Read Online Kicking Eternity by Ann Lee Miller - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ann Lee Miller
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the trip to Lost Lagoon with Drew, and their argument trickled out.
When she stopped talking, they sat in the silence. The cabin creaked. Outside, crickets droned.
“I’m so sorry, Raine. I feel helpless. There’s not a single thing I can do to fix things .”
“You’re wrong. You let me cry. I didn’t have to cry alone.” She breathed in a ragged breath. “I actually feel better, like I could go to sleep now.”
Aly reached over and hugged her neck, pressing their cheeks together. Somebody’s hair was smashed between them. Aly held on. “Raine I was so wrong about you. So very wrong.” Another second went by before Aly let go.
“Wrong, how?”
She heard Aly’s chuckle in the dark. “You do need a friend.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you!”
Aly climbed into her own bunk. The bed creaked and Raine heard Aly’s voice nearby. “Thanks for trusting me. I won’t let you down. Night.” Her voice was soft.
Raine lay back and rolled onto her side. Thank you, Lord! The pillowcase was cool against her face. Weariness from expelling emotion settled over her, a welcome blanket of peace, and she drifted toward sleep.
What if Cal actually liked her? Her eyes popped open.
Chapter 6
Drew padded across tiny castles last night’s squall had sculpted in the sand. The sky had washed out gray with a ribbon of light lying on the horizon. He stopped to watch the first millimeter of a butter-white sun poke through the Atlantic.
Morning, Jesus.
Fourteen minutes from his alarm going off. Not bad.
He glanced down the beach. Rainey’s dark bob moved toward the jetty. Her arms waved around in front of her as though she were talking to someone he couldn’t see. She hadn’t showed yesterday morning. She was probably still ticked at him.
The pages of his Bible whispered through his fingers. Loneliness yawned and stretched inside him. Talk to me.
A cord of three strands is not easily broken .
Well, he’d broken it with Rainey. He sighed and read the verse again. He had friendship with Jesus. And, yeah, it was sweet, but someone visible would be nice. Jesse and Keenan were good, but he needed a friend who was a peer. Like Rainey.
N otes and words flowed out of him like water out of the Cape Canaveral Canal Lock. At last, he slumped over his guitar and closed his eyes. “Amen.”
When he opened his eyes Rainey stood a few feet away , looking uncomfortable. They both spoke at once. “Sorry I went off on you,” Rainey said.
“Sorry I made you mad.”
They exchanged uneasy smiles.
“Forgive me?” He held his hand up to her.
Rainey nodded. “Yeah.” She shook his hand. “I’ll think about what you said.”
Silence pinged back and forth between them . Rainey’s eyes, green with pinpricks of light, matched the exact shade of the water sloshing on the sand. He sucked in fresh-washed air and blew out tension. Maybe Rainey could be that friend. He stood and dusted the sand off the seat of his shorts.
Rainey gaz ed out to sea. “I wanted to ask you about something.” She looked back at him. “Cal says we should explore other religions, not accept what our parents taught us. How can I explain God? It’s like trying to explain Narnia to someone who’s never stepped through the wardrobe. I feel so—’untried , ’ Cal called me.”
“You’re tried alright.” So, she wasn’t telling Cal about Eddie. Something warm fizzed between his ribs. “But it won’t hurt to read up on other religions.”
Rainey chewed on her bottom lip. He set his guitar into its case and flipped the latches shut.
“I wish I’d listened better in my comparative religions class. All religions are about man reaching out for God. Christianity is about God reaching out to man. That’s what I remember. Pretty pathetic for a semester’s worth of classes.”
“Sounds like you boiled the course into a one-sentence summary.” He glanced at her sneakers as they headed toward the seawall. His lips tugged into a
When she stopped talking, they sat in the silence. The cabin creaked. Outside, crickets droned.
“I’m so sorry, Raine. I feel helpless. There’s not a single thing I can do to fix things .”
“You’re wrong. You let me cry. I didn’t have to cry alone.” She breathed in a ragged breath. “I actually feel better, like I could go to sleep now.”
Aly reached over and hugged her neck, pressing their cheeks together. Somebody’s hair was smashed between them. Aly held on. “Raine I was so wrong about you. So very wrong.” Another second went by before Aly let go.
“Wrong, how?”
She heard Aly’s chuckle in the dark. “You do need a friend.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you!”
Aly climbed into her own bunk. The bed creaked and Raine heard Aly’s voice nearby. “Thanks for trusting me. I won’t let you down. Night.” Her voice was soft.
Raine lay back and rolled onto her side. Thank you, Lord! The pillowcase was cool against her face. Weariness from expelling emotion settled over her, a welcome blanket of peace, and she drifted toward sleep.
What if Cal actually liked her? Her eyes popped open.
Chapter 6
Drew padded across tiny castles last night’s squall had sculpted in the sand. The sky had washed out gray with a ribbon of light lying on the horizon. He stopped to watch the first millimeter of a butter-white sun poke through the Atlantic.
Morning, Jesus.
Fourteen minutes from his alarm going off. Not bad.
He glanced down the beach. Rainey’s dark bob moved toward the jetty. Her arms waved around in front of her as though she were talking to someone he couldn’t see. She hadn’t showed yesterday morning. She was probably still ticked at him.
The pages of his Bible whispered through his fingers. Loneliness yawned and stretched inside him. Talk to me.
A cord of three strands is not easily broken .
Well, he’d broken it with Rainey. He sighed and read the verse again. He had friendship with Jesus. And, yeah, it was sweet, but someone visible would be nice. Jesse and Keenan were good, but he needed a friend who was a peer. Like Rainey.
N otes and words flowed out of him like water out of the Cape Canaveral Canal Lock. At last, he slumped over his guitar and closed his eyes. “Amen.”
When he opened his eyes Rainey stood a few feet away , looking uncomfortable. They both spoke at once. “Sorry I went off on you,” Rainey said.
“Sorry I made you mad.”
They exchanged uneasy smiles.
“Forgive me?” He held his hand up to her.
Rainey nodded. “Yeah.” She shook his hand. “I’ll think about what you said.”
Silence pinged back and forth between them . Rainey’s eyes, green with pinpricks of light, matched the exact shade of the water sloshing on the sand. He sucked in fresh-washed air and blew out tension. Maybe Rainey could be that friend. He stood and dusted the sand off the seat of his shorts.
Rainey gaz ed out to sea. “I wanted to ask you about something.” She looked back at him. “Cal says we should explore other religions, not accept what our parents taught us. How can I explain God? It’s like trying to explain Narnia to someone who’s never stepped through the wardrobe. I feel so—’untried , ’ Cal called me.”
“You’re tried alright.” So, she wasn’t telling Cal about Eddie. Something warm fizzed between his ribs. “But it won’t hurt to read up on other religions.”
Rainey chewed on her bottom lip. He set his guitar into its case and flipped the latches shut.
“I wish I’d listened better in my comparative religions class. All religions are about man reaching out for God. Christianity is about God reaching out to man. That’s what I remember. Pretty pathetic for a semester’s worth of classes.”
“Sounds like you boiled the course into a one-sentence summary.” He glanced at her sneakers as they headed toward the seawall. His lips tugged into a
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