His Plan: Book 3 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Small-Town Christian Romance

Chapter 10

Lenore pulled into the church parking lot on Friday, in time to see Beau get out of his truck and throw his hand up in a wave. She breathed a small sigh of relief to see him dressed as casually as she was, in jeans and a blue flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow.

Lenore had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to decide what to wear, and she'd changed a lot before finally deciding to pick something comfy and casual over dressy. It was only youth night, after all.

There was a tapping on her window and she looked up to see a puzzled expression on Beau's face.

He grinned and said through the glass, "You getting out?"

"Maybe," she replied with a nervous laugh. She wasn't even sure why she was second guessing herself, but all day long she had felt a hefty dose of anxiety about tonight, despite all the reassurances she'd gotten from both her parents and Beau. She couldn't help but feel nervous about meeting the teens. They're just kids, she reminded herself, for what felt like the hundredth time.

Beau raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Not afraid, are you?"

Lenore's eyes narrowed, a sense of determination filling her as she shut off the car and opened her door. "Definitely not."

He grinned, holding the door open for her as she got out. "You sure? Not even a little scared?"

Lenore shook her head. "You want me to be scared, Beau? Maybe you're afraid they'll like me better?"

Beau snorted, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Keep dreaming, honey."

Lenore rolled her eyes, and they walked together to the door. While Beau unlocked it, she looked around, again noticing the recent addition of the garden.

"When did we get a garden?" she asked, nodding her head toward it.

Beau glanced up, following her gaze. "A couple of years ago. It's kind of like a community thing," he added with a shrug, then he opened the door and stood back to allow Lenore to go in ahead of him.

"Thanks," she said as she eased past.

"My pleasure," Beau replied, tipping an imaginary hat with a grin.

When they got to the youth room, Beau again, held the door open for her and Lenore made her way over to a table in front of the window, but instead of pulling out a chair, she perched herself onto the table itself, crossing her legs as she did so. Her grip on the edge was so tight her knuckles turned white.

Beau turned away from her and walked to the copier in the corner. He turned it on and grabbed a piece of paper from a folder sitting beside it.

Lenore worried at her bottom lip as she watched him make several copies of the page before he picked them up and gave them a tap against the table to straighten them.

When he turned back to Lenore, he frowned. "You know I was only teasing earlier, right? There's really no need to be nervous. They're just teenagers," he said, repeating the same thing she'd been telling herself all afternoon.

"What makes you think I'm nervous?" Lenore asked as she glanced down at the papers in his hands. She noticed the heading on the top read, "Psalms 107."

"Well, for starters, you're biting your lip and if you hold on to the table much tighter, I'm not sure it'll survive," he added with a grin.

Lenore felt herself blush, but she let go of the table quickly and hopped down. "I'm not nervous. I'm just—" She cut herself off and cleared her throat. "What's this for?"

Beau passed her a page from the stack. "It's for a project I thought we might do with the kids. Ever heard of Bible Blackout? It wasn't on your Pinterest board," he said with a short laugh which seemed to ease the rest of Lenore's nerves.