Page 64 of Sing with Me

“Truth be told, I forgot. I’ll try to remember next time.” Diehl’s hand reached for her hair. “You have grass on your hair too.”

Gently, he picked them off. Then his fingers wove through her hair and he placed his palm at the base of her neck. His eyelids were half-closed and he tilted his head toward hers.

“Stop me, Skye,” he whispered in her ear.

She didn’t.

His full lips on hers were warm and inviting, promising more to come that Skye wasn’t sure she could handle.

Right now, she knew that their feelings for each other were indeed mutual. He had been showing signs of it, notably his reactions at Saffron on Jekyll the night before, but this was a new confirmation. And she had responded.

Even after the kiss, he held her in his arms. His face was in her hair, and his heartbeat was calm.

Calmer than Skye’s own heart.

Chapter Eighteen

On Sunday morning, after talking with the youth pastor before Sunday School, Diehl was convinced that Seaside Chapel was a safe place for Elisa and Ethan to be this summer. After he picked up his kids from Sunday School, he took a couple of fliers from the front desk for his kids to check off all the activities they wanted to do at the little church by the sea. Each camp lasted a week, and Diehl was willing to pay for them all through the end of July.

August was up in the air. He wasn’t sure how long Dad would be able to fill in for him at the Atlanta office. Already, Dad complained about not being able to get enough golf time. Sigh. Diehl figured Dad wouldn’t last past August.

He walked into the Seaside Chapel sanctuary, looking for Skye. They had not made any arrangement to sit together, but Diehl remembered which side of the auditorium they had sat the Sunday before.

To his disappointment, Skye wasn’t there.

Well, they had fifteen minutes to spare before the service began. Maybe Skye would come in soon.

He found a section of empty seats in the very last row, and ushered his two kids in. Somehow he ended up in between them, with Elisa to his left, and Ethan to his right. There was an empty seat on the other side of Ethan.

“Do you want to sit with your new friends?” Diehl asked.

“I don’t know where they are, Dad,” Ethan said.

“I don’t have any new friends.” Elisa frowned.

Great. Let’s make a big fuss in church.“How about we sit here for today? After you go to day camp, you can find out where everyone sits.”

Still looking to spot Skye, Diehl saw Avery Chung in the brass section of the orchestra. Skye had mentioned that she played the trumpet.

Somewhere near the piano and the organ, Ivan walked across the platform. Diehl’s brother-in-law and expectant first-time Dad looked happy.

Then Diehl saw her.

Skye chatted away with Matt and a couple of people from Sunday School. She swiped her phone and compared notes with Matt. Matt was a super friendly guy.

Diehl knew that Matt was also divorced. He ran the Garnett Antique Shop that Mom frequented. He also headed up the Men’s Bible Study Group to which Ivan had invited Diehl.

Thing is, Diehl didn’t like to see Matt being friendly with Skye—

Oh, he is hugging her now. Squeezing her shoulder.

“Dad, I want to go to the music camp, but it’s at the same time as the soccer camp.” Ethan pointed to the flier with his pen.

Diehl read the paper that Ethan shoved in front of his face. “There’s a second music camp. Pick one of each if you want to do them both.”

“I can do that?”

“Yes, Son. Do them all if you want.”

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