Forbidden Falls (Virgin River #9)(32)

“My gramma used to say, you can only feel one feeling at a time. For example, you can’t feel trust and fear together. If you want to trust but you’re afraid, fear is still in charge. If you trusted, there wouldn’t be fear. She also used to say, you have to listen to what you feel—feeling fear could be a warning, right?”

He knew this theory. Fear and faith cannot coexist. He’d used that a hundred times, too. But he had never counseled her. Her grandmother had. “Well, I guess I’m not as good at it as you are. If I have a problem, it tends to haunt me for a while.”

She looked at him, lifted one thin, light brown brow and said, “Oh. Sure. So, how’s that working out for you?”

Enough! he thought. No twenty-five-year-old stripper was going to counsel him! But he said, “What else did your grandmother say?”

She got a very happy look and turned to him, roller at her side. “Don’t make love to your problems—they’ll never give you back the satisfaction you give them. And, troubles aren’t worth the paper they’re written on, but that doesn’t mean writing them down won’t help you get a fix on ’em. And, God respects you when you work, but he loves you when you dance. That last one might’ve gotten me into some trouble.”

Good God, he thought. This was like listening to Grandma Pyle’s wisdom on The Andy Griffith Show! “I won’t be around until later today,” he said briskly. “I have errands. I’ll be gone most of the day.”

“She also used to say, ‘If Jesus walked the earth today, he wouldn’t be hanging out with Billy Graham. He’d be found with drug addicts and prostitutes and the like.’”

That one stunned Noah still for a moment. He’d always thought that himself. “Need anything before I go?” he finally asked.

“I’m good,” she said, rolling away. “I’m sure I’ll get started on the downstairs john while you’re gone. Take aspirin, Noah. Don’t be stupid.”

“If I don’t see you when I get back, I’ll assume you worked as long as you could.”

“Okeydokey.”

“Will you please give Lucy a spin over the grass for her potty break and leave her in the RV when you quit for the day?”

“Of course. Want me to get her dinner at the bar before I leave?”

“Nah, I’ll be back for that. That’s almost the best part of my day.”

With that, Noah left the church and got into his truck. It really pissed him off that she was doing so well this morning. Not that he wanted her to be in pain—of course not. But he was the professional—he was supposed to be telling her how to cope, not the other way around. Her grandmother had some very sage advice. And, he wasn’t doing as well as she was…even with her problems! So one of them was not a particularly good role model, and he feared it was him.

And that really pissed him off.

As Noah pulled around to the front of the church, he saw Mel Sheridan loading a box into the back of the Humvee with another one sitting on the clinic porch. She lifted a hand and gave him a wave, so he pulled up alongside. “Need a hand there?” he asked.

“Thanks, but it’s not heavy. Where are you headed?”

“I thought I’d run over to Grace Valley and visit with Harry Shipton, the pastor there.”

“I know Harry. We always called Harry when we needed a minister. Now I guess we won’t have to do that anymore.”

“I hope not,” he said.

“Are you in a hurry? I mean, do you have an appointment with Harry?”

“No,” he said. He shrugged. “I called him and said I’d drop by this week and he said that’d be great. Why?”

She walked over to his open window. “How would you like a private tour of some interesting and little-known parts of the area?”

“Cool. I’d like that.”

“You’d have to keep some secrets. Are you any good at secrets?”

“Gimme a break!” he said, insulted. “I’m a minister!”

“Yeah, well, that’s not saying you don’t have a big mouth,” Mel said.

“And what if I swear to God?”

“Jack’s trying to get me to stop swearing, but go ahead, if it floats your boat. I just have something you might be interested in, but you can’t tell. If you tell, my life is going to be too miserable to describe.”

“You have a problem you’d like to talk about?” he asked hopefully. Right about now he’d like to feel as good at counseling and giving comfort as Ellie’s grandmother.

“No, nothing like that. Tell you what, follow me out of town…if you feel like it.”

Nothing could stop him now. “I’m right behind you.”

Mel loaded the second box, jumped in the Hummer and pulled out of town. Noah was right on her bumper. They drove for about twenty minutes, out Highway 36, then turned off on a side road that wound up and down a big mountain, and then Mel pulled over at a wide space in the road. Noah pulled up behind her. She stepped out of the Hummer and beckoned him with a wave of her hand. “Leave your truck here and come with me.”

He did as she asked, getting in the front seat of the Humvee. “Where the devil are we going?”

“When I first got to Virgin River, I was working with old Doc Mullins. He died last year and Cameron Michaels came down from Oregon to work as the town doctor for at least a year. Mullins was an ornery old coot, but I loved him. Anyway, I came from the city—from L.A.—and there were things he tried to tell me about life in the mountains. For that matter, Jack tried, too. Some things I just had to learn for myself. You a city boy, Noah?”