While I’d presented the most expensive option, I hadn’t expected him to take it. Momma had complained plenty about the Henryetta Southern Baptist Church’s budget, so I knew how frugal most churches were. “Okay, then. We’re gonna need half down on the supplies.”

“I’ll tell Rhonda, my secretary, to write you a check.”

I gathered my papers. “Okay.”

He leaned back in his seat, a grin spreading across his face. “Now that we have business out of the way, tell me a little about yourself, Rose.”

I blinked in surprise. “Well, there’s not much to tell.”

“I find that difficult to believe.”

I didn’t answer.

“Well, let’s start with the most obvious question for a man of the cloth. Do you go to church?”

That was a sticky question. I may have been born and raised in the Henryetta Southern Baptist Church, but I’d never felt any sense of belonging there. The main reason was my visions. They had started when I was six, and despite the fact that my paternal grandmother had experienced visions too and had been declared the Oracle of Lafayette County, Momma had decided I was demon-possessed by the time I was eight. She soon started locking me in the hall closet whenever I had a vision. Several pastors over the years had prayed for the salvation of my soul, but by the time I was a teenager, they’d all given up. “Off and on.”

“Have you ever attended a church like mine?

My eyebrows rose as I shook my head. “Uh, no.”

“That’s not surprising. But you should try it sometime.” He winked. “You might like what you see.”

“I don’t know about that.”

He held up his hands in surrender and laughed. “I know when to back off. Let’s move on to another topic.” His voice lowered. “I heard about your mother.”

My mother’s murder wasn’t something I wanted to delve into. Not after all the strange feelings Miss Dorothy’s death had dredged up. “Well, I need to get goin’.” I stood up, nearly dumping the drawing onto the floor. “I need to get this check deposited at the bank.”

Jonah grinned as he rose from his seat. “There’s no hurry, Rose. The bank closed at five.”

“Oh, that’s right.” He had me flustered. Between the concept of his church, him calling me pretty, and the topic of my mother’s death, my stomach was churning.

His voice softened. “Does the thought of coming to my church frighten you, Rose?”

No, but staying with Jonah Pruitt a minute longer sure did. “I’ve had some…difficult situations in church.”

“All the more reason to try our church out. The New Living Hope Revival Church is dedicated to providing a home for the castoffs of traditional churches. Giving them hope to live their life. That’s what the name of our church is all about.”

I backed toward the door. “I will definitely keep that in mind, Jonah. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

I backtracked to his secretary’s office as he followed me with an amused grin. Jonah stood in the doorway, his hand resting on the door frame, looking like he was posing for a photo shoot. “Rhonda, Ms. Gardner needs a check made out to—?” He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Gardner Sisters Nursery.”

“Oh, yes.” He drawled, his Southern accent sounding heavier than usual. “The lovely Gardner sisters, both as beautiful as the flowers they were named after.”

Rhonda opened a desk drawer and pulled out a checkbook, her mouth puckering into a frown. She frowned even more when I told her how much to make it out for.

Jonah brushed past me. “I have to get ready for tonight’s service. I hope to see more of you, Rose.” His gaze rested on my face as he headed for the door, leaving me behind with his grumpy secretary.

She ripped the check out of the book and shoved it at me. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I know your kind.”

I took the check and held it close to me in case she changed her mind and tried to snatch it back. “My kind?”

Sneering, Rhonda shook her head. “I’ve been with Reverend Pruitt for a long time. You’re not the first pretty girl to catch his attention. Jonah Pruitt is a man of God, so you can take your whorin’ ways with you.”

I could have made the argument that I’d only slept with one man, which hardly constituted whoring, but the fact that I was fornicating at all probably wouldn’t help my case. Instead, I turned around and left as quickly as I could in case Jonah changed his mind and tracked me down.

I drove back to the nursery, sorting through my confusion. While I had firsthand proof that all the older women of Henryetta loved Jonah Pruitt, I hadn’t heard much gossip about the younger ones falling for him. At least not like they fawned over the town’s other prime bachelors, like Mason and Brody. I’d seen three sides to Jonah Pruitt today. The showman who’d showed up for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The minister who seemed to sincerely welcome all people to his church, reserving judgment. And the man who seemed interested in me for more than just the transfer of my church membership. But that had to be an overactive imagination at work. Why would Jonah Pruitt be interested in me?

Violet was closing up when I went inside. She turned to me with excitement. “Well…?”

“He picked the big one. The potted plants and all.”

She squealed and danced in place. “Did he give you a deposit?”