The widow, Lorraine Fitz, could feel her cheeks flush as Reverend Jess Rutherford rode towards her house on his old white horse.

He visited fairly often even though she was quite sure he had heard rumors about her from others at the church.

She finger combed her dark hair and tried to quickly press any wrinkles from her skirts with her hands.

It didn't matter what she looked like, not really, she was certain he only saw her as a lost soul.

She stepped onto the porch as he tethered his horse to the porch railing.

"Morning, Mrs. Fitz," he said, smiling. He was a handsome man, light hair and eyes. Nothing at all like the men who were born and raised around here. And Reverend Rutherford was educated. He'd come to Live Oaks, North Carolina from Raleigh. He'd been to the University and studied medicine.

Mentally she chastised herself. Reverend Rutherford was a good eight years younger than her and what with her soiled reputation, he was her moral superior.

"Good Morning, Reverend," she said. "What brings you all the way out here on such a hot day?"

This time it was his face that turned pink.

"Oh, I try to visit with my parishioners as often as possible."

"Would you like some lemonade or cool water?"

He nodded gratefully as he mounted the porch steps. The sheltering shade of the porch seemed to make him relax.

"That would be nice-," he said, hesitating before continuing. "Would it be too forward of me to call you by your first name? It's such a lovely name. Very fitting."

Lorraine caught her breath at the shyness in his voice. Quickly she ran back into the house.

"How are you liking living in Live Oaks?" she asked when she returned with a tray of lemonade and biscuits and jam.

"It's like no other place I've ever encountered. The ocean on one side and the sounds on the other. God has truly out done himself here."

Most new comers, and there had been few that she could remember, had seen Live Oaks as a hostile environment.

"Have you lived here all of your life?"

"Most of it."

"You're very lucky."

"Well, Raleigh must be very fascinating."

"Very. But the haste at which people go through their lives is a shame. Here, life is savored. I like that."

He was truly a captivating man, Lorraine thought.

"Lorraine?"

"I'm sorry. I am just wondering why you are risking your good reputation by visiting me so often?" she said.

His smile was like a cool breeze.

"It's true. I have been warned to keep ample distance from you. But I have found that when others try to make up your mind for you, it's most likely that they don't want you to see the truth."

"You don't believe the rumors then?"

"Lorraine," he said, his voice suddenly husky. He stepped closer until he was just a few heartbeats away. "It is not my place to judge those around me. But you must understand this. I have asked God to help me with my growing fondness for you."

"And what did he tell you?"

His whole body trembled as he leaned forward and kissed her.

"That there are no rules about who you fall in love with."

She stopped thinking at that moment and kissed him back.

After all, who was she to argue with God?