42

Finn shoved his hands in his jacket pocket to avoid reaching for Darcy’s hand as they walked the path back to Lulu’s house. The last few hours had exploded the neat box where he had shoved every feeling he had for Darcy.

His head argued for the logical.

He was a pastor.

Her stay in Gibson’s Run was temporary.

Her spiritual needs must take priority in their limited time.

His needs and wants must remain secondary to helping her find her next path.

Her brother’s warning about her fragility reinforced the efforts of his sound, logical prosecution.

But his heart argued for the defense.

His sound, logical attitude had not kissed Darcy Langston.

His sound, logical attitude had not felt the soft touch of her hand against his.

His logical mind clearly hadn’t heard the tinkle of her laughter or seen the sparkle in her eyes when she spoke about the children’s program.

And the ultimate judge was quickly being swayed against keeping his emotional distance from Darcy since the first moment his lips touched hers.

Considering the hot and cold energy she had been giving over the last few days, he nearly fell over when she’d offered to help him in the church booth. His surprise was compounded by Darcy, who had an unknown superpower: sales.

Darcy talked to every patron as if she’d known them for years. Outgoing, personable Darcy was counter to every facet of her he had experienced. Her initial resistance to the children in the program and the bits and pieces he gathered from his cryptic conversations with Lulu, Darcy didn’t seem to like people. And yet, he witnessed her personally engage with nearly every person who approached the booth.

Were they interested in a jar of “heavenly raspberry jam” or maybe a nice wreath to “round out the front porch decorations”? From young to near ancient, Darcy charmed them all. Finn’s heart swelled with pride and something teetering on what he refused to name. Despite being the preview night, they had a steady stream of customers for the variety of packaged baked goods, jellies, jams, and odd collections of crafts the twelve committees had wrangled to support the church’s participation in the festival. All the proceeds from the booth would go to the food pantry and mid-winter school supply drive. After the preview evening’s unexpected success, they would need more inventory and likely have more than enough to support all the fresh produce for the food pantry well into the spring.

As they crossed Main Street, he caught the soft twist of Darcy’s lips.

“You had fun tonight.”

She lifted her gaze to his and nodded. “I used to work at an amusement park in the summers. I mostly was assigned to this little blown glass shop. New patrons would come in every day to find a special souvenir to mark their day at the park. I’ve never been one for a lot of traditional people connections but selling to people, helping them find something they’ll enjoy, is one of the best feelings.”

“You do amaze me, Dr. Langston.”

Her smile dropped to a frown. “I wish you’d stop calling me that.”

“Why? You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished. You’re an amazing young woman, Darcy.”

She turned away from him and quickened her pace to the corner turn to Lulu’s.

Shifting to a slow jog, he caught up with her long strides and laid a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged off his hand. “Please don’t touch me. I’ve been trying so hard tonight to ignore everything bubbling inside of me, but if you touch me, I don’t think I can be strong and resist.”

Finn locked his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. Her focus shifted toward the ground, not allowing him to look into her beautiful wide eyes. “Darcy, look at me.”

She shook her head. “If I do…I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

Finn couldn’t suppress the chuckle rumbling through his chest. “So warned.” Placing a finger under her chin, he forced her gaze to meet his. “Darcy, I’ve been trying hard not to touch you or hug you or kiss the frown off your face. It’s been a sheer act of divine will that I didn’t drop the wooden flaps and close five minutes after we took over the booth. When Marshall Smith asked you to explain what was in the raspberry jam that made it so heavenly, I wanted to knock his teeth in.”

Darcy bit her bottom lip, failing to keep a grin from her lips. “Knock his teeth in?”

He nodded. He slid his hands under her scarf, stretching his fingers along the smooth column of her neck. “I have been trying a mental court case. My pastor brain keeps telling me to be your friend. To help you figure out what path you need to take next. To support you with your aunt, and to keep our relationship squarely in the pastor-parishioner zone.”

Her lips softly parted. “A good argument. What does your man brain say back?”

“He doesn’t argue, because all he can do is remember what it feels like to do this.” He lowered his mouth to hers with a soft, gentle kiss. The touch was lighter than angel’s wings, but Finn felt branded.

Heat swept through him simultaneously firing all cylinders of his heart. Under his fingertips Darcy’s pulse quickened. Breaking the tender connection, he rested his forehead to hers.

“Well,” she said, her voice low and husky. “I agree with the scientific soundness of your pastor brain, but I have to say Man-Finn might be my favorite kind of Finn.”

“Mine, too.”