Devotion (John Seed)

42. An Important Sermon

Months had passed in Hope County. There had been some changes and a lot of discovery. John and Amelia had been acting like a normal couple around Joseph's flock, not feeling as if they had anything to hide or be ashamed off. Of course the gossip spread, the resistance soon found out about their relationship, of course they all had their suspicious after their great escape from the Hope County Jail. By now, John and Amelia's relationship had become common knowledge.

Some of the resistance was furious that the deputy would betray them, and that she would allow John to continue with his sadist tendencies. Other members of the resistance had relaxed a little when they realised that John's men weren't killing on sight, they had been waiting for a reason to attack. Amelia had requested that Joseph's flock only engage in combat with the resistance if they feel genuinely threatened, this meant that resistance members could just drive past without having to fear for their lives. Even thought the resistance felt angered and betrayed, they almost appreciated the small things that the deputy had tried to change from her new position within the Seed family.

Joseph had insisted that his flock accepts Amelia as one of them, as a member of the family, and to treat her with respect. The flock did as Joseph requested but there were still some who were still suspicious and skeptical of her devotion to the project at Eden's Gate, but they still treated her like one of the family. Maybe they actually started to warm up to her or maybe they were just doing what Joseph told them to do, to ensure their place in the new Eden.

Today was a busy day. Joseph had requested that his siblings, Amelia, and the most loyal and devoted members of his flock gather at his church for an important sermon. Amelia had no idea why this sermon was going to be so important and when she asked John, he just told her that he didn't know either.

Amelia got out of the shower dried her hair before walking into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her body. When she walked into the room, she saw John pulling on his brown trench coat. He was already dressed since he showered first. He smiled at Amelia before placing a box down on the bed.

"What's this?" Amelia asked, smiling as she walked over to him.

"I got you something, Joseph is holding a very important sermon and I didn't want you to be under dressed" John smiled. She raised an eye brow at him before lifting the lid off of the box and placing it to the side.

Amelia's eyes widened as she lifted the material up and held it out in front of her. It was a light blue dress with strap sleeves, with matching flat pumps. "Thank you" she smiled up at him, quickly leaning up and kissing him. He kissed her back before walking towards the door, giving her some privacy to get ready.

The deputy wasn't really one for wearing dresses, but she also wasn't the type of person who goes to church. But here she is.

She got dressed before walking down stairs. John heard her coming and turned to face her, he just smiled and stared at her. Awestruck. The dress fell to just above her knee and hugged every curve of her body in just the right way. Over the past few months Amelia's had grown and almost reached the length it was when she first arrived in Hope County. Her fiery hair fell naturally, falling just past her shoulders. "You look beautiful" John smiled as he placed his hands on her waist, pulling her into him.

Amelia just rolled her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck, he lent down and kissed her gently. She instantly kissed him back, making sure not to touch his hair because she knew that he would scold her for messing it up. They pulled away from each other and John took some time to admire her face again. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, any idea what the sermon is about?" she nodded before asking John.

"No, I already told you that Joseph is being quiet about it" John shook his head as he took Amelia's hand in his and walked towards the front door. She hummed curiously as they left the ranch and climbed into the car.

Once they reached the church, they climbed out of the car before walking towards the church hand in hand. Joseph's flock smiled at them as they passed but never spoke to them. They all looked excited for the sermon like they usually are, but they didn't know what the sermon was about either.

John led Amelia into the church, closing the doors behind them. They walked up to the front where Joseph, Jacob and Faith were already standing. "Good morning John, good morning Deputy" Joseph smiled as he greeted them both. Joseph had been trying to learn the deputy's name for some time now but hadn't had any luck. They knew that her name began with "Am" due to John's slip up a couple of months ago, but Joseph told his siblings not to push her for her name. He insisted that she would share that information when she was ready.

"Good morning" John and Amelia smiled back.

"John, may I speak with you privately?" Joseph asked. John nodded before quickly kissing Amelia's temple and letting go of her hand. He followed his brother out of the room, leaving Amelia with Jacob and Faith.

Amelia had grown somewhat fond of Faith, she didn't fear her in anyway any more. Now Faith was just their sweet younger sister who Amelia felt safe with. Jacob's relationship with the deputy was still complicated, he trusted that she wouldn't betray them now, and they had developed a mutual respect for each other. However, there was still some tension between them. Jacob was always cold towards her, mainly because he knew that she could handle it, and she was still a little intimidated by him.