Love From the Ashes by Cheryl Persons Read Free Book Online Page B

place out, there’s no way I could afford it.”
    “I highly doubt that’s the case.  They aren’t asking much.  They have it listed at 74,000.”
    His jaw dropped and he stared at the phone like he could see right through it.  “Well then, I’m taking it’s a dump?”
    Mabel laughed.  “You would think that, but it’s actually quite appealing.  Just give me 5 minutes of your time and I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.”
    He had to admit, it sounded too good to be true; he was afraid it probably was.  “Okay; what’s the address.  I’ll leave now and meet you there.”  He copied down the information she gave him and then finished up his report.  He didn’t have anything to lose, but he didn’t figure it was going to pan out.  He had a half an hour till the kids would be out of school and luckily the house was right on the way.  It was halfway between his work and the school and he couldn’t help but wish that it was the ideal place to live.  When he weaved through the addition; he saw that the houses seemed rather well-kept, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up too high.  Slowly easing down the street that she told him it was on, he saw a for sale sign come into view.  His eyes looked over the house and he shrugged.  It looked nice, but he still was pessimistic about it.  He got up to the front door and it opened.  “You must be Mabel.”  He shook her hand and she backed up so that he could enter.
    “Thank you for coming Mr. Campbell.”
    “Please; call me Thomas.”  He looked around the spacious foyer and then back to Mabel.  “I don’t have much time; will you please quickly show me around?”
    She smiled and walked him through the rooms, being sure to point out every little detail.  He was still skeptical, because it didn’t make sense why they weren’t asking for more.  Upstairs seeing where the kids could set up their rooms, he started to dream of them living there.  They would be so ecstatic having their own room and his room would be downstairs, they would have their privacy.  He could picture Bethany staking claim to the loft that actually was on top of another set up stairs.  When they wrapped around and ended back at the foyer, he just stared at her.  “So, what do you think?”
    “Well, I suppose that I’m at a loss.  I don’t understand why they aren’t asking for more, or better yet…why, this house is still up for sale?”
    “They just put the house on the market last week.  He is in the Army and they found out he’s going to be stationed in Iraq.  They had to sell immediately.  When I saw that you needed something big enough for your family, I instantly knew this would be a good fit.  Was I right?”
    Thomas laughed as he faced the living room and thoughts of family holidays flashed through his mind.  “This is absolutely amazing.  I never would have ever imagined, but now that I see it...” he paused for just a second.  “It would be the perfect home for me to raise my family.”
    Mabel smiled; “I am happy to hear you say that.  Do you want to get the ball rolling?”
    “You better believe it; I would like to make the offer of $74,000.  That’s a phenomenal deal and I don’t want to risk someone else snatching it out from under me.”
    “Okay; I can fill the paperwork out now.”  They shook hands.  He couldn’t believe his luck, but it was more than that.  He was certain that he had help from a higher power and couldn’t wait to tell his children; they were about to have another home.
    ____________________
    “Have a good night Samantha.”  Rebecca waved to a co-worker and headed out the door.  It was a long first day of school, and she couldn’t help but be thankful it was over.  As she was getting ready to cross the parking lot, she saw Kari and her sisters sitting on a bench near a tree.  She looked at her watch; it was 3:45, and that was 25 minutes past the end of the school day.  “Hey; what’s going