The Wedding Planners of Butternut Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

kept Rex the mechanic on speed dial. And, he hoped, a wedding was coming up.
    How could he possibly afford all that?
    “Pops!”
    Adam blinked. Hector stood next to him, a hand grasping Adam’s elbow.
    “You don’t have to wait up for me,” Hector said. “How many times do I have to tell you? You were asleep and almost fell off your stool. Could’ve hurt yourself.”
    “Not asleep, meditating.”
    Hector snorted. “Guess the sound of snoring I heard came from Chewy.”
    “Probably. And I wasn’t waiting up for you.” Adam stretched. “Outlining sermons for the next few weeks. I’m doing a series based on the Psalms…”
    “Uh-huh,” Hector responded, then yawned so huge he nearly swallowed his hand.
    Of course the kid wasn’t all that interested in the series of sermons, so he said, “You have fun with Bree and Bobby and his date?”
    “Didn’t feel like having fun.” Hector closed his eyes and shook his head, but he didn’t say anything more, at least not with words.
    Adam knew how he felt. He’d been through those big games and had come out on the losing end more often than winning, but he’d never had a college scholarship on the line. His parents paid for everything. He hadn’t had to worry about the scouts in the stands—not that they’d ever been interested in him. Tall but way too skinny.
    “Want to talk?”
    Hector shook his head again. “No, I’ll be okay. I know we did everything we could. I know it was only a game. I know”—he pointed at his head—“a lot of stuff but it still hurts to lose.”
    The kid walked into the kitchen, took down a glass, and opened the refrigerator to pour himself a glass of milk. Once he’d put the carton back and closed the fridge, he turned toward Adam. “We had fun in the other regional games. We played well and felt great when we won. But…” He paused to search for words. “That loss felt horrible, wiped out the good memories. The bad feels a lot worse than the good felt good.”
    Adam nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
    “I mean, it’s not like when Mom passed or when our father went to prison. Not like that and I know it’s not the end of the world but…”
    Adam nodded again.
    “Coach called a team meeting for tomorrow. We’ll talk about it.” Hector chugged his milk, then rinsed out the glass.
    “Janey talked to Gussie about her dyslexia.” Adam watched Hector place the glass in the dishwasher.
    “She did?” Hector considered that. “Well, that’s good. Pops, I think you’d better go ahead and marry Gussie. My sister needs a mother.”
    Adam laughed. “You sound just like Miss Birdie.”
    Hector looked embarrassed but the expression flickered past quickly. Adam would’ve missed it if he weren’t familiar with Miss Birdie’s tactic of bringing as many people as possible to her side and pushing them very hard to take action. He’d heard that Janey-needs-a-mother argument straight from the pillar’s mouth.
    Did he mind that the Widows had captured Hector and he’d become an additional nagging unit?
    Not a bit. He remembered Sam’s complete capitulation to the pillar and her cadre. In fact, Sam had welcomed anyone’s efforts or input on his behalf to win Willow, even the Widows at their most officious and interfering. Like Sam, Adam would take any available help, but he felt maybe he could handle courting Gussie by himself from now on.
    “Night. You need to go to bed, too. It’s nearly one o’clock.” Hector tiptoed up the back steps so he wouldn’t awaken his sister. At least, he did what he thought was tiptoeing, but going up stairs quietly with feet as big as Hector’s was impossible.
    *  *  *
    After the sermon and the offering Sunday morning, Adam gave the call to communion. “We meet here not because we are worthy but because we are called here,” he said. “All believers are invited to gather around this table by our Savior. This is His table, not ours.”
    He loved to look out over the congregation when they