Read Online BIG SKY SECRETS 01: Final Exposure by Roxanne Rustand - Free Book Online
Authors: Roxanne Rustand
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early grave.”
Isabelle’s calm, almost patronizing words continued to play through Erin’s thoughts long after the old woman left. Lost Falls was a safe town?
Erin had felt the opposite was true for the past fifteen years and had resisted the idea of moving back for that very reason.
God—help me just let the past go and trust that I’ll be safe. She believed in God’s power and mercy, truly she did. The Bible verse she’d memorized after Laura’s death had been close to her heart ever since. How often had she silently recited it, clinging to its powerful message?
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ.
The beautiful words had given her comfort. They’d made her stronger, and they’d given her peace. Now, she firmly shelved the old memories whenever they surfaced, determined to live a full and abundant life just as God wished for all of His children.
Yet, the subtle threats she’d sensed since coming here felt real, not like something born of her imagination, even though the deputies had clearly thought she was crying wolf. She’d seen it in their eyes. And Isabelle was certainly nonchalant.
With a sigh Erin went to work in the kitchen, cleaning and sanitizing the work surfaces, then scrubbing the floor until it shone. She glanced at the clock now and then, wondering how Max’s cowboy adventure was going.
By five she started to worry. Had the little guy fallen off? Gotten hurt? Maybe Jack and Max were sitting in the E.R. at the tiny community hospital up in Battle Creek, waiting for X rays or an orthopedic consultation. Maybe—
At the sound of a car door slamming, she hurried to the front window of the store to peer out.
Jack’s SUV was parked in front of the house. Jack and Max climbed out and lingered for a moment, then headed for Millie’s. Max, she saw with amusement, still clutched the stuffed dog as if it might escape.
The two of them came into the store, bringing with them the definite scent of horses and hay. She’d never seen the little boy smile with such complete abandon, and it transformed him into the child he’d probably been before his world fell apart.
“So, how did it go, cowboy?” Bracing her hands on her thighs, she leaned down to his level and reached out to brush away the dust on his cheek. “Did you see the pony?”
“Her name was Fireball,” he breathed with reverence. “She was white and brown and had a really, really long tail. And she was fast!”
“She sounds beautiful. Did you get to ride her?”
Max nodded. “And I didn’t fall off.”
Erin straightened and saw the amusement in Jack’s eyes. “Really fast, huh?”
He rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Max not only rode at a walk, but at a trot—while being led in the pony ring. He did a great job. So now we’re here because we figured a tired, dusty cowboy might need to mosey over for some ice cream. We’re thinkingsundaes. Mint chocolate chip, with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry.”
“Sounds exactly right.” She strode over to the soda fountain, washed her hands and began preparing the confections. “There’s a restroom in back if you want to wash up.”
By the time she finished, they were back and in their customary table at the front window, Max’s cheeks and hands glowing pink.
After the first few bites, Max’s eyelids started to droop. Minutes later he folded his arms on the table, rested his cheek on them and fell asleep.
Jack pushed Max’s dessert toward the center of the table. “I guess being a cowboy is hard work. I wish you could have seen him—it was like having the old Max back again. He was so excited, he was even laughing. I haven’t heard him laugh since before the accident.”
There
Isabelle’s calm, almost patronizing words continued to play through Erin’s thoughts long after the old woman left. Lost Falls was a safe town?
Erin had felt the opposite was true for the past fifteen years and had resisted the idea of moving back for that very reason.
God—help me just let the past go and trust that I’ll be safe. She believed in God’s power and mercy, truly she did. The Bible verse she’d memorized after Laura’s death had been close to her heart ever since. How often had she silently recited it, clinging to its powerful message?
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ.
The beautiful words had given her comfort. They’d made her stronger, and they’d given her peace. Now, she firmly shelved the old memories whenever they surfaced, determined to live a full and abundant life just as God wished for all of His children.
Yet, the subtle threats she’d sensed since coming here felt real, not like something born of her imagination, even though the deputies had clearly thought she was crying wolf. She’d seen it in their eyes. And Isabelle was certainly nonchalant.
With a sigh Erin went to work in the kitchen, cleaning and sanitizing the work surfaces, then scrubbing the floor until it shone. She glanced at the clock now and then, wondering how Max’s cowboy adventure was going.
By five she started to worry. Had the little guy fallen off? Gotten hurt? Maybe Jack and Max were sitting in the E.R. at the tiny community hospital up in Battle Creek, waiting for X rays or an orthopedic consultation. Maybe—
At the sound of a car door slamming, she hurried to the front window of the store to peer out.
Jack’s SUV was parked in front of the house. Jack and Max climbed out and lingered for a moment, then headed for Millie’s. Max, she saw with amusement, still clutched the stuffed dog as if it might escape.
The two of them came into the store, bringing with them the definite scent of horses and hay. She’d never seen the little boy smile with such complete abandon, and it transformed him into the child he’d probably been before his world fell apart.
“So, how did it go, cowboy?” Bracing her hands on her thighs, she leaned down to his level and reached out to brush away the dust on his cheek. “Did you see the pony?”
“Her name was Fireball,” he breathed with reverence. “She was white and brown and had a really, really long tail. And she was fast!”
“She sounds beautiful. Did you get to ride her?”
Max nodded. “And I didn’t fall off.”
Erin straightened and saw the amusement in Jack’s eyes. “Really fast, huh?”
He rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Max not only rode at a walk, but at a trot—while being led in the pony ring. He did a great job. So now we’re here because we figured a tired, dusty cowboy might need to mosey over for some ice cream. We’re thinkingsundaes. Mint chocolate chip, with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry.”
“Sounds exactly right.” She strode over to the soda fountain, washed her hands and began preparing the confections. “There’s a restroom in back if you want to wash up.”
By the time she finished, they were back and in their customary table at the front window, Max’s cheeks and hands glowing pink.
After the first few bites, Max’s eyelids started to droop. Minutes later he folded his arms on the table, rested his cheek on them and fell asleep.
Jack pushed Max’s dessert toward the center of the table. “I guess being a cowboy is hard work. I wish you could have seen him—it was like having the old Max back again. He was so excited, he was even laughing. I haven’t heard him laugh since before the accident.”
There
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