The Divine Temptation (Forbidden Priest Romance)

1. Burn for my sins (Edited)

What a friend we have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Him

While not a believer, I quickly thank God for having Father Richard pick a short hymn. The shorter the lyrics, the faster we're out of here. Or so I thought, as with good comes bad. Rather than filing out with the other people once the service reaches its end, Gram's decides to walk over to Father Richard to give blessings for his retirement. I roll my eyes; it's not like she's not seeing him later and outside.

"Father Richard," she calls out, waving her fan to catch his attention.

"Ah, Lillian, it's nice to have you back," he says with open arms, his alb dragging on the floor as he takes a step toward us, clearly too big for him.

Gram's took a break from Sunday service, as she flew over to Connecticut for her sister's funeral. It was the very reason I had come back to Pinevale. While I never met Mary, Gram's wasn't doing well after her death, so I decided that before I get my big girl corporate job in New York, I would come back and spend some time with her, even when this town never welcomed me. But I loved my Gram's dearly, and now with the passing of Mary, we were each other's only family members.

"Yes, it's good to be back. What a wonderful service," he brings his hands up and rests them over his chest as he nods his head.

"Thank you, Lillian, I wouldn't have been able to make it special if it wasn't for all of you supporting me to the very end," he continues. I gag internally at his comment. Why was everyone in this town so 'wholesome'?

"Oh, stop it, it was all you," she smiles, as she now playfully hits him with the fan. If this woman continued at the rate she was going, she'd be hit with a misdemeanour before we left the damn church.

"And if it isn't Miss Evangeline, oh how you've grown into such a beautiful young woman, It's nice to see you've come back to help your grandmother," he states, with the same toothy smile. His extra round face made it so that every time he smiled, his cheeks rose high enough to close his eyes, which means I hope he doesn't see my third, eye roll of the morning.

"It's what God would have wanted," my grandmother darts her eyes toward me, narrowing in on me as she catches on to my sarcastic comments. "Yes, you're right; I'm sure your time here will be fruitful and full of blessings." My face twists. Fruitful? Was he serious? Gram's catches on to my disdain and attempts to change the subject. "Yes, well, she's been a great help so far; she's just looking for a job to get her hands stuck into during her temporary visit, don't want her spending all day indoors," she says. "Ah, yes, I assume there aren't many job postings around," he clears his throat, giving him a brief moment to think. "You know my son is starting tomorrow, and I was going to help him out, but now that I think about it. It might be best if I loosen my reins a bit, let him explore on his own. Maybe Evangeline here can help out; she's aware of the town more than he is and some of the older people. We also have some funding left over for this quarter, that we can use to cover a basic minimum wage. How does that sound?" He suggests, glancing between Gram's and I.

"Father Richard, that would be great," She agrees, before I could interject. If Gabriel was anything like his father, he would be the last person I would want to be around.

"Perfect, well, Gabriel will be coming down soon, and will be at the farewell barbecue, so I can introduce you two together then," I force out a smile, not responding.

"Well, we both look forward to it; we won't keep you long; see you in the square, Father Richard." She waves and places her hand on my waist as she guides us out of the church. "Thank you, Evangeline, for not putting up a fight," she says, with a small smile. I wrap my free arm around her and give her a small squeeze as we walk towards the town square. If life with my grandmother taught me anything, it was that everything she does, she means well.