Read Online Reconciled for Easter by Noelle Adams - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Noelle Adams
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only one appropriate for women. She’d started changing after she’d first joined that Bible study, and she no longer believed what she used to. But maybe she’d taken it too far. Maybe she had somehow become selfish. She knew so many women who prayed for the day they could stay at home with their children. And here she was…
“Okay?” Thomas prompted, with a lift of his eyebrows.
She nodded, swallowing hard, feeling the way she always had as a child when her father gave her a sermon, telling her how God expected her to be a better girl. She picked up the paper and crumpled it with her hand. She murmured, “Okay. That makes sense.”
***
Abigail, wake up. Abigail, baby, wake up.
The voice was coming out of the darkness again, and this time it was paired with a soft shake of her shoulder. “Abigail, wake up.”
Four months had passed since that conversation in the study about the job, and Thomas was now trying to wake her up.
Abigail groaned reluctantly, attempting to turn away from the intrusive presence.
“I’m sorry, Abigail, but you need to wake up.” The grip on her shoulder tightened slightly and the shaking grew more forceful.
“Too early,” she mumbled, trying to keep her eyes closed.
“I know it’s early, but I have to leave.”
And that jarred away the last remnants of sleep. Her eyes popped open, and she was confronted with a vision of Thomas—fully dressed in a suit and tie—sitting on the edge of their bed and looking down at her. “What? What ?”
“My plane leaves in a couple of hours.”
“But,” she croaked, forcing her foggy mind to work. “I thought you weren’t going.”
“I said I’d think about it. But it’s too good an opportunity not to consider. I’m not saying I’ll take it, but I have to at least give it a chance. It would make my entire career.”
Of course, it would. Thomas was brilliant, and he had almost completed his residency program at Duke. Hospitals and medical groups were falling all over themselves to get him. But this particular opportunity meant moving halfway across the country and taking a high-stress job that guaranteed she and Mia would hardly ever see him.
“But we were going to stay in North Carolina.” Abigail was becoming more and more aware of what was happening now, and a heavy weight of dread started sinking in her gut. “It was all working out. Being close to our families, a low-stress position for you so you could be around more, the job for me...”
She’d applied for the job at Milbourne House after all, a few weeks after she’d agreed to wait and see, since the position was closing and she would have lost her chance completely. She’d talked to Thomas about it, and he hadn’t looked happy but he hadn’t objected.
Last week, she’d gotten the job offer.
“I know that,” Thomas said coolly, looking slightly annoyed by the reproach. “I’m not saying that won’t work out. But my job is more important than…” He trailed off before he finished the thought, but she knew exactly what he’d been going to say. “I just need to give this a chance before I make a decision.”
“But—”
“I have to go, Abigail.”
Anger spiraled up, momentarily overwhelming the doomed burden of acknowledgment underlying it. “So you’re going to decide on your own? What’s best for our family? You’re just going to decide on your own?”
“Abigail, please,” he said curtly, standing up, the release of his weight causing the mattress to shift. “Don’t be unreasonable. You know I hate when you’re emotional like this.”
Her first response was to hold her tongue, rein in her angry and crushing disappointment. And then she was furious with herself for that instinctive response, as if she’d been trained to always cave without question to a man’s will. “Unreasonable? Emotional? I’m so sorry my feelings bother you so much.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“I will be sarcastic if you’re going to be so—”
He
“Okay?” Thomas prompted, with a lift of his eyebrows.
She nodded, swallowing hard, feeling the way she always had as a child when her father gave her a sermon, telling her how God expected her to be a better girl. She picked up the paper and crumpled it with her hand. She murmured, “Okay. That makes sense.”
***
Abigail, wake up. Abigail, baby, wake up.
The voice was coming out of the darkness again, and this time it was paired with a soft shake of her shoulder. “Abigail, wake up.”
Four months had passed since that conversation in the study about the job, and Thomas was now trying to wake her up.
Abigail groaned reluctantly, attempting to turn away from the intrusive presence.
“I’m sorry, Abigail, but you need to wake up.” The grip on her shoulder tightened slightly and the shaking grew more forceful.
“Too early,” she mumbled, trying to keep her eyes closed.
“I know it’s early, but I have to leave.”
And that jarred away the last remnants of sleep. Her eyes popped open, and she was confronted with a vision of Thomas—fully dressed in a suit and tie—sitting on the edge of their bed and looking down at her. “What? What ?”
“My plane leaves in a couple of hours.”
“But,” she croaked, forcing her foggy mind to work. “I thought you weren’t going.”
“I said I’d think about it. But it’s too good an opportunity not to consider. I’m not saying I’ll take it, but I have to at least give it a chance. It would make my entire career.”
Of course, it would. Thomas was brilliant, and he had almost completed his residency program at Duke. Hospitals and medical groups were falling all over themselves to get him. But this particular opportunity meant moving halfway across the country and taking a high-stress job that guaranteed she and Mia would hardly ever see him.
“But we were going to stay in North Carolina.” Abigail was becoming more and more aware of what was happening now, and a heavy weight of dread started sinking in her gut. “It was all working out. Being close to our families, a low-stress position for you so you could be around more, the job for me...”
She’d applied for the job at Milbourne House after all, a few weeks after she’d agreed to wait and see, since the position was closing and she would have lost her chance completely. She’d talked to Thomas about it, and he hadn’t looked happy but he hadn’t objected.
Last week, she’d gotten the job offer.
“I know that,” Thomas said coolly, looking slightly annoyed by the reproach. “I’m not saying that won’t work out. But my job is more important than…” He trailed off before he finished the thought, but she knew exactly what he’d been going to say. “I just need to give this a chance before I make a decision.”
“But—”
“I have to go, Abigail.”
Anger spiraled up, momentarily overwhelming the doomed burden of acknowledgment underlying it. “So you’re going to decide on your own? What’s best for our family? You’re just going to decide on your own?”
“Abigail, please,” he said curtly, standing up, the release of his weight causing the mattress to shift. “Don’t be unreasonable. You know I hate when you’re emotional like this.”
Her first response was to hold her tongue, rein in her angry and crushing disappointment. And then she was furious with herself for that instinctive response, as if she’d been trained to always cave without question to a man’s will. “Unreasonable? Emotional? I’m so sorry my feelings bother you so much.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“I will be sarcastic if you’re going to be so—”
He
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