Paradise Valley (Virgin River #7)(100)

There was a lot of commotion at the bar when Hope came in and announced to Jack, Paul and Dan that her third attempted eBay auction on the old church was under way and the bidding started high enough for her to actually sell the property.

“You are kidding me,” Jack said, astonished. “Do you know who to?”

“I’ve had a couple of contacts, asking for details. One is a minister who’s been teaching for the past few years and wants to get back in the pulpit and another is an artist who wants to live in the church and use it as a shop to make everything from stained-glass pieces to decorative candles. There’s one other—I have no idea who. It’s going to go by midnight next Wednesday.”

“I think Preacher’s watching it,” Jack said. “But I haven’t figured out that whole eBay thing yet.”

“Jack, it’s eBay-dot-com,” Dan said. “You can do this. If you need me to, I can come over to the house and show you.”

“I’m not so sure I want you to know where I live,” Jack said, wiping the counter.

Dan grinned. He liked that—some grief from Jack. Buddies ribbed each other, and if a guy liked you a lot, he hit below the belt now and then. “Maybe your wife could get you checked out on eBay. You could put in a bid, raise the stakes for Hope here.”

“Yeah, and end up with a church. Just what I need.”

Paul lifted his beer. “I hope whoever gets it needs a good builder for a remodel.”

“If you don’t get a contract on that church, it’ll take the new guy a year to put it right,” Jack said.

Rick listened to all this with half an ear. He didn’t really participate in the discussions at the bar. Each week he sat farther to the end of the bar so he wouldn’t be expected to say anything. The joke was on him, he thought. No one was in the mood to cajole him into being sociable anymore. Jack let him have his beer and before he was half through it, put a plate of food in front of him.

He’d trained this old town of his pretty well—he gave them an hour or so of glum silence once a week and now they didn’t pester him, asking him how he was getting along, et cetera.

Then it happened, as it always did. She came in. He could set his watch by her—five o’clock Friday night. He couldn’t really say whether she came to the bar other times, because he didn’t. Of course, he could change his schedule and avoid her. But no, he couldn’t make himself do that.

She looked so damn beautiful. All of eighteen. How could she look so pure and innocent when he knew she’d been ha**ng s*x since she was fourteen? With him!

“Hey, Lizzie,” Jack called out. “Wait till you hear this! Hope’s got bidders on eBay for that old church!”

“No way,” she said, her smile beaming. She walked right up to the bar and stood between Dan and Hope, elbows on the bar.

“Way,” Hope said, pushing her glasses up on her nose. “I don’t think I’ll make a killing, but I might get it opened up again.”

Rick secretly admitted he’d started sitting at the end of the bar so he wouldn’t have to turn his head to look at her when she came in. Or when she left. He wanted to be absolutely sure she wasn’t even glancing around, checking to see where he was, and still manage not to even see him. She wasn’t. It was as if he was invisible.

“But will you get a minister to open it up?” Liz asked.

“With a little luck. But if you think about it, the most important thing is that it not look like a boarded-up old church anymore. Goddamn thing’s an eyesore.”

“Nice talk for the owner of a church,” Jack said.

“Ach, I’m just a broker. How was your high-school graduation, Lizzie?” she asked.

“Awesome,” she answered. “I wasn’t exactly valedictorian or anything, but I graduated on the honor roll. A miracle.” She beamed proudly.

“And you partied?” Paul asked.

“Sort of,” she said with a shrug. “There was a big open house at the school. Then there were some other open houses around town—I went to a few. Some girls and I had a sleepover.”

“Some girls?” Dan asked. “Shoot, what’s happened to this world? When I graduated high school, a long time ago by the way, there was an all-night party for boys and girls. And a lot of funny business.”

She giggled. “There was an all-night party, but I just passed on that. I hung out with my girlfriends.”

“Congratulations,” Jack said. He pulled a big envelope out from under the till and handed it to her. “Mel and I are very proud of you.”

“Oh, Jack! What’s this? You shouldn’t do this!”

“Lizzie, sweetheart, you showed ’em. You worked your tail off. That deserves a reward. You’re…what do they say now? You’re bad?”

She laughed at him. “I think that one’s over. You’re the bomb is still around—for people your age.”

Jack just shook his head. “Hard to keep up. I bet you’re glad the long haul is behind you.”

“For now. I’m working full-time all summer, then I start at College of the Redwoods in September.”

“Where are you working?”

“I’m checking groceries at Albertson’s Sunday through Thursday—all p.m.’s of course, since I’m new. And at Connie’s on Friday and Saturday.”