B00CZBQ63C EBOK by Karen Barnett Read Free Book Online

beach? Pastor Yoder had mentioned he’d be speaking on God’s mercy and forgiveness. If he knew what his congregation did under the cover of night, he might choose to preach on sin.
    As if on cue, Daniel Shepherd turned and glanced back at her, a slight frown darkening his face.
    Laurie straightened her shoulders, focusing her attention on the page. Let him watch. It must make a rumrunner nervous to know there’s a federal agent in town.
    Her concentration slid right past the music. Instead, her eyes lingered on the sparkles of light bouncing off Mr. Brown’s gold watch. After two more stanzas, she stole another glance at Mr. Shepherd, eyeing his strong shoulders and dark hair. He might be handsome, but there was no way she would let her heart get trampled by another dishonorable man.
    As Mr. Brown’s rich voice picked up the harmony on the next hymn, Laurie’s uneasiness about the man faded. She’d overreacted to his touch, assuming the worst. Gripping the pew in front for balance, Laurie’s heart rose with the beautiful music, the warmth of his arm against hers no longer so objectionable.
    Even better, Mr. Brown knew nothing of her family.

    Daniel hooked his thumb in his coat pocket, balancing the hymnbook in his other palm. Who was the man with Laurie Burke? And why did he care? Daniel turned his eyes back to the front, but his voice trailed off. His grandfather’s tenor rang out steady beside him as the congregation belted out the final strains.
    Not much had changed in this church since he had left eight years ago. Pastor Yoder’s fringe of hair sported a bit more gray and the choir had new robes, but the same wobbly-looking old man banged away on the rickety pump organ.
    One difference haunted him as the pastor rose to speak. Daniel’s grandmother no longer sat at his side. She hadn’t lived to see the legacy of her faith—that when Daniel plummeted over a cliff of his own making, the memory of her love and faith gave him the ability to fall straight into God’s arms.
    Daniel’s collar rubbed at his throat, as if it tightened with every word of the sermon. So far he’d managed to keep his secret from his family and hometown. He glanced about the room, spotting familiar faces among the congregation. Teachers, family friends, Sunday school instructors. How would they feel if they knew? His gaze paused once more on Laurie Burke. Perhaps everyone has secrets.
    The pastor leaned forward on the pulpit, driving home a point. “God isn’t up in heaven making lists of your deeds, counting up your good works to see if they outweigh the bad. If you’ve sought His forgiveness, He’s washed you clean. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he in a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ The prophet Micah says God will toss our sins into the depths of the seas. So who are we to question His forgiveness? Why do we continue to live with the millstone of sin and guilt around our necks?”
    Daniel swallowed, acid burning in the back of his throat. I can be that new creature, as long as no one discovers the truth.

    Laurie and Amelia walked home, Amelia buzzing like a bee about Samuel Brown and his sudden appearance.
    “Didn’t he have just the most delicious smile you’ve ever seen?” Amelia fiddled with her pearl necklace, knotting the long strand in the center of her chest
    Laurie hugged her pink cardigan tight as her thin cotton skirt fluttered in the breeze. “I’m not sure I would call it delicious.” She wrinkled her nose at her friend’s odd choice of words.
    “Well, how would you describe it?”
    Laurie caressed her elbow—the same one that had been brushing against Mr. Brown’s only fifteen minutes ago. She dropped her hand, tucking it into her pocket. “I don’t know—it was a nice smile.”
    Her friend’s jaw dropped. “Nice? Those flowers are nice .” She gestured to a nearby flowering rhododendron. “His smile was heart-stopping.”
    Laurie tucked