"And to hear the word of the Lord."

"And that," Jacob says with a smile.

"Well, I'm glad to be part of it, and glad I could bring Evangeline and Chast.i.ty as well."

Rowan saunters back into the room with a second plate of food and two beers, his eyes flicking to mine before I look away.

"Oh, and Rowan here is a handy guy. He'll be on site when he can get away from the bar to help with the bigger construction stuff."

"I thought it was a restaurant?" Chast.i.ty frowns.

Jacob shakes his head, chuckling. "O'Donnell's? Oh, please." He laughs heartily. "Rowan's cleaned it up, but I'm not sure I'd eat anything I found there."

Rowan chuckles as he pa.s.ses Silas a beer and takes a sip from his own.

"I've heard about your handiness, Rowan." My father addresses him from across the table.

"Oh yeah?"

"The pipes. Evangeline told me all about you coming over to fix the water."

"Oh that was nice of you honey," Irene says as she reaches across the table and pats his arm.

"Such a gentleman," Silas says with a slight twinkle in his grin as he shakes his head at his friend.

Rowan beams as he turns back. "Yeah, no problem. The whole thing was real transparent once I got a good look at it."

My eyes dart to his and realize he's looking right at me with that grin on his face.

I shiver.

Transparent.

He's talking about my shirt, and I know it.

"That's where you get the bruise?" Ivy frowns as she looks at the b.u.mp on the side of Rowan's head. "From a pipe?"

My brow furrows, and I'm about to open my mouth when he shoots me a quick look.

"Yep."

He holds my eyes for another second before he turns back to his sister and takes a sip of beer. "Yeah, it's fine though."

I'm in the kitchen after dinner and after Ivy and Silas leave, helping to put dishes put away, despite Irene insisting that we leave it be.

I told her it was my southern roots that wouldn't let me not help.

Chast.i.ty said something about the kitchen being a woman's place that left a bit of an awkward silence.

"Need a hand?"

Rowan's voice behind me sends a shiver through me.

No, not a shiver. A tingle.

I think that's worse.

"We're fine," I say quickly, standing up on my toes to push a salad plate up onto the higher shelf. Rowan ignores me, reaching up over me to pluck the precariously held plate from my hand and place it where it belongs.

"You're welcome."

"Oh, Row," Jacob comes into the kitchen, and Rowan immediately steps away from me.

"You sure you can't make it tomorrow?"

"Hands are tied Dad. Monday's have been good."

"People drink on Mondays?" Chast.i.ty says with disdain in her voice.

"All day," Rowan tosses back, leaning forward to grin past me at her. Chast.i.ty looks scandalized.

"You still think you can part with some sodas and cups for the crews?"

He nods, sipping his beer. "Yeah, totally. I ordered extra for the week."

"If there's any way you could load the truck up tonight, we need to be there early tomorrow."

Rowan shrugs. "No problem, Pop."

"Great, thanks." He turns and starts to head back to the living room where my parents are when he turns. "Why don't you ladies go over with Rowan after dinner and give him a hand?"

"To the bar?" Chast.i.ty balks disdainfully after Rowan's father leaves the room.

Rowan turns to her. "Hey, do you know much about poles?"

"What?"

I glare at him and he grins. "Nothing. And yes, we're going to the bar. You can even meet my employee." He leans close to Chast.i.ty, wagging his eyebrows. "She's a lesbian, just as a heads up."

Chast.i.ty's eyes go wide. "A gay?"

"Big, big gay, yeah," Rowan nods, and poor Chast.i.ty pales as she whirls back to me. "I am not setting foot into that den of filth, Eva. And if your father knew about this, there is no way he'd-"

"Climb on in and join the twenty-first century, sweetheart," Rowan says with a roll of his eyes. "The water's great." He turns, nodding a chin at me. "You still in?"

"Yes." I say it without hesitation, and he grins as Chast.i.ty gasps in horror.

"I'm going to grab my dad's truck out of the garage. Meet you out front."

"Eva!" Chast.i.ty gasps in horror after he's ducked out of the kitchen.

"Chas, we're getting soda and plastic cups. I don't think my mortal soul is in any sort of danger."

"Your father says the devil is in the details," she says icily, scowling at me.

"Right, but not the Diet c.o.ke."

Her lips thin. "I worry about you, Eva."

"Chast.i.ty, I'm just going to get some refreshments for tomorrow, okay? I'll be just fine."

"No, it's more than that. It's ever since you got back from Korea. It's ever since you broke up with Joseph."

My eyes narrow. "I didn't break up with Joseph, Chast.i.ty. He left me for someone else. There's a slight difference. And please don't tell me you're with my parents on that whole thing about how I should have done more to 'keep him'."

She bristled. "And if I am?"

"Then keep it to yourself," I spit back. "Now, if you're really not coming, I'm going to go do this and try not to get dragged into purgatory by way of a case of root beer."

"Fine" she hisses. "And I'll be in my room, praying for you."

Chapter Eight.

Evangeline

"So, she's fun."

I turn to Rowan in the dark cab of his dad's pickup truck as he pulls up behind O'Donnell's. "Oh, Chast.i.ty?"

He gives me a look and I smile and shake my head. "She's...she means well. She's just never been out of Georgia, and she maybe spends a little too much time at church."

He whistles. "Wow, says the preacher's daughter? How scandalous."

"Coming from the minister's son who owns a dive bar and was ogling my chest the other day, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I wasn't ogling."

I turn and give him a look.

"I was admiring."

I do my best to scowl through the heated blush that creeps over my cheeks. "I am not that kind of girl, you know."

"And what kind of girl is that."

"The kind that thinks it's cute when you say filthy things to her."

"I didn't think you were."

"Yes you did," I say quietly as he holds my eyes. "Well, I'm not, okay?"

"If you say so." He steps out of the truck. I follow.

"I do."

"What?"

"I do say so."

He grins. "Well alright then, I guess we're agreed. Not the kind of girl that gets all blushing and fl.u.s.ters when I tell her she's got a fantastic pair of t.i.ts."

And of course, my face goes red.

He smirks. "Glad we got that cleared up."

He opens the back door to the bar, and music blasts out from up the hall in the bar area.

"So, you got that bruise fixing the pipe, huh?"

He turns, giving me a quick look before stepping through the doorway.

"That's funny, I don't remember you getting clocked in the face."

"Strange."

"What happened?"

Rowan shrugs. "Hey I'm just gonna go check on Jade and make sure she's alright up there. You want anything?"

I shake my head.

"Beer?"

"No, of course not."

"Right," he grins, shaking his head. "I'd hate for you to have fun."