Waking Up In Charleston. Sherryl Woods

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СКАЧАТЬ the meantime, Mary Louise, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

      She regarded him with evident suspicion, clearly not happy about the monkey wrench he’d thrown into her plans for a hasty wedding. “Who?”

      “Let me speak to her first and get back to you,” he said.

      “I don’t know why you’re so opposed to this wedding,” Mary Louise said to him plaintively. “You’ve known us forever. You know we’re in love.”

      “I do,” Caleb agreed. “But I want your marriage to have the best possible chance to succeed, and the way to accomplish that is to make sure you’ve given this serious consideration from every angle before you rush into something. I’ve seen too many young people who start out crazy about each other wind up bitter and divorced because they did the right thing and then resented each other afterward. I really don’t want that to happen to you.”

      Danny gave him a grateful look. “Thanks, Reverend Webb. I’ll see you after church next week. Mary Louise, you ready to go?”

      For a moment, based on her pouty expression, Caleb thought she might insist on having this out right here and now, but apparently she caught something in Danny’s steady, unrelenting gaze that told her to wait till next time.

      “Remember, I want both of you to do some soul-searching this week. See if there are some other solutions that might make sense. If marriage is what you both want, then think about the best way to make sure you have plenty of support,” Caleb suggested. “And I’ll be in touch with you, Mary Louise, probably tomorrow.”

      “Okay,” she said, and followed Danny from the room.

      Just outside the door, Caleb saw Danny reach for her hand and whisper something in her ear that put a smile back on her face. Caleb sighed and reached for his phone to follow up on his brainstorm.

      Okay, he’d been looking for an excuse to call Amanda all day. Ever since he and the other church volunteers had finished building her house two weeks ago and had held a housewarming party just yesterday, he’d been suffering some weird withdrawal symptoms.

      He’d fought his feelings for Amanda O’Leary, struggled to pretend that she was just another member of his congregation in need of help, but the time he’d spent with her and her kids had fulfilled him in unexpected ways. He’d come to admire her strength, to enjoy her sense of humor.

      Before he actually dialed her number, he gave himself a stern lecture on remembering that he was her pastor, not a would-be lover, much as he might wish otherwise. It wasn’t the first time he’d struggled to place duty above his needs as a man, but it was the first time he was right on the edge of losing the battle.

      But the lecture didn’t seem to stop the jolt to his heart when she answered the phone, her voice soft and a little breathless.

      “Amanda, you weren’t taking a nap, were you?”

      “In the middle of the afternoon with three kids loose in the house?” she replied, laughter threading through her voice. “You must be kidding. No, if I sound out of breath, it’s because Susie, Larry and Jimmy insisted I play tag with them in the backyard. They can’t get over having so much room to run around in. I can’t get over it myself. Thank you again, Caleb.”

      “Would you stop thanking me?” he pleaded. “Getting that house built for you was something the whole congregation wanted to do.” Well, except for a couple of obstinate holdouts, and eventually even they had come around.

      “I just want you to know how much I appreciate it,” she said. “If there’s ever anything I can do to pay you back, let me know.”

      It was exactly the opening Caleb needed. “Actually, there is something you could do.” He explained about Mary Louise and Danny. “I think Mary Louise needs to understand the realities of trying to work two jobs and care for a baby. Would you consider talking to her?”

      “Of course I will,” Amanda said at once. “But maybe I should clarify something. Are you asking me to help you talk her out of getting married?”

      He considered the question, then answered honestly. “I just want her to know what’s ahead. Right now she’s all caught up in this romantic notion of living with Danny and having his baby and being happy forever. She needs to know how exhausting it can be and what a toll it might take on their marriage. These two kids have been in love practically as long as I’ve known them. I don’t want them to lose that because this pregnancy has backed them into a corner.”

      “Will their parents help them?” she asked, an unmistakably wistful note in her voice.

      Caleb knew what it would have meant to Amanda if her father, Big Max, had stepped up when her life fell apart, but the divide between them had been too great. Amanda had made a tentative overture, but as usual Big Max had blown the opportunity. Sometimes Caleb wanted to shake the stubborn old man, but instead, he’d settled for trying to gently nudge them back together. So far, he’d made precious little progress. And if Amanda ever found out what he’d been up to, she might very well hate him for his interference.

      “Actually, even though I haven’t spoken to them yet,” he said, “I think their parents would help as much as they can. They’re all good, decent people who want what’s best for their kids. Even so, it’s still going to be tough. Danny would probably have to give up his scholarship, quit college and come home.”

      “He could go to college here,” Amanda reminded him. “It might take him longer, but he could do it.”

      “I suppose,” he conceded, though he knew how much going to Clemson had meant to Danny. Caleb had made quite a few calls himself to assure Danny’s acceptance there. He’d even spoken to the scholarship committee on Danny’s behalf.

      “And both sets of grandparents could help out with babysitting if they’re here,” Amanda continued. “Maybe Mary Louise and Danny could even live with his folks or hers for a while. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it might work. Have any of you considered that?”

      “What are you saying?” Caleb asked, startled by the turn the conversation had taken. “Do you think I’m wrong for urging caution?”

      “No, I think you’re being a responsible, compassionate minister who’s trying to make sure two kids get off to a good start, but sometimes things happen even when the timing sucks. Not every marriage is ideal at the beginning, but if the love is strong, a couple can weather almost anything.”

      “The way you and Bobby did,” Caleb concluded.

      “The way I thought we had,” Amanda corrected. “I lived the illusion right up until the day he died. Then reality set in.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “Hey, I’ll make you a deal,” she said, a teasing note in her voice. “I’ll stop saying thank you if you’ll stop saying you’re sorry.”

      Caleb chuckled. “I can do that.”

      “So, knowing where I’m coming from, do you still want me to speak to Mary Louise?”

      “Absolutely,” he said at once. “I think you’d be an incredible role model for any young woman. Will tomorrow afternoon work for you?”

      “I’ll СКАЧАТЬ