"i quit the day the judge gave arnie the kids. i have to find something right away."

"tomorrow's thursday. if you want to start then, you can. but like i said, it's dirty work. do you have...ah...jeans? sweatshirts? some shoes that aren't high heels?"

"sure," she said, beaming. "cool. i haven't been in a church in years!"

"no kidding? i'd never have guessed. well, people will have certain expectations..."

"okay, no swearing. i'll be totally polite. and i'll leave my pasties and g-string at home." noah went completely red and she burst out laughing. "i don't have pasties and g-strings. that club? it wasn't that bad."

"just out of curiosity, what was your part?" he asked.

"well," she said, rolling her eyes upward. "that's the interesting thing-sometimes a certain costume or look does more for the guys than being totally naked. the two most popular outfits were the cheerleading costume and the candy striper's costume. the men-they really go for pom-poms." ellie looked at noah. "hey-are you all right?"

"fine. i'm fine," noah said weakly. he'd been in his share of strip clubs, but not for a while. and he hadn't had much female companionship lately, either. until today, he hadn't realized how much he missed that. "now, try that pie."

"thanks," she said. "are you just doing this to be nice?"

"pretty much. are you conning me?"

"out of a job that's really hard and pays practically nothing?" she asked. "why? so i can steal and hock a crucifix? please. if i could figure out how to con someone, i'd go after that judge. what a jackass he turned out to be. oops. sorry. i'm going to have to work on my language, huh?"

"probably," noah grumbled.

after finishing their pie, noah and ellie stood, shook hands, and she left. noah took the empty plates and cups over to jack at the bar.

"she seemed a lot happier when she left than when she came in, if you know what i mean," jack said.

"she assumed she wouldn't get the job at the church," noah said. "not exactly church-secretary material, i guess."

"i guess," jack said. "nice-enough girl, though."

"she needs a job," noah said.

"that a fact?"

"what she needs is a break. and it turns out she has all the qualifications."

jack grinned. "i couldn't help but notice."

noah sat on a stool. "better give me a beer...."

"you bet. what's your pleasure?"

"i'm flexible."

jack drew him a cold draft. "you gave her the job, didn't you?"

"i did," noah admitted.

"whoa, this is going to be fun."

"for who, exactly?" noah asked.

jack laughed at him. "i only talked to her a minute, but she seems okay, don't you think?"

"she could be a little rough around the edges for a church job."

"ya think?" jack asked with a laugh. "so could you, noah. but you're an old softie. you sure she's not just using you?"

"at eight dollars an hour? come on. i'm going to have to pray for forgiveness all night for taking advantage of her."

"well, there's a point."

"but we're going to have to do something about those...maybe a shawl? a nice big, concealing shawl?"

"i don't know, noah. how about a tarp?"

"god help me." noah took a drink of the beer. "jack, it's been a real trip, getting to know you and the town. but when the locals get a load of the pastor's assistant, i'm going to be run out on a rail."

"easy, noah. this is virgin river. we like things a little on the interesting side. you'll manage."

noah took another drink of his beer. "let's hope so," he muttered.

for her first day of work at the church, ellie chose to wear something conservative. she dressed in overalls with a white, sleeveless tank top underneath that laced up the front. she slipped into sneakers, pulled her plentiful, curly, copper-colored hair up in a clip, lined her lips and eyes and off she went to virgin river.

"i'm here," she yelled as she walked into the church.

"i'm in the basement," noah yelled back.

she clomped down the steps, jumping off the bottom step. noah was patching cracks in the unfinished cinderblock wall, a plasterer's hawk with a mound of wet cement in one hand, a putty knife in the other. lucy lay not far away on her bed, lifting her head and wagging her tail as ellie came down the stairs. noah smiled at her, then his smile froze. he looked her slowly up and down. and again.

"what?" she demanded hotly, hands on her hips.

"nothing," he said, turning away.

"no. what? what's the matter?"

he turned back slowly, put his tools down on top of the ladder and approached her. "i don't know how to say this. i think it would be in the best interests of both of us if you'd dress a little more...conservatively."

she looked down at herself. "more conservatively than overalls?" she asked.

he felt a laugh escape in spite of himself. he shook his head. "ellie, i've never seen anybody look that good in overalls before."

"and this is a bad thing?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"it's provocative," he tried to explain. "sexy. people who work around churches usually dress a little more...what's the best way to put this...?"

"frumpy? dumpy? ugly?"

"without some of their bra showing, for one thing."

"well now, reverend, just where have you been? because this happens to be in style. and i'll do any work you give me, but you really shouldn't be telling me what to wear. the last guy i was with tried to do me over. he liked me well enough when he was trying to get my attention, but the second i married him, he wanted to cover me up so no one would notice i had a body!"

"the husband?"

"the very same. it didn't work for him and it's not going to work for you. you didn't say anything about a dress code. maybe i'll turn you in to the better business bureau or something."

"i think you mean the equal employment opportunity commission. or maybe you should go straight to the american civil liberties union." he stepped toward her. "ellie," he said, using his tender but firm minister voice. "i'm a single man. you're a very beautiful young woman. i would like it if the good people of virgin river assumed you were given this job solely because of your qualifications and not because you're eye candy. tomorrow, could you please wear something less distracting?"

"i'll do my best," she said in a huff. "but this is what i have, and there's not much i can do about that. especially on what you're paying me."

"just think 'baggy,'" he advised.

"we're going to have a problem there," she said. "i don't buy my clothes baggy. or ugly. or dumpy. and you can bet your sweet a...butt i left behind the clothes arnie thought i should wear." she just shook her head in disgust. "i don't know what you're complaining about. you know how many guys would rather have something nice to look at than a girl in a flour sack? guess you didn't get to count your blessings 101." she cocked her head and lifted her eyebrows.

"i'm counting," he said. but his eyes bore down on hers seriously. he was not giving an inch. "just an ounce of discretion. do what you can."

she took a deep breath. "let's just get to work. tomorrow i'll look as awful as possible. how's that?"

"perfect. why don't you get started by sweeping up in the kitchen. it's large enough for a dozen people to work in there together-it's a big room. the appliances are all gone, but it's going to have to be cleaned up before i can put down new flooring and paint. it's accumulated a good ten years of dirt. some of my household things are being delivered in a few weeks. after i get the walls patched, textured and painted, and put down flooring over the concrete, i can store my shipment and other things down here while we work on the upstairs."

"sure, fine. are there supplies somewhere?"

"already in the kitchen."

"i'm on it, rev," she said with a salute, turning on her heel to march off toward the kitchen, treating him to a little skip and fanny wiggle on her way.

noah grimaced. he looked down at lucy, who lifted her head and wagged her tail-maybe in sympathy, so he gave her a pat on the head. that went well, he thought. he'd offended ellie and judged her all at the same time. he already knew she was forced to pinch pennies and couldn't buy new clothes for a job of cleaning and painting. besides, the absolute truth was, she was a pleasure to look at. and frankly, you could see more skin and curves on prime-time tv. so what was he afraid of? that stodgy church ladies were going to get uptight, seeing her around town, knowing she was helping him work on the church?

the girl's having a hard enough time, going up against a judge who is, himself, a patron of the very strip joint he condemns her for working in. she was taking a low-paying church job just to gain enough credibility to get her kids back-credibility she shouldn't need. any woman her age willing to work more than one job to afford the most rudimentary stuff of life, having never been separated from her children before except to work, should be plenty convincing.

for a second he wondered if he'd been sucked in by her lost soul. "pah," he scoffed aloud. ellie didn't seem at all lost. she was a fighter, and that impressed him. he barely knew her and he already admired her. plus, it was good that she was sassy; she shouldn't let anyone tell her what to wear.

he was right about one thing, however. she was distracting, even when she wasn't in the same room. it wasn't just the visible edges of her bra. her thick, curly hair, pulled up and cascading down, her creamy skin, sultry, deep brown eyes, full lips, teasing smile, long legs, narrow waist, perfect hips and nice round booty-all that added up to an appearance that couldn't help but bring sex to mind. and it reminded noah that he'd been on a serious sex diet for the past few years. not exactly a starvation diet, but still...

he climbed back up on his ladder and continued to patch the walls while ellie worked in the kitchen. and while he worked he thought a lot about what had brought him here to this run-down church in virgin river.

he thought back to something his mom used to ask him from time to time. "what are your goals, noah?" she had asked.

"i will never be a minister, mom. never."

after a long period of silence, she said, "i'm relieved. i think your father and i have thoroughly ruined you for that."

as he continued to repair and patch the walls, noah smiled at the irony-he was embarking on a career he never thought he would have. it was a shame that his mom and merry weren't here to see this. they had always supported him and he knew the irony of his current situation would not have been lost on them, either.

even though it had been a few years since her death, noah still missed merry sometimes. their couple of years together had been magic. she had been such a free spirit; she made him laugh, brought him wisdom and optimism. she was edgy and fun-she took chances and encouraged him to do the same. merry was a committed soul who cared deeply and loyally about her "causes," as he called them, and all the people in her life. after she was gone he made a point of remaining in touch with her family. her parents and siblings were a great support to him even as they contended with their own grief.