Read Online Retribution by Regina Smeltzer - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Regina Smeltzer
Tags: Christian fiction
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drink?” Trina asked. “I have coffee ready, but if you prefer, I can make you hot chocolate.”
“No chocolate!” The words spat out with more force than she had intended. “Coffee is fine. Where are the cups?” she asked, rising from her chair. “I can help myself and save you a few steps.” And keep you from adding arsenic.
Trina’s face morphed into mock horror. “You’re our guest! You can’t work!”
“I don’t like being waited on.”
As Trina handed her a hot cup of coffee, Lillian forced herself to glance at the woman’s belly—the bump that had sent her spinning out of control the night before. She swallowed hard. “When is your baby due?”
Trina patted her stomach. “Not for three more months. January 17 th actually.”
“My birthday,” Bill mumbled, a hint of a smile cracking his taciturn expression.
“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“Yes, it’s a boy or a girl,” Ted said, grinning.
“That’s Ted’s favorite reply when someone asks,” Trina said. “We decided we didn’t want to know until the birth.”
“You two decided,” Bill said. “No one asked my opinion.”
“It’s our baby, Dad,” Trina placed a tile trivet decorated with a strutting rooster in the center of the table.
Bill stared at his coffee cup. “One day you may find that envelope missing.”
Trina turned to Lillian. “Our doctor wrote the gender of the baby on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope in case we changed our minds. Ted taped it to the mirror in our bedroom.”
“And now I have to stare at it every day.” Bill drained his cup. “You could at least have hidden the thing.”
“And just how many times in a day are you in my bedroom?” Trina scrunched her face in thought. “Hmm…none!”
Ted glanced at the timer on the stove. “I hope you’re not in a hurry.”
“I don’t have to be at the university until 9:00.”
Trina giggled. “I love the sound of your Ohio voice.”
“I was just thinking the same about you.” Lillian gazed at the pregnant woman who radiated warmth and acceptance. Under different circumstances, they could have been friends.
“We’ve only been in the south seven months, so we still sound northern,” Trina continued, “but wait until you hear Sandra’s accent! She’s a native, and our landlady. We’re renting the house and running the bed and breakfast. Actually, the house partially belongs to us, but it’s a long story.” Trina was definitely a morning person.
The timer buzzed.
Ted untangled his legs and grabbed the strawberry-patterned pot holders. “Mmm. Smells good.”
Trina placed wrapped sandwiches into a brown paper bag and moved the bag to the end of the counter before sitting beside her husband. “I love starting our day together,” she said, taking Ted’s hand and reaching across the table for her father’s. “These men are my whole life, and soon there will be the baby.”
“Let’s pray,” Bill said.
Ted held out a hand to Lillian and Bill took the other. Not one to rely on emotions to get through a day, she wasn’t sure what to do with this sudden immersion in warm-fuzzy. She had just met these people, and yet the goodwill they shared was feeding a hunger she didn’t realize she had. A praying family. Just what she needed. Except…
Confusion swirled like a dust storm in her head. What was happening here? It went beyond forgiveness, but she couldn’t define it. Trina and Ted seemed to care about her, and they didn’t know her family lineage, her income, or her social position. She felt puny, having resented Trina for the blessing she carried in her womb. God, please forgive me, but give me strength.
“Lord, bless this food, and the day before us. Help us to use our talents to honor You…and be with our guest. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Ted shoveled a hot bite of egg, potato, and sausage casserole into his mouth. “I love it when you fix this for breakfast.”
“I know, but you had better
“No chocolate!” The words spat out with more force than she had intended. “Coffee is fine. Where are the cups?” she asked, rising from her chair. “I can help myself and save you a few steps.” And keep you from adding arsenic.
Trina’s face morphed into mock horror. “You’re our guest! You can’t work!”
“I don’t like being waited on.”
As Trina handed her a hot cup of coffee, Lillian forced herself to glance at the woman’s belly—the bump that had sent her spinning out of control the night before. She swallowed hard. “When is your baby due?”
Trina patted her stomach. “Not for three more months. January 17 th actually.”
“My birthday,” Bill mumbled, a hint of a smile cracking his taciturn expression.
“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“Yes, it’s a boy or a girl,” Ted said, grinning.
“That’s Ted’s favorite reply when someone asks,” Trina said. “We decided we didn’t want to know until the birth.”
“You two decided,” Bill said. “No one asked my opinion.”
“It’s our baby, Dad,” Trina placed a tile trivet decorated with a strutting rooster in the center of the table.
Bill stared at his coffee cup. “One day you may find that envelope missing.”
Trina turned to Lillian. “Our doctor wrote the gender of the baby on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope in case we changed our minds. Ted taped it to the mirror in our bedroom.”
“And now I have to stare at it every day.” Bill drained his cup. “You could at least have hidden the thing.”
“And just how many times in a day are you in my bedroom?” Trina scrunched her face in thought. “Hmm…none!”
Ted glanced at the timer on the stove. “I hope you’re not in a hurry.”
“I don’t have to be at the university until 9:00.”
Trina giggled. “I love the sound of your Ohio voice.”
“I was just thinking the same about you.” Lillian gazed at the pregnant woman who radiated warmth and acceptance. Under different circumstances, they could have been friends.
“We’ve only been in the south seven months, so we still sound northern,” Trina continued, “but wait until you hear Sandra’s accent! She’s a native, and our landlady. We’re renting the house and running the bed and breakfast. Actually, the house partially belongs to us, but it’s a long story.” Trina was definitely a morning person.
The timer buzzed.
Ted untangled his legs and grabbed the strawberry-patterned pot holders. “Mmm. Smells good.”
Trina placed wrapped sandwiches into a brown paper bag and moved the bag to the end of the counter before sitting beside her husband. “I love starting our day together,” she said, taking Ted’s hand and reaching across the table for her father’s. “These men are my whole life, and soon there will be the baby.”
“Let’s pray,” Bill said.
Ted held out a hand to Lillian and Bill took the other. Not one to rely on emotions to get through a day, she wasn’t sure what to do with this sudden immersion in warm-fuzzy. She had just met these people, and yet the goodwill they shared was feeding a hunger she didn’t realize she had. A praying family. Just what she needed. Except…
Confusion swirled like a dust storm in her head. What was happening here? It went beyond forgiveness, but she couldn’t define it. Trina and Ted seemed to care about her, and they didn’t know her family lineage, her income, or her social position. She felt puny, having resented Trina for the blessing she carried in her womb. God, please forgive me, but give me strength.
“Lord, bless this food, and the day before us. Help us to use our talents to honor You…and be with our guest. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Ted shoveled a hot bite of egg, potato, and sausage casserole into his mouth. “I love it when you fix this for breakfast.”
“I know, but you had better
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