Joel's Pledge (Winning His Devotion Book 4) by Elaine Manders

Author:Elaine Manders [Manders, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

It looks so desolate out here. A million twinkling stars winked at Gracie’s upturned gaze. As crickets chirped and a lone owl hooted, the fragrance of honeysuckle rode in on the breeze. It would be easy to imagine she and Joel were the only two people in the world.

A full moon hung half hidden by the trees but gave her plenty of light to view his handsome profile. He gave no indication of what he planned for her. But no matter what happened, she’d remember this magical scene for the rest of her life. She’d never forget the way he looked, either.

She knew she had to leave soon. Before Joel’s next event, which was two days from now. “I’m feeling much better, so I can leave tomorrow if you want.” She stopped and let him put a few steps between them.

He whirled around to face her and she almost plowed into him. “You can’t leave.”

Goosebumps rose on her arms though the evening was warm and the air heavy. He intended to keep her prisoner and turn her over to the sheriff in—what was that little town? Howley. She took two steps back to put some distance from him. “I know you’ll be in Howley in two days’ time, and the law will be looking for me there. I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.”

That disarming smile creased his handsome face and she allowed herself to breathe. “I’ve told you before you’re no trouble. Why can’t you believe me? In fact, I want you to join our little troop. You’ve been trained as a teacher, and Barnabas is in dire need of teaching in order to catch up with his studies.”

Without thinking, she nodded. There was something about this man that made her want to agree with him. Truthfully, she’d love to teach Barnabas. He was an easy-going, intelligent boy. It surprised her he’d be lacking in education, but now that she remembered what he’d said about his past, she had to admit he wouldn’t have been given a chance to go to school, at least, not since leaving the orphanage.

“I’d be delighted to teach Barnabas as well as I can, but I don’t have any school books. I suppose we could make do, though.”

“Good. That takes a weight off my mind. I want Barnabas to have as good a chance as any other boy in the world to live up to all God wants him to be.” He didn’t take her hand, but gestured for her to walk with him toward the creek, and she did. “As far as books go, I bought some school books appropriate for his grade level. My aim was to teach him myself during the winter, while we’re stuck inside during the heavy snows. That turned out woefully inadequate last winter. I’m not qualified to be a teacher. I saw that.”

Water loving night creatures began their orchestra, frogs croaking like well-timed drums. This was so inappropriate to be walking alone in the wilderness with a man she hardly knew, yet it felt so right.

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