He located his shirt and jeans in a beige metal locker. They were neatly folded, with his briefs tucked in between. His socks and boots had been placed on a shelf nearby. Everything appeared to be in good condition, which meant whoever had undressed him had done so carefully. He wondered if the pretty little nurse had helped.
Glancing back once at the doorway, he dressed hurriedly, using the hospital gown as a sort of impromptu curtain. Just seconds after he’d finished, he heard voices coming closer. Male voices, so most likely the doctor or maybe Thomas and his bodyguards.
Three men stepped into the room. They all had a wholesome sort of look. Short hair cut the same way—one light, two dark—and identical expressions of earnest friendliness on their clean-scrubbed faces. Jack didn’t recognize any of them. But then, why would he?
“Welcome,” one of them said, stepping forward and offering his hand. He stood at least six-four, with an impressive girth. When they shook, Jack took note of the rough calluses on his fingers.
“I’m Phillip.” He smiled, less of an aw-shucks grin than Jack had expected. “You’ll be staying with me. We single guys all room together. Also, you can tag along with me when I go to work tomorrow. I’ll keep you busy, at least until they assign you to your job.”
“Assign?” That word again. Asking might be the wrong move, but Jack did anyway. “I don’t get to choose?”
All three of the men exchanged glances before breaking out into laughter. Though Jack listened, he couldn’t detect anything but humor in the sound. No uneasiness or fear.
“Nope,” one of the other men answered easily. “I’m Randy and this is my brother, Jeff. In case you can’t tell, we’re twins. Not identical, though. But I think we still look a lot alike.”
Glancing from Randy to Jeff, Jack had to wonder how he’d missed the resemblance. Same eyes, chin, skin tone and nose. There were a few differences—all minor—but enough to be the difference that would enable anyone to tell them apart.
“We work with Phillip,” Jeff chimed in. He smiled with the same open friendliness as the other two men. “If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get to work with us. Ever done any carpentry work?”
Regretfully, Jack shook his head.
“Ah, well.” Phillip clapped Jack on the shoulder. “I’m sure you have your own set of skills. Come on. We’ll show you where you’re going to be living.”
* * *
After the three men had shepherded the handsome newcomer out of the medical facility, Sophia sat and tried to catch her breath. She wasn’t sure what it was about the man, but she’d felt the strangest sort of anticipation whenever she’d been anywhere near him. A kind of thrumming in her veins that made it difficult to think straight never mind breathe. Though she recognized her attraction to him, she didn’t pretend to understand why. Most likely because she’d just become newly engaged to a man she hadn’t even met.
As if she’d read Sophia’s thoughts, Ana hurried into the room. “Here,” she said, shoving a sealed white envelope at Sophia. “Thomas left this for you on the front desk. It’s probably the official notification of your engagement.”
Accepting it, Sophia turned the envelope over and over in her hand. Part of her didn’t want to open it, as if by not doing so, she could wish away her new future.
“Read it,” Ana demanded. “If you’re not going to, I’ll be happy to do it for you.”
“No.” Using her fingernail, Sophia slit the seal. Inside she found an embossed white card. The front read Congratulations! Inside, the specifics of her upcoming nuptials were spelled out. Upcoming wedding between Ezekiel and Sophia Hannah, and then the date and time and place.
“That’s it?” Sophia said. “Nothing more? I find this cold and rude and, quite frankly, insulting.” Her anger surprised her. And Ana, too, whose eyes had gone huge and round.
“Well, at least it’s official.” Briskly, Ana changed the subject. “What’s the story on him? The guy who just left?”
Sophia considered. “He’s new,” she said carefully. “Apparently, Thomas brought him in from the outside. I have no idea why.”
Pursing her lips, Ana swallowed as she digested Sophia’s words. Though Sophia could tell the older woman wasn’t enamored of the possibility, she also knew Ana would never dare express disapproval about anything Thomas did. After all, Thomas only acted at their leader’s discretion. And everyone knew that everything Ezekiel did was always, without question, for the best of his Chosen children.
“Well—” Ana dusted her hands on the front of her shift “—we’ve got more important things to worry about. We have a wedding to plan.”
Sophia stared. While she didn’t want to hurt Ana’s feelings, she had always figured she and her best girlfriends would plan her wedding. After all, she’d certainly helped with all of theirs. Sophia knew they’d all be over-the-top excited once she gave them the news. Until they found out her intended husband was an old, old man.
She sighed. “Of course we do,” she said softly. “But first I have to let my friends and the rest of the family in on the news. I’m pretty sure I’ll have lots of help getting everything set up.”
Narrowing her eyes, Ana nodded. “You do understand that this can’t be just any wedding, right? You’re going to be marrying our leader. Think back to his last wedding, if you’re old enough to remember. Now that was a spectacle. You’ve got to think big, flashy and showy. You know Ezekiel will finance whatever you want.”
All three of the adjectives Ana had just used were the antithesis of what Sophia had wanted. When she’d dreamed of her wedding, she’d planned more along the lines of classic, understated elegance. A quiet ceremony and later a joyous celebration of the love she and her new husband shared.
She didn’t have that, either. There would be no love, no joy and certainly no celebration. At least on her part, though she knew she’d have to put on a show.
Did Ezekiel still even celebrate? After at least twenty-five or thirty marriages, she figured this would be old hat to him now. Since she didn’t know him, she had no idea how Ezekiel felt. Though as far as she and everyone else was concerned, his feelings were everything. All that mattered was keeping Ezekiel happy.
What Ezekiel wanted, he got. And right now, he apparently wanted her.
Later, after arriving home to the house she shared with her best friend Rachel and two other single girls, she tried to summon up the appropriate excitement to deliver the news. Luckily, all the others were younger than her and had enough abundant glee to cover her lack.
“You’ve been chosen by our leader?” Rachel squealed, wrapping Sophia in a tight hug before spinning her around the room. “What an honor! I can say I knew you before!”
Her best friend’s unbridled happiness finally coaxed a smile from Sophia. “It’s kind of weird, though. He’s never even spoken to me. I don’t even know how he came to know of me.”
One of the other girls, a quiet, mousy brunette named Cheryl, snorted. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
The others giggled.
“I’m sure he must have seen you somewhere.” Heather, who shared a room with Cheryl, smiled. “He probably took one look at you and knew you were the one he wanted for his next wife. You’re so lucky.”
She did look in the mirror—every single morning when she got ready for her shift at the medical clinic. She knew some might consider her features pleasing if not ordinary. Brown hair, brown eyes. Definitely nothing extraordinary enough to draw any man’s attention—witness her lack of marriage offers. And really, if one considered the fact that the only man even remotely interested in becoming her husband was nearly four times her age, the “struck by her beauty” explanation