Home to You (23 page)

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There’s still a lot of things to do, so find something to do together. More importantly, ask her. And listen.”

Chase sighed. “I haven’t been listening. Man, I have to be there to listen.” He shook his head. Realizing his hat was a mess, he tossed it back into the empty chair.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Chase,” Dakota said.

“You’re grieving and it’s a long road. But you and Sarah aren’t alone.”

Glancing at the door, he said, “I need to go find her.

A lot of things have to change between us.”

Dakota hurt for his friend but he nodded his understanding. Sarah had been gone long enough that she’d had time to cool down. “It’s an ongoing process, brother,” Dakota advised him with one last word of advice. “Take it one step at a time. We’re all here to help you.”

Chase shook his head. “I want to but I just don’t know how. Guess I’m going to learn though.” He stood and grabbed his slightly out-of-shape hat. “Thanks, Dakota.” He started toward the door but paused. Turning back, he asked, “What am I going to do about her story?”

Dakota shrugged. His friend had made great strides today but the road was just starting. He thought how they could use the story with a positive angle. Suddenly he smiled. “Have her write a new one. Maybe you two could brainstorm together.”

Chase thought about it and nodded. “Thanks.”

He headed out the door just as three men came in.

Dakota looked in surprise as his assistant came rushing in around the three older gentlemen. “I told them you were busy.”

Dakota shook his head and straightened up in his
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chair. Reaching forward, he moved some papers aside.

“It’s all right. Chase is just leaving. I can make some time for them.”

This did not bode well. Three of the five elders stood before him. Zachary Bennett, the leader, hung behind Odel Baker and Justin Gonzales. Odel wore a long-sleeved shirt and dress jacket with jeans and boots. He was a follower, not a leader, and unfortunately, he’d been following Zach for as long as Dakota could remember. Justin was Spanish-American and owned a large ranch west of town. A good man, but he listened too much to Zach as well. He was in his late fifties, his dark brown hair shot through with silver threads. He was dressed the most casually of the three, wearing jeans, a long-sleeved striped shirt with a bolo tie around his neck. He carried a blue-jean jacket over his arm.

He wondered where Jess Denham and Blaine Geismer were, the other two elders, the only two who would stand up to Zach.

Leaning back in his chair, Dakota crossed his hands over his stomach and mentally braced himself. Offering up a quick prayer for guidance, he nodded toward the chairs. “What can I do for you gentlemen today?”

Odel took a seat in front of him. The oldest of the three, it looked as if he was going to be the spokesman.

Odd, considering Zach was the one who usually took control of the elders. “We’ve had some complaints, Pastor Ryder, about the fact you haven’t been spending as much time in church or with church activities.”

Dakota should have known this was coming. He had really thought it would blow over, however. He’d been seeing Meghan for a while now and was head over heels
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in love with her. Obviously, that wasn’t public knowledge. But him being seen around town with her and her living out behind his house
was
public knowledge.

Still, he wasn’t going to give in so easily to them coming to him about Meghan. He had a right to a private life—and some time off. He knew the whole situation boiled down to the fact that Zach was angry that he didn’t have control over him, the young, naive pastor, anymore.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Dakota said innocently. “I’m here my normal business hours.”

“That woman,” one of the elders muttered from behind Zach.

“Cindy McKinley?” Dakota asked, knowing very well that wasn’t who he’d meant. “Yes, I was very happy to see her back in church Sunday.” She hadn’t been there in a while.

He avoided smiling at the look on Justin’s face. Zach scowled, while Odel shook his head. “No. I mean yes, I’m sure it was nice to have her back in church, but we were talking about…” He trailed off and cleared his throat.

“Now, son, we understand she’s a pretty little thing, but you have the church’s reputation to think about.”

He frowned as if confused. Of course he wasn’t, but these men did irritate him sometimes.

Zach was having none of it. Impatiently, he snapped out, “Meghan O’Halleran. My wife and I told you it wasn’t good to be seen with her. It’s the rumors. And if that’s not bad enough, people are calling this church and getting an answering machine.You’re supposed to be here for them. And what about that youth project? Why aren’t you heading that up? Suddenly you have no time for that.”

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Dakota continued to frown. “I haven’t heard any rumors.” He didn’t want to admit how aggravated he was with these three men. They had caused problems from the first day he’d arrived. They felt he was too young, too inexperienced, too whatever, to run such a well-es-tablished church. Oh, it’d been couched in,
Let us help
train you,
but as they’d realized he wouldn’t give in over every circumstance, their fatherly attitudes had turned to resentment.

It didn’t look as if the subject of Meghan was going to go away, however. Maybe he’d made a miscalcula-tion in not putting his foot down earlier.

“That’s what I have a youth pastor for,” Dakota said simply.

Odel, empowered by the support of the other two, added, “You’re too worried about one tree to see the for-est. And, it seems the young lady has been giving beer to adolescents, namely, that young girl we just saw run out of here as we came in.”

Dakota shook his head to deny it. “You’d take a kid’s word over the principal’s?” He chuckled.

“This isn’t a laughing matter. You’re grieving the Holy Spirit, Pastor Ryder,” said Zach.

Heat flushed Dakota’s face—the heat of anger. Zach knew better than that. “Perhaps you’d better look to your own beam first, Zach. You know Meghan has MS

and that I’m involved with her. So what if I’m not spending as much time at church. Do you know my prayer life? Do you know when I’m at the hospital?

What I’m doing at night?”

“Well, that’s not good, either,” Justin added in his accented voice. “You won’t remember her grandmother
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well, but she was a handful. Very bitter woman and needed much help.”

Odel nodded. “She took up all of her daughter’s time.

The situation was so bad that eventually the son-in-law left and divorced the daughter. It was a tragic time in their family. And if you’re spending time visiting people at the hospital at night, what do you think will happen when you are even more involved with this woman and she needs all your time?”

“Meghan isn’t the same as her mother or grandmother,” Dakota warned, his voice low. He forced himself not to move a muscle where the vultures could see.

If he did, they’d see his anger, see that his hands shook.

Quickly he prayed quietly that God would help him calm down and try to keep their words in perspective.

They didn’t have supreme power over him. God did.

And if Dakota kept his eyes on God, not men, things would be okay.

“Maybe she isn’t her mother or grandmother, but the disease is the same,” Zach said dismissively. “You say you’re called to be a pastor and yet you’re so busy with this woman who takes up most of your time that the people of this church are suffering.”

“But she is a member of this church now,” Dakota argued, feeling his temper rise once again. “And name one person besides those in this office who has been complaining?”

“We can’t divulge names,” Zach said superiorly, which was, of course, the only excuse Zach could use, and not a good one, to keep information from him.

“What does my private life have to do with my job as pastor?” Dakota decided to take a different tack.

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Zach looked aghast at Dakota’s question. “How can you even ask that? Your moral obligation to this church is obvious.”

“My moral obligation to God obviously isn’t,” he muttered loud enough for them all to hear.

“What’s going on here?”

Ah. Blaine Geismer and Jess Denham came into the office, looking put out and out of breath, but there.

Blaine’s white hair was windblown, his white shirt askew, as if he’d dressed hurriedly. Jess, in his forties and the newest elder, looked plain mad, his dark hair covered by the baseball cap he still wore.

As if realizing he still had it on his head, he suddenly jerked it off.

Zach scowled while Justin frowned. Odel shrank in his chair at the confrontation.

Dakota leaned back in his chair and did his best to appear calm. “It seems I’ve been the topic of discussion lately at many a dinner table, gentlemen,” he told the two other elders who obviously hadn’t been informed of this meeting, if the looks they were tossing at the other three men were any indication.

He’d bet his assistant had called them, bless her heart.

“Well, now—” Blaine actually flushed as he tried to joke “—is that anything abnormal?”

Dakota chuckled because it really wasn’t. It seemed pastors were fair game for anyone who didn’t like what they said that Sunday.

Zach broke in. “This isn’t a time for levity, Blaine.

The pastor’s moral code is being called into question.

He’s taken to skipping workdays, taking time off to go
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gallivanting around the county and ignoring church members’ calls.”

Dakota didn’t deny a thing. What could he say when they were determined to accuse him without producing accusers?

“If this persists,” Justin said to Blaine and Jess, “we will have to ask for his resignation.”

Dakota sat forward, stunned that they would go that far. A slow fury built. “If you want to ask for my resignation, you’ll have to bring it before the church, and I think the church will support
me
in this. Speaking of which, if you can’t see the vision of this church, perhaps I should be asking for
your
resignations.”

Shouting erupted. From all five men.

Zach was clearly infuriated, but no more than Dakota.

It was Jess who regained control of the situation first. “No one is going to be asking for the pastor’s resignation. We’re here to support him and to help make sure this church is run biblically.”

Dakota felt properly chastised by Jess’s words. Not for being in love with Meghan, but for being so angry at the audacity of Zach, Justin and Odel.

“Biblically?” Zach scoffed. “Do you call it biblical when he shirks his duties? Mark my words. This is going to destroy the church. A house divided won’t stand.”

Zach stormed out.

Justin started out as well but paused at the door.

“Think about what you’re doing, Ryder.” Then he turned and left.

Odel slunk out, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

When they were gone, Jess and Blaine turned back
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to Dakota. “Is she a Christian, Dakota?” Jess asked bluntly. “We know about the time away from church, and that a woman will take more of your time. Not that we find that bad, but we need some details if we’re going to counter what Zach and his supporters are saying.”

Dakota nodded. “She’s asking about baptism, as well. She asked Jesus into her heart a few weeks ago.

She shines now. She has such a tender and exciting interest in everything about God. She’s searching and growing by leaps and bounds.” He suddenly realized he’d been going on and on about Meghan, and so he stopped.

Blaine sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “We weren’t informed about Zach’s desire to reprimand you, obviously, though we knew the elders weren’t happy that you were interested in this woman. Do you understand the disease she has? I know I don’t, but, well, I mean, have you prayed about it? Are you sure this isn’t going to interfere with your calling?”

Dakota resented the question, but realized they were simply concerned. He sighed. “I have done nothing but pray about it. I will admit I haven’t been putting in as many hours at the church, but honestly, I do feel that God sent Meghan my way for a reason. I’d gotten off track. Yes, I’m a pastor, but my relationship with God had been suffering. Seeing through her eyes, things are getting back to where they should be. I’m sorry if it means less hours here, but God, not this church, has to be first in my life.”

Blaine sighed. “You’re overworked, Pastor.”

Jess nodded his agreement.

Blaine continued, “As for Meghan, I’m glad for you
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if it’s God’s plan, brother, but there are three elders who are going to challenge you. Think hard about what you’re considering with this woman. It could cause a church split.”

Dakota wondered what had been going on with his life lately. He had been so busy with
things
and doing certain acts, that he hadn’t really taken the time he needed just to be with God, until Meghan had shown up and pointed out how busy he’d been
doing
instead of
serving
. How had his life gotten so busy that he’d forgotten God? That was why Meghan had come into his life. She had shown him, in her own gentle way, that he needed time with God, in peace and quiet, because his relationship with the Creator was more important than the creation.

Silently he thanked God for the wonderful woman He had sent his way to balance out his life, which had been out of control until now. And then he vowed, starting right now, that things were going to change.

“Dakota!” Chase came running into the office, interrupting their conversation. Alarmed, Dakota stood.

“I can’t find Sarah. I’ve looked everywhere. She didn’t come back in here, did she?”

“She hasn’t been in here. Wait,” he said as Chase turned to leave. “What happened?”