Free The Priest's Well (The Greek Village Collection Book 12) by Sara Alexi Page B

big house, but this cottage is her home, so I think it is best that we make the old agreement null and void and strike up a new agreement that gives her the rights to this cottage again.’ He is not sure now if what he is doing is the right thing.
    Would Nefeli want the old agreement if she knew that the big house would be for her life, too? Or would giving her the small cottage be the greater security? It might be an idea to discuss it with her but as the bishop said, it is not always in peoples’ interests to know everything. It might make the whole issue too complex for her. No, he should make the decision. She said that moving to the big house made everything seem impermanent, insecure. Well, he can reverse that. If the cottage is in her name, there can be no greater security in this life than that.
    ‘You mean you want me to write up a tenancy agreement?’ Babis asks.
    ‘No, I want to sign the deeds over to her.’ He looks at Nefeli wringing out the mop and then pouring the water from the bucket down the sink. She flashes a look at him, a twitch of a smile around her lips. The smell of the dusty water gurgling down the sink briefly takes over from Babis’ aftershave.
    ‘Really?’ Now Babis looks at her, from her hair down her graceful figure to her feet and back.

A week passes and the heat is building daily. His silk cassock arrives smelling of the plastic bag it came in, but it is cool and feels heavenly against his skin. Babis finishes the deed transfer and, without any slip or fuss, Nefeli signs her relinquishment of the grand house and is presented with the deeds to the cottage.
    Savvas is packing up his few possessions. They agreed today they would move. His phone rings.
    ‘So, today is the day. Well done, my boy!’ The bishop is full of energy. ‘This is a big feather in your cap. The archdeacon is very pleased.’ He rattles on about church business as Savvas takes his phone outside and watches Nefeli on the balcony, folding sheets and putting them into a box. In the week that has passed, he has watched her confidence blossom. Her hair is tied back now and the scar has faded as the skin on her forehead has tanned. She walks with more lift to her chin and she no longer seems afraid of the grace that flows through her limbs. She moves, now, with confidence. The bishop drones on as Savvas continues to watch until she disappears inside and comes out the front door.
    ‘Sorry, Bishop. I have to go.’ Savvas switches off his phone and tucks it in the box waiting by the cottage door. Nefeli is bringing her first bag of things. Her long apron seems whiter than normal, and the ribbon tying back her hair is equally white. Like her forehead, her arms are a shade darker now summer is here. She smells of jasmine and fresh air with hints of freshly ground coffee.
    ‘I have very little to move so once I take these across, I can help you,’ he offers.
    As she passes him in the doorway, her forearm rubs against him. She makes no apology but stops to look him in the face and nods and blinks her acceptance of his offer of help. Even though her hair is tied back, it is loose enough to frame her face and add drama to her black-rimmed eyes. The sun behind her blurs her edges as if she is changing into light.
    Despite the heat, the day is spent pleasantly moving things back and forth. The man who owns the electrical shop in Saros turns up with a workman to put in an air conditioning unit. He seems a little perplexed by the house exchange but leaves his worker to finish the job. It doesn’t seem to take the electrician long and after gathering his tools, he waves them a hearty farewell. Nefeli is passing through a door that Savvas has just stepped in through from the other direction. She touches his hand, letting her fingers linger as she thanks him for the air conditioning unit.
    ‘It will make Mama so much more comfortable.’ Their faces are too close. Savvas feels almost sure that they will kiss. Until, without