“Glad to hear it,” Gabriel said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’ll look for you. And we’re pleased to have you with us today.” He nodded toward two couples who approached with money at the ready for kettle corn. “Looks like you have some more business headed your way.” He lifted the bag of popcorn. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime, Reverend. Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the vendor said to Susan, who simply smiled.
Gabriel offered the bag to Susan. She opened her mouth to ask him why he hadn’t disabused the man of the notion that they were a couple, then decided that to call attention to it would only be…what? More embarrassing? So instead of saying anything, she accepted some of the treat he presented.
“Mmm. This is good.” She looked back at the booth. The vendor waved and she waved back. “I’ll have to remember to get some for the girls.”
As they strolled across the lawn, several people called out to either Susan or Gabriel as they passed.
“You’re quite a celebrity here,” he said. “It seems like everyone knows you.”
“Does that make you uncomfortable?”
He gave her an odd look, and Susan regretted the challenging tone she’d taken with him.
Then he smiled. “No. I like strong women.”
Chapter Two
Susan hid a smile by taking another nibble of popcorn.
“I’m actually glad you came over,” she said. “I wanted to speak with you about something.”
“Hi there, Pastor Gabriel,” said a man who touched the brim of his Denver Broncos cap in greeting as he passed. “Great picnic.”
“Thanks, nice seeing you, John.”
“You’re the popular one,” Susan observed.
Good Shepherd Christian Church’s Labor Day picnic had grown into something of a tradition for members of the congregation as well as the community. The church stocked what seemed like an endless supply of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and soft drinks. Picnic-goers could then purchase other treats, like kettle corn and cotton candy, or T-shirts and other mementos from vendors set up on two sides of the church’s lawn. Entertainment and games claimed the other. From horseshoes to volleyball, the picnic included a little something for everyone.
The afternoon would close with a concert by a popular Christian recording artist. Most people would later make their way downtown for the city’s big fireworks display.
“New preacher giving away free food,” Gabriel said. “What’s not to like?”
Susan chuckled. “The hard times will come later, huh?”
“Like death and taxes. So, you said you wanted to speak with me about something.”
Enjoying the light moments with him, Susan found herself reluctant to end the easy companionship, but she had business to tend to, business that directly involved Reverend Dawson.
He was popular and bright. That’s why she didn’t understand why in all his outreach efforts to date, he hadn’t stopped by or inquired about Galilee.
“You’ve been here almost a year now,” she said.
Gabriel nodded. “Nine months.”
“You’ve done a lot in the community. I’ve seen your name on several boards and you’ve started a couple of outreach ministries.”
He glanced at her. “I’m hearing a ‘but’ coming.”
Susan had the grace to smile. “But you’ve missed a big pocket of the community.”
They’d reached the edge of the entertainment area where the juggler on stilts tossed six wooden pins in the air. Susan spotted her girls, who had somehow managed to creep to the front of the semicircle.
“And what pocket is that?”
“Women in need.”
He looked at her then, wondering if he should read a dual message in her comment. “What, specifically, do you mean?”
“I’d like to show you our facility,” she said. “Why don’t you stop by the Galilee shelter and let me show you around?”
“You’re the director there, right?”
Susan nodded.
“I’d be glad to put it in my book,” he told her. “I’ll have Karen schedule it. Maybe I’ll stop by in a couple of months. What I’ve been trying to do first is get a feel for the larger community, some of the broader issues that have the biggest impact not only on members of Good Shepherd, but the people who live in the area that the church serves.”
Susan bristled at his implication that abused women didn’t rank very high on his priority or impact list.
That was the problem she had with him. Her goal today was to get him to commit to visiting the shelter. Once he saw for himself the work that was done there, she hoped he’d make a long-term commitment to the shelter’s mission.
On several occasions, her director of development had tried to get an appointment with him, but either his secretary always brushed Jessica off or her calls went unanswered. So, as director of the women’s shelter, Susan took matters in her own hands. She’d brought her girls to the picnic so they could have some fun, but her job today was to waylay the good reverend and make him see the error of his neglectful ways—at least where Galilee Women’s Shelter was concerned.
“Reverend Dawson, I think you’ll change your mind when you see what we’re doing at Galilee.”
“You’re not going to stop until I say yes, are you.”
“Now you’re getting the idea,” she said.
He smiled. “All right, then. I will come by.”
Susan wanted to dance a jig. With the newest pastor in town also supporting the effort, maybe something could be done about the problems plaguing the city—in particular, areas near Good Shepherd.
She knew how to close a deal, too. “How about tomorrow morning?”
Gabriel laughed. “I have appointments all day.”
She looked doubtful.
“Really. I do,” he said.
“Then what about—”
“How about Wednesday?” he suggested. “Ten o’clock?”
Susan’s smile for him was bright. She caught herself before she said It’s a date. “I’ll see you then.”
Neither Susan nor Gabriel knew how much attention their stroll across the lawn of Good Shepherd garnered among onlookers. Jessica in particular noticed as her daughter Amy dashed ahead to catch some of the juggling act. Jessica nudged her fiancé, Sam Vance.
“I told you they were seeing each other. Susan plays things so close to the vest.”
Sam looked in the direction she indicated. “There you go again, honey. Just because we’re about to tie the knot doesn’t mean everyone else is headed down the aisle, too. Knowing Susan, she’s probably trying to talk him into being on the shelter’s board of directors or giving a donation to Galilee. You are in the middle of a big fund-raising drive.”
Jessica considered that. “You could be right,” she conceded. “But I doubt it,” she muttered as she watched her pastor and her boss laugh together, sharing a bag of popcorn.
She eyed Sam as an idea began to form—a deliciously naughty idea. She’d have to work fast and get some help to pull it off, though. And she knew just who she could tap to make