Not for the first time since he’d arrived in Wayside, Oregon, Matt wondered why God had led him here. He glanced at the woman across the table. Haley Cartwright couldn’t be the reason. She’d been nothing but the proverbial thorn in his side from the moment he’d stepped in the door. She had apparently taken one look at him and decided she didn’t like him. Granted, his look was a little on the wild side for Community Christian.
“Reverend Baines,” Haley said. “If not by advance approval, how do you propose that we keep that…” She glanced at Matt and paused. “How can we ensure that the new music is appropriate for our services?”
“I’m glad you asked,” the pastor said, a definite gleam in his eyes as he met the curious gazes of those at the table.
Matt suddenly got a really bad feeling in his stomach. He knew he wasn’t going to like the plan or the proposal about to be hatched.
“A committee can do the deciding,” the minister said.
Matt inwardly groaned.
Deacon Edward Worthington cleared his throat and raised his hand. “I’ll volunteer.”
“Thank you, Deacon,” Reverend Baines said. “But I think since Matt’s work with the choir and Haley’s work with the young people overlap, that they should be our committee of two.”
“But…” Haley sputtered.
Matt’s head shot up. This was worse than he’d imagined. Couldn’t Cliff see the woman had it in for him?
“What a wonderful idea,” Eunice said with a clap of her hands. “You can come up with recommendations for us.”
“Exactly,” Reverend Baines said. “At next week’s church council meeting, the two of you can make a presentation on how to best weave some new life into the service.”
“But…” Haley squeaked.
“What about this Sunday?” Deacon Worthington said.
The minister rubbed his chin. He glanced between Matt and Haley. “Let’s just let our new committee handle that. Now, Eunice, I understand there’s a conflict between the Smith wedding and the senior citizen’s monthly luncheon.”
With the council onto other business, Matt took a moment to study his new partner. Scratch that; his fellow committee member. Thinking about Haley Cartwright as a partner, of any kind, would land him in nothing but trouble. She was too intense, too dedicated and too pretty by far. In other words, too much of a distraction.
Her steely dedication to her belief—that church music should sound like funeral dirges—nearly cost him the job as choir director at Community Christian. Backed by Edward Worthington and a group of traditionalists, she’d balked at every step of his interview process. Matt knew the vote to hire him had been close. And he had no doubt that Haley had led off the Nay column.
Not for a moment did Matt believe he was here by accident. The Lord had directed him to this small Oregon town for a reason. It was more than two thousand miles away from everything familiar to him. With its crisp clean air, green trees and Mayberry R.F.D. feel, Wayside was a world away from the sultry heat and humming intensity of his native New Orleans.
He didn’t miss Louisiana, though. He’d left a lot of anger and disappointment in that part of the country and had no particular urge to return to it or to the person he’d been then. He knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be right now—in the will of God. But knowing he was where he was supposed to be and liking his current situation were two different things. Being on a committee with Haley meant he’d have to be near her, and if he’d learned nothing else in his life, he’d discovered through harsh experience that he didn’t need to be that close to temptation.
“We’re agreed then, Matt?”
He blinked. Seven sets of eyes stared at him. “Yes?”
“Then you do approve?” Haley said.
If Haley approved he probably didn’t. His eyes narrowed. He’d been caught woolgathering. “Excuse me, I think I missed something.”
Deacon Worthington harrumphed. Eunice filled in the gaps: The Wayside Revelers, a local social group, couldn’t find a place to hold their annual fund-raiser and requested the use of Community Christian’s big room.
Annabelle Lancaster, one of the at-large council members, twittered. “I know our small-town ways are different for you, Matt. But even you surely couldn’t approve of a dance being held in the fellowship hall.”
He didn’t.
“It took five police officers to break up the melee at their event last year,” Annabelle said. “They’re banned from the VFW hall. Tore the place up, they did.”
Matt quickly provided his perspective. The request was denied, then mercifully the meeting wrapped up.
As the other council members left the classroom they used for their meetings, Reverend Baines asked Haley and Matt to wait. They remained behind while the minister finished talking with Annabelle.
Haley shifted the file folders in her arms. Matt stayed in his seat. He leaned back, crossed his feet at the ankles and tucked his hands behind his head. He took a moment to study her. Her blond hair came to her shoulders; he couldn’t tell if the crimped curls were a natural gift or the effect of a salon. Today it was pulled together with a clip and left hanging in the back. Her skin glowed with the health and vitality that only came from clean living. But her eyes, a deep chocolate brown, and her smile arrested him.
In the time since he’d been hired at Community Christian he’d had the opportunity to see her eyes flash with anger, frustration and mischief. The latter, of course, not directed his way. He just got the glares. But that, he knew, was a good thing. Though she sported no ring, she’d seemed the hearth-and-home type, all-American, apple pie and lots of kids at her feet. He’d already found out that she wasn’t married, so a boyfriend or fiancé who’d give her all her heart desired had to be lurking somewhere. Matt just hadn’t met the paragon yet.
“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s not polite to stare?”
A slow grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “As a matter of fact, she didn’t. She died when I was two.”
Haley’s mouth dropped open, mortification filled the eyes he’d just been admiring. She came around the table and reached for his hand. “I’m so sorry,” she said gently pressing her hand to his. “I didn’t mean to be snippish or rude. I didn’t know.”
In the face of her genuine regret and concern, he was sorry he’d been so blunt. She truly looked contrite and sympathetic, as if she hurt for his loss, even though he’d been too young to understand it at the time.
“Matt, we’ve gotten off…”
“Ah, there you are,” Cliff said. “Thanks for waiting.”
Haley dropped her hand and clutched her folders. Matt wondered what she’d been about to say. It had almost sounded like the beginning of an apology, an olive branch offered. In a way, he was sorry the minister had intervened at that moment. Matt found it curious that mention of a deceased parent had triggered a turnaround in Haley’s attitude toward him.
“I know you two don’t get along very well,” the minister said. “That’s one of the reasons I put you together to come up with a compromise. You’ll find common ground. I know you both have very strong opinions about this, and I know you also have the best interests of the church at heart.”
“Thank you, Reverend. I won’t betray that trust.”