“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,” Sarah said.

“Do you like music?”

Sarah nodded enthusiastically, making a bubble of laughter rise from Faith. One more thing they 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 instructed Sarah to shake her maracas one at a time to keep the beat she was making on the drum. A little boy wandered over and Faith handed him her drum and encouraged him to keep the beat 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.

When one of the smaller children missed a beat, 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.”

The laughter flew from Faith’s face as she looked up from her spot on the bottom of the pile to see Michael. Faith 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. Maybe he had the same effect on them as he did on her. It wasn’t that they didn’t notice the man. They just couldn’t get any words out when he was around.

“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….”

The cajoling grin he laid on her coupled with his intense gaze 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’re a musician. And I saw what you taught the kids to do in just a few minutes.” He let the sentence hang there, obviously waiting for her to step in and fill in the blanks.

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 the idea of what he was going to ask her to play was making her stomach tighten.

Michael's gaze roamed the room. He turned in a circle while Faith tried to fold in on herself. What the heck was wrong with her? She'd be doing a good thing 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 told herself.

She wasn't dwelling on the fact her mother and sister were here. Nope, not one little bit. Not at all. It’d been a long time since they heard her play. Ever since she graduated from college and started playing 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."

Right now she wished the floor would open and pull 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. She dug in her heels. Michael looked at her over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

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

"There're some instruments behind the stage. I thought we could grab a guitar so you could try out a song. See if you feel comfortable playing our church music."

Faith narrowed her eyes at his reference to church music.

She gestured toward the stage with a sigh. "Lead the way."

Michael slid a hand to the small of her back, guiding her to the front of the room. Despite the two layers of t-shirt she was wearing, his touch made her shiver. She liked the way he walked with her, his shoulder almost brushing against hers. She could feel his body heat. And damn if the man didn't smell delicious.

She tried to imagine what kind of cologne a priest would use. She smiled to herself as she pictured him in his black shirt and white tab collar braving the gauntlet of perfume snipers at the cosmetics counter at the mall.

“What's that smile for?"

Faith just shook her head at his question. No way was she explaining that thought.

When they reached the front of the room, Michael had her sit on the edge of the stage. He took a few steps away from her before turning back. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a sec."

He must’ve sensed she wasn’t totally on board with this. But since she promised her help, Faith sat dutifully, taking in the room from her new perspective. Having spent most of the day in her corner working with the kids, she’d missed a lot of what was going on. But now she could see the long tables and chairs set up in the back by the kitchen were full of people getting a hot meal.

At the other side of the room, tables were set up almost like the aisles of a grocery store. They were loaded with cereal, canned goods and fresh produce. The volunteers helped people bag up groceries, talking and laughing as if they’d just run into each other at the local market.

A warm gooey feeling filled Faith’s chest. Despite getting out of bed way earlier than she would have liked, and despite the fact she was about to be dragged into playing church music, she was really happy she'd come today.

"I found it.” Michael slipped through the side curtain from backstage, brandishing an acoustic guitar. And a pretty nice one at that.

Faith took the guitar and sat it on her lap. She played with it for a few minutes, getting a feel for the sound and making sure it was in tune. Once done, she draped her arm over the top and looked at Michael. She had no idea what to play that would be suitable for church. But there he was with that little boy grin again.

"What should I play?"

“Do you know Beautiful Day by U2?”

Her mouth dropped open. She'd played that song at bar gigs. "You want me to play that in church?"

She could just picture her mother's face when she heard Faith playing that for a church service.

"Relax, Faith." Michael sat next to her on the stage and gave her a warm smile. His blue eyes warmed with it, too. "Every Saturday night we have a mass where we play popular music. Afterward, we meet for cake and coffee and sometimes more music. It's fun, and it brings in a lot of people we normally wouldn't get to attend mass."

A warm, fuzzy feeling bloomed in her chest. She hadn't set foot in a place of worship since she'd moved out of her mother's house. A childhood of being dragged from church to synagogue to revival tent had been more than enough to put her off organized religion. But the pull of good music and friends sounded like exactly the reason she became a musician in the first place.

She nodded at him and her heart squeezed with joy as she began to dance her fingers over the guitar strings. She closed her eyes as the melody and the lyrics came to her. After a short lead-in where she got herself warmed up, she added her voice to the strains of the acoustic guitar. She sank into the music.

* * *

Her voice lifted, weaving its way through the song and Michael couldn’t pull his gaze from her if his life depended on it. A small smile played over her lips and her eyes closed a few notes into the song. Her throaty voice made one of his favorite songs sound as though it were written just for her to sing. He was mesmerized.

Faith finished the song, the last note hanging in the air. A deep breath moved her chest up and down before she opened her eyes. He could pinpoint the precise second she let go of the music and remembered her audience. Her eyes widened as her gaze traveled the room. Her fingers slid over and over the smooth surface of the guitar and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

The utter silence in the room that had been filled with noise since early that morning finally pulled his attention from her. It seemed every face in the church auditorium had turned in their direction.

“I….” Before Faith could get more than one word out, the silence was shattered. Her captive audience woke from the spell she’d cast and broke into applause.

Michael couldn’t help but grin at the charming flush that stained her cheeks. She inclined her head, acknowledging the applause.

“That was wonderful.” Mrs. Favreau, one his elderly parishioners, walked over and patted Faith’s hand where it rested on her guitar. The seal broken, several more people approached to share how much they’d loved Faith’s song.

She sat at the center of what was turning out to be quite a crowd. His eyes traced over her face—shining eyes, small smile, the teeth showing up to tease her bottom lip from time to time. And his gut twisted again, the same as it had a few minutes ago when her voice played over him.

In the middle of responding to one volunteer, Faith turned her head and smiled at him, including him in her obvious joy at sharing her music.

Damn. If she laid that look on him one more time, she’d own him. He sent a quick, silent prayer of thanks up for having the music director cancel on him.

He shook his head from side to side to clear his thoughts. He took a step closer to her as everyone wandered back to what they were doing before her song. "So, you'll do it? We can work out a few more songs and go over the service a little before tomorrow."

Faith nodded. “I’d love to.”

Something about the way she stood there looking up at him acted like a magnet, pulling him to take another step closer.

"Faith, that was wonderful." Faith's head whipped around at her mother’s voice behind her.

Mrs. Leary approached with Maddie hot on her heels. He moved back a little, putting space between himself and Faith even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. It hadn’t escaped him that Maddie cut Faith down every time he gave Faith his attention. As much as his instincts urged him to do otherwise, a surge of protectiveness made him take a step backward.

* * *

“In-con-ceivable!” Faith whispered in reaction to her mother’s praise.

But no, no. There was her mother walking right up to her with Maddie hot on her heels. Faith offered her mother and sister a tentative smile. She expected her mother to comment on how she was making a spectacle of herself. Praise was a shock.

"See," Michael chimed in, "you'll be great tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Maddie asked.

"Our music director usually plays at mass on Saturday evenings, but he had to cancel this weekend. Faith graciously offered to step in."

"That's so wonderful." More praise from her mother. Faith might have to check to see if there was a pod somewhere in the back of the kitchen.

"But Faith, do you even know any of the music they play in church?" The tone Maddie used made it clear she thought Faith's music was suitable only for courting Satan, certainly not for a church service.

"We use a lot of popular music at our Saturday evening mass," Michael explained. "It brings in a younger crowd and then we stay and socialize for a while after."

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea." Maddie's tone went from condescending to syrupy sweet as she addressed Michael. "I might have to come join. What time is mass, Father Michael?"

Faith wasn't thrilled to see Maddie stepping in closer to Michael. She withheld a snort as Maddie put a hand on his arm and leaned in closer as he spoke, as if what time mass started was the most vital information in the world.

"I haven't heard you sing in a long time, Faith." Mrs. Leary got Faith's attention with her words. The older woman reached over and pushed a tuft of wayward hair off Faith's forehead. "I had forgotten how talented you are."

Faith blinked. It looked like her mother. It sounded like her mother. But Faith couldn't imagine her mother saying those words. She gave her a shaky smile and her voice wobbled a little. "Thanks."

"And I'm very proud of you for volunteering to help with mass tomorrow. That's going above and beyond."

Okay, this was getting too weird. Faith allowed her eyes to shift left and right without moving her head. She was sure there must be cameras somewhere capturing this moment, and any second Ashton Kutcher would pop out to tell her she'd been punked.

"Umm, thanks?" Faith offered when no one jumped out. "I'm surprised myself. It actually sounds like fun."

"What sounds like fun?" Maddie wanted to know.

"Playing at mass tomorrow."

"Oh, that. Well, I can't wait to hear it. I'll be sure to sit in the first row so you have a familiar face in the audience." Unlike her mother's words of praise, Maddie's offer of support didn't surprise her. Maddie was always good at playing a role, and right now it suited her to play the role of devoted and supportive sister. Cause wouldn't that impress Father Michael?

Faith shifted her gaze toward him. Did it impress him? He didn't look particularly bowled over by anything Maddie said. In fact, he was back to gazing at Faith with that warm look in his eyes.

If Faith didn't think he was perfect already, this moment would have clinched it. She'd spent many years playing second fiddle to Maddie. For once, there was someone who wasn't more interested in her sister than they were in her.

"I better get back to work," Michael said. "But Faith, will you be back tomorrow to volunteer?"

Faith hadn't really planned beyond today. Earlier she probably would have said there was no way she was dragging herself out of bed two days in a row. But she enjoyed being here today, even aside from her attraction to Michael. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was doing something important. Something that would make a difference.

"I'll be here," she assured him.

"Great. I'll get you a song list before you leave today and write down an outline of how the mass goes. I'll make sure we have a little time tomorrow to go over it all. "

"Sounds good."

"I'll be here, too, to volunteer again."

Faith rolled her eyes. Maddie had to get her two cents in there.

"That would be great," Michael said. "I'll see you ladies tomorrow. And Faith, I'll make sure to catch up with you before you leave." Faith nodded and stood there for a second watching him walk away.

There's a view she'd never get tired of.

A few hours later, Faith raised a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn. She pulled on her black wool coat and rolled her neck a few times. There were a few muscles she had forgotten she had that decided to remind her of their existence after a day of chasing kids around. She smiled as she remembered running into Michael one more time. He’d come over to the kid’s corner to drop off a few pages of music and an outline of the service he was doing the next day. Before she had a chance to say much, he was being called away by yet another of the church ladies with yet another emergency that required his immediate attention.

He may say the women in his church didn’t see him as a man, but the way they all ran to him the minute they had even the flimsiest excuse had her questioning her earlier observations.

Her eyes sought him out now. The smile slipped from her face as she found his tall form. Michael was across the room in an animated conversation with Maddie. As Faith watched, Maddie reached up and rubbed a finger over Michael’s cheek as if she was wiping away a smudge. The two laughed and when another parishioner approached, Michael put out a hand to hold Maddie in place next to him while he turned to talk to the newcomer.

Faith couldn’t watch anymore. Something squeezed in her chest as her imagination played out scenes of growing intimacy between Maddie and Michael, all leading up to a big wedding. Faith gave an unladylike grunt at the thought. She better not be asked to be maid of honor.

Faith waved a quick goodbye to her mother, knowing she’d pay later for not saying a proper farewell.

But she couldn’t help it. She needed to get out of there now. When she stepped outside, she was happy to feel the frigid air hit her face. It was too cold to allow the moisture gathered in her eyes to fall.