Arizona Pastor Read Online Free PDF Page B

sister out the door. “Go on and get some lunch and rest.”
    â€œOkay.” She waved, then winked at Mel. “Enjoy the peaceful years now.” She nodded to Noah. “Everything changes when you have a baby.”
    Kristy almost laughed out loud at her sister’s advice, but Noah released a scream that echoed through the house. She handed Mel the baby, then searched through the diaper bag for the bottle. She placed the bottle in a cup of warm water, then went back to the living room to take the screaming infant from her daughter. Mel’s perplexed expression said it all. She wasn’t ready to be a mother.
    * * *
    After an early-morning run with Bo, during which Wade had thought about the sermon he’d preached last Sunday on God’s grace in the midst of trials, he still felt conflicted about counseling Mel and Joel. Not to mention Kristy’s continual invasion into his thoughts. She’d sat stoically through the church service, with Mel and Joel beside her holding hands. Tonight, after the midweek prayer meeting, the church would recognize the graduates, and Wade felt anxious for Kristy all over again.
    â€œHere ya go, Pastor Wade.” Eustace Owens, one of the church’s active senior citizens, handed him a grouping of three balloons. She pointed to the corner. “If you wouldn’t mind, tape those up there. I’m not quite as sturdy on a ladder as I used to be.”
    â€œOf course.” Wade took the balloons and secured them. “You all have done a terrific job.” He looked at each of the four women, who were decorating the church’s fellowshiphall. “Last spring we recognized graduates at my church in Phoenix, but nothing this elaborate.”
    â€œDoesn’t take much to get us excited about celebrating,” said Ida Freemont, the oldest lady of the bunch, though he’d have never known it if she hadn’t said as much. She wore her hair to her shoulders and kept it dyed to a dark brown. Her clothes and even her glasses were trendy, not so much as to appear tacky, but she definitely seemed a few decades younger than her age.
    â€œWe like to eat,” added Dortha Evans.
    â€œAnd compete to see who makes the best dishes,” Eustace piped in.
    â€œNot me.” Wilma Rice snorted. “We all know I can’t cook.”
    The women mumbled their agreement.
    Wilma continued, “But I make sure drinks and paper products are available.”
    â€œAnd you’re the kindest of all of us.” Dortha wrapped her arm around Wilma.
    Eustace huffed and then rolled her eyes as she turned back to Wade. “Here’s how this works. You’ll do a tenor fifteen-minute devotional about the graduates starting new lives. Then we’ll give them their gifts—a new Bible, a framed certificate and a gift card to a department store. One of the deacons will say a prayer over the food and then we’ll eat. Okay?”
    Wade bit his tongue at Eustace’s abrasive orders. He hadn’t been here long enough to force changes on the congregation, but he also didn’t like being told how to lead a recognition service. Still, to keep the peace and in an effort to gain their trust, he would go along with her demanding ways. For now. He clasped his hands together. “That sounds fine. We have twelve graduates?”
    â€œYes. Four from college. Two more who are graduating from college, but they were nontraditional students, already have kids. The other six are all from high school. Two were taught at home. The other four attended different schools. Except Mel and Joel. They went to the same one.”
    Wade nodded. A scowl furrowed Eustace’s brows, and she leaned closer to him. “I’ve heard rumors about Mel and Joel.”
    The other ladies heard Eustace and dropped their decorations and walked toward them.
    â€œDon’t start with that,” said Ida. “That’s just a bunch of