Emerald Windows by Terri Blackstock

Author:Terri Blackstock [Blackstock, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Christian, Fiction
ISBN: 9780310228073
Google: Tyc6JuBejSAC
Amazon: 0310228077
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2001-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

NICK BROUGHT THE SKETCHES INTO his kitchen. He set them down carefully, so as not to tear or bend them. Then, in direct contrast to that gentleness, he slammed his fist on the counter. Leaning over it, he clutched the edges of the counter top, his knuckles whitening with the force of his self-reproach.

What had come over him tonight?

Gritting his teeth, he kicked the cabinet at his knees, then headed into the living room, where he flung himself onto the couch.

He couldn’t believe he had insulted Abby Hemphill in front of hundreds of people. Had he really said her hobby was driving people away? She was right. He didn’t deserve to work on the windows. And what a terrible witness he’d been to all those nonbelievers who’d come just for the spectacle. He had given them something to talk about, all right.

Even Brooke had been disgusted. She had disappeared without a word.

The doorbell rang, and he sat up, looking at the door and wondering if it was a lynch mob come to finish him off.

Bracing himself, he crossed the room and pulled the door open—then started at the sight of his mother, his sister Anna, and her husband, Vinnie. Judging from the expressions on their faces, they might be the lynch mob he’d expected.

“Okay, what’s going on?” he asked. “You guys never visit me. Something’s wrong.”

“Are you gonna invite us in or make us stand out here in the elements?” his mother asked.

Nick ushered them in and closed the door.

“We came to talk to you.” Vinnie’s words were edged with hostility.

“About what?”

“About what you’re doing to Sonny,” Anna said.

Nick frowned and shook his head, wondering if he’d missed something. “What do you mean, what I’m doing to Sonny?”

“Encouraging him in this art business,” his mother threw in.

“How could you?” Anna asked, glaring at him with disgust. “How could you undermine our authority as his parents? Do you know what it’s like to go through adolescence with a child?”

“Adolescence? The kid’s nineteen!” Nick leaned wearily against the wall, telling himself that he was engaging in a losing argument, that he should stay calm. “Look, Anna, if I’ve upset you, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Upset me!” she shouted. “I want to know how you could do this! When you know how bad Vinnie needs him in his business.”

“Anna, you’re overreacting,” Nick said. “The kid has talent. I didn’t do anything to cultivate that. He’s done it himself.”

“Yeah?” Vinnie asked, stepping across the room until his massive frame pressed threateningly close to Nick. “Then how come when we found that paint and stuff in his room tonight, and told him to get rid of it, he told us that if we wouldn’t let him paint at home, he’d come over here and do it?”

“And then to find out that he was at the church meeting with you tonight,” Anna said, “and that he’s been helping you with those windows, when he should have been working with Vinnie.”

“What are you people afraid of?” Nick shouted.

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