Texas Weddings 3 & 4 Read Online Free Page B

over
losing yet another day to this problem, she headed back into the house to pack
up the computer.
    Again.
    ***
    Kent began the familiar drive back to Computers Unlimited,
trying to hold his temper in check. “Lord, I have so much to do today. Please
give me patience and help me not to overreact at the computer store.”
    He tried to push his
emotions aside as he made the trip. With so little time before tomorrow
morning’s service, he certainly needed more than patience. He needed Divine intervention. Especially after the night he’d had.
    Raising a child alone
might prove to be his undoing, especially when it came to sleep schedules.
Whoever said toddlers slept soundly hadn’t met his daughter. She managed to
stay awake until the wee hours most every night then awaken with the dawn,
raring to go. “How long can she keep this up?” Surely things would change soon.
He prayed.
    Kent yawned and tried to keep his wits about him. As he
pulled into the parking lot of the store, he noticed Shauna Alexander’s white
Saturn. She stood next to it, sunlight streaming through her short blond hair.
Today, she wore a bright yellow T-shirt with a rubber duck on the front along
with a trendy pair of jeans. As he pulled up next to her car, she waved and
smiled.
    For some reason Kent’s
nerves kicked in just as he opened the car door, and the only word that could
come was a shaky, “Hey.”
    “Hey to you, too.” Her
smile broadened, and he couldn’t help but grin back.
    “You stole my
computer.” He waggled his finger in her direction.
    “No, you stole my
computer.” She crossed her arms and pretended to glare.
    They both chuckled.
“I’ll be glad to finally get mine back, to be honest.” Kent admitted. “I’ve got
less than. . .” he glanced at his watch, “twenty-four
hours to prepare a sermon.”
    “You really are a
pastor.” She looked more than a little surprised. “I guessed as much from some
of the files I found on your computer.”
    A sigh escaped his
lips. “I’m not used to the title yet, to be honest. I’m still
on a learning curve , trust me . You have no
idea.”
    “Still, that’s very
cool.”
    As she gave him a look of admiration, he felt his cheeks
flush a little. “Don’t get me wrong,” he added quickly. “I love it.”
    “Oh, I’m sure it’s great. A lot of
responsibility, though. You’re pretty young to pastor a church, but I
guess you hear that a lot.”
    Kent took a minute to
explain his situation. “I’ve gone to the same church since I was a kid. Our
pastor just retired, and the board asked me to fill in until they found a
permanent replacement.”
    “Ah.” She nodded. “So
you really are on a learning curve, then.” Her eyebrows elevated slightly as
she added, “I know what that feels like, trust me.”
    He couldn’t help but
wonder at her cryptic comment but didn’t ask for an explanation. “I worked in
the youth department for about three years,” Kent explained, “but hanging out
with teens is a lot different than facing a congregation full of people of all
ages.”
    “I’ll bet.” She
grinned. “That would scare me to death. I have enough trouble getting up in
front younger people. Do you get nervous?”
    “Maybe a little.” He
gave a helpless shrug. “But every week gets a little less nerve-wracking.
Tomorrow will be my third Sunday in a row. And no one has left the church yet.
That makes me feel a little better.”
    Dimples appeared as
her smile widened. “Well, you’d better get home and get busy. We don’t want to
lose any parishioners because you stood in the parking lot all day gabbing.”
    No, but I sure wouldn’t mind standing here a
little bit longer to talk to you.
    ***
    Shauna couldn’t figure out why her cheeks warmed as she
talked to Kent Chapman. Probably just the late summer heat. She opened the trunk of her car so that the computer exchange could take place
and then thanked him as he placed the PC inside her vehicle.
    “I’m so sorry