And then he was there, in the pew next to her, his shirtsleeve brushing hers, then his arm pressing hers, as he leaned close to her to let his friends into the pew to sit by the other girls. He smelled deliciously of soap and aftershave. The other boys greeted Elissa as they passed, settling into the pew among Muriel and Betty.

Looking at Nick, who was even more handsome today than she’d remembered, Elissa lost all control of her smile and probably gave him the Santa Claus one. He was smiling his small smile, and he winked, said, “Hello,” still pressing his shoulder against hers while the last of the boys squeezed past their knees.

“Hello,” she whispered back, but there was no time to say anything more; the service was starting.

She supposed she would have to say a special prayer of forgiveness when she arrived back home in Pine Rapids. Though she tried to pay attention to the service, she found she couldn’t register a single word of it.

He had come in too late to get a bulletin of his own, and every time he leaned close to read over her shoulder, the scent of his aftershave danced to her nose and made her heart skip. Her palms were sweaty, her mouth dry. Her ears were unnaturally hot. When they stood to sing “Rock of Ages,” his fingers brushed hers over the spine of the hymnal. He sang charmingly, drawling the words quietly, a little behind the tempo of the Northern congregation. Seated again, she watched him out of the corner of her eye, could see only his legs, his slim hands resting on his creased uniform pants. She wondered if he was scrutinizing her legs, too; smoothing her skirt over her knees, she looked over at him, and caught his eye. He winked, and reached over to brush his fingertips over the back of her hand. Her lips turned up in a little smile, without her intending it.

She had never spent a more excruciatingly joyous hour in church. When it was over, the organ’s last notes sounding their finale, she turned to him, and got lost in the blue of his eyes. “Well,” he said quietly. “That was mighty nice.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Come on, you two.” That was Muriel, from Elissa’s other side, already on her feet and waiting to exit the pew; Everett, Paul, Betty, and Sam were behind her.

“I reckon we’d best get a move on,” Nick said, raising his eyebrows.

“I reckon,” Elissa laughed, linking her arm with his when he offered it.

In the vestibule, he helped her on with her coat, and they left the church. The snow was still falling lightly. Again, they let the others hurry ahead.

“I’m real sorry we were late,” he said.

“You weren’t, really,” she said coolly. No sense letting him off the hook entirely.