question this about me.” Finn’s tone is taking a stab at sounding hurt but his troublemaker of a smile shows he’s loving our shock.
Second row from the front, Deek directs us to be seated along a partially filled pew that people are packing into on the far side of the room.
We slide in, with Ginny taking the end spot but leaving enough room for Finn to sit next to us later. On my other side, I smile when I see Liam, Rory, and their parents, Jenn and Dave.
(His name is so normal. ‘Dave the werewolf?’ You never read that in books.)
“Have you been to church before?” Ginny whispers to me, looking around at the now standing-room-only building.
“Yep, but it’s been a while,” I tell her. “And it wasn’t really like this.” I mean, the general elements are the same. But people are smiling and laughing. Kids are present and playing, staying respectfully hushed. The atmosphere is really… comfortable.
Deek is quietly standing at the end of our pew, and when our eyes find each other, he sends me a small smile. “You look nice,” he says.
I feel my cheeks heat. “Oh. Thank you.”
“You do look nice, Sue,” Ginny agrees.
“You both look great,” I return, meaning it. And inexplicably nervous, I blurt to Deek, “You’re not sitting with us?”
I want to slap my forehead once the words are out, because I know he won’t be. He teaches here; he told us so.
His smile says he’s aware that I spoke before I thought. He jerks a thumb over his shoulder, looking self-conscious. “I’ll be up front.”
“Right,” I say. I smile weakly. “Well, enjoy the service from there then.”
He tips his head forward. “Thanks. You too.”
And then he turns, walks to the front of the church, moves behind the podium, and doesn’t have to adjust a microphone. Because there’s none there. “Ladies and gentleman,” he says, the acoustics of the old church causing his rumbling voice to project right into our bones. “It’s wonderful to have you here today.” His gaze moves around the room, and I’m pretty sure he’s staring at the level of everyone’s throats, not their eyes, even though I doubt I have the visual sharpness at this distance to determine such a thing. I guess it’s just a hunch because I feel like I know him well enough in this. “Let’s begin today’s service with a prayer and a group song.”
Ginny sends me a look of teenage alarm. We have to SING in front of strangers?
Never mind that given half the chance and with no alcohol as an inducement whatsoever, she and Charlotte will sing together no matter where we are and to heck with who’s watching.
With a reassuring smile, I point to Finn, who is at parade rest in front of the choir box, facing a similarly attired group of singers. “I hope he means that group…?”
“Whew,” Ginny whispers.
I smile at her before sliding off the pew to kneel with everybody else.
The prayer, led by Deek, is not long, but it’s thorough in its coverage asking for member direction, guidance in the study, and divine blessing for the congregation. “Amen,” he finishes, and everyone in the building rises to their feet, looks up, and locks eyes on him.
He swiftly lowers his gaze to the podium. “Now take your hymnbook and flip to page…”
With a furtive glance at each other, Ginny and I slide a songbook out of the tray that’s built into the back of the pew ahead of us. We lean in together, and when organ music fills the room—honest-to-goodness real-live organ music that has my head shooting up, searching for Davy Jones—
(Ah, organ pipes are standing tall behind Deek, and how they don’t deafen him and every other wolf here, I’m really not sure.)
—I’m so shocked that when everyone in the church starts singing, I look back to the music book and start singing too.
Ginny whispers the words beside me.
It’s “Amazing Grace,” so it’s pretty familiar. Finn, by the way, has a voice to match his handsome mug, and soon, Ginny is really singing along, and as always, her voice is stunning.
She’s working so hard to keep her head down, she doesn’t notice when eyes slide our way appreciatively. She also doesn’t see Finn’s blinding, delighted, bright-white smile.
When the song ends, Finn declares in a voice that bounces off of stone, “Fair play, Ginny! You have the voice of an angel!”
Ginny sinks down into her seat like she hopes she can disappear.