The organ blasted out, its deep notes stifling any possible reply. Not that he had one. Gray turned to face forward as Reverend Maitland walked in, his long white robe fanning out behind him.
He could still feel the burning on the back of his neck. The one that told him he was being watched. Maybe he should have brought some security to town with him, but really, what kind of asshole brought protection into their local church? It was a lose-lose situation. Either he sat here and took it, or he acted like a diva and walked out. As Aunt Gina looked up at him, her concerned expression illuminated by the half-light, he realized he was in for the count.
He just had to get through the next hour. He could do that, couldn’t he?
And then he’d avoid church for the next millennium or so.
* * *
Maddie busied herself in the still-quiet diner, wiping down tables that were already clean and rearranging the menus stacked in their holder on top of the counter. She always hated this part of Sunday, the calm before the storm, when church let out and everybody rushed to the diner to try and secure their favorite seats.
Last week there’d almost been a fight between Mary-Ellen Jones and Lucy Davies as they both tried to slide their ample behinds into the booth near the front door. It had taken ten minutes of negotiation and the offer of free pastries before Lucy could be persuaded to take the booth behind it.
The bell above the door rang out and Cora Jean walked in, her glorious silver hair pulled back into a perfect bun. Despite her age, she was sprightly, and still loved to work every Sunday to cover the post-church rush. She also managed to put the fear of god into most of Hartson’s Creek’s teenage population.
Seeing Cora reminded Maddie of her conversation with Gray. He wasn’t really planning to write a Trip Advisor report, was he? If he did, she’d have to refute it and apologize to Cora Jean. Oh god, what if it went viral?
She shook her head at her own idiocy. It’d seemed so funny pretending to be someone else at the time.
“What are all those folks doing hanging around the church?” Cora Jean asked as she hung her jacket on the row of hooks beside the counter. “I haven’t seen so many young’uns up this early since they released the last Harry Potter book.”
“That was ten years ago,” Maddie said, amused.
“Yeah, well they don’t make kids like they used to. They’re too busy watching videos on their phones and writing bleats to care about books anymore.” Cora Jean pulled her apron over her head, expertly avoiding her hair. “Do you know I miss the days when you were all television addicts?”
“Bleats?” Maddie repeated.
“You know, that twitter thing. Bleats. Don’t tell me you don’t know what they are?”
“They’re tweets. As in birds. That’s why it’s called Twitter.” Maddie had to bite down a laugh. “And I’m not sure the kids use that any more. It’s all Snapchat and Instagram. Anyway, why are there so many people at the church? Is there a christening or something?”
“Not that I know of.” Cora Jean shrugged. “They’re all sitting on the steps like they were waiting for a bus. With their phones stuck in their hands, of course.”
“I’m going to look.” Maddie walked to the door and stared out. The First Baptist Church was at the opposite corner of the big green grass square, partially obscured by the bandstand and oak trees that nestled around it. She craned her head up anyway, but it was no good. She couldn’t see a thing.
“You okay here if I leave for a moment?” she asked Cora Jean, who nodded.
Outside, Maddie walked around the square, stopping on the other side where, sure enough, there was a crowd of at least thirty people, all staring up at the whitewashed walls of the First Baptist building. When the oversize wooden doors opened the crowd started to buzz. Those who’d been sitting on the steps stood and surged toward the open door. The others joined them, pushing their way through with elbows, holding their phones up in the air.
“Is Gray Hartson in there?” one of the girls shouted.
“Yeah, we want Gray.”
The noise increased, and Maddie stood frozen to the ground, a little appalled and way too entertained.
Was Gray really in there? What the hell was he thinking? Hartson’s Creek might have been a sleepy little town, but it wasn’t comatose. News spread as quickly here as it did in LA and New York and whatever other city he was used to.
Quicker, probably, because bored people loved gossip.
Reverend Maitland appeared in the doorway. Even from here, Maddie could see the confusion on his face at the sudden interest the local kids were showing in the First Baptist Church. He held out his hands and she half expected the crowd to part like the Red Sea, but instead two girls ducked behind him and ran into the building.
“Young ladies!” Reverend Maitland called out, his brows pinched together. “The service is over.”
Maddie stifled a laugh. This was all so preposterous. And so out of the ordinary for a Sunday in Hartson’s Creek.
Another teenager bumped into Reverend Maitland and the smile slipped from Maddie’s face. Somebody was going to get hurt. Reverend Maitland stepped forward to steady himself, and the space he’d vacated was immediately filled by more people.
Maddie let out a big mouthful of air and walked toward the church, frowning as Reverend Maitland was forced down another couple of steps. “Hey!” she called out, trying to push through all the people. “You guys need to chill. Stop pushing.”