settle in to your new church—” Willa began.

“We have an abundance of volunteers. Of course, they’re all women,” Brooke broke in snidely.

True to form, her frostbitten greeting to Willa proved too much for her to handle, and soon after, Evie saw Willa leaving. King and Lucky noticed, also.

“Where’s she going?” Lucky asked.

“She’s leaving,” Evie said sadly. She would be surprised if Willa came back.

“Why?” Lucky asked. “She’s not even going to give him a chance?”

“She did.”

Lucky was dressed in slacks and a shirt. He was dressed nicely but had not worn a suit, sticking to his promise of not donning one again. Men like Lucky would never understand a woman like Willa, but Merrick’s wife had; that was why she had managed to frighten Willa off.

“Let’s eat. I’m hungry.” Evie moved toward the table. She had directed her comment to Lucky, but King was the one who stood next to her, fixing a plate for himself.

Evie couldn’t resist. “You didn’t bring Henry to fix your plate?”

“He’s here, but he’s too worried about stuffing his own face to worry about me.” King nodded to Henry sitting at one of the tables with two plates in front of him.

“Every man for himself?”

“When someone else is cooking, yes.”