24

BY SUNDAY MORNING, Ella felt like she had a fifty-fifty chance of winning this battle. Seth had actually been a big help, and she was pretty sure at least one family would stay away, another would come and vote in favor of keeping the church, and the others were anybody’s guess. She whispered a prayer as she entered the church behind Dad, pushing Gran in her wheelchair.

The service seemed to take forever. The only part Ella paid attention to was yet another sermon from Richard about storing up treasures in heaven—he’d apparently decided to do a series on the subject. His words left her feeling gloomy. He made some excellent points about not putting too much stock in what you had on earth, but looking ahead to eternity instead. But surely the church wasn’t earthly treasure; it was the house of God. This was different, wasn’t it? Ella toyed with Gran’s ring on her right hand. It was valuable to her because it was a gift from her grandfather to her grandmother, not because it was gold studded with a diamond. Didn’t that make it the right sort of treasure? Ella felt less certain than she once had.

She admired the arched windows with their etched glass, the mellow wood floors, the coal stove that was rarely used anymore, and the high ceiling with the pendant lights hanging at intervals. How could anyone not love this place? She glanced at Gran, who looked peaceful and poised. She still couldn’t say more than a word or two, but she’d made her desire to be there for the vote abundantly clear. For the first time, Ella wondered how Gran would vote.

Finally, Richard offered up the closing prayer and invited members to stay for the congregational meeting. No one got up to leave, not even the handful who weren’t members, like Seth and Keith Randolph. Ella looked around at the biggest crowd she’d seen in the building maybe ever. If only they’d come sooner. Still, this might be the impetus they needed to renew their faith. She tried to get comfortable on the hard pew, determined to remain optimistic.

“Let’s open in prayer,” Richard said.

Thankfully the prayer was short. Richard called Steve Simmons to the pulpit. “Steve, I believe you’re the one who’s going to present the proposal to sell the church property.”

Steve stood, blew his nose, made his way to the pulpit, cleared his throat three times, and finally launched into a droning list of reasons why it would benefit Laurel Mountain Church to sell the property. He recommended relocating to a lot two blocks off Main Street in Wise that was currently available for a song through his cousin’s brother-in-law’s uncle. He resumed his seat amid much head nodding and a few agreeable murmurs. Ella watched those she thought were swing votes, but didn’t trust her interpretation of their expressions.

Richard stepped forward again. “And now I believe Mavis Sanders is going to offer a recommendation to remain here at the current location.”

Mavis sprang to her feet more quickly than you’d expect a woman who needed a cane. “Ella Phillips is going to make our case,” she said and plopped back down.

Ella choked, coughed, and swiped at her suddenly watering eyes. She looked around as though for an escape but only found expectant faces. Dad nodded and winked. Gran grinned like she’d gotten exactly what she wanted for Christmas, and Seth tilted his head toward the pulpit.

Ella wiped sweaty palms on the rough fabric of her skirt and stood. Were her legs shaking? She made her way to the front and looked out at people she’d known most of her life. She took a deep breath, inhaling on a prayer. She could do this.

“Laurel Mountain Church has been standing for more than a hundred and fifty years. My family has been attending here for seven generations, and those of us who aren’t sitting in the pews are out there in the cemetery.” She laughed lightly, but her audience barely cracked a smile.

“I know there are challenges with this building.” She waved a hand to encompass the water-stained ceiling, rattling windows, and cobwebby corners. “But there are memories here we can’t just pack up and move to a new building. Mavis’s great-great-grandfather built this pulpit”—she caressed the wood—“and my own grandfather Casewell made the collection plates. Our ancestors saw the need for a church in this community and they built it from the ground up. Their children and their grandchildren were baptized, married, and buried in this place.” Ella felt like she was gaining ground. She spoke with more animation.

“There’s still a need for a church in this community. The answer isn’t to sell the property and sacrifice our heritage; it’s to stay right where we are and build on the foundation our forefathers laid.” Ella wondered if using the word forefathers was a bit much, but she kept going regardless. “Those who want to sell the church think it’s better to start over from scratch rather than continue building on what we have right here.” Ella ran out of steam. “So, I hope you’ll vote to keep the property”—she caught Keith’s eye—“and continue to make our new neighbors feel welcome.”

Ella made her way back to the pew and sat near Gran, who reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. She risked a look at Seth, and his warm smile made her feel like they’d already won.

Richard asked for any other comments, and after a few church members added their pros and cons to the discussion, it was time for the vote. Members were given a slip of paper with the words SELL and DON’T SELL printed on them. They were asked to circle their preference and drop the slips in the very collection plates Casewell crafted. Ella dropped hers in and helped Gran make a mark on her paper, holding her breath until Gran indicated that she didn’t want to sell. Ella inhaled deeply, feeling like this might turn out all right after all.

Richard, Dad, Steve, Mavis, and two others took the slips up front to tally them. Maybe it was just Ella, but the tension seemed to swell and thin the air in the sanctuary. Gran kept patting her hand, which felt annoying after a bit. Finally everyone resumed their seats as Richard moved back to the pulpit. He took a deep breath and lifted a slip of paper.

“Well, folks, it was really close, but we do have a majority.” He looked out over the congregation. “And the majority is in favor of . . . selling.”

Ella couldn’t breathe. Then she gasped and started to jump to her feet, but Gran kept a firm hold on her hand. Ella registered surprise that Gran was that strong.

“All right,” Gran whispered. “All right.”

Tears sprang to Ella’s eyes as she watched Steve shake hands and accept what had to be congratulations. She saw Mavis disappear out the door and felt like she’d let the older woman down. Richard approached her, and she rose to her feet, not sure what to feel.

“I know you’re disappointed,” Richard said, “but I hope you might find consolation in the fact that God uses everything for good and He’ll use this, too.”

Ella stared at Richard as though he were speaking a foreign language. “Good?”

“Absolutely. This could be His plan. Maybe it’s time to let go of the past and try something new.”

Ella felt Gran lay a hand on her elbow. Ella could feel comfort radiating from her even without words.

“Of course, it may take some time to adjust to the idea,” Richard said, taking a step back. “I think I’ll go speak to Henry about next steps. Selling the property will require a great deal of paper work.”

Ella stared at the space where Richard had stood. Maybe she was in shock. She just couldn’t believe that the members would let the church go.

“You won’t have to move the cemetery.”

Ella whirled to find Keith standing just behind her in the aisle. “What?”

“We can put a nice fence around the cemetery and leave it right where it is. Won’t matter a bit to the hunters or the preserve. The church property is a little over ten acres and the cemetery is less than two, so it should be fine.” He had such a sincere look. “Of course, you won’t be able to add to it.”

“Right.” Ella wanted to be appreciative, but was having a hard time getting through the haze of . . . well, grief. “Thank you for that.”

Keith nodded and moved to join his daughter, who was chatting and laughing with Richard.

Ella suddenly wanted to go home more than anything. “Are you ready, Gran?”

Gran gave a nod, and Dad began pushing her out to the car, Ella dragging her broken heart along behind them.

Perla could feel the disappointment coming off her granddaughter in waves as they started the drive back to that awful nursing home.

“I was so sure we would win.” Ella spoke as though to herself.

“Win?” Perla echoed.

“You know what I mean—keep the church. And I can’t believe Richard would try to tell me it’s a good thing. And I used to think I liked him.”

Perla dredged up the word she wanted. “Fickle.”

Ella’s voice rose a notch. “It’s obvious he doesn’t care about our history and heritage. He just wants more people to come to church.”

“Hmmm.”

The quiet didn’t last long. “What do you mean, ‘hmmm’?”

“Church . . . business.”

“What? Getting more people to come? But he can do that at Laurel Mountain. If the church wasn’t growing, we just needed to do something different. Maybe Richard isn’t the best pastor for us. Maybe we need someone local who can appreciate our heritage and understand us better.”

Perla concentrated until she’d pinned down several words and then chose the one she liked best. “Invitation?”

“What?”

“Who . . . invited?”

Ella huffed. “I went house to house with Seth talking about the importance of the church in the community. I did more than anyone else to save it.”

Perla breathed a prayer and kept her tongue, which was certainly easier now than it used to be. Henry was also remaining admirably silent. He’d gotten smarter over the years.

“I just . . . I don’t know, Gran.” Ella reached for the door handle as they pulled to a stop at Hillside Acres. “I’ll think about what you said.”

Perla smiled. Considering how little she’d spoken, she felt optimistic that Ella was hearing from someone much wiser than her grandmother.

Ella didn’t understand why they had to practice the wedding ceremony. How hard could it be? The family entered, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, then came the bride down the aisle, there was some music, some words, and voilà, Will and Laura would be married. They’d almost certainly be the last couple to get married at Laurel Mountain Church. Maybe that thought was what soured Ella as they fussed over each person’s entrance. Their steps had to be timed to the music, making sure everyone arrived up front when the song ended and the bridal march began. And the infuriating step . . . pause. Step . . . pause.

As the best man, Dad escorted Laura’s sister Helen while Seth accompanied Ella up the aisle. At first, all of Ella’s energy had gone toward maintaining just the right degree of irritated silence so everyone would know how upset she was about the sale of the church. But as soon as Ella linked her arm through Seth’s, she forgot about her frustration. That hair-raising tingle happened every single time she touched the man. It would have been frustrating if it weren’t so delicious. And she’d gotten over being mad at him since he’d helped her fight for the church.

On their fifth trip up the aisle, Ella got the giggles. She was tempted to touch, release, touch, release just to see if the jolt would happen each time. She tried to compose herself, but Seth got tickled too. Then Dad smiled, and Ella did a little skip to match her steps to Seth’s and Helen started laughing. Finally, even Will and Laura recognized that they’d walked up the aisle one time too many, and all of them had a good laugh before deciding the rehearsal was over and moving on to dinner. The restaurant they’d chosen had a buffet featuring prime rib on Friday nights.

Richard left early, saying he needed to get ready for Sunday’s sermon as well as the wedding. Ella spent a good part of the evening chatting with Seth and found that the more she was around him, the more she liked him. If only he weren’t going to be part of destroying Laurel Mountain Church. Of course, Keith was paying her to help decorate the lodge, which made her feel like she was in cahoots with him herself. She and Kristen had finished all their shopping back in March and would begin arranging everything the week after the wedding. Ella tried hard not to look forward to it.

On her way back from the bathroom, Ella stopped to watch her family interacting with Laura’s. They all seemed so happy, so pleased by the wedding. And Gran sat in the middle of it all. She and Aunt Sadie, who’d come in for the wedding, arrived late and planned to leave early, although it looked like Sadie was having a good time talking to Laura’s uncle Gilbert. Maybe Ella should offer to take Gran home.

She started toward Gran, but then pulled back, stumped by a sudden thought. Where was home? Was it with her grandmother? Her parents’ house where she’d grown up? Could it be the apartment back in Craggy Mount where she thought less and less of returning? Ella’s heart told her home was where her family had lived for generations, even if they were about to lose the church. Home was the place where her roots had taken hold, and even if she tried, even if she wanted to, she could never pull them up. She squared her shoulders. Maybe it was time to take Richard’s sermon to heart and consider exactly where her treasure lay.