Read Online Bachelor to the Rescue by Lorraine Beatty - Free Book Online

small smile softening his angled jawline and warming the dark blue eyes. She slid over to make room, immediately regretting it when the spicy scent of his aftershave penetrated her senses and sparked an awareness of her landlord she didn’t welcome. The girls leaned around her and waved frantically at him. He smiled and waved back. She gently pressed their hands down into their laps. She wasn’t surprised to see Shaw here. He said he attended, but she hadn’t expected him to sit with her. Her awareness of him grew with each passing moment.
    He looked different this morning. She was accustomed to seeing the rugged contractor in work boots and jeans. Last night, he’d been the earthy, freshly showered to-the-rescue handyman. Today, he was clean shaven and professional in dark gray trousers and dress shirt, the rolled-up sleeves revealing his tan skin and the shiny watch around his wrist. She glanced at him and found him staring at her with his probing navy eyes. Embarrassed to be caught staring, she looked away, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.
    The organist began to play as the choir filed in, and the congregation stood and sang an old hymn. Thankfully, the words were displayed on a screen behind the pulpit, preventing her from having to share a hymnal with Shaw. But the sound of his rich baritone stilled her voice. He sang with conviction, as if he believed every word of the hymn. She fought the urge to peek at him, not wanting to risk eye contact again. He wasn’t the man she’d expected. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Oh, he was a handsome, compelling man. No argument there. She could easily understand why he was the target of every single female in the area. Shaw possessed that heart-tugging appeal women were drawn to. But not her.
    Lainie focused all her attention on the service, finding her spirit soothed as she released her worries into the Lord’s care. The liturgy was more traditional than her old congregation, but she welcomed the connection to others who worshipped in this historic church.
    Reverend Jim Barrett proved to be a powerful speaker, and Lainie lost herself in the teaching he presented. When the pastor read a passage from Psalm 139, the words pierced deep into her spirit.
    â€œSearch me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”
    The Lord had been nudging her for some time to confront issues from her past, but she’d ignored Him. Plumbing the depths of her emotions was too painful a task. Still, maybe it was time she looked inside herself and took an honest inventory.
    Surrounded by the peace of the old sanctuary, Lainie saw how her grief had allowed seeds of bitterness to grow. She’d become isolated and withdrawn. She wanted to be happy again, to enjoy life fully and let go of the past. But if she did, she’d be forgetting her children’s father, dismissing their life together, brief as it had been, as if it hadn’t mattered. No. She had to hold on. Never let go. It would be a betrayal.
    The benediction ended and Shaw stepped into the aisle to let her and the girls exit.
    Gwen joined them, patting Shaw on the back and smiling at Lainie. Gwen’s husband, Eric, spoke to Shaw as they made their way toward the front of the church, where the pastor and his wife waited to greet everyone. As they approached the last pew, a woman stepped forward and gave Gwen a hug.
    â€œLainie, I’d like you to meet my mother, Mrs. Adams. Mom, this is Lainie Hollings and her girls. Natalie and Chrissy.”
    Instead of the smile Lainie expected, the woman’s eyes narrowed into an angry glare.
    â€œI saw your picture in the paper this morning. I know who you are.”
    The woman’s harsh tone made the hairs on Lainie’s arm stand up. “Paper?”
    Gwen touched her arm. “The Sunday edition of the
Dover Dispatch
ran a wonderful article about you being our new librarian. It was very flattering. I