Bossy Bridegroom Read Online Free PDF Page A

with people who were, for the most part, sleeping.
    “Good morning, Mrs. Tippens. How are you?” Jeanie crouched so her face was at a level Mrs. Tippens could see. The woman was so bent over in her wheelchair she had her chin resting nearly on her lap.
    Michael was stunned as he watched Jeanie work the crowd. She knew all of the residents by name, had personal words for them, asked about their children and their health—even though half of them didn’t react. When she’d touched nearly every shoulder, she took her place behind the piano, laying her bat on the low top of the spinet.
    Michael hadn’t known she could play. Maybe she couldn’t when they’d been together.
    He stood at the back of the sitting area with no idea what he should do. Pastor Bert stood in front of a semicircle of occupied wheelchairs and couches. He led a few hymns while Jeanie played the out-of-tune piano. Then the pastor told Jeanie and the three other women helping with the service to carry on.
    On his way out of the door, the pastor stopped and patted Michael on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the Golden Days Senior Center at 6:00 a.m. to go over your lists.”
    He must be afraid to let them go two days without being observed. Smart man.
    As Jeanie and her friends worked their way through the service, Michael wondered what he’d write on his list. What did he love about Jeanie? Why had he seen her and wanted her immediately?
    He knew the truth was brutal. She was pretty. And she gave in to peer pressure out of a desperate hunger for approval. The second had been her most attractive trait. He prayed for God to let him take his batting like a man when he told her that.
    Then it dawned on him that there was a lot more to Jeanie now than there had been then. Mainly because, without his telling her every move to make, she’d found herself and become a far more interesting person than the one he’d created.
    He’d created?
Michael flinched. Talk about playing God.
    Michael was glad he didn’t have to make a list of the things he loved about himself. Right now he wasn’t sure he could come up with a single one.
    After the service was wrapped up and Jeanie had taken time to tell each listener good-bye, one of the other church women—Pastor Bert had introduced her as Mrs. Herne, the mayor’s wife—gave Jeanie a hug. “It’s so nice to meet your husband.”
    Jeanie shrugged. “We’ve been separated. Michael wants to reconcile.” She looked at him, her hand clutching the neck of her bat balloon, not even pretending they weren’t talking about him. He walked over as Jeanie went on. “It’s a bad idea, though. We had a terrible marriage. We’re both new Christians now, but we married for all the wrong reasons, and we brought out the worst in each other.”
    Michael came to her side. “Hello, Mrs. Herne.” He offered a hand.
    The woman, about twenty years older than Jeanie, gave him a kind smile. “It’s Carolyn. I hope you two can figure things out. Remember that with God all things are possible.”
    Jeanie spared one testy glare at Michael. “Meaning it will take a miracle to ever make me want to be married to you again.”
    Michael kept a smile on his face by sheer willpower.
    “We’ve got a funeral at church tomorrow,” Mrs. Herne said.
    “Yes, I heard Myra passed away.”
    “Would you be able to bring something? Bars or sandwiches?”
    Michael opened his mouth to tell the woman Jeanie was already too busy and any spare time she had needed to be spent with him.
    The bat settled on Jeanie’s shoulder, and Michael didn’t voice his opinion. “I’ll bring bars. I’ll be down to help, too, as soon as we’re done with lunch at the center. Pastor Bert seems to want Michael to stay nearby for a while, so he can come along.”
    “Thank you.” The redheaded woman split her smile between Jeanie and Michael. “We really appreciate it.” She left.
    A second woman came up. “I heard you talking about Myra. I knew she