Crisis Shot by Janice Cantore

Author:Janice Cantore [Cantore, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Suspense, FICTION / Romance / Clean & Wholesome
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

24

Sonya was in shock, crying one minute, composed the next, when Oliver arrived. As a pastor he’d been present at many deathbeds, presided over many funeral and memorial services, saw a lot of raw grief, and he never got used to it. It was a painful, broken world they lived in. He never pretended to have all the answers and had learned a long time ago that a simple hug coupled with a quiet presence went a long way. He met Sonya on the porch and just held her for a long while, feeling her pain mingle with his own. After she’d calmed a bit, gained some composure, they sat together on the glider rocker on the front porch. Oliver held her hand and waited to see what she needed most from him.

“Hey, Pastor Mac.” Her oldest son shook his hand. The other two Devaroux children lived out of state. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. Your father was a good man.”

After a minute Sonya sniffled. “He said he wasn’t feeling good . . . you know, a little under the weather. I thought he was going to take a nap . . .” She squeezed Oliver’s hand. “I wasn’t expecting this—I wasn’t. He was healthy.”

She leaned into him and sighed. Oliver rubbed her shoulder and prayed for comfort. He thought of Anna. Typically, she never went with him to situations like this, didn’t feel offering immediate comfort was her calling. She would cook for the family, pray for the family, but didn’t reach out until the grief was less raw.

Oliver never minded her absence. This was a difficult calling—he knew that—but he also knew it was his place to be here at this time. Now, though, as the mystery of Anna’s disappearance was shredding his heart, Oliver wished she were here with him or, at the very least, home waiting for him when he finished.

–––

Anna wasn’t home like he’d hoped when he arrived, but his house was clean and full of people. The prayer team was there, along with his pastoral staff. Like Sonya had welcomed his presence, Oliver welcomed theirs. His tank was empty and it wasn’t beneath him to admit that he needed support.

Everyone in his living room was worried, not accusatory, but wondering why he’d waited so long to make a report.

“I wasn’t certain,” he told them. “Maybe she did need time away to pray. We’ve told you how disheartening the last doctor’s appointment was. Anna was angry about the prognosis and she has in the past needed time to herself in order to work things out.”

Nods all around. He and Anna had been before the board many times, asking for prayer about the cancer situation.

Casey Reno burst into the house breathless. “Pastor Mac! I just heard. Anna is missing?”

The words sliced Oliver with a reality he could deny if it wasn’t voiced, and he had to take a breath before answering. “Casey, I just don’t have any idea where she could be.”

“I saw her just before she left town the day before yesterday.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.