Read Online Everyday Blessings by Jillian Hart - Free Book Online Page B

was the light that drew him now. He felt himself leaning toward it, toward her, although she was nearly an hour’s drive away. Distance vanished as he listened to her words fill with honesty, another rare thing.
    â€œA wonderful blessing has come into my twin’s life,” she was saying. “I’ve been praying for Ava’s happiness every day since I was old enough to pray. I’m the one who talked her into trusting this guy she’s going to marry, and he’s good to her. He really loves her, and he gets her. I know I can hand over the job of looking after Ava to him, and believe me, she needs looking after.”
    â€œRelieved to hand over that job, are you?”
    â€œNo kidding.”
    He wasn’t fooled. No, he’d heard a lot of untruths and falsehoods and full-out lies to know the real thing when he heard it. “You love your sister.”
    â€œMore than my own life. I have the greatest family. I am deeply blessed. I appreciate them and love them with all my heart. I know a good thing when I see it.”
    William felt his frozen heart crack a little. The squeeze of pain that followed confused him. He’d kept his heart ice-cold for a reason. Despair had done that all on its own. But now, he felt as if something were struggling to the surface, trapped beneath the ice.
    â€œHere I am, babbling on.”
    He cleared his throat, but emotion seemed stuck there. “No problem.”
    â€œI have another reason for calling. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
    It had been a long time since he’d heard that in such a caring way. Her warmth and honesty captivated him and he squeezed his eyes shut, his mind spinning. He remembered how he’d left her in the chapel, how she’d looked like loveliness and hope.
    It seemed impossible for him to feel anything again, but real emotion, alive and strong, flared in his chest. Emotions of a deeper nature, beyond the casual simple small talk they’d been sharing. He liked her, but Aubrey McKaslin was getting too close.
    That meant only one thing: time to end the call. “I’m fine. Getting along. I’ll keep Jonas in my prayers.”
    â€œEveryone’s prayers are sure helping, I—”
    â€œI’ve got to go.” It wasn’t easy to interrupt her. To stop the gentleness of her voice and the bright way she made him feel. Lightning strobed through the roiling black sky in a blinding flash from sky to mountaintop. Thunder crashed as loud as an avalanche rolling downhill, and William didn’t know if it was divine help or simple coincidence, but he was grateful for the excuse.
    â€œYou shouldn’t be talking on the phone. I couldhear the thunder from here. William, I’m keeping you in prayer—”
    â€œYou take care now.”
    â€œYou, too.” The line went dead the same instant the overhead light winked off. Hail slammed against the windows and the roof overhead. Aubrey set down the phone and went to the living-room window. The storm had drained the last of the light from the evening, and it looked as dark as night outside, except for the brilliant jagged bolts of lightning crackling across the sky. Everything went black, including the other apartments in the building and the entire residential block she could see from her perch.
    Maybe she should go in search of a flashlight and some candles. Who knew what Ava may have done with the matches? The chances of finding them had to be next to none. Aubrey felt the edge of the coffee table press against the back of her calves. She’d try the kitchen drawers first, then decide what to eat if the electricity stayed out.
    About the time she found a flashlight at the back of the sixth drawer she’d searched, the door flung open with a gust of wind and hammering hail. A faint, familiar shadow filled the entryway and wrestled the door shut.
    â€œWhew!” Ava leaned against the door looking utterly exhausted.