Read Online Bygones by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book Online

as the stars. Suddenly uncomfortable but not sure why, Beth forced a hint of mockery into her voice. “ ‘Sheweth’?”
    Mom gave a start, looking at Beth sheepishly. “Oh.” She laughedlightly. “Something I memorized as a child. Funny. . .” She nibbled her lower lip, her gaze returning to the sky. “I haven’t thought about that in years.”
    Beth waited, her arms folded around her middle. Her mother stared upward, a smile barely tipping the corners of her lips. What was Mom thinking—remembering? For some reason, Beth felt afraid to ask.
    After a long while, Mom released an airy sigh, then aimed a bright smile in Beth’s direction. “Well, let’s get these suitcases inside and unpacked, huh? The rest can wait until tomorrow and sunlight.”

    Marie pulled the stiff sheet and chenille spread to her chin and stared at the ceiling. From down the hall, a series of squeaks indicated Beth wiggled on the cot. An odd warmth filled her face as she thought about that cot. The second, smaller bedroom had always been Lisbeth’s sewing room. Someone had taken down the folding table she’d used to cut fabric or lay out quilt squares and put up the cot, obviously for their use. And she knew who had done it.
    When she’d called yesterday, Henry had been eating lunch in the café, so Deborah had called him to the telephone. He had sounded dismayed when she’d said she and Beth would be coming the next day. She could still hear his startled, “But there’s no time for preparation.” That had been her intention—she hadn’t wanted him to feel obligated to get things ready for her. Then he’d asked, “Do you remember Lisbeth only has one bed in her house? Will it work for you and your daughter to share?”
    Marie’s hesitation before replying that it would be fine no doubt communicated her true feelings about having to bunk with Beth. He must have brought in the cot. And covered it with the bright heart-appliquéd quilt Marie had always loved. Did he remember herpreference for bright colors when he’d fixed up the cot?
    Her chest felt tight, and she pushed that thought away. How silly to take a trip down Memory Lane. Yet she couldn’t deny being in Lisbeth’s house, being in Sommerfeld, was tugging her backward in time.
    She closed her eyes, her body tired, yet her mind refused to shut down. Outside, under the stars, the Bible verse from Psalms had slipped from her mouth so easily. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d quoted a scripture. Yet it had happened effortlessly, as if it had been lying dormant, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.
    When she’d first pulled into the yard and seen the light glowing from the kitchen window, her heart had leaped with hope that maybe— maybe —someone would be in the house waiting to greet her, to hug her, to welcome her back. But the locked door had let her know no one was around.
    The disappointment of that moment stabbed like a knife. Hadn’t Sally told her not to expect too much? Yet underneath, an ever-sohesitant glimmer of hope resided, only to be snatched away by a locked back door. No, no one had been waiting.
    Except God .
    Marie’s eyes popped open. What made her think that? “ ‘The heavens declare the glory of God.’ ” She whispered the words into the quiet room. A feeling of comfort followed. A feeling she little understood and was too tired to explore.
    “Well, if You’re around, God,” she muttered with a touch of belligerence, “You might let me get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and I’ve got my work cut out for me tomorrow with cleaning this house and carting in the stuff Beth and I brought.”
    How strange it felt to speak to God that way, the easy way Lisbeth had always spoken—out loud, without pretension. The way one would talk with a neighbor over the fence. Another constrictiongrabbed her chest, making her breath come in little spurts. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pushed aside the emotions straining for release