Read Online Prairie Storm by Catherine Palmer - Free Book Online Page B

love for his people. But the greatest gift of love God gave us is his Son.”
    The dog dropped his bone, let out a loud groan of canine satisfaction, and stretched himself across the floor, tail thudding contentedly. Mrs. O’Toole stood up and carried her crying daughter out of the building. A rooster flapped up onto a windowsill and surveyed the crowd, his red feathers glossy in the sunshine. Lily’s lips twitched in amusement.
    â€œMost of you folks have heard about the baby God gave me,” Eli continued, determined to ignore the interruptions. He didn’t often mention his own life in sermons, but somehow he didn’t feel much like he was preaching right now. He felt as though he were talking to Lily Nolan.
    â€œNow little Samuel is my son,” he said, “and I’m about as partial to him as any papa could be. Sure, he kept me up all last night with his hootin’ and hollerin’. And I have no doubt he’s messed more diapers than any baby on God’s green earth.”
    At this, the crowd chuckled. Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching. Her dress was the color of new lilacs in the springtime, and she looked as wholesome as fresh milk. Eli’s heart ached at the memory of the bitterness that rose so quickly to her tongue.
    â€œThe fact is,” he said, “I’m not much fit to be a papa. I didn’t ask for the job, and I don’t have a wife to help me out. But God gave Samuel to me, and I love the boy. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anybody. Do you think I’d ever give him up? Do you think I’d turn him loose in a crowd that hated him? Do you think I’d ever let anybody hurt my son?”
    He stepped away from the rough-hewn pulpit and faced his congregation. “Never,” he said. “But I’m not God. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ God sent Jesus Christ among us—and we ridiculed him, tormented him, beat him, and finally killed him. God loves us so much he didn’t want us to have to endure the punishment we deserve.”
    When he lifted his focus to the back of the room again, Eli realized that Lily had slipped away. His heart burning, he continued to speak as though she were still there. The rooster fluttered down from the windowsill and hopped over to inspect the dog bone. An elderly woman had a fit of coughing. Two children went to sleep. Eli didn’t care. Maybe someone in this room needed to know about the amazing gift of God’s love, and that was all that mattered.
    The Word of the Lord was a flaming sword inside him—a sharp-edged, soul-cleansing, heart-piercing, all-protecting blade—and he had been commanded to wield it. Elijah Book was God’s soldier, and for his Lord he would battle to the death all sin and wickedness.

    â€œWhat a fine sermon, Reverend,” Lily said when she spotted the long-legged preacher making his way down to the creek bank, where she sat nursing his baby. “And how many souls did you save from the fires of everlasting damnation?”
    She saw him pause a moment, and she knew her words had wounded. Why did she feel such a need to strike out at the man? What brought on this compelling urge to hurt him? He’d done nothing against her. In fact, he had offered her good pay, searched out a place for her to stay, given her this chance to hold a baby once again. Though her heart ached with grief for her precious Abigail, she could not deny the pleasure she felt when little Samuel snuggled close against her, his eyes shut in peaceful slumber.
    â€œI’ve never saved anybody, Mrs. Nolan,” Elijah said, covering the last few feet toward her. “I just tell folks what God says in the Bible. He’s the one who does the saving.”
    â€œAh,” she said, “how humble of you.”
    Biting her