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had family.” He shook his head. “Just a month ago, I didn’t know he existed. I didn’t know I even had a brother, a half-brother actually.”
                “You didn’t know?” I asked. “That’s pretty much a shocker.”
                “I’ll say,” Collins McGregor said. “But I shouldn’t be so shocked. My father was a real bastard, knocking up my mother, and leaving her when he found out she was pregnant. It’s no surprise he would have other unwanted children littered around. But my mother was no saint. She ran away from home as a teenager, joined a gang, and got pregnant with me.”  He smiled bitterly. “Not exactly the best way to raise a kid, and you know of course that I would have some issues,” he said. He stepped back, his face disgusted. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, Miss Sullivan.”
                I was about to say “No, it’s okay” when out of nowhere, a big arm came around my shoulders and I was enveloped in a tight bear hug. Michael, the young pastor who was second in command at the church.
                “Sammy!” he said, looking at me warmly. “I didn’t get a chance to say ‘hi’ to you today. How’s it going?”
                “Well,” I nodded. “Busy with school, trying to get a scholarship to Stanford, you know, the usual.”
                “Don’t get too busy to hang out with me,” Michael said, his face almost serious.
                “Do we hang out?” I asked, smiling.
                “Of course we hang out,” Michael said, squeezing my shoulders, as he looked warmly at me, his chocolate brown eyes caressing my face with his gaze.  He was cute, all right, and he knew it. All the women at church practically ate out of his hand. The young eligible bachelor pastor who had just returned from being a missionary in Southeast Asia. He was cute, but ruggedly handsome too, having blazed through jungles to reach villages where he would bring in food and medical supplies to people. He stepped back to take a look at me and laughed. “Sam, you’ve grown up before my eyes. I can’t believe you’re eighteen now, a woman, and beautiful.”
                “Why is it such a shock, Pastor?” I asked.
                He shook his head smiling. “You’ve always been beautiful, but now, you’re, uh, not a scrawny little kid.”
                I punched his shoulder. “I was when I first met you, Pastor, at 15.”
                “I remembered the day,” Michael said, “And believe me, you weren’t a scrawny kid back then, too.”
                I blushed. Of all the pretty girls at church and all the young available women, whose mamas were pushing them on the handsome young pastor, why did I get the feeling he kind of had a crush on me?
                Collins McGregor had stepped up to Michael and me.
                “Ah, Michael, this is Mr. McGregor. Collins McGregor.”
                “Of the Collins Companies,” Michael said. He reached out to shake Collins McGregor’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet the man who had been so generous in donations.” He looked Collins McGregor up and down, in the way guys do when sizing up their competition. “I hope you enjoyed today’s service.”
                “I did,” Collins McGregor said. “Especially the piano playing part.” He looked over at me.
    “Sam is quite talented,” Michael said, looking at me in admiration. He placed his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close.
    “So I’ve found,” Collins McGregor said, his eyes looked at me possessively. His hands had bunched up into fists by his side, although he looked perfectly calm.
    “Michael,” I said, feeling Collins’ eyes burning at me. “I have to go. Mr. McGregor and I were just about to head out.”
    Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly then, and I’d never seen him