A Season of Love. Kim Watters

in charge. Despite my teachings in order to be a lay minister and everything I’ve witnessed, I forget.”

      Unsure of what to say next, Holly trudged along beside him the rest of the way to the back of the house in silence. What could she say that wouldn’t sound phony or unbelievable?

      * * *

      Holly paused in the parking lot of the shingled one-story redbrick building. Despite her almost weekly attendance, she still felt uncomfortable since her husband’s death. This had been Jared’s church, his parents’ church and his grandparents’ church before him in the old building that now housed the youth center and other Sunday school classes. It was as if they knew she didn’t have the same beliefs, that she’d shut down her connection with God the same time He’d taken Jared away. Some days she felt the eyes of the congregation staring at her, drilling her as she sat in one of the back rows, as if they blamed her for her husband’s death.

      That wasn’t too far from the truth.

      Beside her, Cam shifted in his seat and refused to take off his seat belt. “Do we really have to go?”

      “Yes, we really have to go. I let you sleep in, so you’re stuck with the traditional service today. Come on, we’ll go grab brunch after we’re done.” Not that she could afford it, but both of them needed some sort of treat. The Sunrise Diner wasn’t too far from the store, and it catered to the folks who didn’t have a lot of money to spend, unlike the more touristy places on the square.

      Afterward, she’d drop her son off at his friend Tyler’s house while she opened the store for a few hours since Mindy wasn’t feeling well today. If the sunny weather held, the afternoon should be somewhat busy and she could reduce her inventory by making a bunch of sales. That would be less for her and Cameron to pack after Christmas.

      If they even had a Christmas. So far she’d had no response to her seasonal decorating flyer, but it was still early in the season. She’d thought her idea had been a good one. Apparently, it wasn’t.

      The butterflies in her stomach increased with each step. She joined the streams of other worshippers entering the church, yet Holly still felt the isolation despite the beige welcome mat by the door. It was probably more of her own doing than anyone milling around her, though.