The Pastor's Wife by Jennifer Allee Read Free Book Online Page B

have some pie, and you can fill me in? Unless you’ve already had dessert too.”
    “No, we skipped dessert.” She saw the pie sitting on the counter, covered in aluminum foil. “What kind is it?”
    “Cherry. Your favorite. And yes,” he said before she could ask, “we do have vanilla ice cream.”
    Once more, Maura felt off balance. This was the same man who frequently forgot to call home to say he’d be missing dinner. Who left the house before the sun rose and often didn’t return until close to midnight. Who expected her to jump into every kind of service project with the same abandon he did. Yet here he was, not only remembering her favorite pie, but that she liked it a la mode. This must be what Alice felt like when she went through the looking glass. Everything upside down and not as it used to be.
    Maura pushed her confused thoughts aside and concentrated on the present moment. She’d felt completely full andsatisfied after finishing dinner with Rachel, but now her stomach called out. Apparently, there was always room for pie.
    She took off her jacket and draped it across the back of a chair. “Okay, you sold me. You dish it up, and I’ll clear off the table.”
    Nick smiled and moved to the counter. Still feeling flustered, Maura turned to the table and collected the clean silver, leaving out the spoons so they could use them for dessert. As Nick spooned the pie and ice cream into chunky cereal bowls, she carefully stacked the good china. Without even thinking, she carried the plates to the opposite end of the kitchen and opened the cupboard next to the refrigerator. Sure enough, he still kept the set there. It was oddly comforting that, so far, everything was the same as she remembered.
    Everything except for Nick himself. It was eight o’clock on a week night, and there he stood, serving up pie. When they had first lived together in Granger, there was always something to do, some meeting or emergency to attend to, some reason for Nick to run off or not come home until late. Most nights, she’d been alone in the house. When he did stay home, he was so preoccupied with his next sermon or Bible study that she may as well have been alone. Now he wanted to sit, eat pie, and talk about her day. Amazing.
    “All set.”
    Maura turned to see that not only had Nick put the pie on the table, he’d filled glasses of ice water for both of them. He sat down and motioned for her to join him, then dug into his dessert, giving a moan of pleasure at the first bite.
    “You’re pretty satisfied with your cooking,” Maura said as she sat across the table.
    He shook his head. “I can’t take credit for the pie. Baking is not a skill I’ve been able to pick up. Thankfully, the seniorsgroup took me on as one of their service projects. They bless me with something sweet once a week.”
    Of course. The congregation loved Nick, no doubt about that. And they loved feeding him. From the moment Nick and Maura first arrived in Granger, the Ladies’ Auxiliary had barraged the couple with covered dishes. The first week alone they’d received so many casseroles Maura had to start packing them into the freezer. Just the thought made her stomach roll. If she never saw another casserole again it would be too soon.
    Turning her thoughts back to dessert, she took a bite of the pie. The mixture of tart cherries and smooth vanilla ice cream almost pulled a moan out of her too. Instead, she just smiled. “It's very good.”
    “So,” he said, leaning forward, “tell me about your wonderful day.”
    In between bites she told him how she’d run into Rachel and the ideas they’d come up with. The more she talked, the more excited she became, until she’d forgotten about her dessert altogether. Nick didn’t interrupt as she went on about her plans. He just listened attentively and scraped his bowl clean.
    “So, what do you think?” she asked when she’d run out of news to tell him.
    “I think it's incredible. You’ve got a