Read Country Crooner (Christian Romance) for Free Online Page A

stomach started to turn and she felt the anger swell up inside her again. She didn't want to dwell on the negative feelings, so instead she pushed those thoughts away and turned her focus back to the pastor who was talking about the love of Christ.
    After the sermon was over, Chelsea stuck around and talked with Cynthia Tippets, who had been a dear friend of her mother's. They reminisced for a few moments; sharing fond memories of her mother and father. It was nice to have a familiar friend to remember the good things about her parents.
    Chelsea 's intention was to ignore Kurt completely, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but notice him out of the corner of her eye. She noticed his strong muscular shoulders, the way his hair was styled perfectly, and how he seemed so comfortable and confident as he talked to the people around him.
    As Chelsea was wrapping up a conversation with one of her dad's old fishing buddies, she felt a strong, gentle hand touch her shoulder. She turned, expecting to see another neighbor to talk to, but instead found herself face to face looking into Kurt's baby blue eyes. She had never looked at him so closely before, and noticed that he was clean-shaven and she could smell the slight scent of cologne. The touch of his hand made her heart jump a little bit and there was no denying that she could feel a physical attraction to this man. But she quickly pushed those feelings aside, as she reminded herself about the way that he had treated her... and her stomach started to churn in anger again.
    "I owe you an apology," he said. "My anger got the best of me when I was at your house, and I'd like to make it up to you. I’d also like to try and have a civil conversation about the radio station. Can I take you to lunch?"
    Chelsea was surprised at the unexpected apology and grateful that he was being kind. She wondered what had caused the sudden change of heart.
    "No problem, it's been a hard week for all of us, hasn't it?” Chelsea looked at him for a few moments while she pondered his lunch invitation. Her wounds were still fresh from their last conversation, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to spend any more time with Kurt. Making up her mind she said, “Yes, lunch sounds great, I was just getting ready to leave."
    "Let's go to the café down the street, I need to take my mom home first, but I'll meet you there in 20 minutes."
    "Sounds good, I’ll see you in awhile."
    The church had emptied out by this point, and Chelsea watched Kurt and his mother walk away. She knew that she had some time before she needed to meet him at the cafe, but she didn't have enough time to go home first. She decided to go for a walk in the woods out behind the church.
    As a teenager, she had gone to those woods often when she needed some time to herself. It had always been a good place to hide away from the world so that she could pray to God and look for insight into her life, and that was exactly what she needed right now.
    Chelsea was grateful that she had chosen to wear a pair of flat sandals because she was able to easily navigate down the dirt and gravel pathway. She walked down the familiar trail, and found another path that she remembered led to the river below.
    She carefully stepped her way down to the bank of the river, and found a big rock to sit on. As she took a quiet moment to think about everything that had happened the past week, strong feelings of emotion washed over her and she began to cry. She normally wasn't an emotional girl, but the stress of the week had caught up to her and she found herself crying almost daily.
    She knew that the emotions needed to come out at some point, so she didn't try to hold back the tears. No one was around to see them, and she didn't care if her mascara was smudged before she went to lunch. She didn't have anyone to impress, so there was no reason to worry about imperfect makeup.
    "Dear God, why does it have to be so hard?" she asked aloud in a verbal prayer. "I