Saint Sloan (Saint Sloan #1)(3)

It really was a beautiful church. Old. The kind of old that made the hardwood floor creak when you stepped down. It had about ten rows of pews on either side of the center aisle. The front had the altar, rail, pulpit, and piano. A large wooden cross hung on the wall behind the pulpit; to the right of the cross hung the prayer request board and attendance board. Also, a door led to the one and only classroom. It was small, but it was homey. Sloan loved how cozy it was. It made her feel safe, especially now that Donna was back in her seat in the front row. Right where she belonged.

The second verse of the song started, and movement next to her caught her attention. It was Ray. He gently nudged her back and moved past. He slapped his brother’s arm and motioned for him to move out of the way. Frowning, Aaron stepped to the side. With a grin on his face, Ray headed toward the front. While Sloan watched in awe, Ray kneeled down and started praying.

Ray had told her once he’d gone to church a few times and believed in God, but he wasn’t saved. Pastor Dan crouched beside him and, after a few words of prayer, Ray stood like the weight of the world was off his shoulders. He hugged the preacher who hugged him back. Donna shouted happy exclamations, and the congregation clapped.

Even Aaron, who Sloan could have sworn had wet eyes. She wondered if Aaron would ever go up there, then thought better of it. She knew he wouldn’t. It wasn’t his style. If Aaron ever got saved, it would be on his own terms, somewhere private where no one would know. For all she knew, he wouldn’t even tell anyone after the fact. It was such a personal experience after all. Some people shouted about it. Some never told a soul.

Ray wasn’t being private. He stood proudly next to Pastor Dan, smiling from ear to ear at Sloan. She couldn’t help but smile back. When the pastor asked for everyone to come up and hug him, she was the first in line. She rose on her tiptoes to grab him around the neck easier and kissed his cheek. “I’m happy for you,” she said into his ear.

He pulled her closer to him. “I am too. Thank you.”

After much happiness and celebration, it was decided that next Sunday would be the baptism. Ray didn’t see any reason to wait, and neither did anyone else. They would walk down to the creek close to the Falls and dunk him under. Then they would go to the picnic area and have a covered-dish lunch. It would be a big party. Sloan couldn’t wait. It was nice to have something to look forward to.

Like always, the Hunters walked her to her car. She actually had gotten a new car for her birthday after all the dust had settled. It was a bright red — some said candy apple — Dodge Charger. Brand new and beautiful. The seats were light tan leather. The gearshift sat between the front seats, and the ignition was push-button. The car had two doors, but it had a pretty big back seat for when Ray, Aaron, and Mackenzie all went somewhere.

“Lunch?” Aaron asked when they got to her vehicle.

“Starving,” she answered, looking in her bag for her keys. “Any ideas?”

“Well, since my brother decided to convert to the good side and took so much time doing it.” He smirked lovingly at his brother. “The hotel restaurant will be too full. Fast food maybe? The diner?”

“The diner will be full too.” She was sort of sad about it. She loved the diner on Sundays. They had the best meatloaf around.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” Ray laughed, leaning on the hood of her car. “I feel pretty good right about now.”

“You look it.” Sloan grinned. And he did. He looked happier, brighter… different.

On the other side, she heard Aaron clear his throat and scoot the gravel with his toe. Did he think she meant Ray “looked” pretty good? Like looked, looked? She hoped so much he wasn’t getting jealous. That’s all she needed. Selfish as it was, she wanted them both and wanted God to show her which one to go with. But she understood if Aaron moved on to someone else, someone he didn’t have to date with his brother, if that’s what people called what they were doing. He was twenty after all. No one expected him to be tied at her side forever.

“I guess we’ll have to get fast food.” She tried to sound happy about it. It wasn’t Ray’s fault church lasted longer than usual… well, it was, but it was for a good reason.

“Okay, we’ll meet you at the arches. See you in a few.” Aaron grabbed Ray playfully by the back of the neck and led him to his Mustang. Sometimes they rode together. Sometimes they didn’t. Just depended on the mood and what they had going on after church. Aaron had to be at work at six for overtime, so he wanted to be able to eat and leave if they went out. Sloan liked that about him. He could be jealous of Ray. He could be annoyed by him. But he always took care of him and always made sure they had money so Ray wouldn’t have to work while going to school. Now when summer came, the free ride on Ray’s part was over. But for now, Aaron took care of him. It was one of the qualities she admired most about him.

With her stomach rumbling, Sloan slid in the driver’s seat, put her foot on the brake, and pressed the push-button start. The Charger roared to life. The sound never got old. She put on her seatbelt and stopped when her eyes glanced at the passenger seat.

Roses. Five long-stemmed red ones lay there with a black ribbon tied around the stems in a perfect bow. They were beautiful, but she couldn’t imagine where they’d come from. Her mom was the only other person with a key to the car, and it had been locked. Whoever it was had been crafty. Scanning the area, she noticed the window was down slightly more than she remembered — which wasn’t much — but she didn’t think it was enough for someone to break in. But what did she know?