Crossing Values by Carrie Daws Read Free Book Online

the office Monday afternoon. He briefly glanced around then walked across the room toward his mother, noting Amber faced his direction but didn’t look his way.
    “Here’s the updated inventory, Mom. Chad and Jack are loaded down with the logs to fill Harding’s order, and a fresh supply of Christmas trees are already loaded on the truck and headed into town.”
    “Good. Thank you.” She took the forms from him and reached for her notebook. He smiled as he remembered their annual trip to Portland to catch the school sales and purchase notebooks, pens, and other office supplies for cheaper than they could get them any other time of year.
    “You received two phone calls. Micah called. He forgot to ask you if you needed more sanding belts. His supplier is running a two-day Christmas sale later this week. And Stephanie called. She said dinner Saturday would have to be postponed at least one hour. Something about a hair dresser disaster. Or maybe a dress disaster. I’m not really sure. I’m afraid I got a bit mixed up as she was telling me the problem. Anyway, she said to come for her at 7:30.”
    Peter stifled a sigh and ignored his mother’s not-so-obvious look that begged him to invite her to comment further on Stephanie’s call. Best to avoid that topic. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll check the supply of belts and give Micah a call in the morning.”
    “Amber, Frank is going to be a tad late for dinner tonight. Why don’t you meander on down to the clearing by the river I was telling you about? I’m just going to clean up here and then head back to the house.”
    “Yes, ma’am. A walk would be nice.”
    Peter watched her neatly stack the papers then slip over to the coat rack. As he looked more closely, he noticed the seams on her jacket were fraying and more than one spot had been patched with odd pieces of cloth.
    Father, thank You for stopping her from traveling farther into the mountains during the winter. That coat’s not fit for the journey!
    As Peter prayed, his mom stood up and grabbed her own coat.
    “Here, dear, borrow my coat for the walk. The frost on those windows tells me the temperature has dropped this afternoon, and I don’t want any of us snifflin’ around Christmas.”
    Bless you, Mom!
    Peter watched Amber hesitate then gently take the coat. She looked at Faye, murmuring her appreciation.
    “Peter, why don’t you go with her? You know how tricky those pathways can be. I don’t want Amber wandering around lost in the snow!” She gave him a quick shove, neatly pushing him into a position where he found it difficult to refuse.
    Amber walked out the door in front of him. She put her hands in the pockets of his mother’s coat, waiting for him to point them in the right direction. They walked in silence for a few moments as Peter slowly guided her to his mother’s favorite river spot. He wasn’t sure whether his mom preferred watching the breathtaking sunsets behind the mountains or listening to the soothing melody of water flowing over rocks downstream.
    “Do you like working in the office?”
    “Yes.”
    Peter waited to see if she would add more, but she remained quiet.
    “Mom’s filing system confuses some of those who help out during the summer.”
    “It’s not that bad,” said Amber. She grinned, hinting that she might be covering for his mom a little.
    “Are you enjoying the book?”
    “Yes. Your dad said that it’s a series?”
    “Yeah. There’s one book for each of the siblings, so six total. Plus there’s a book before those that tells the story of Sara.”
    Amber nodded briefly. “It’s good. Giving me a few things to think about.”
    “Like what?”
    “Well, I guess I don’t really have a problem with believing there is a God or a supreme being of some kind. But I look at the world and just see pain and chaos. Sure, I might have a few good days in a row, but they never last. Yet this God is supposed to be full of love?”
    “A lot of people struggle with