He sighed. "You keep having to bring your friends into our honeymoon. What is that?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "You know better. Samara goes to your church, and it's been months and months since I've seen her."
"Sure." He shook his head, trying to seem disappointed. "I thought you were excited to be in our new home, but it's just because it's close to Samara."
She laughed. "I'll be much closer to you. I promise. Samara's never gotten me a box of condoms for a gift before."
"Has anyone?" he asked, looking at her with a grin, before jerking his eyes back to the road.
"Nope. You hold that distinction. Aren't you proud?"
He nodded emphatically. "Very proud. No one else is allowed to buy you condoms. I forbid it."
She rolled her eyes. "I can't think of anyone else who would want to." She watched out the window as they left the city. She'd been told that Kansas was flat, and not much to look at, but she was surprised at just how many fields there were. "Do you like living in Kansas?"
He shrugged. "I do. I grew up in Topeka, so I've been here all my life. Even went to college and seminary here."
"When will I meet your parents?" she asked, suddenly surprised that she hadn't asked him about his family at all. "Are you an only?"
He shook his head. "Nope. I'm the oldest of five. Little one is still in school. I don't know when we'll meet my parents. Soon, I hope."
"Are you close to them?"
He nodded. "Relatively close. I haven't lived with them since I graduated from high school, but I make the drive home for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year."
"Sounds good," she said. "I look forward to meeting them." Well, she did, but she didn't. All the horror stories people told her about their mothers-in-law, had her a bit nervous. "Do they know you're married now?"
He shook his head. "They wouldn't have approved of the way I met you, so I decided to wait for a bit. I'll call them in a week or so."
"I'm not sure that's the answer! Will your mother be angry that she didn't get to go to her oldest son's wedding?"
"I really don't know. I just didn't want them to try to talk me out of marrying. I was ready." He frowned. Being ready for marriage meant being ready for a family. He hoped she'd see reason and be willing to start trying to have a baby right away.
"Well, I hope no one blames me for you waiting to tell them."
"Are you nervous about meeting them?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I am. I've only ever heard horror stories about mothers-in-law. No one ever brags that theirs is the best or they won the mother-in-law lottery or anything."
"My mom is great. I promise she won't be like you expect."
Michaela shrugged. "I sure hope not!"
By the time they finally got to his apartment, she was exhausted from all the travel. "I'm so glad we're finally here!"
Jon grinned. "Me too. I have a bed up there." He waggled his brows at her.
She sighed. "Show me your apartment!"
They got their things out of the trunk of his car, and carried them up the stairs. He unlocked the door, and then shocked her by scooping her up and carrying her over the threshold.
"Hey!" she said shocked. "You have to warn me about these things!"
He grinned, letting her slide down his body on her way to the floor. "You know you love it. And men are supposed to carry their brides over the threshold, so why are you even surprised?"
"I don't know! You just startled me!"
He leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'm going to get our suitcases in."
The apartment was small. He was right about that. It was a big room with a living area, dining room, and kitchen, and then when you walked into the next room, it was a bedroom with an attached bathroom. Guests, if they had them, would need to walk through the bedroom to get to the bathroom.
The bathroom was little more than a box with enough room for a toilet and bathtub. Even the sink was in the bedroom.
"Very cozy," she announced.
He laughed. "I know it's tiny. We'll get something bigger soon."
She shook her head. "We don't need to. This is perfect." And it was for newlyweds. She wasn't certain she'd want to live in such close quarters even in a year, but for newlyweds, it was fine. "No washing machine?"
He shook his head. "No. There's a laundry mat in the complex though."
"I'm used to taking my stuff to the laundry mat, so that's fine." She wandered back out into the main area, and he followed behind her. She walked into the kitchen. There was very little space there. Enough room for a fridge and a stove. There was a mounted microwave, and she was thankful for that. It wouldn't take up counter space. "We can sure make this work."
He frowned. "We can find something bigger right away if you want."
She shook her head. "Of course not! It's small, but I'm used to living in a small space. I grew up in New York!"
"That's true. So you can't complain."
"I'm not complaining!" She sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder. "I'm tired. Travel wears me out."
He nodded. "Why don't I go pick up some dinner while you put your stuff away, and we'll have an early night?"
"You don't mind?" she asked, feeling inexplicably exhausted.
"I don't mind at all. We're still on East Coast time after all." Besides, he had work to do before he could sleep.
She glanced at the clock and saw that it was after seven. "I forgot all about the time change. That explains some of it. What time do we have to wake up for church in the morning?" she asked.
"First service is at nine." He already had his sermon written for the next day, but he needed a few minutes to go over it. "I'll probably get up at six to give my sermon one last read through."
"Sermon? I forgot you were preaching in the morning. There's no one to take over for you?" Would they never be able to go anywhere?
"Yeah, my youth minister can do it, but he's really new. He had to take care of most of my responsibilities all week, so he was really relieved that I was going to go ahead and give the sermon."
"I think that makes a lot of sense. Okay. Go get food, and I'll put stuff away."
While he was gone, she put her personal things away, hung her wedding dress in the back of the closet, and put a few of her clothes away. She had to rearrange his things a bit, but she made it work.
Looking around the apartment, she was surprised at how neat he was. She'd always thought of a single man as a slob who would live in filth, but Jon had done a good job keeping up with things. Either that or someone had come in and cleaned while he was gone. The apartment looked freshly vacuumed and dusted. Even the bathroom was clean.
He came into the house with a small carryout bag. "Where did you go?" she asked, not recognizing the bag.
"Oh, it's a little Mexican place. I don't think it even exists anywhere else in the world."
He pulled a burrito and two tacos from the bag and handed them to her. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just brought you a couple of things."
"Works for me." She walked into the kitchen and got them each a plate off the shelf as well as a fork. He had already opened up his own burrito and taken a bite. "You were going to use a plate, right?"
"Uhh—Sure, I was! I just wanted one bite first."
She shook her head at him, giving him the plate. Sitting down beside him on the couch, she arranged her food on her plate. "Why are we eating in the living room and not in the dining room?"
He shrugged. "Just a bad habit I'm in. No point in sitting at a table if I'm sitting there alone."
"I can understand that, I guess." She and Haley had always eaten at the table in their apartment. Maybe it was the whole male vs. female thing.
He talked a little about the town while they ate. "It's only about a ten minute drive to the church, so I leave about twenty minutes after eight. I need to be there before anyone else arrives."
"I can be ready then. My family has always gone to church early as well
."
After the meal, she quickly hand-washed the plates, seeing no need for a dishwasher when it was so few things.
He was on the couch with papers spread around him when she finished. "I'm going to shower and go to bed." She waited a minute to see if he'd even notice her now that he was working again.
He barely glanced up from his work, already engrossed. "I'll be in when I can be."
Chapter Seven
It was strange walking into a new church with him the next morning. She stood beside him as he greeted everyone, and smiled sweetly every time he introduced her.
When Samara stepped into the church, her friend let out a squeal at the sight of her. "What are you doing here?"
Michaela grinned, stepping away from Jon and hugging Samara tightly. "Jon and I are married."
Samara gaped at her. "Jon? You mean Pastor Jon? Lachele did good!" Samara's eyes moved back and forth between her friend and her pastor, a big smile on her face. "And now I get to see you!"
"And I get to see you! So glad I know someone here!"
"We'll have to have lunch together tomorrow, and I'll tell you all about Teaville. Are you guys living in Pastor Jon's apartment?"
Michaela nodded. "For now. It's tiny, but it works for us."
Samara nodded. "There's a house on my street for sale. You guys should look at it."
Michaela looked over at Jon, who was engrossed in conversation with an older man. "I'd love to. Our apartment is fine for now, but he wants children soon." She looked down at Samara's belly. "How are you feeling?"
Samara patted her burgeoning stomach. "Very very pregnant. I can't wait until they're finally born and I can hold them."
"Do you know what you're having?"
"One of each. A boy and a girl."
"So you'll have three girls and a boy? Wow. That's going to be a whole lot of fun when it comes to prom and hormones."
Samara laughed. "I know. It's going to be a mess. So glad my friend Michaela is here to help me now."
Michaela grinned. "If you need help when the twins come, you let me know. I could take the girls for a day or two while you and Henry concentrate on the babies. Do you have names picked out?"
Samara shook her head. "I like names that can be for either sex, but Henry isn't fond of the idea. I may name the girl and let him name the boy. I'm not going to have any more arguments with my husband about naming our babies."
Michaela grinned. "Did I hit a sore spot?"
"Michaela! There's someone I want you to meet!" Jon called to her.
"Gotta go! I'll talk to you later!" With another quick hug, Michaela returned to Jon's side. "Sorry."
"Michaela, this is our youth minister, Steven Sharpe. He's been covering for me all week."
Michaela smiled sweetly at the tall, broad shouldered young man. "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for not making us come home sooner." She put her hand out to shake his, feeling dwarfed as his huge hand covered hers completely.
"Nice to meet you too. I hope you can keep Jon in line." Steven shook his head sadly, as if unsure how anyone would deal with his associate.
"I'm trying. He's something else, though. I never know what he'll do next."
Jon sighed. "No maligning my character right before my sermon!"
Michaela grinned. "You were the one who wanted me here!"
Jon glanced at his watch. "Time for us to go in. I usually sit in the front row, right in the center to make it easier for me to jump up on stage when it's time."
She nodded. "I can do that." She preferred to sit toward the back, because there she could jump up and help a mother struggling with a baby if necessary. She would sit wherever he wanted, though.
He took her hand and led her through the crowd, pulling her to a seat in the front. "I'll be with you for a while at least."
"I'm going to feel very conspicuous." Already she felt as if everyone was staring at her.
"Of course, everyone is curious about my new wife. You would be too."
"Probably. I always thought a pastor should be able to have a private life, though."
He laughed. "Forget those notions now. You live in a fishbowl with everyone watching to see what you do and don't do. You're in my world whether you want to be or not."
She frowned. She hadn't considered that aspect of being a pastor's wife. "That'll be fun."
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'd kiss you to make it all better, but you're right. Everyone is watching us, so I'm not going to. You can imagine me kissing you, though."
She laughed softly. "My imagination isn't nearly that tame where you're concerned."
He grinned, sitting down in his usual spot and putting his arm around her shoulders when she sat next to him. "I usually go out with some family or other after church. I wonder if I can go home and make love with my wife today instead."
She shook her head. "Nope. You have to do everything you usually do. We don't want the congregation to know we do that. The interruptions will get even worse."
"I'm sure!"
They held hands during the prayer and sang together, reading the lyrics projected on the screen. This church was a great deal roomier than she was used to, and she wanted to look at the people around her, but she was afraid because of how closely she knew she was being watched.
She was very curious about what kind of pastor Jon was. She'd not seen him in that role yet, having only spent days with him as a man, so it was strange for her to even think about.
When he climbed onto the stage, she was surprised at how rapidly her heart beat in her chest. She was actually nervous for him, when he hadn't seemed a bit nervous about getting up there at all.
His sermon was on gossip in the church, and she listened as he talked about how everyone should be constantly thinking about how they could do better, but not so worried about what others in the church were doing.
When the sermon was over, she smiled. He was a good speaker, which didn't necessarily mean he was a good pastor, but at least he could move people. She knew, because she'd been moved. The sermon made her look at herself closely and wonder how she could improve.
He came down and stood beside her for the final song. "One down, and one to go."
She nodded. She knew they'd have to be there for two full services.
Many people rushed up to them between services, obviously wanting to meet her. "I didn't even know you were getting married!" one older woman said to him.
Jon smiled. "I'm a man of mystery."
"However did you meet?" someone else asked.
"At church," Jon answered.
Michaela realized he didn't want people to know they'd been introduced at the altar, so she was carefully vague with her responses to questions, and when she was unsure of how to answer something, she let him answer.
"When was your first kiss?" a teenage girl with stars in her eyes asked Michaela.
Michaela smiled, squeezing Jon's hand. "Our first kiss was right after the minister said, 'You may now kiss the bride,' and it was wonderful. I'll never forget it."
The girl sighed, looking at Jon. "I was hoping he'd wait for me."
She couldn't be older than thirteen or fourteen, and Michaela grinned at her. "I'm sure if you were just a year or two older, he'd have been able to wait."
The girl smiled. "I think I'm going to like you."
Michaela laughed. "Good, because I need to have some friends here. I've never even been in Kansas before!"
After the second service was more of the same. Michaela was starting to feel like something of a local celebrity for marrying Jon. It was weird how people were about pastors.
After the second service, he said, "We've been invited for lunch with a friend of mine and his wife and three daughters. You up for it?"
She nodded. "Whatever you want to do." As far as she was concerned Sundays were his day. She would do whatever he wanted.
At lunch, she got a better idea of how admired he was. He was such a young pastor, she was surpr
ised and impressed at the respect he commanded.
One of the girls, around fifteen, asked him, "Why didn't you tell anyone you were marrying? We would have had a wedding shower or something!"
He shrugged. "Sometimes I need to keep my private life to myself. I feel like everything I do is inspected by the people around me. I needed to keep Michaela all to myself for a while."
Nancy, the mother of the girls, said, "Well, we still need to do a wedding shower. Let's say two weekends from now? On Saturday?"
Michaela nodded reluctantly. She didn't know where they'd put anything else in their tiny apartment, but she understood that people wanted to do something for him. "That works for me," she said with a smile.
"Are you going to work?" Nancy asked.
Michaela nodded. "I really hope to. I have a degree in education, and I was a children's minister in New York until last week." She smiled at Jon, who was holding her hand under the table.
"Really?" Nancy asked, obviously thinking. "I know of a Christian daycare in need of an assistant director. Would you be interested?"
"An assistant director? I don't have any experience, but I'd be interested in at least considering it!"
"For an assistant director, the director would teach you. A degree in early childhood education is all they're looking for. I'm friends with the director, and could give you a recommendation."
Michaela thought about it for a moment. "Not exactly the direction I was thinking about, but I am qualified. Sure, I'd love to at least talk to her." She actually liked the idea. She wasn't big on administration, but she was sure she'd get a chance to spend time with the children. It could be fun.
"I'll call her in the morning. What's your number, so I can give it to her?"
Michaela wrote down her number for Nancy. "Thank you so much."
"No problem. We need to keep the pastor's wife happy."
"Why is that?"
"Because if you're not happy, he won't be happy. We all love Jon too much to let that happen." Nancy smiled at Jon.
Michaela squeezed his hand under the table. She was learning a little more about him every day, and today she was learning a lot. He was a good man. "So he's a good pastor?"
Only in Oklahoma (At the Altar Book 6) Page 8
