Saturday's Child Read Online Free

this bloke couldn’t wait to get shot of you. He almost pushed you into the car in his eagerness to get you off his land. Good looks alone did not a man make. Manners went a long way. As did faith. And Farmer Field didn’t appear to have either. Lord, soften his heart, speak to him through the bonfire and bring him into a relationship with You.
    And please, since I’m working with him, ease my fears. You know what happened that night. How scared I was, how he wouldn’t stop even though I asked him to. How I can’t let any man get close now, cept my brothers. Aaron wouldn’t hurt me, would he? It took so much courage to meet with him alone like that, yet it wasn’t him that scared me. And not being scared of him is down to You, because I still flinch when Pastor Jack is the only person in the room, and that’s silly.
    She pulled into the church car park and carefully reversed into the only remaining space. She locked the door and headed into the church office. Once inside, she sank into the chair behind the desk and, propping her elbows on the edge, buried her head in her hands.
    “Everything OK, Meggie?”
    Pastor Jack’s voice made her jump, and she looked up to see him perch a hip on the desk next to her.
    She nodded, trying to shove aside her instant reaction to move away as quickly as possible. “Yeah, I’m fine. I gave Mr. Field the papers.” The words tumbled from her lips in double quick time. “Saw the field he wants to use. It looks plenty big enough. Parking and catering look fine. He’s got a couple of felled trees we can use if needed, said he can get the farm hands to help build the fire on Friday and Saturday as well. He’s got tarps to put over it in case it rains and—”
    “Slow down.” Pastor Jack’s hand covered hers for an instant before he pulled back. Like most pastors he was very careful to show concern, but not affection.
    Meggie took a deep shuddering breath, trying to calm her shattered nerves. “Sorry…”
    “It’s OK. Here, drink this.” He handed her the mug of tea.
    “Thanks.” She cradled it tightly, relishing in the heat piercing her cold skin.
    He got off the desk and pulled a chair across. He sat and crossed his legs. “Let’s start again, slowly this time.”
    “Yeah,” she whispered, answering his original question. “I found the farm all right.”
    “Good. So you think it’ll be fine?”
    “Yeah. He’s picked out a good sized field for the fire and a large enough area to fence off for the fireworks. And he’ll cover it in case it rains. The fire, not the field.” She paused, taking a long drink of the tea. “He seemed really distracted. Sad almost. I must have caught him on a bad day.”
    “Aaron’s had a rough time the past few years. His father had a heart attack just over three years ago, and by the time he was missed, he’d been dead several hours. Three months later, just before Christmas, Aaron’s wife died.”
    Tears burned her eyes. “Oh…that’s sad.”
    “It completely knocked him for six. He hasn’t been the same man since.” Pastor Jack took a deep breath. “Which I understand completely, having been widowed myself. He threw himself into the farm, stopped coming to church. I’m worried about him, which is why I asked to hire the farm for this. I’m hoping it’ll help bring him back.”
    “Have you met his stepmother?”
    “Just the once at his father’s funeral. She wasn’t around when I visited Aaron after his father’s death to make the arrangements.”
    Just the thought of Tanis Field made her shiver. “I met her today. How did you find her?”
    Pastor Jack raised an eyebrow.
    “I’m not asking you to gossip about her, Pastor, I just wondered. Forget I said anything.” She sipped her tea then put the mug down as her head began to throb. Resting her elbows on the desk, she massaged her temples.
    “Are you OK?”
    “I’ve got a headache. Ever since the farm…well, meeting Mrs. Field actually. I don’t suppose