The Pastor's Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

go. “I just put your bag in the room.”
    Maura took a step back, pressing as close to the wall as possible. “Thanks. I appreciate the help.”
    He smiled. “No problem. You sure you don’t want me to get the rest of it?”
    “It can wait,” she said with a shake of her head.
    Nick nodded and looked away again. Yes, this would certainly take some getting used to.
    “Why don’t we—”
    “What are you—”
    They both spoke at once, then snapped their mouths shut. Finally, Maura said, “Why don’t we move out of the hall, hmm?”
    Nick nodded, and they went back into the living room. “So, how was the trip?”
    She sighed. “Long. And a little disappointing.”
    “How so?”
    Why had she gone and said that? She could have kept it to herself, and he would have been none the wiser.
    “I stopped to see some of the roadside attractions.”
    The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly, stopping just short of a full-blown grin. “I guess that means they didn’t live up to your expectations.”
    “Not even close. You know that big sign for the genuine unicorn?”
    “Yeah.”
    “It was a poor little goat with a horn grafted onto his forehead.”
    Nick lost the battle to keep a straight face. “You didn’t expect to see a real one, did you?”
    Maura rolled her eyes. “Of course not. But if you paint a picture of a beautiful, horse-like unicorn on your sign, your fake unicorn should at least resemble a horse.”
    “Good point.” He paused, as if debating whether or not to ask the next question. “What about the gopher? Did you stop to see that?”
    Now Maura grinned. When they’d made the trip together he’d acted like none of it interested him. It was nice to know he’d been a little curious after all. “Yes, I did. It actually was a three-ton gopher … carved out of solid rock. At least that sign was honest—misleading, but honest.”
    Nick laughed, and she joined with him. Electricity buzzed through the air, tying them together, jerking Maura up short. Why was it so easy to fall into this camaraderie? How could she forget, even for a little while, all the reasons she had for leaving him? Reasons that extended far beyond his spendingtoo much time away from home. Reasons he didn’t even know about.
    This couldn’t happen. Nick had his life, and she had hers. This joint life they’d been forced into was only temporary. Even though they were still legally married, they would never be together in that way again. If she forgot their past, she was asking for more pain.
    “What are your plans for today?”
    “I should be unpacking,” she said, “but that's the last thing I want to do right now.” She thought of unpacking the boxes and putting her stuff away in the closet and the dresser, acting as though she belonged in this house. It was something she’d put off as long as she could. “Honestly, I’m itching to work on the theatre.”
    “So you’re heading over there?”
    Maura shook her head. “I want to walk around, stretch my legs. I need to get the lay of the land. I know nothing changes much in Granger, but I noticed on the welcome-to-town sign that the population's had a bit of a spike, so something must be different.”
    Nick cocked his head to one side. “You have no idea, do you?”
    “About what?”
    This brought out a full-blown smile. “Wow, are you in for a surprise. If you really want to get the big picture, it would be better to drive.”
    Maura groaned. Her body would revolt if she forced it back into the car.
    Nick laughed. “Yeah, I’ll bet more driving sounds lousy right now. What if I do the driving and show you the major changes?”
    Maura hesitated. It was natural for Nick to want to help. After all, that's what he did for a living. But getting too comfortablewith him would only lead to trouble. “You know, that's a sweet offer, but I don’t want to put you out.”
    “The way I see it, it's kind of my responsibility. After all, I have just as much at