Read Online Just Shy of Harmony by Philip Gulley - Free Book Online Page B

could spend themoney without Asa’s knowing it. Maybe put it in the bank in the next town over and draw out a little at a time. Just enough to pay the bills.
    She was wondering about that when Asa stood up and said, “Let’s turn on the news and see what’s going on in the world.”
    He pushed open the wooden screen door, walked into the front room, and arranged himself in his recliner. Jessie sat next to him in her chair.
    He turned on Channel 5, just in time to hear the anchorman say, “A local woman is three and a half million dollars richer today. We’ll tell you more after this commercial break.”
    “Wow,” Asa said. “Think of that. Three and a half million dollars. Of course, all the money in the world won’t bring a man peace of mind.”
    Jessie stood up and said, “Did you hear that?”
    “Hear what?” He turned off the television set.
    “The chickens. I think I hear the chickens. I wonder if there’s a fox in the chicken coop again?”
    Asa bolted from his chair and ran out the kitchen door toward the coop.
    Jessie hurried behind the television, unplugged the antenna, then went outside.
    “Is everything all right?” she yelled from the porch.
    “A-okay!” Asa yelled back from the coop.
    They returned to the house. Asa settled back in his chair and pushed the ON button. The television was snowy white.
    “Now what’s the matter?” he said.
    “I think it’s broken. It’s been acting up lately.”
    “Rats! I wanted to see who won all that money.”
    “Probably no one we know.”
    The phone rang in the kitchen.
    “Now who’d be calling this late at night?” Asa wondered aloud.
    Jessie hurried to answer it. It was Dale Hinshaw.
    “Say, Jessie, they was just talking about you on the TV. I thought you’d turned that money down. Speaking of money, I’d like to talk with you about my Scripture egg project. I just felt the Lord leading me to ask if you want to donate a little something toward it. Can I stop by your house tomorrow morning?”
    “I can’t talk now,” Jessie said, and hung up the phone. She took the phone off the hook and placed it on the counter.
    “Who was that?” Asa called from the front room.
    “A man selling aluminum siding.”
     
    I t was late. They went upstairs and got ready for bed. By the time Jessie worked up her courage to tell Asa about the money, he was almost asleep. She said in a quiet voice, “Asa?”
    It was dark in their bedroom. She could feel him shift toward her.
    “Yes.”
    “I’ve done something I need to tell you about.”
    “What is it, honey?”
    “Remember those letters we’ve been getting from the lottery people?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Well, I called them up and talked with the nicest lady. And, well, I just got to thinking how this might bethe Lord’s way of taking care of us and, well, I went ahead and took the money.”
    Asa came wide awake. He sat up and turned on the lamp beside their bed.
    “We have five million dollars?”
    “Actually, only three and a half million. I picked the instant payment over the twenty-year payout.”
    “When do we get the money?”
    “The check came today. It’s downstairs.”
    “Can I see it?”
    They climbed from the bed, pulled their robes from the bedposts, and walked down the stairs.
    Jessie reached up under the punch bowl and pulled the check out. They sat at the kitchen table, across from one another.
    Asa peered at the check. He held it up to the light. “It looks real,” he said.
    “Oh, it’s real. Clarence brought it in the registered mail.”
    “It makes me kind of nervous, having all this money in the house.” He walked over to the kitchen door and locked it.
    “Let’s take it to the bank first thing in the morning,” Jessie said.
    “Does that mean we’re going to keep it?”
    Jessie grew quiet, then reached across the table and took his hand.
    “Asa, don’t take this wrong—you’ve taken good care of me over the years. But lately it’s been kind of tough. It’s wearing