Between Heaven and Rock (The Swallow Barn Cottage Series, Book 3)

It's 21st Century After All

"So, you decided to be a priest when you were six," she drew out slowly, picking up a piece of mouth-watering beef on her fork. "Blimey, this food's amazing!"

"That's George's cooking," he pointed out, and Ulla raised her eyebrows signalling her confusion. "The stew. It was cooked by my other sister-in-law," he explained and sat down in front of her with his plate.

Evading much, Reverend Holyoake? Nope, still causes a twitch.

"Wait, it doesn't add up in my mind," Ulla said and chewed pensively. "Your brother John, my boss, is married to Clementine Popplewell, the mystery writer. She bakes."

"Thus, the five kinds of biscuits in the freezer," he said with a laugh and put a forkful of the stew in his mouth. God, he's fit. The way his lips close around the fork, and that movement of his throat... Focus on the fact that in his mind you'd probably burn in hell for what you've just imagined doing to him.

"Right. And your other brother, Will Holyoake, the awesomest writer in the world, whom I want to be when I grow up," she said, and he snorted. "–is married to Fiona, the illustrator. And a... former landlady?" she asked. He nodded confirming. "Then who's George?" Ulla asked.

"George is my sister Di's partner. They aren't legally married, but George asked to address her as Di's wife, so we all do," he answered.

Wait– what?

"And you're– fine with that?" Ulla asked, gawking at him.

"With what?" he asked nonchalantly.

Ah, you see, he's not 'quacking' anyone here. She'd been attentively watching his micro-expressions long enough to know he knew exactly what she was referring to. He just chose to pretend ignorant. And to think of it, he'd been doing it a lot, hadn't he?

"You know what I mean," she said and pointed at him with her fork.

He looked up at her and did that - bloody sexy! - movement with his jaw, swallowing and pursing his lips. Oh my.

"Are you inquiring whether I'm a homophobe?" he asked.

"I assumed you were," she bit back. "Isn't it in your Bible?"

He chuckled and put another forkful of the stew in his mouth. Ulla continued pinning him down with a direct look, while he chewed and swallowed his food.

"Firstly, it's just one Bible," he said, laughing softly. "One for all, and all for one."

What?! Alexandre Dumas?! Seriously?!

"And secondly, no, I'm not a homophobe." He shook his head. "Nor am I planning to preach such ideas in my church. Thankfully, I have a liberal minded bishop, and he approves of my convictions."

Ulla stuffed more food in her mouth and considered his words.

"Traditionally, my family is Catholic," he added. "I went to a Catholic seminary first, and after my Course of Formation, I became a deacon in a small inner-city church in Bristol. But I had a crisis of faith." He paused, and for a few seconds his gaze was distant. Ulla held her breath. He sighed and returned his attention to her. "Eventually, I converted into Anglicanism. The 'via media' of the Church of England simply aligns better with my personal values," he said with a shrug, "including the Church's stance on sex, LGBTQIA+ community, and divorce."

Blimey. Not just LGBTQ, but I as well. And A. And the plus.

"You're blowing my mind here," she muttered.

"I'm hoping to officiate my sister's wedding if they pass the decree allowing same-sex marriage in 2022," he said.

"Well, blimey," Ulla drew out. Live and learn, as they say. "That is... amazing, actually." She gave him a shocked look over. "I have to admit - and I never admit that I'm wrong, even if I totally am, so savour the moment, please," she said, and he chuckled again. "But I had a completely different understanding what an organised religion was like. My parents were scientists, as I mentioned," she added. "My father was a researcher and professor of genetics. My mother was a neurobiologist. To them, any sort of a belief unsubstantiated by hard evidence was a delusion that warranted medicating the person with some strong chemicals."