A (sorta) Southern Serenade (A Romance(ish) Novella Book 2) Read online

  Not that singing made a woman.

  But—it was more than her voice. She put her heart in that song. The look on her face, one of rapture and awe, said that she believed and embraced every word.

  What if he’d been wrong?

  What if she’d been searching for a church home and just happened to visit his?

  His rash judgment of just minutes before slapped him in the face.

  She wasn’t the jerk this time.

  He was.

  When the final note faded, a slow clap came from the doorway.

  He jerked his head over to see Pastor Taylor, Beverly, and Mari standing in the doorway.

  Pastor Taylor took a step forward. “Kendra, that was—amazing. I know you’re still searching for a church home, but I think I speak for all of us when I say, if you’re looking to serve on the worship team, you’re hired.” He glanced over at Josh and nodded toward him, clearly expecting him to echo his sentiments.

  A part of him—the part that was a giant, clucking chicken—wanted to find some excuse, any excuse, to say no. Even if he had her put on Gracie’s monthly rotation, which he would make sure of, they’d still have to work together from time to time. And see each other at church functions.

  It was clear that they both brought out each other’s bad side. It would never work.

  But he would look like a petty jerk if he said no.

  Like he was afraid she would overshadow him or something crazy like that. And plus—the woman could sing. He’d be an idiot to say she wouldn’t be a great addition to the team. Swallowing his pride, he nodded. “We have a spot for you if you’d like.”

  His mother stood and clasped her hands together. “Sweetie, weren’t you just telling me last week that you needed a female vocalist for your rotation?”

  “Actually, I was thinking—”

  Pastor Taylor nodded. “That’s right. Gracie and Chad have their month covered pretty well. So what do you say, Kendra? Are you up for it?”

  Josh stared at her, willing her to say no.

  She didn’t like him either. If she really had just been looking for churches, surely she could keep looking. There were hundreds of churches within a twenty-mile radius. Please, Lord, just let her--

  Even as he thought it, guilt pounded in his head. What was he doing? Praying for someone to not join their church.

  Forgive me, Lord. It’s just—No excuse. Your will be done.

  Four of the hardest words to say, but for the first time since Friday morning, he felt a semblance of peace. He’d started this whole debacle with his raging pride, ignoring every word of caution.

  And now God was asking him to let go and let Him fix it, regardless of how uncomfortable or painful it was.

  There was zero doubt about it. Leading worship with Kendra Meyers would be as comfortable and pain-free as sitting on a thumbtack.

  Kendra glanced around the room, her hands to her side.

  A movement caught his eye.

  Her thumb was discreetly jabbed into her forefinger with enough pressure to turn her finger pink. She’d be lucky if she didn’t draw blood.

  Interesting. The casual observer would assume she was carefree and calm, just weighing the decision with ease.

  But was she really fretting more than she let on? He tucked the tidbit of information away to analyze later.

  After several seconds, her lips painted in a light pink curved in an easy smile. “I’d be delighted to.”

  The Lord must have a much different plan than Josh had in mind. Normally he was pretty cool with that. Today—trust took on a whole new meaning for him. “Alright then. We rehearse on Wednesday night at six. Can you make it then?”

  Maybe she worked Wednesdays—

  “Wednesday is perfect.”

  Of course it was.

  Pastor Taylor slapped Josh on the back. “We’re glad to hear it. I can’t wait until next month. Josh will explain their schedule and rotation to you. Now, in the meantime, I know you’re new to the area. Is there anything we can do to help you? Are you all moved in?”

  “Just finished this last week, thank you.”

  Mari stepped forward. “Actually, there is one thing.”

  Kendra grabbed her purse and shook her head, her eyes more panicked than he’d seen them. “Nope, I really am good. It’s getting late, we need to—”

  Her friend, who looked like a slightly younger version of the woman who had been at her house on Friday, ignored her. “Do you happen to have someone in the church who does landscaping? You would never believe the experience she had on Friday. Some jerk actually showed up, poked around a little, then took off, even though she’d already paid him a deposit.”

  Beads of sweat formed on Josh’s neck.

  That was not even close to what happened.

  He opened his mouth to defend himself, but his mother beat him to it. “Oh, you are just in luck, right Josh? My son owns a large landscaping firm and would be happy to help you out, wouldn’t you, Sugar? He’s the best there is. Built the company from scratch with his own two hands. He’s as ethical as they come.”

  Kendra raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, a hint of challenge sparking in her gaze. “Is that right? What’s the name of your company?”

  Before he could form a reply, his mother tattled on. “J’s Landscaping. I told him to come up with something more creative than his first initial, but it doesn’t matter. He’s very good at what he does and even gives church members a discount. Isn’t that right, Josh?”

  He was beaten. There was no way out of it. “That’s right, Mother.” He fished out his wallet from his back pocket and withdrew a business card. “Give a call tomorrow and I’ll be happy to have someone give you a quote.”

  She snatched the card, pretended to look it over with interest, then smiled. “I think I’ll do just that. Thank you.”

  Eight

  Every ounce of her wanted to slam the door shut as she hopped into her Lexus SUV, but for the sake of the pricey vehicle, she resisted.

  Mari bounced into the passenger seat. “That turned out so good, Kendy! You’re going to love it there. Everyone was so sweet and friendly, and you are already plugged in with the worship team. And oh. My. Gosh. Josh Damen? If I didn’t think he’d be perfect for you, I’d be doing a little flirting myself. That man is hot. Did you notice no wedding ring? Beverly also mentioned that he wasn’t currently seeing anyone either. So he’s totally available. I give him two week tops before he asks you out.”

  “No one is asking anyone out.” Church could not have gone worse. Why had she ever thought taking Mari was a good idea? The girl had a youthful exuberance that made Kendra tired just listening to her, and she didn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.

  “But why not? Don’t you think he’s gorgeous?”

  Yes. She did. And arrogant. And chauvinistic. And rude. Name a negative adjective and she’d slap it on Josh Damen. She started the engine and gripped the steering wheel. “You have no idea what you’ve done, do you?”

  “What do you mean? I just—”

  “Remember the landscaping jerk who ditched me?”

  Mari frowned. “Yeah. I still say you turn his butt into the BBB. In fact, we should talk to one of the news stations. They do those reports all the time highlighting people that—”

  Evidently Mari hadn’t listened well to the sermon this morning, unlike Kendra who was still churning over the whole love-your-enemy thing. Wasn’t love your neighbor enough? “It’s Josh.”

  “Who’s Josh? I don’t understand.”

  “The guy who ditched me. It was him.”

  Her mouth formed an O before she clapped a hand over it, eyes wide. “Oh my word. Why didn’t you say something? That’s why you were acting all funny and wanted to leave.” Her wide eyes quickly narrowed. “I’m going back in there and giving him what-for. How dare he sit there in church while he just—”

  “Mari, it’s fine. I don’t want to make a scene. But now I’ve at least temporari
ly agreed to go to his church, to sing with him, and to rehire his company to do my lawn? I think he was as embarrassed in there as I was. Maybe this is God’s way of taking us both to task for our poor actions this weekend. You do realize that he did give me my money back, right? He didn’t steal anything. He just—made me mad.”

  “I’m sorry. Me and my big mouth. I thought you were just having new church jitters. But there is a bright side to all this.”

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. “What’s that?”

  Mari grabbed the business card where Kendra had laid it on the center console, then winked at her. “You go to his church, so now you get a discount.”

  The lamest bright side in the history of silver linings.

  Nine

  Sunday afternoons had long been Josh’s favorite time of the week.

  His family did the day of rest thing well. Church in the morning. Consuming a giant lunch cooked by Mom, then passing out while watching whatever sport was on TV all afternoon. Sunday evening was leftovers, playing Yahtzee or Uno if the weather was bad, or going outside when it was nice and using the giant farmyard as their own personal football field.

  It didn’t matter how old you got or your marital status, if you were family and in town, you came to Mom’s house. If you had guests of your own, you brought them along too. It was the unspoken family rule.

  He had two older brothers and a younger sister, and between them, seven nieces and nephews.

  He was the only single one, and he loved being the fun uncle. He looked forward to Sundays more than anyone else.

  Today was the first Sunday in years that he grappled for an excuse to beg off.

  No plausible one came to mind, which is why he pulled his pickup beside his sister’s little two-door coupe in front of the white, two-story farmhouse.

  Maybe he’d be lucky and there would be other big things going on. Lisa, his sister, had been married just over a year now. Baby news wouldn’t be out of the question, right?

  And really, there wasn’t anything big to talk about. So they found the female vocalist they’d needed. Big deal.

  No one knew it wasn’t his first time meeting her.

  If his mother ever found out—she’d probably give him the whoopin’ of his life regardless of his thirty-two years.

  Turning off the truck, he hopped out and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked up the steps to the long porch that ran along the front of the house. The feeling of coming home never got old. As he stepped into the living room, a whiff of cinnamon mixed with fried chicken welcomed him.

  “Josh? That you?” His mom yelled from the direction of the kitchen at the back of the house.

  “Yeah, Ma.” He frowned at how quiet the house was—realizing that Lisa’s car had been the only one outside. He crossed the living room and dining room, then pushed the swinging door into the kitchen. His mom stood at the stove as usual, wearing her white and blue checked apron that she’d had for as long as he could remember. The light silver streaks in her hair grew more pronounced every time he saw her. She said she refused to dye her hair—the gray was hard-earned and just meant she was wise, right? He always argued that point, but the truth was, his mom was the wisest woman he knew. “Where is everyone?”

  “Lisa and Greg are on the back porch. Thought since it was a small crowd and such a nice day, we could eat out there. That okay with you?”

  “Sure, but where’s everyone else?” He took the lid off the bun warmer and stole a roll.

  “Remember? They took all the kids down to Atlanta for the weekend. Surely you noticed no kids pouncing on you at church this morning.”

  Vaguely—but then he’d had other things on his mind after service. “Yeah, I forgot about their trip.”

  “Don’t think I didn’t see you steal that roll either, young man. Now here, take this plate of chicken out back. Lisa already set the patio table.”

  Nothing could brighten up a day better than Momma’s fried chicken. “You know you made that roll extra just ‘cause you knew I’d take it. I’m a growin’ boy, remember?”

  “Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but you stopped growing over a dozen years ago or more. Now hurry up. The food’s gettin’ cold.”

  Carrying the plate, he pushed open the back screen door with his foot.

  Lisa stood and grabbed it from him. “Sorry, I’m sitting here being lazy and making you do all the work.”

  “Story of my life.” The running joke of the men in the family was that their little sister got off easy. Growing up, she helped Mom cook and clean but never had to do any actual physical labor on the farm.

  That had been up to the boys after Dad died. Granted, their farm wasn’t a money-producing one, but the garden and few animals they’d had kept food on the table during the lean times.

  And there’d been plenty of those.

  “Stuff it, Josh. Otherwise I’ll let Greg eat all the rolls.”

  Josh’s love of Mom’s homemade crescent rolls was legendary. “He’d have to fight me for ‘em.”

  Greg, Lisa’s husband, pretended to flex an almost non-existent muscle. He was a great guy for his sister, super nice, but on the scrawny side, unlike the bulky Damen men. “Anytime, anywhere.”

  “I’m too afraid of Lisa to fight you, man. You can have the roll. That girl has nails and she ain’t afraid to use ‘em.” He knew from experience. She wielded those things like swords and with amazing skill, too.

  Lisa leaned over and kissed Greg on the forehead. “Nah, my man doesn’t need me to protect him. He can hold his own.”

  Her husband just laughed and patted her hand. “Keep those nails handy, just in case, okay, Babe?”

  The banter between the two made Josh smile and almost wish for a woman of his own to joke with. His dating life had been disappointing, to say the least.

  Kendra’s face popped into his head, but his stomach immediately developed a case of indigestion.

  No way did he have any romantic feelings for that woman. He was still trying to reconcile the fact that, at least for a little while, he was forced to work with her at church.

  Maybe this was God’s way of forcing him to right the wrong he’d made on Friday. Punishing him for his pride. But dating?

  Ha.

  No way.

  Pushing the wayward thought aside, he returned to the kitchen to help carry more food. A few minutes later, the patio table was jammed full with dishes that smelled heavenly. Mom took a seat beside him and folded her hands. “Josh, can you say the blessing?”

  “Sure.” He bowed his head and said a few words of thanks and asked God to bless the food and to give Kevin and Mark and their families a good time on their vacation.

  They’d only been eating a few minutes when Mom cleared her throat. “So, Josh. What do you think of Kendra?”

  Lisa paused, her potato-filled spoon mid-air. “Who’s Kendra?”

  The smile on Mom’s face was so obnoxiously big that it almost reached her ears. “A woman who just started coming to our church and is going to sing with Josh on the worship team. Her voice is—oh my goodness. Like an angel’s. She’ll be a wonderful addition. Don’t you think, honey?”

  Josh jabbed a piece of chicken with his fork. “Yup.”

  His sister eyed him. “Now that sounded enthusiastic.”

  “Sorry. In the five minutes I met her and listened to her sing, I think she is the greatest thing since Faith Hill. People will be flocking to church just to hear her voice. That better?” He really wished they could just change the subject. If his brothers were here, they’d at least be talking about football or something meaningful like that.

  His mother glanced at him, her eyes narrowed. “I thought you were acting a little odd with her. Something I need to know about?”

  He shoved another bite of chicken into his mouth to give him an excuse not to answer and shook his head.

  A spark glinted in his sister’s eyes. One he didn’t care for in the least. “Maybe my brother ha
s a little crush on this Kendra chick.”

  He pushed back his chair. “You know what? I’m not feeling great. Think I’ll head home.”

  “Oh, Josh, I was just joking. Sit back down. I’ll even give you my roll to apologize.” She lifted her crescent and dangled it toward him. “Come on. You know you want it.”

  He rolled his eyes and sat back down. “You can keep your roll. I’m just having an off day. Sorry.”

  Mom patted his arm. “Is it that client from Friday?”

  His head snapped up. “What? How’d you know about that?”

  “Ronny and I were talking at church before service, and he happened to mention it.”

  He needed to have a little talk with his lead landscape designer about sharing company issues with Josh’s mom. “It’s not a big deal.”

  Lisa looked between the two. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.”

  Mom barreled ahead without even looking his way. “Josh fired his first customer on Friday.”

  Lisa crinkled up her nose. “Fired a—how do you fire a customer?”

  “You hand them back their deposit and leave, that’s how. I don’t want to talk about it, though. Not one of my finer moments. It doesn’t matter now. Back to Kendra—” Only he knew both people in question were Kendra. But the subject of church and singing was much safer than work and firing. “I’m fine with her being on the team. I don’t have a crush on her. I just wish we could have taken a little more time with it all. We don’t know her at all at this point, except that she has a phenomenal voice.”

  His mom patted his arm. “Honey, we know plenty enough. She just moved here last month from Gatlinburg, where she attended a nice little country church. She’s only known Jesus for about a year, so her faith is new, but I could already see Jesus in her when we chatted before service. I believe she worked for one of the theaters in Pigeon Forge as a stage performer, but the theater closed, so she moved here to be closer to family. Her parents both died quite a few years ago in a plane crash. That young lady with her is Mari, and she’s her niece by marriage and is just home for fall break from UT Chattanooga. Oh and Kendra loves to cook so I told her I’d have to have her out soon to cook with me because honestly, she looks like a little young bird who needs a momma to love on her.”