It was as though they’d heard nothing. They continued to push against each other and the Reverend. Maddie had to elbow people out of the way to reach him.
She reached for his arm. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay,” he said, a little breathless. “Maybe a little bruised. But there’s a young man in there who’s a lot worse off than me.”
“Is Gray in there?” she asked. Even though her voice was low, the mention of his name made the crowd roar again.
“I’m afraid so. I told them all to remain seated while I went to see what was going on out here. And now I can’t get back in.”
“Can you let the Reverend back in his church, please?” she called out to the crowd on the steps. “Come on, show a little respect.”
Apparently, respect was a scarce commodity around here. But her elbows seemed to work where her request didn’t, and somehow she managed to help Reverend Maitland back to the porch. “You should probably close the doors,” she told him as they reached the door. “I’ll call the police and get these teens cleared.”
“The only one on duty is Scott Davis. These kids will eat him for breakfast,” Reverend Maitland told her. “We need to get Gray Hartson out of here. That should take the wind out of their sails.”
“Where is he?”
“In the third row when I saw him last.” Reverend Maitland gestured to the middle of the church. Nobody was sitting down anymore. They were all milling around, talking rapidly, their eyes wide as though nothing like this had ever happened in Hartson’s Creek.
“Is the back door open?” she asked.
“Yes. You just need to push the safety bar. But there’s nowhere to go except around to the front of the church.”
She remembered it well. The rear of the First Baptist was surrounded by the backyards of the road beyond. And in front of those was the river. Whether you were walking or driving, the only way out was around the town square.
“I’ll work it out,” she muttered. “It’s that or feed him to the lions.”
Chapter Six
“This is stupid,” Gray said to his aunt as she held onto his arm. He was exasperated by all the fuss going on around him. “I’ll just go out there and let them take some photos. They’ll get bored soon enough.” He went to walk away, but she grasped on tighter. He could have easily prized her off, but there was no way he wanted to hurt her.
“Stay here,” she said firmly. “Reverend Maitland will deal with it.”
“It’ll be easier on everyone if I go. I don’t want anybody to get hurt.” He could imagine the headlines now. He was big enough and bad enough to take care of himself, after all.
“Here comes Reverend Maitland,” the woman
standing next to them said. “And he doesn’t look very happy.”
“Is everything okay?” Aunt Gina asked as Reverend Maitland approached them. “Has the crowd gone?”
She loosened her grip and Gray took the opportunity to pull his arm away. “Sorry about this,” he said to the reverend. “I’ll go out and speak to them and ask them to leave. That way everybody can get on with their day.”
“No, I really don’t advise that.” Reverend Maitland’s cheeks were pink. “They’re a little bit… overexcited. I want you to leave through the back door, the one between the pulpit and the organ. Someone’s waiting there to help you out.”
Gray looked at the door then back at the reverend. “The back door?” he repeated. “You want me to make a run for it? I’m not scared of them, it’ll be fine.” This was getting crazy. It was Hartson’s Creek, not Hollywood.
“You might be, but I’m worried about the girls out there. It’s safer if you disappear.”
“He’s right, Gray,” Aunt Gina told him. “It’ll be easier if you leave by the back door.”
“All right. I’ll go. Even if this is all damn crazy. Are you coming?”
She shook her head. “I’ll slow you down.”
“We’ll take care of her,” Reverend Maitland told him. “Once you’re gone, the crowd will disperse. And then maybe I can have some breakfast.”
“Gray! Gray Hartson! Where are you?” somebody called out.