The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

Author:Cindy Woodsmall [Woodsmall, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 0100-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

Cara slid most of her breakfast into a bowl and set it aside. She’d take it to the mama dog later. Lori was sprawled on the living room floor, reading and playing with Better Days.

Ephraim was nowhere to be seen. He came each morning in time to drive them to work, showed up at the Howards’ each evening to bring them home, and stayed hidden in between. It’d been four days since that fateful church service, and except for eating a late dinner with Lori last night, he hadn’t joined them for a single meal.

He had a nice home with plenty of food, but in spite of his words, she knew they weren’t welcome here any longer. Since Sunday, when she’d accidentally interrupted the church service, she’d felt him pulling away.

As Ephraim took her to and from work, she’d seen people in their buggies, and they’d seen her. But the friendliest gesture she or Ephraim received was a nod. Like the smell of the musty barn clinging to her clothes, she carried the scent of their dislike throughout each day.

If that was how the rest of them felt, she could easily ignore it. But the opinions of his family and friends seemed to have affected Ephraim. Clearly her friendship with him was dying. She wished she could find a place of her own before he started resenting her.

Knowing they could have been good friends if things were different grieved her. Friendships were like food—each had its own taste, texture, and nutrients. She and Kendal were like a cheap dessert that shouldn’t be eaten often and at its best was only so-so.

But she’d valued Ephraim’s friendship like she’d valued food when starving.

After wiping off the kitchen table and drying her hands, she went into the bedroom. She peeled out of her jeans and sweater top and slid into the teal-colored dress, hating it more each time she had to wear it. She stuffed her dirty clothes into the book bag, planning to wash them at the Howards’ today. The constant use of the clothes they’d left New York in was causing them to fray quickly, but that only made the jeans more comfortable. This weekend she’d walk into town and buy Lori a couple of outfits.

Ephraim knocked, making Better Days start yapping. “You ladies ready?”

Cara slung the backpack on her shoulder and hurried out of the bedroom. “Yeah.” She grabbed the bowl of food. “Can we stop by the barn?”

Ephraim looked from the bowl in her hands to her.

Cara motioned for Lori to go on out to the buggy. Ephraim’s eyes didn’t budge from her as she headed out in front of him. “What?”

“Did you eat anything, or are you giving it all to the mutt?” He picked up Better Days and closed the door behind him.

“I had plenty.”

They climbed into the buggy, and he and Lori began talking about the book she was reading. When he slowed the horse near the barn, he turned to Cara. “I’ll feed the dog from now on.

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