Falling for a Good Man: Sweet Mountain, Montana, #3

By Olivia Sands

If there's one thing Casey Smithfield dislikes, it's change. That's one reason she loves her life in Sweet Moutain, Montana : no matter what, things tend to remain the same. Except now the church has hired Ben Aries to assist her ailing Father.

First, there's no denying he's really a good man but, way too soon, Casey understands that, what she thought was temporary may become permanent, and she doesn't like it.

No matter how hard he tries, Ben can't seem to win Casey over—yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olivia Sands
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215917824

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Casey-Anne Smithfield was as nervous as if she were the one about to give the sermon. It was her father’s first one since his heart attack three months ago. Of course, he had officiated at her brother Chip’s wedding to Misha, but after that, he’d returned to resting for a few weeks.

The Senior Deacon, Ted, had taken over for the short term, but his sermons were as boring as dry toast. Watching paint dry was just about as enlightening as listening to him. Now, Casey didn’t like to judge anyone. Of course she didn’t—that wouldn’t have been very kind of her—but the fact remained, Ted lacked the charisma one needed to really hold an audience’s attention when standing at the pulpit. It was one of the many reasons her father was returning, even though he was very subdued from the man he had been.

Casey supposed that might be why she was so nervous. A lot hinged on this for her father as well. He was a strong and proud man, and not being able to properly see to his flock had slowed his recovery. Her mother, Anne, agreed with her, and she practically had the man tied to bed the first few weeks to keep him from checking on parishioners or darting into the church for just a moment. Fortunately, her sister, Marianne, was the church secretary and had kept everything running smoothly in their father’s absence, enough to gain his approval.

Having made her way down the aisle, she took a seat at the front beside her mother. Her brother-in-law, Colby, and Marianne were a couple of pews behind. Her brother Chip and Misha, his wife, were solidly in the middle of the arrangement of pews, taking their customary position. No one would complain if they sat up front with Casey and her mother, but they all seemed to feel more comfortable that way.

This morning, Ted, his wife Joanna, and an unfamiliar face occupied the front pew. Casey darted a glance at the newcomer, feeling her heart suddenly skip a beat. It had nothing to do with nerves for her father or anything else other than purely being startled by how attractive the man seated beside her was.

He was probably around thirty, with black hair and dark eyes. His skin was a little darker than most, indicating he’d either come from a place of a lot of sun, or perhaps he had Native American or maybe Hispanic ancestry.

He slanted a glance at her and smiled. Oh no! He’d caught her staring. Casey cleared her throat. Welcome to Sweet Mountain Assembly. She held out her hand. I’m Casey, Pastor John’s daughter.

He took her hand, enfolding it with his. It was rougher than she’d expected; obviously, he was no stranger to hard work. She rather liked the feel of it. It sent a warm shiver through her as she struggled to school her expression into one that reflected no response. I’m Ben.

We like to see new faces at the Assembly, Casey smiled as she reclaimed her hand. Are you just passing through, or are you new in town?

He looked briefly startled. I just moved here. I arrived Monday. I’m surprised… He trailed off as her father approached the pulpit then.

Casey gave him another smile and turned her attention to the pulpit. She couldn’t help eyeing her father critically, looking for telltale indications that he wasn’t feeling well following his heart attack and triple bypass surgery. He’d definitely lost weight, and he had some pallor still, but there was some vibrancy in his step, and while his voice sounded a little hoarser than it used to, it emerged strong and audible for the entire church even without a microphone. Her father wasn’t one for the newest advances in technology, to be certain.

He seemed to be reinvigorated, so she settled back in her seat, smiling at her mom, who was beaming up at her husband. Casey struggled not to look at Ben again. Whoever he was, she couldn’t deny she was slightly smitten. It wasn’t like her to form an instant attraction to someone, and she struggled with the guilt for a moment before reminding herself she wasn’t committing to a life with the man. She didn’t even know his last name, but she was twenty-five and, being a healthy young woman herself, she was allowed to find a man attractive.

This was not the time to let a good-looking man distract her. She forced herself to focus on her father’s sermon. He spoke about Lazarus and resurrection, and tied it all into second chances. Certainly a meaningful sermon, and she wasn’t the only one dabbing her eyes by the time it was over.

When her father finished, he took a step back and bowed his head to everyone. Then Mona, the choir director, stood up and indicated the choir should begin singing. Casey reached for her hymnal, tucked in a partition in front of the main pew, and flipped to the right page as she stood up.

It was an old, familiar hymn, and she sang it with confidence. She couldn’t help noticing Ben, whomever he was, had a nice baritone that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. She hoped he was planning to stay in Sweet Mountain for a while. Goodness knew, there were hardly any men around that interested Casey. She’d already tried dating the few who did, but each had eventually spluttered for lack of interest or a spark.

Part of that was probably Casey’s fault, or so she could infer. Not that she considered it a fault, but she wasn’t the type of girl who believed in casual affairs or sex outside of marriage. Whenever she put the brakes on wandering hands that seemed to always put an end to the relationships.

She wasn’t certain why the men she had dated had been shocked that she had such values, considering her father was the town pastor, but it always seemed to be a sticking point. More than one had accused her of not caring enough about them to compromise her morals. Casey hadn’t bothered to deny it, because it was true.

Realizing her thoughts were wandering again, she continued to sing along with the familiar song from sheer memory. She hummed the last few bars as did most people around her until everyone fell silent. There was a brief pause, and then Mona directed the choir to sing again. They went for three songs, and then Ted stood up and walked to the pulpit.

Casey bit back a groan, hoping he wasn’t planning to offer an exit sermon of his own. She shouldn’t be so uncharitable. After all, he had stepped in while her father was ill, thus preventing him from losing his position. Nevertheless, he really was quite dull when it came to sharing his love of the Lord. Not that she didn’t find him to be a devout parishioner, but he wasn’t very good at expressing his true enthusiasm.

Instead, he cleared his throat. Pastor John asked me to make the introductions to everyone.

Casey frowned, looking at her mom, who didn’t seem at all surprised. She turned her head to look at Marianne and then Chip. Her siblings both seemed as surprised as she was. Introduce them to whom?

Somehow, she wasn’t entirely surprised when Ben remained standing as the rest of them sat down. He slipped past her and her mother, nodding to both of them, and walked up the stage to stand at the pulpit beside Ted. Casey felt uneasy, but she couldn’t explain why.

I want to welcome our new youth pastor to Sweet Mountain Assembly. This is Ben Aires, and we were lucky enough to snag him from a little church in New Mexico.

Ben stepped forward then, and he smiled at the entire congregation. Casey refused to acknowledge the flutter that caused in her stomach, and she heard a couple of titters behind her, likely from the younger girls, perhaps even those who would be in his youth group. Until his father’s heart attack, he’d held the youth groups on Wednesday nights, so a new pastor was an unexpected and unpleasant change for Casey. She couldn’t imagine her father willingly letting go of working with the youth. Her dad had always loved the teens and enjoyed nurturing their potential. The extra help must have been the idea of the church elders.

She slanted a glance at her dad where he stood off to the side, and he seemed to be politely neutral, revealing nothing about his true feelings. If he were pleased, he would be beaming with pride. She didn’t like any of this, not one little bit.

At a smattering of applause, Ben raised a hand and smiled. Thank you, everyone. I’m happy to be here. Pastor John has already told me a lot about the church, the congregation and Joanna has been filling me in as well. I feel like I know most of you already, although we haven’t met yet. When he grinned, she couldn’t help noticing there was a charming dimple in his chin. He cleared his throat after a moment, I’m looking forward to helping out wherever I can, and whoever and I will begin talking about how the youth group will be rearranged as soon as services over. Thank you all again. That got a warmer round of applause this time, likely because some of the people were relieved he didn’t plan to drone on.

Casey clapped lightly, but she didn’t put her heart into it. She was uneasy now, and certain that Ted and Joanna might be trying to force her father into premature retirement. Her father was hardly likely to embrace that idea, so she intended to be on guard.

The service ended a short time later, and the people congregated in groups as they tended to do after church. Marianne came up and hugged Casey from the side, brushing her baby bump against Casey in the process. Despite her slightly sour mood, Casey couldn’t resist resting her hand lightly on the rounded belly for a moment, hoping to feel her new niece kicking against her hand. Apparently, the little miss was asleep.

You look like you tasted some of Mom’s lemonade, said Marianne softly.

Casey managed a small smile. Their mother’s lemonade was notorious for being mostly lemon and very little sugar. I’m fine.

You don’t look fine. You seem unhappy. Is something wrong?

Casey looked around, realizing her mother was nearby, and she didn’t want her to overhear the comments. She put her arm through Marianne’s and pulled her over to an alcove in the church, where no one else was likely to hear what she had to say. I don’t trust the new youth pastor.

Marianne frowned. Didn’t you just meet him?

It’s just an instinct. I think he’s here to take Dad’s job.

Marianne shook her head. I didn’t get that sense at all.

I did talk to him. He was sitting beside me, remember?

What did he say that made you think he was here to displace Dad? Marianne seemed genuinely interested, and not trying to poke holes in her theory.

Casey didn’t have any solid evidence to back up her claim, so she just muttered, Like I said, it’s just a feeling.

"You have to admit, you’re not