Free Behind the Altar: Behind the Love Trilogy by P.C. Zick Page A

There
was always some place to live, even if it meant there were no walls or ceilings
to keep her warm. She left the barn and drove back to the church where she
found Jacob still hard at work on his sermon.
    “How’s it going?”
Leah asked when she entered his office. Jacob’s office was devoid of much of
anything but his desk and a few chairs. Nothing adorned the white walls and his
desk’s one ornament was a photo of Leah and him on the day they became engaged.
    “Slowly,” he said as
he looked up from the table in front of him. “I’m stuck, and it’s probably
because of all that’s happened this week, first with the kitchen, and then with
Dean showing up. It has me rattled.”
    “Why, Jacob? I don’t
understand why seeing your brother after so many years would be disturbing.”
    “It just is. He’s
always been trouble, and I have no reason to believe this time is any
different. But I can live with that. I’m much more bothered by your insistence
to keep running Soup’s On.”
    “You know why that’s
so important to me,” Leah said as she sat down in the chair in front of the
desk. “I know you want me to give it up, but I can’t. It’s as much a part of me
as you are.”
    Jacob looked at her
for a long time, and then nodded. “I understand. But you have to understand
that I can’t stand up to Mother. I just can’t.”
    “I wish you could. I
need some time to think about things, so I’m going to stay over at Susie’s
place for at least tonight. Maybe I can sort it all out so we can both be
satisfied.”
    Jacob smiled with
relief. “That would be great if you could find a way that Mother would approve
of as well.”
    “I didn’t say I could
perform a miracle, but maybe with some distance between us I can find a
solution.” Leah stood up and came around the desk to stand next to Jacob. He
turned in his chair and faced her.
    “I know one thing,”
Leah said. “I love you, Jacob, and want to marry you.”
    Jacob stood and gave
her a long and lingering kiss. “I feel the same way.” Then he pulled her close
and gave her a hug.
    Leah walked out of
the office feeling even more confused than before. When Jacob kissed her, she
felt nothing. Those kisses used to tempt her to convince him to forgo the silly
promise to wait until they were married to have sex. However, today she
couldn’t wait to get away from him.
    She was grateful that
Geraldine had yet to return from her shopping trip. She went to her bedroom
closet and pulled down her sleeping bag from the top shelf. It was worn from
years of use but still had padding and gave Leah a sense of home when she
pulled it close and smelled the lingering odors of fire, salt, and sand.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    Dean rode back to the
motel after buying a six-pack of beer from the convenience store. He thought
about Leah and the way she looked when she went inside the barn and imagined
her Soup’s On being transported there. He made a vow to himself that he would
do everything in his power to help her dreams come true. On Monday, the
fireworks would begin, and he’d spend the rest of the weekend relaxing.
    The room depressed
him even though the cool air shooting out of the air conditioner was a welcome
relief from the heat of the day. As the day waned, the sun bore down on his
room’s west facing window. The mini-blinds were no match for Mother Nature’s show
of power as the sun made its way through the slats. As Dean lay on the bed
drinking his first beer, it occurred to him that he should go out to the barn
and spend the night. He loved that old barn. During a difficult childhood, it
was the one place he could go where no one would find him or bother him.
    He stopped by the
Victory Tavern and asked Reggie to prepare him a burger and fries to go. When
it was ready, he headed to the barn with the rest of his beer and a bag of hot
food.
    He noticed the lock
was off the door as soon as he got off his bike. He was sure he’d locked it
when he left there with