be …”
She ducked into the hallway, her stomach hurting with the effort to stay quiet. She made it to the kitchen before she giggled.
A moment later, Seth rushed in, his eyes dancing with mirth. Organ music floated in behind him and cut off as he shut the door. “Oh my gosh!” he exclaimed.
She laughed out right and scolded him in a hushed tone. “What are you doing in here?”
He pointed at the door with one hand while holding his side with the other. He panted through his laughter. “I couldn’t compete with Al’s thirty-incher.”
She swiped the moisture from her eyes. “You have to get back out there.”
He shook his head. “Give me a minute.” He swallowed and took a breath. “I have to stop smiling.”
She nodded. “A pastor can’t laugh during a funeral.”
“Heavens, no,” he agreed.
She snorted a laugh. “Who is that guy?”
“I think he’s a son-in-law.” He dabbed at the happy moisture in the corner of his eye.
She shook her head, her giggles dying down enough that she could breathe again. “Well, after this, your first sermon should be cake.” She stepped forward touched his chest. A warmth, familiar and kind of scary, rushed through her at his nearness.
The tone in the room changed from lighthearted to deep connection in an instant. Their eyes met and held. Time slowed down. Neither of them moved as their breathing became ragged and the sound of her pulse thrummed in her ears.
The door flew open, and a woman in a black dress and hat put her hands on her hips. “We’re headed to the grave—you coming, Pastor?”
Seth broke eye contact and stepped back, shaking his head like he had to clear it.
Evie pressed a cool hand to her warm forehead.
“I’m coming,” he said.
“Good. Don’t worry about Cal. He’d sit up in his own grave to talk about fishing. You did real good on your talk for not knowing Shelby. She was a spitfire, but she had a good heart.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” Seth’s words were as real as they were sincere.
Evie found that she liked that about him. He didn’t puff up his chest under a compliment, even a well-deserved one.
“You can ride in the Hurst, and Tony will bring you back.” She strode off without waiting for his response.
“Well.” He tugged on his tie. “I guess I’m catching a ride with the undertaker.”
“Be back in time for lunch, dear,” she quipped, pretending to be busy and unconcerned—as if her husband riding around town in a car with a coffin in the back was an everyday occurrence.
He chuckled. “Life with you will not be dull, Evie Powell.”
She put her hand over her chest. “I hope not!”
He smiled once more before leaving. Immediately, the room felt smaller, less bright without him in it.
She looked at all the food on the counter and decided she’d better get to work setting it on the buffet tables. Things would settle down for the two of them after the luncheon.
Although she hoped they didn’t. The funeral was the most fun she’d had in a long time. Was that twisted? Perhaps. But what was life—and maybe death—if it couldn’t be laughed at?
Owen didn’t like that about her. He’d constantly reprimanded her for seeing the irony in things and getting a kick out of it.
Dots connected, and she had another revelation about herself. She’d shut off or shut down happy parts of her personality for him. Like in the chapel, she recognized what she’d lost.
Thankfully, Seth was different. She’d seen the light of her own laughter echoed in his eyes. That was a gift, and she wouldn’t take it lightly. But she would take it—because it was of great worth. To her especially.
Chapter Seven
Seth
Seth stuffed his hands deep into his pockets as he and Evie walked the aisles of Goodwill. When he’d suggested they try a hand-me-down store, she didn’t bat an eye, even though he could tell she’d never shopped there. Her clothing was high quality and new. She wore makeup that looked expensive—or maybe it was her effortless beauty that made everything she did look classy.
He was a heel not being able to buy her new things for the kitchen. What kind of a husband was he if he couldn’t even buy them plates? But that was the life he’d signed up for, and she’d known he was a preacher when she’d married him.
He just … she was a diamond and he was the rough.
She deserved more than he could give her.
“What about