Jessica was stunned at the different paths the two Granger brothers had taken. If she抎 guessed which one would be a techie and which one would be a sniper, she wouldn抰 have put Danny in the former role.
Wade finished off the last bite of his cake and washed it down with coffee. 揌e was going to run the business end of our bar for us. We were both going to share the bartending work so we could spend time together.?
揇anny抯 Place sounds better every time I think about it,?Jessica said.
揕ike Oscar said, it抯 going to be referred to as the old church no matter what抯 on the sign out front. Which reminds me, do you think we should have a neon sign or just a wooden one??Wade asked.
Jessica was glad to get away from the memories of what she had done when she was following orders. 揗aybe we should set the steeple up where the old church sign is and put the sign on top of it.?She made a sweeping motion up in the air. 揇anny抯 Place.?
揙r Cheers, for cheerleaders.?Wade chuckled.
揥e might get into copyright problems with that,?Jessica said with a smile, 揳nd besides, you weren抰 a cheerleader, and you are a partner in this business.?
揑抎 forgotten about that old television sitcom.?He flashed a brilliant smile toward her. 揥e should think about advertising in the nearby newspapers about our grand opening and say that it抯 a place where the beer is always cold and the food is always hot.?
揂nd a place where everybody might not know your name, but you can get hymns sung to you in the parking lot, and maybe even a preacher to absolve you of your sins before you even leave the premises.?Jessica抯 heart felt lighter than it had in years.
揥hat??Wade asked.
揇idn抰 Oscar tell you that we had a little altercation with Stella in the lumberyard??she asked.
揘o, but I抦 all ears now. Why on earth was Stella in the lumberyard??Wade leaned forward in his chair and propped both elbows on the table.
揝he had a petition she was trying to get everyone in the place to sign,?Jessica answered and went on to tell him what Stella had said. 揝o, when we open, we may have a choir and a preacher out in the parking lot either singing hymns or passing out church literature.?
揝eems only fitting since this started out as a church, doesn抰 it? Maybe we should consider naming it the Preacher抯 Place in honor of Elijah. Then the protesters could fuss at us for that, too. We are located at the end of Preacher抯 Road, so it would make sense.?Wade抯 grin got even wider.
揑 wonder why they named it that.?
揑 asked Oscar about it, and the original name for the church was Preacher抯 Church, so when they had to name all the roads for the emergency crews, they just named this one Preacher抯 Road. Then Elijah decided to call it the Community Church, in hopes that he could lure folks into it from the other religious organizations, but the road was already named, and it was too much trouble to change it.?
揃ut it was always called the Old Dock Road before Uncle Elijah built the church,?Jessica said.
揧ep, and folks still call it that. Just like Oscar said they抣l do about calling the bar the old church.?Wade covered a yawn with his hand. 揘ot bad company, darlin? just a long day. I抦 glad we抮e all taking Sunday off even during the building of this place. After tomorrow we抣l need a day of rest.?
揑 guess we should take Sunday off since this started out as a church.?
揧ep, but we抳e really adapted very well to the idea of this being a bar. We抳e already stopped referring to that room as the sanctuary敆he motioned toward the door with his hand棑and this one as the fellowship hall. It抯 now the kitchen, and your quarters and Mary Nell抯 office aren抰 Sunday school rooms anymore.?
揚rogress,?she agreed.
揃y the time we open for business, we will have forgotten that this was ever anything but a bar and grill.?He finished off his coffee. 揟hanks for listening to me, and for confiding in me, too.?
She smiled at him and said, 揃TT.?
揥hat does that mean??he asked.
揑t means Been There Therapy,?she answered and picked up her dirty dishes.
揂men!?he said as he got up and carried his plate and glass to the sink. 揟hat抯 the only kind of therapy that works for people like us.?
His shoulder brushed against hers when he put his plate and cup in the sink, and there was that little burst of electricity. She glanced over and saw the dreamy look in his green eyes and knew in that moment that he could feel the chemistry between them, too.
Not that it would do a bit of good梩hey were partners, and mixing pleasure with business was too risky.
揂nd you got that right,?she told him as she headed for the door. 揝ee you in the morning.?
揋ood night, Jessica,?Wade said.
揝weet dreams.?She managed a smile, but what she really wanted to do was take a step forward and wrap her arms around him. Wade had suffered梬as still suffering梛ust like she was from the jobs they抎 had. Would a simple hug be so bad?