Tumbleweed Weddings Read Online Free PDF

air rustled as they took their seats. Callie saw her parents in the middle of the fourth pew from the front. She slid into place next to Mom. Lane settled beside her.

    Lane glanced around, feeling conspicuous. Callie
would
have to sit way up here in the front. The auditorium was crowded, but it was a small room. He estimated there couldn’t be more than seventy people in attendance.
    A man with stooped shoulders welcomed the crowd. He looked fragile, probably in his sixties, but he had a strong voice.
    Callie leaned toward Lane and whispered, “That’s Pastor Reilly.”
    She looked back at the pastor, and Lane took a moment to study her. From this angle, he could see her eyes in profile behind her glasses. They looked like pretty eyes, and her lashes were long. He wished he could see what she looked like without those awful spectacles.
    “And I see we have a visitor.” Pastor Reilly looked straight at Lane. “Introduce yourself, young man!”
    Startled, Lane glanced around. Was he the only visitor?
    “Stand up!” Callie whispered.
    He stood, restraining the desire to straighten his tie, and looked at the sea of expectant faces. “I’m Lane Hutchins.”
    “Lane Hutchins,” the pastor repeated. “Where are you from?”
    “I just moved here from Gridley, Illinois.”
    “Ah, Illinois! I’m from the Chicago area myself.”
    Lane nodded and sat down. Fortunately, after a few comments about Chicago, Pastor Reilly moved on to the announcements.
    “Illinois?” Callie whispered. She gazed up at him, but as the light reflected off her glasses, he couldn’t see her eyes.
    He gave her a nod.
What am I doing here?
He wished he had stayed in his apartment. The town of Fort Lob was too tiny for his venture; the people were too nosy. Perhaps he should move to a larger town in Wyoming. Either Pinedale or Lusk, each with a population of fourteen hundred or so, would be better suited for his purposes.
    While he was musing, the ushers came forward to collect the offering. As they passed the plates down each row, piano music began—a rendition of “Onward, Christian Soldiers.”
    Lane glanced at the piano player and drew in a sharp breath. What a beautiful girl!
    With dark hair that was fashionably messy, the girl looked to be in her early twenties. She had an oval face with perfect skin and full lips.
    She played with passion, concentrating on the music, weaving about on the piano bench. One moment she leaned into the piano, her eyes never leaving the music. The next moment she leaned away, her eyes still glued to the notes. After striking a chord, she would lift her left hand—with manicured red nails—in the air and crash it back down, amazingly, on the right keys. Despite all her theatrics and the fact that the music sounded difficult, she played the piece to perfection.
    At the end, the audience gave her an enthusiastic round of applause. Lane joined in.
    The girl smiled and nodded at the audience. Her beautiful dark-blue eyes glanced around and then stopped at Lane’s. She locked her gaze with his until he looked away.
    As the pastor came back to the podium, Lane leaned over to whisper to Callie. “That piano player’s really good.”
    Callie stared straight ahead. “That’s my sister, Tonya.”

    After the service, Callie introduced Lane to Mom and Dad, and Mom invited him over for lunch. For the next twenty minutes, the church people surrounded him, introducing themselves. He shook hands with them, one by one, until his smile began to falter. Callie felt sorry for him.
    “Come on, Lane.” She pulled him away from old Edna Beazer. That woman would be talking nonstop on her deathbed. “We’ll see you later, Edna. Mom invited Lane over for dinner, so we’d better get going.”
    “Well, my goodness!” The older woman stopped to suck in her dentures. “I was going to invite him myself, but I know your mother is a good cook. She always brings something wonderful to our church potlucks.”
    Callie nodded,