Free Married for Christmas (Willow Park) by Noelle Adams Page B

was mostly
perfunctory. But she was excited about the new challenge and didn’t want Daniel
to regret his decision to marry her, so she was committed to doing everything
she could to be the kind of pastor’s wife she’d always seen.
    As a first step, she pulled out pop-out cinnamon rolls from
the refrigerator. Then she lined them on the baking sheet and stuck them in the
heated oven.
     
    As they cooked, she fixed herself a bowl of cereal and ate
it at the kitchen table, with Bear for company.
    She was icing the rolls when Daniel returned to the kitchen,
his suit jacket draped over his arm. “Something smells good.”
    “I made cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning.”
    “Yum.” He reached over her shoulder and snatched one she’d
just iced.
    “Wait! It’s hot.”
    He ate it in three bites. “Not too hot. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.” She smiled, since he seemed to genuinely
appreciate her effort.
    He washed his hands, which were sticky from the icing, and
then pulled on his jacket. “I’ve got to get to church.”
    “Already? It’s barely seven-thirty.” Sunday School didn’t
start until nine-thirty, and the church was just over a mile away.
    “Yeah. I’ve got some prep still to do. I’ll see you at
Sunday school.”
    “Okay,” she said as he left the house. She wasn’t going to
be annoyed or frustrated. Sunday morning was the climax of the work week for
pastors, and maybe Daniel needed some privacy to get himself prepared and together.
    He’d hadn’t been at the church for very long, after all, and
he would want to do a good job.
    This whole thing wasn’t about her. He’d been perfectly nice
to her this morning. She wouldn’t be upset because he’d felt a little distant.
    She sighed as she looked down at the four remaining cinnamon
buns. Then she glanced at Bear, who was begging patiently just beside. “Do you
want a cinnamon roll?” she asked the dog. “There’s no way I can eat all of
these.”
    Bear didn’t have an answer for her, but she wasn’t about to
leave the food.
    ***
    Daniel had been installed as pastor
of the church for a few weeks now, but this was the first Sunday Jessica had
attended since he’d arrived.
    Everyone greeted her warmly, repeating that she and Daniel
really should have taken the Sunday off.
    Despite all the comments, Jessica figured it was just as
well to jump right into figuring out their life together.
    She’d heard Daniel preach before—many, many times—since
she’d often attended the small church outside of Charlotte he’d been pastor of
before. No one was like Daniel in the pulpit. He made the Bible come alive—with
intelligence and deep knowledge and passion and gravity and authority. Somehow,
all of those things at once.
    He might be tired this morning, but there was no evidence of
fatigue in his manner or voice. She felt an odd sense of possessive pride as
she watched him.
    He was her husband. Her husband . This amazing man.
    They went to the house of one of the elders for lunch after
the service. Jessica would not have chosen to spend the afternoon socializing,
but Daniel said they needed to go, since the elder—Chip White—still wasn’t
fully convinced Daniel had the wisdom and experience to pastor the church.
    It was part of being married to a pastor. You had to have
Sunday lunch with families from the congregation when they invited you—whether
you felt like it or not.
    So she didn’t complain at all on the half-hour drive to the
farmhouse where the White family lived. And she didn’t make any of the hints
about leaving she was tempted to make, even when the visit lasted well past
three o’clock and she was aching with fatigue.
    Finally, they made it home just after four, and Jessica was ready
to slump to the floor.
    “Thanks for going with me,” Daniel said, obviously
recognizing she was tired. They were in the bedroom to change out of their
Sunday clothes.
    “Of course, I’d go. What did you expect?”
    “Well, I appreciate