Joyfully Yours (5 page)

“Father Michael! Father Michael!” The voice of the little boy who was now dancing around their legs broke the trance. “Come see my train.”
 

Faith smiled as the boy, who had to be around five, tugged on his hand, pulling him over to the play area on the rug. “Looks like your services are needed, Father Michael.”

“Michael,” he said.

Faith shifted her attention from the boy to the man. “What?”

“You can drop the Father. My name’s Michael.” He allowed the little boy to drag him away.
 

Faith’s voice was no more than a whisper when she repeated it. “Michael.”

A small smile tugged at her lips as, instead of paying lip service to the small boy’s enthusiastic chatter, Michael got down on the floor and sat cross-legged, asking the boy serious questions about everything his train could do. The other boy, this one about three years old, wandered over and leaned into Michael’s side. Michael reached up and, in an action that seemed completely natural, pulled the little one into his lap while the discussion of trains continued.
 

Did he have to be so perfect?
 

Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, Michael stopped to check on her. The children’s corner had gotten crowded, and Faith and another volunteer worked hard to keep the peace, hand out juice boxes, and make sure all the kids made it to the potty before any accidents happened.
 

“You look like a natural,” Michael said when he stopped by for the tenth time that day. Not that she was counting or anything. And she certainly hadn’t paid any attention to the fact he had only popped his head into the kitchen twice.
 

“A natural?”
 

“With the kids. They all seem to really like you.”
 

Faith smiled. “I like them, too.”

Michael nodded with a smile of his own. “It shows.”
 

Faith discreetly pointed to a girl with platinum blond hair sitting on a corner of the rug reading a book. “See her? Sarah’s seven. She asked me how I thought she’d look with a streak of hot pink in her hair. She totally rocks.”
 

“What did you tell her?” Michael asked with a laugh.
 

“I told her to hold off. I did that once when I was sixteen. It looked cool, but my mother flipped her lid. The streak of pink didn’t look good enough to make it worth all the lectures I had to listen to. Sarah told me she completely understood.” Faith giggled. “She even rolled her eyes. She’s great.”
 

“I can see why the kids gravitate toward you.”
 

“Probably because I’m usually acting like one of them.”
 

“No,” Michael said, “it’s because you treat them with respect. You see them for who they are and you don’t talk down to them because they happen to be kids.”
 

Faith beamed at him. No matter which of her shortcomings were pointed out to him, he seemed determined to see only the good.
 

“Thanks,” she said.
 

“You’re welcome.”

Oh boy.
There was that look again. If he kept gazing into her eyes she was going to start getting ideas.
 

He was gorgeous, had a killer smile, and seemed to take a genuine interest in everyone he came into contact with. How was this man still single?

“How come you’re still single?”

Darn it
. Did she say that out loud? She’d been so distracted by
his
lips, she forgot to pay attention to her own wayward mouth.

A laugh escaped him. “What?”
 

“I mean, I’m just surprised.” Faith paused, trying to collect her thoughts, but couldn’t keep from doing some more blurting. “It’s just, I met a bunch of single women today. I thought they’d be all over you. You’re so…perfect.”
 

Dear. Lord.
Was it possible to die of embarrassment? That wasn’t what she’d intended to say. At all. She opened her mouth only to close it again. Her mouth, which seemed to have a mind of its own only seconds ago, was suddenly silent.
 

“You think I’m perfect?” He laughed again, and Faith heard all the blood in her body racing to her cheeks.
 

“Well, I just mean….” Damn it, why couldn’t she have forgotten how to form sentences two minutes sooner and spared herself this moment?
 

“Faith,” Michael said as he reached out for her hand and tugged until she looked up at him, “the women in my church think of me first and foremost as a priest. A few may show interest here and there, but when it comes down to it, I guess the whole man of the cloth thing is a real turn off.”
 

Faith sucked in a breath and then gave a startled laugh. She hadn’t expected him to couch things in quite those terms. But seriously, how could these women not see the man behind the collar? “They must be blind, deaf, and dumb not to notice what’s under the cloth.”
 

A shudder went through her. She yanked her hand from his and clapped both hands over her mouth. She would not allow one more word to slide from her lips today. She was taking a vow of silence. She should never,
ever
be allowed to speak anywhere near this man.
 

She stared at him. She waited for him to brush her off gently, maybe give her a tight-lipped smile.
 

But the rebuff didn’t come. He smiled all right, but it was warm and gentle and went all the way up to his eyes. He took a step closer so she had to tilt her head back to keep her eyes on his. He reached his hands up towards hers, but Faith shook her head. No way was she letting him take her hands from her mouth. That way was danger. Who knew what might come bubbling out next? She might propose to him.
 

Michael just nodded in response and continued on his way, gently pulling her hands down. Her head dropped forward, but he wouldn’t allow even that much escape. He used his finger on her chin to raise her eyes back up to his. “Faith, don’t look away. Please.”
 

She looked at him. Blessedly silent for now. Although, what could she possibly have left to say?

Chapter Five

“Father Michael!”
 

Saved by the parishioner.
Faith blew out a breath, unsure whether she was disappointed or relieved when Michael excused himself to go talk to the harried-looking woman demanding his attention. She turned her own focus back to the kids on the play mat. Throughout the day the group had changed as kids came and went when their parents stopped in to get a meal, get groceries from the food pantry, or volunteer.
 

Faith bit her lip as her gaze found Sarah, now digging through a box of musical instruments and noisemakers. The little girl reminded Faith of herself, rebellious even at the tender age of seven. The difference was at that age, Faith had a safe, happy, if a little nutty, home to go to each day. She’d never gone to bed hungry. Never worried about where she’d be sleeping that night.
 

Turns out Sarah was not so lucky. She and her mom were living in a shelter while her mom tried to find a job.

Faith shook her head, pushing away the melancholy thoughts. She might not be able to do much for the small family, but she could give the girl a few moments of happiness right now.

She walked over to see Sarah holding a pair of maracas. “Whatcha got there?”
 

“I was just looking through the instruments.”
 

“Do you like music?”
 

Sarah nodded enthusiastically, making a bubble of laughter rise from Faith. One more thing she and the little girl had in common.
 

“Me, too.” Faith dug through the bucket and unearthed a small pile of percussion instruments. She picked up one drum that swiveled back and forth causing the string with the bead on the end to swing around to hit the drum on each side.
 

She found a steady beat and then reached for one of Sarah’s hands, guiding her in shaking her maracas to the same beat. “Just like this.”
 

A little boy wandered over and Faith smiled encouragingly.
 

“Want to play?” She handed him her drum, helping him keep it moving as she grabbed a hollowed out wooden instrument with a drumstick to add in another beat.
 

Soon, all six of the children in the play area had instruments and Faith led them in an impromptu song, the sounds of their feet stomping adding to the music they were creating.
 

One of the smaller children missed a beat, and her little lip began to tremble. Faith quickly missed a beat herself and then shook her maracas close to her ear, making a show of pretending the problem was with the instrument. The little girl’s pout turned into a smile and the spontaneous performance ended abruptly in a pile of giggling, squirming bodies.
 

“I think you’re the answer to my prayers.”
 

She looked up from her spot on the bottom of the pile. Michael stood over them and Faith’s giggling ground to a halt. She turned her head to make sure no one was standing behind her. Empty. She turned back and stood silently, once again struck mute in his presence.
 

Hey, maybe that’s why the church ladies weren’t all over him all the time. His presence probably had the same effect on them as it did on her. It wasn’t that they didn’t notice the man. They just couldn’t get any words out in his presence.
 

“Faith?”
 

Oops.
Her wayward thoughts meant Michael had been left standing and staring at her after having made his little announcement. Of course, since Faith had spent the better part of her day ogling him, hearing she was the answer to his prayers had the tendency to addle her brain. It wasn’t her fault.
 

“Umm, answer to your prayers?”
 

“The woman who called me away is Chloe, she’s filling in for the church secretary. She wanted to let me know the music director had to cancel for tomorrow. That means the Saturday evening service is without music. Unless….”
 

His cajoling grin, coupled with the intent look in his eyes, made her instantly wary. He might not think women noticed the man behind the collar, but he sure knew how to put his masculine wiles to work when he needed them.
 

“Unless?”
 

“Well, you are a musician. And I saw what you taught the kids to do in just a few minutes….”
 

Church music?
He wanted her to play church music. She bit her lip trying to think of a way to let him down easy.
 

“I don’t really know any….” She paused. Would the phrase “church music” be offensive to him or was that just her? “Well, my music isn’t really the kind of music you hear in church.”

“Wanna bet?”
 

Michael’s smile grew mischievous and she could suddenly see why he got in trouble more often than his brother as a kid.
 

She wrinkled her nose. Maybe her mother had told him something about her music, something the older woman would imagine would appease a priest.
 

“Look, let’s just give it a try,” he said. “Can you take a break for a few minutes?”
 

Giving the children’s area a once over, she saw one of the little boys had been picked up and another volunteer had arrived.
 

“Sure?” She didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t sure at all.
 

Michael's gaze roamed the room. He turned in a circle while Faith tried to fold in on herself. What was the matter with her? She'd be helping the church and getting to do what she loved at the same time. It was the church music that was putting her off.
 

At least that's what she was telling herself.
 

Right now Faith wished the floor would open and suck her in. Any time now would be just fine with her. After a minute or so passed, she figured she'd have no such luck. There was nothing she could do but follow when Michael took her gently by the arm and led her over to the stage with the closed curtains at the front of the auditorium.
 

Oh, boy
. Was he bringing her up there to play? No way. Nope. Not gonna happen. Faith dug in her heels, pulling against Michael’s hold on her arm. He looked at her over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised.
 

Her eyes did a quick scan of the room. Was he really expecting her to play in front of all the church people? And she didn’t forget the fact her mother and sister were somewhere in the building. It had been a long time since they heard her play. Ever since she graduated from college and continued to play in dive bars, her mother had taken to calling it her "little hobby." As in, "I wonder when Faith is going to get over her little hobby and look for a real job." She had no desire to open herself to more of those comments.
 

She decided to go with playing dumb. "Where are we going?"