Read Online The Shepherd's Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book Online Page A

deep breaths. Yes, that was definitely better. A drink of chilled lemonade from the icebox and a few moments seated in the shade and she would feel herself again.
She strode toward the house, sweeping off her straw bonnet as she went. Inside, she hung the hat on a peg near the door. She crossed to the icebox, drew out the pitcher of lemonade, and poured the sweet-tart beverage into a glass. Then she tipped back her head and drained the contents without drawing a breath between gulps.
Much better.
She set the glass on the counter as her gaze shifted to the window. She saw Gabe walk out of the barn, stop, glance toward the house. That confounded weakness in her knees returned.
Maybe she’d better have another glass of lemonade before she returned to the mowing.

The green scent of new-cut alfalfa filled Gabe’s nostrils as he walked toward the hayfield. It was a heady odor, but he liked it. For that matter, he liked everything he saw. Today, even the relentless heat couldn’t dampen his joy.
Smiling to himself, he sat in the shade of a tree at one end of the field and waited for Akira.
He stared into the distance; where granite mountain peaks met the pale blue of a cloudless sky. The verse Simon Neville had read to him came to mind: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the L ORD that hath mercy on thee.”
Gabe thought about how the mountains had stood as sentries over this valley for thousands of years. No man could destroy them, not even with all the dynamite in the world. They could cut holes in them, burrow deep mines into their sides. They could blow away portions and cut down trees. Yet ultimately, the mountains would prevail. They would stand against the efforts of man.
But those same mountains would crumble before God’s kindness, mercy, and peace would depart from Gabe.
Incredible but true.
“Men have complicated the things of God down through the centuries,” Simon had told him. “But God’s way is easy. All you need do is ask Christ to rescue you, to forgive you, and He will. The Word says all who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.”
Gabe had started to protest, had tried to explain about all the wrong he’d done, but Simon hadn’t let him finish.
“Even the thief on the cross was forgiven in the last moments of his life. He had no time to do good works, no time to make amends. Yet Jesus promised him they would be together in paradise that very day … simply because he asked Christ to remember him.”
So simple.
So awesome.
Gabe glanced toward the ranch house and saw Akira’s approach, her stride long, fluid, and sure. He remembered how she’d saidGod had brought him here for a purpose. He hadn’t believed it at the time, but now he knew how right she’d been.
Thank God.
He got to his feet.
“Sorry I was so long,” she said.
“I didn’t mind the wait.” He grinned.
Her eyes widened slightly, reminding him of a startled doe caught in a beam of light. She looked … nervous. Not like the Akira he’d come to know. Was it something he’d said or done?
She glanced away. “We’d better get to work. Are you sure you feel up to this?”
“I feel up to everything.”
She met his gaze again, and this time she offered a tentative smile of her own.
He couldn’t guess what was going on inside her head, but at least her smile told him he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I assume you’ve never mown hay before,” she said as she led the way toward the mowing machine.
“No, I haven’t.”
“But you can drive a team of horses.”
“No. Sorry.”
That caused her to look at him again. In the shadow of her broad-brimmed straw hat, he saw her eyebrows lift in an expression of disbelief.
“The Talmadges didn’t have carriages or buggies. We always had automobiles.”
“Ah.”
He was glad he hadn’t added, and chauffeurs. For some reason, it would have made him feel less in