“You weren’t bored, were you?” He edged back to let a woman exit the row.
“Not in the least. This was far more interesting than any of my meetings in the corporate world. Are you going to sign up?” She motioned toward the back of the room, where groups of people were already congregating around the worksheets.
“Yes. I’m not the handiest person, but I wield a mean paintbrush.”
“Evening, Zach.” A man in a clerical collar stopped beside them.
“Reverend Baker. Thanks for the loan of your fellowship hall tonight.”
“It’s always available for a worthy cause.” He turned to her. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Paul Baker. I’m the pastor here.” He held out his hand.
Stephanie took it and introduced herself.
As another clergyman approached, Zach greeted him with a nod. “Nice to see you, Father Murphy. Since I’ve been tardy in the introduction department, let me take the lead on this one.” He did the honors.
The jovial priest pumped her hand and offered a megawatt smile. “Welcome to Hope Harbor. I see you’ve already met my colleague here. A word of warning—if you spot him on the golf course, duck.”
Her nephew covered a chuckle with a cough and offered an explanation. “Our two clerics have a standing Thursday golf date.”
“And for the record, I’m currently up two games.” The minister sent the padre a disgruntled look.
“Enjoy the lead while it lasts.” The priest gave a dismissive wave. “Are you signing up for any of the work crews?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Of course.”
“Avoid anything to do with plumbing.”
The priest huffed out a breath. “You’re never going to let me forget my unfortunate blunder with your sink, are you?”
“No.” Reverend Baker transferred his attention to her. “I had a minor leak he claimed he could fix. After he tinkered with it, I ended up with a small version of Niagara Falls in my kitchen—and a major plumbing bill.”
“What I did should have worked. It was how I fixed the leak in the rectory.”
“That must have been blind luck rather than expertise. Why don’t you see if they’re assembling a landscaping crew?”
“That’s a great idea,” Zach chimed in. “Father Murphy created a beautiful meditation garden behind St. Francis.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” The priest gave a slight bow. “I’ll see if those skills are on the list. I also want to add an idea for a fundraiser. I was thinking we could hold a Taste of Hope Harbor gathering, like we did to welcome our refugee family, except charge for tickets and add a raffle.”
“Seeing how you filch our donuts after Sunday service, why am I not surprised you proposed a food-related event?” Reverend Baker surveyed the padre’s slightly thick midsection—but his eyes were twinkling.
Father Murphy sniffed. “I only eat your donuts if we have business to discuss on Sunday. The St. Francis homemade version is far superior. Getting back to the subject at hand—what do you think of my idea?”
“It has possibilities—but this project can’t live on bread alone.”
The priest groaned. “Stop with the biblical analogies.”
“Just saying. It will take more than a Taste of Hope Harbor event to fund this project.”
“I agree—but it would give us an opportunity to eat our food with gladness, for God approves of what we’re doing.”
Reverend Baker squinted at him. “That phrasing is familiar . . . but I can’t place it.”
“Ha. Gotcha.” The priest grinned and gave the minister a good-natured elbow nudge. “It’s from Ecclesiastes.” He licked his index finger and drew a swipe in the air.
Stephanie slanted a glance at Zach. Her nephew was obviously amused by the amiable jibing of the town clerics—and she had to admit it was a hoot.
In fact, it had been entertaining enough to make her momentarily forget that Frank had asked them to wait after the meeting.
Until she spotted Zach’s part-time employee winding through the crowd in their direction.
Her lungs lost their rhythm again—and she curbed an eye roll.
You’d think she was a teen in the throes of her first crush—not that she knew much about teenage romance. Her father’s high academic expectations had ensured she’d been a nose-to-the-grindstone, head-in-the-books kind of girl.
“Thanks for waiting.” Frank joined them.
“Our clerics and I are going to check out the sign-up sheets.” Zach hooked a thumb toward the back of the room.
“Don’t let me delay you. The more people who volunteer, the higher the likelihood this project will get off the ground.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Zach touched her arm.