Read Online Tides of Truth [02] Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow - Free Book Online

practice after he takes out what is inside.”
    “What’s inside?” Daddy asked me.
    “The head comes off.”
    Daddy twisted off the head and extracted a thin plastic bag. He read the label.
    “Jamaican Blue Coffee.”
    “It’s supposed to be the best. And that’s not all.”
    Daddy peered into the bird.
    “Turn it upside down and shake it,” I said.
    Out came a piece of cloth held in place by a red ribbon. He untied the ribbon and unrolled the cloth.
    “Mrs. Fairmont knows how to do embroidery,” I said. “She’s been teaching me.”
    Daddy read, “‘The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.’ Tammy Lynn, it’s beautiful.”
    He held it up for everyone to see. The text of the verse was in dark blue thread surrounded by a multicolored border.
    “Wow,” Ellie exclaimed.
    “I could make a frame for it,” Kyle said. “A few sticks of cherry-wood would be nice.”
    While Kyle and Mama talked about a frame, I watched Daddy run his fingers across the delicate threads. He turned it over and looked at the back.
    “It’s just like the preachers say,” he said and nodded. “The back of a tapestry might look like a mess, but the front is a work of art.”
    “Mrs. Fairmont’s fingers are too stiff to hold a needle for very long, but she can still teach.”
    Daddy stood up. “Well, that’s one of the nicest presents I’ve ever received.”
    He came around the table and kissed the top of my head.
    “Can you teach me how to embroider?” Ellie asked.
    “Work harder on your cross-stitch. When I know you’re serious about learning, I’ll give you a lesson.”
    The kitchen cleared. Zach and I stayed with Mama while the twins went upstairs. I watched Daddy and Kyle walk across the yard. Daddy limped slightly from an old gunshot wound he received when he was a military policeman in the army. A drunken solder shot him in the right foot. After two surgeries and months of physical therapy, the foot still hurt, especially in cold weather.
    “I’d like to see the feedlot,” Zach said.
    “Go ahead,” I said. “Mama and I can finish in here. It will take the twins awhile to clean up their part of the bedroom.”
    Zach jogged across the grass and caught up with Daddy and Kyle. The dogs were at their heels.
    I continued to rinse and load the dishes while waiting for Mama to speak. She put her new flowerpots on the windowsill.
    “Yes, that’s the place,” she said, scrubbing the skillet used to cook the bacon. “And violets will be the best choice.”
    I positioned the dirty forks and knives in the rack in the precise order preferred by our family. Utensils always stayed with their own kind, making it easier to put them away when unloading the machine.
    “That’s a sweet gift you made for your daddy,” Mama said. “I thought he might shed a tear.”
    “Really? I didn’t notice.”
    “You can sense a lot of things after twenty-six years.”
    Mama rinsed the skillet and started washing the one used to cook the eggs.
    “I’m glad you’re not spending all your free time at the law firm or riding motorcycles,” she continued. “Embroidery is a gift that can honor the Lord. That’s a beautiful piece of work, especially for a beginner.”
    “I ripped out a lot more thread than I sewed. Mrs. Fairmont usually goes to bed after supper, and I have several hours to myself. It’s quiet and there’s no one to distract me.”
    “Does Zach call you on the phone at her house?”
    It was odd hearing Mama say his name.
    “No, ma’am. We talk at the office, but he’s always busy. The drive here was the longest time we’ve been alone together.”
    I finished loading the dishwasher. It was quiet in the house, a good sign that the twins were working, not arguing.
    “Is it okay that I invited him to visit?”
    “Yes.”
    I waited, wiping my hands several times with a dish towel. Mama reached under the sink and took out a piece of steel wool.
    “These eggs can be stubborn,”