Zenith in Love (Zenith Series #5) - Leanne Davis Page 0,110
trip to Montana was to look at a church that offered Jim a job as their pastor. It was an older church with low attendance, and a few younger members wanted to rebuild it. Originally, the structure dated from the late 1800s and the goal was to restore it to attract the locals of the area to join their weekly services. It had a big enough base to potentially draw a significant percentage of the population. They were without a pastor for several years and sought Jim out after several recommendations from various unrelated sources. The church shooting brought his name to the public but he also received an excellent portrayal from the media. His reputation preceded him, and the church in Montana invited him for an interview. As far as Jim was concerned, however, he went there to interview them. He was eager to see the landmark church and scope out the area as well as meet the local people. Both parties had to know if they were a good fit.
After the interview, Kayla insisted on a brief sojourn of sorts, to relive some of Jim’s history. They visited the colleges Jim attended, the towns he lived in and finally ended up at the Zavarian farm.
The Zavarians still lived there, and the farm looked exactly as Jim remembered.
Kayla expected they would be thrilled to see Jim, and sorry that he didn’t come back to visit them sooner. Jim knew that would never happen, and constantly tried to warn her they didn’t feel that way about him. No tear-filled, hug-laced, happy reunion for them, not like she was picturing. Even if they still liked Jim, the Zavarians were not demonstratively affectionate people who revealed their emotions in public. Not then. And not now.
Jim knew all along he was right. They banished him from their lives after meeting his biological father. They realized Jim came from tainted stock. Unlike Kayla who scoffed at that thought, the Zavarians believed bloodlines determined people’s personalities. Jim understood that even then, which was why he struck out on his own. No hard feelings.
But Kayla was appalled at their unusual lack of interest in how Jim turned out. The idea that a neighboring state was asking Jim to become their pastor didn’t matter to them. Nope. They didn’t really care.
Kayla did though. And that’s what mattered most to him now and always.
Now, after their disappointing meeting with the Zavarians, they returned to their lodging and Kayla proposes marriage?
They had been dating for two years. She finished her master’s degree the first year. They had to live apart for two full quarters due to her schooling, and both of them grew more mature in their time apart. Now they were better together. They still had some fights and disagreements. Sometimes, when she was living across the country, she’d worried that he would drink again. When he missed a text or failed to answer her, she freaked out. She would send Rob to check on him. That happened three times. All those times, he wasn’t drinking. That would make Jim feeling spied on and annoyed.
She didn’t fully trust him to tell her if he did drink. It was the source of most of their arguments and they continued finding new ways to discuss it.
She had to credit him because he developed an unmasked honesty about himself now that all his secrets were out. Once he was free of them, Jim avoided having secrets again. His cautious decision not to drink kept him away from alcohol. Jim stayed clean in the two years since the night Kayla discovered his problem and sent Rob over to talk to him.
Kayla graduated from school and lived with Rob and her mom. She found a job with a non-profit group that helped people organize their finances and learn new ways of getting back on track. At no charge to its clients, the service relied on local businesses for funding for the program. It managed to keep many families afloat through hard times. In addition to the financial help and advice, Kayla taught classes and mentored investment strategies for the clients. She also connected any families in need of immediate services. Most of the people Kayla worked with were unable to pay their bills every month. She diligently showed them how to navigate an easier path through debt collections.
Jim was surprised when he told Kayla about the job interview in Montana and she pushed it hard, trying to persuade him to do it.