Free Pastor's Assignment by Kim O'Brien Page B

smoothie ended up on her ceiling.
    When the door had finally closed behind Rock and Mother Tilly, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out on her deck.
    To her surprise, she saw Ty Steele sitting on a bench in the sheltered garden just beyond the deck. She walked to the railing and put her hands on her hips. “What are you doing there?”
    â€œWaiting for them to leave,” Ty said. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate another unwanted guest for dinner.”
    Bracing herself against the railing, Laney crossed her arms. “I thought you left hours ago.”
    Ty shrugged. “I would have, except I left my car keys on your coffee table.”
    â€œYou mean you’ve been here the entire evening?”
    â€œJust some of it. I took a walk around the block after you ripped up the dress. Good going, by the way.”
    He’d overheard her fight with Tilly? Laney felt her cheeks heat up. Only too well she remembered leaving the sliding door to the deck open.
    â€œI’ll go get your keys,” she said.
    When she returned, he had stepped out from under the trees and was looking up at the moon. It reminded her of how she had gazed up at it earlier. She wondered if he, too, recognized that something was wrong with his life but didn’t quite know how to fix it. He finally turned around.
    â€œSorry you had to wait so long for these,” she said and handed him the keys.
    â€œNo, I’m sorry for you,” Ty said.
    â€œFor me?”
    â€œThey were really on your case for failing that premarital exam. You should have told them it works both ways. He has to get to know your life as much as you have to get to know his.”
    Laney sighed. “The least you could have done was put your fingers in your ears. That was supposed to be a private conversation.”
    â€œJust you, Rock, and Mother Tilly,” Ty said agreeably. “You all make a great couple.”
    Laney bristled at his words, angry because he was right, frustrated because he understood something Rock hadn’t. “She was just trying to help, you know.”
    â€œHow do you stand it?” Ty asked suddenly. “They talk to you as if you are a total moron.”
    â€œRock adores me,” she said.
    â€œDoesn’t it frighten you that you have to count the number of times you stir the coffee? ‘Steady hand, girl,’ ” Ty parroted imperfectly but effectively.
    Laney waved her hand. “It’s just for the test,” she replied.
    â€œNo, it isn’t,” Ty warned. “They’re trying to turn you into a copy of his mother, and you don’t see it.”
    â€œThat isn’t true,” Laney protested.
    â€œWhat you cook, how you arrange your clothes in the closet, what you wear. . .” Ty shook his head.
    â€œThis isn’t any of your business, is it?” She crossed her arms on her chest.
    Ty’s gaze fixed on hers. He didn’t seem able to stop. “And that necklace she wants you to wear. The plug in my bathtub is more attractive.”
    â€œThat’s a family heirloom,” Laney snapped. “A symbol of love.”
    â€œSymbol of love?” Ty’s smile had a fiendish air. “More like a symbol of service—a gold ball and chain to hang around your neck.”
    â€œWhat right do you have to talk about my relationship?” Laney’s words flew off her tongue like arrows off a bow. “What do you know about love?”
    Ty glared at her. “I know what love isn’t. It isn’t about lessons in making coffee or quizzes about favorite books and movies.”
    His face, shadowed, looked even harsher than usual, almost in controlled anger. She saw the prominence of his facial bones, the lines fanning from his eyes, the scar near his hairline.
    â€œLove isn’t two people in the same room with nothing to talk about. Love isn’t what someone can give you or what you can get from them.”
    She