From Ashes to Honor by Loree Lough

Author:Loree Lough
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Abingdon Press,
Published: 2011-06-30T22:00:00+00:00

20

If you don't have other plans," Mercy said into the phone, "I'd love for you and Bud to come to Thanksgiving dinner."

Flora's laughter trickled through the wires. "Gracious, girl, that's three weeks off. You do believe in planning ahead, don't you?"

Was it her imagination, or had the poor dear caught a head cold? "Well, I'm not overly fond of last-minute invitations, so I figure no one else is, either. Besides, I didn't want to risk that someone else would snap you up before I got the chance!"

She half expected Flora to say that she and Bud would spend the holiday with their children and grandchildren. "Hold on a sec," she said instead, "while I see what this old buzzard I'm married to says about it."

Yes, definitely something different about Flora's voice. But maybe it only seemed that way because Mercy hadn't spoken with her on the phone before. As she listened to the Callahans' muffled back-and-forth exchange, she recalled her tour of their schooner. In a place that small, why hadn't she seen any photographic evidence of extended family, like pictures of gaptoothed youngsters or photos of newlyweds?

Bud's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I, for one, would be delighted to eat a Thanksgiving turkey that isn't dry as toast, and stuffing that's ain't soggy as a deck mop."

And Flora hollered from the background "Tell her we usually eat out on Thanksgiving, or she'll think I'm the one who serves up slop like that!"

Mercy heard the smile in his voice when he said "I'm sure there's no need for me to repeat that since my lovely wife can bellow like a foghorn." He lowered his voice to add, "One of us will call you in a week or so to let you know for sure. Whether we can come or not will depend entirely on what the docs say after they've read her test results."

As she hung up, Mercy realized this was another bit of information Austin hadn't shared with her. Not that it had been entirely his fault. Between chaperoning before- and afterschool activities and delivering Tommy's homework every afternoon, Mercy hadn't been home much in the weeks since Leo returned to England.

Tommy . . . .

The poor kid, she thought, remembering the brittle voice mail message from his mother: "Much as we appreciate all the trouble you've gone to, gathering his books and visiting all his teachers to make sure Tommy doesn't fall behind, his dad or I will do it from now on."

If she'd known that her little speech would inspire such drastic action, Mercy would have made it, anyway. Mrs.Winston needed to hear that her pampering—though rooted in an attempt to keep her boy safe and off the football field— had put him behind at school and slowed his recovery. In the days since, his mother stuck to her guns, and, unfair as that was for Tommy, Mercy was powerless to help him.

Frustration mounted when that same week two juniors decided to quit school, and nothing she said could convince them otherwise.

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.