Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
"Thanks, Halo."
"You're welcome. Love you," she replies and I can hear her walk away from the phone.
It's a bit silent before I decide to test the waters. "Hayden?"
He grunts one of his grizzly bear kind of noises.
"Stop being grumpy. I'm okay. Halo is okay. You're going to be okay as soon as you calm down. Hunter is really good—protective and braved a blizzard to make sure I had my phone when he didn't have to."
"I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself because upsetting you over this is going to upset my very pregnant wife and Mom says that's bad luck. I love you Harper, and I will be on standby in case the priest isn't behaving priestly."
"I love you and Halo too. Rub my little niece or nephew. Don't worry about Hunter being priestly. Talk to you later."
I get off the phone and try my best to get the dispute out of my head. Hendrix is completely understanding. I think Hudson's more indifferent than anything, but I can't let my brothers stop whatever's happening between me and Hunter.
The words on my syllabus and notes glare at me, begging for my attention, but I want to see Hunter. I want to be in his arms so he can assure me that everything is going to be fine and that Hayden's overreacting.
As the afternoon rolls around, I'm happy when it's time for me to head to the church. Luckily for me, my Jeep is sitting in my neatly plowed driveway thanks to Hendrix. I shoot him a quick text, thanking him and purposely keeping the text short. I don't want another lecture about defiling the local priest. It makes me wonder what kind of woman my brothers think I am.
If anyone's being defiled, it's me. Well deflowered is more like it. That brings a smile to my face, a wave of memories crashing over me while I make my way to the church. There are a few cars in the parking lot, which saddens me that we aren't going to have the same privacy as before, but that's a good thing. There's actual work to be done.
Stepping inside St. Alban's brings a sense of welcome and calm to me that urges me to be on my best behavior … until I see Hunter. My breath catches as he walks up the aisle between the pews. The Director of Outreach, Mrs. Templeton, is with him, and they're having a lively discussion.
"I haven't been able to reach him, Father. I'll keep trying, but I think you should double-check or wait until your fancy auditor comes in. If they see the same thing you do, then we can make a call to the Archbishop. You know he's going to take this personally, right?" Mrs. Templeton says to Hunter.
Hunter nods as they get closer to me. His smile is timid, and there are a few crinkles around his gorgeous brown eyes. Every strand of hair looks soft and fluffy, ready for my fingers to take hold of them all.
"Irene, have you met Harper Haven?" Hunter asks her as they stop in front of me.
"Oh yes. Harper, hello. Thank you so much to you and your family. Shoveling the lot and the bountiful donations. We appreciate the Haven family's efforts immensely."
"Hi, Mrs. Templeton." I greet her with a smile. "We're happy to help. Oh, and if you get a chance, my mother would love to discuss the upcoming New Year's bake sale and winter carnival."
"Oh, that's right. Honour is a dream on the planning committee. I'll reach out to her today." Mrs. Templeton smiles and walks toward the kitchen area of the church where members are waiting in line for the pantry.
"Good afternoon, Miss Haven," Hunter says with a glimmer of a smirk. "Thank you for coming in."
"You're welcome, Father Hudgens. I'm happy to be of service to you," I tell him and bring my voice down to a whisper. "I'm following you, Daddy."
"Easy or we're never going to get through these files, baby girl." Hunter winks at me and adjusts his posture just as people enter the rectory.
We make our way into his office where there are piles of pages that look like the snowstorm blew through here.
"Wow. You have been busy." I can't stop looking at the pages, and there are sticky notes attached to various pages that Hunter's walking around and removing.
"I'm going to take off my personal observation notes so you can take a look with a fresh set of eyes. January is over here and every month after moves from that pile to the next. I've just got through March, and I'm already noticing some things. Explain to me exactly how you'd like to use these statements for your project."
Shifting into business student mode, sex becomes the last thing on my mind. I walk over to the first pile and see a few items that look exactly like the images from my textbook.