“You should go now!” Reverend Maitland said urgently.
Gray had been hustled out of places before – usually surrounded by his security detail, his head down until he climbed into a waiting car and was driven away. But he’d never had to escape from a church before. And if he was honest, it felt a little emasculating.
He shook his head and kissed his aunt on her cheek. “I’ll see you at home, okay?”
She nodded and he followed Reverend Maitland’s directions, striding toward the door, yanking it open, and walking through. Another step forward and he walked into something small and warm and… shit… did he knock someone over?
No, not someone. Her. Again.
“Cora Jean?” he asked, as she stumbled against the clothes rail on the side of the tiny room. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m fine.” She straightened the robes that were hanging from the rail. “We need to get out of here. Follow me.”
“Follow you?” His brows knit together. “Where are we going? The diner?”
She grinned at him, and he found his lips curling up in response. She was still wearing her Murphy’s Diner apron over her tight jeans and black tank. Even with it covering her body, it was impossible to ignore the curves beneath. She licked her dry lips and he tried not to stare at them. Honestly.
“We’re not going to the diner,” she said, inclining her head at the door on the other side of the robing room. “I hope you go to the gym regularly. We’re going to climb through a few backyards.”
Gray resisted the urge to smile at the serious expression on her face. She wanted to play the savior and who was he to let her down? And if it meant spending a little more time with her, he could live with that.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand, leading him to the emergency exit on the far side of the room.
She tried to push the bar, but it didn’t move. “Here, let me,” Gray murmured, pressing down on the bar. It gave with a metallic sigh and the door opened into the churchyard.
Grey looked around and saw the yard was empty. Thank God. “Where next?” he asked, letting her lead the way.
“Over here.” She pointed at the fence. “We climb over the Thorsens’ fence, then through the hole in the Carter’s wall. You’ll be pleased to hear there’s a gate between the Carters and the Shortlands.” She winked at him. “Rumor has it, old man Shortland was having a tryst with Mamie Carter and the gate made things a little easier.”
Small towns. He’d forgotten how much they drove him crazy.
The first fence was easy. Gray went in front, lifting himself up easily, his biceps contracting as he swung his body over the ridge. He held a hand out to Cora who took it and scrambled up beside him, the two of them dropping to the lawn on the other side.
“Where’s the hole?” he asked.
She blinked. “It was there,” she said, pointing at five rows of bricks. “I’m sure it was. Just enough to wriggle through.”
“Did you wriggle through it often?”
She pulled her lip between her teeth and damn. What was it about this woman? “I wasn’t a big fan of church when I was a kid,” she confessed. “Whenever the sermon got boring, I’d go to the bathroom and escape for a while. Nobody ever noticed.”
“You really are going to hell.” He grinned.
“We both will be unless we get out of here.” She looked at the big house at the end of the two-hundred foot yard. “Maybe we can knock on the Thorsens’ back door. They’ll let us through.”
Gray shook his head. “Nah. Let’s not get them involved. Besides, I want to watch you climb that wall.”
She raised an eyebrow and he wanted to smooth it back down. “You think I can’t do it?”
“I didn’t say that. Just said I wanted to watch.”
“Hmm.” She walked over to the wall and looked it up and down, as though trying to work out the easiest way over. It was towering over her. Taller than him, too, but with a jump and the strength of his arms he was pretty sure he could scale it.
She tipped her head to the side and flexed her hands. He watched as she rolled on her feet, her body tensing as she readied herself to launch.
“Wish me luck,” she muttered. Bending her knees, she pressed down on the grass then jumped up, the tips of her fingers skimming against the top of the wall.
And then she fell back, her legs staggering against the grass. Gray walked forward until her body hit his with some force.