agreed to hire her, but that still left them needing a place to stay.
Adam wasn’t the answer to her prayers as she’d briefly dared to hope, but perhaps their situation would turn out better for them after all. If she could get a position in town it would give her brother an opportunity to go to school, something she desperately wanted for him.
Koby stepped beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder. “Leaving the mill would mean no more of the cook’s dinners. I love your cooking, and it’s obvious that Mr. Johnson agrees—”
“Koby.” Despite his persistence, she had to laugh. Leave it to her brother to say the right thing to make her smile. The food at the mills did leave much to be desired. She and her brother had come up with their own names for the bland, often unidentifiable dishes—mysterious macaroni pie, seafood surprise, peculiar pastries …
“Do we really have to go?”
Lidia glanced up at the cabin and swallowed the feelings of regret that threatened to surface. “Yes, Koby, it’s time to go.”
Adam stared at the thin pile of newspaper articles he’d kept after his brother’s death. He shouldn’t have walked away from Lidia, but he’d been so afraid of losing control of his emotions. His reaction was far from godly, but at the moment he didn’t care. He knew he should bury the incident and leave it in the past. He should even be relieved to find out who was responsible for Samuel’s death. But nothing would bring Samuel back, and nothing would erase the pain or the guilt he felt over what happened.
Trying to hold back thoughts of revenge, he pulled his leather-bound Bible out of a drawer. The pages fell open to the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. He’d underlined the verses on forgiveness in chapter six, but as many times as he’d read them, forgiveness still seemed impossible to find.
Forgiveness toward Samuel’s murderer? Or forgiveness toward myself?
Adam slammed the book shut at the question. He hated the feelings of guilt that plagued him. Wasn’t it easier to lay the blame at the feet of the boy who killed Samuel?
And his entire family, as well?
Again the unwanted stab of conscience haunted him. At Lidia’s confession he’d run like a frightened animal. It had been her brother who’d killed Samuel. He couldn’t deny that truth.
The uninvited image of Lidia filled the recesses of his mind. Her wide, brown eyes and soft smile had touched something inside of him that had never been awakened before. He could hear the entertaining lilt of her voice and the tinkling sound of her laughter. But most of all he could feel the feather touch of her lips against his. He’d wanted that moment to last forever and had even wondered if she might be the one person he needed to make his life complete.
A fire blazed in the hearth, taking off the chill of the morning. He threw the papers into the fire and watched the orange flames lick hungrily at the added fuel. As the articles disintegrated before him, crackling into black ashes, he wondered if it were possible for his emotions to do the same. To not only forgive and forget, but to put the past and its horrible mistakes behind him. Wasn’t Lidia worth taking a chance on? Wasn’t she worth taking the time to get to know better despite what her brother had done to his family?
I just don’t think I can do it, Lord .
The squeak of a wagon wheel broke into his thoughts and drew his attention to the window. His father stepped out of the flatbed wagon in front of the cabin.
Adam took a deep breath, wondering what he should tell his father. Knowing the identity of Samuel’s murderer should make it easier for the sheriff and his men to find him. But in the process it would break Lidia’s heart. That was something he didn’t want to happen no matter what his conflicting feelings toward her were at the moment.
Adam opened the door, then paused in the entrance as his father took the porch steps two at a time to
Adam wasn’t the answer to her prayers as she’d briefly dared to hope, but perhaps their situation would turn out better for them after all. If she could get a position in town it would give her brother an opportunity to go to school, something she desperately wanted for him.
Koby stepped beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder. “Leaving the mill would mean no more of the cook’s dinners. I love your cooking, and it’s obvious that Mr. Johnson agrees—”
“Koby.” Despite his persistence, she had to laugh. Leave it to her brother to say the right thing to make her smile. The food at the mills did leave much to be desired. She and her brother had come up with their own names for the bland, often unidentifiable dishes—mysterious macaroni pie, seafood surprise, peculiar pastries …
“Do we really have to go?”
Lidia glanced up at the cabin and swallowed the feelings of regret that threatened to surface. “Yes, Koby, it’s time to go.”
Adam stared at the thin pile of newspaper articles he’d kept after his brother’s death. He shouldn’t have walked away from Lidia, but he’d been so afraid of losing control of his emotions. His reaction was far from godly, but at the moment he didn’t care. He knew he should bury the incident and leave it in the past. He should even be relieved to find out who was responsible for Samuel’s death. But nothing would bring Samuel back, and nothing would erase the pain or the guilt he felt over what happened.
Trying to hold back thoughts of revenge, he pulled his leather-bound Bible out of a drawer. The pages fell open to the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. He’d underlined the verses on forgiveness in chapter six, but as many times as he’d read them, forgiveness still seemed impossible to find.
Forgiveness toward Samuel’s murderer? Or forgiveness toward myself?
Adam slammed the book shut at the question. He hated the feelings of guilt that plagued him. Wasn’t it easier to lay the blame at the feet of the boy who killed Samuel?
And his entire family, as well?
Again the unwanted stab of conscience haunted him. At Lidia’s confession he’d run like a frightened animal. It had been her brother who’d killed Samuel. He couldn’t deny that truth.
The uninvited image of Lidia filled the recesses of his mind. Her wide, brown eyes and soft smile had touched something inside of him that had never been awakened before. He could hear the entertaining lilt of her voice and the tinkling sound of her laughter. But most of all he could feel the feather touch of her lips against his. He’d wanted that moment to last forever and had even wondered if she might be the one person he needed to make his life complete.
A fire blazed in the hearth, taking off the chill of the morning. He threw the papers into the fire and watched the orange flames lick hungrily at the added fuel. As the articles disintegrated before him, crackling into black ashes, he wondered if it were possible for his emotions to do the same. To not only forgive and forget, but to put the past and its horrible mistakes behind him. Wasn’t Lidia worth taking a chance on? Wasn’t she worth taking the time to get to know better despite what her brother had done to his family?
I just don’t think I can do it, Lord .
The squeak of a wagon wheel broke into his thoughts and drew his attention to the window. His father stepped out of the flatbed wagon in front of the cabin.
Adam took a deep breath, wondering what he should tell his father. Knowing the identity of Samuel’s murderer should make it easier for the sheriff and his men to find him. But in the process it would break Lidia’s heart. That was something he didn’t want to happen no matter what his conflicting feelings toward her were at the moment.
Adam opened the door, then paused in the entrance as his father took the porch steps two at a time to
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