White Christmas in Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad

Author:Janet Tronstad [Tronstad, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781472014047
Publisher: Love Inspired
Published: 2013-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Renee had tears in her eyes by the time Pastor Curtis had finished the sermon. His words on the prodigal son touched her once again as she contemplated how far a person could fall in this life and still be forgiven by God.

She had been at the bottom of her existence the night she came back to Dry Creek almost a year ago, with poor little Tessie sleeping in the backseat of her run-down car. Her husband was robbing another gas station and she had driven away. The back window didn’t even close and she remembered how the shrill whistle of the wind through the crack sounded so loud that she worried her husband would find them.

She’d been frantically looking for the Elkton ranch because the last she’d heard, her father had been the foreman of the place. She’d followed road after road, always turning when she saw another pair of headlights. Afraid of her husband and the man he’d found to work with him, she drove fast and erratically. It was not surprising to her that she never found the massive welcome gate over the dirt lane that led to the Elkton ranch that night.

She had ended up on Gracie Stone’s porch instead, confused and almost unconscious from the blood she had lost. One of the first people she’d seen, after Gracie and her father, had been Sheriff Wall. She remembered the sharp bark of his questions that night and how safe they made her feel.

The man had been doing his job and she’d trusted him. It was only when she felt better that she resented being arrested.

The pastor asked everyone to stand for the benediction. As Renee stood, she glanced across the aisle and saw the sheriff there with his wife and children. His stocky frame seemed a little shrunken today in his black denim jeans and plaid cotton shirt. His plain, square face was serious. The hair on his balding head appeared a little sparser than usual. For some reason, he looked as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his shoulders. And in a way, the troubles in this part of the world likely were.

Renee bowed her head as the organ played softly and the pastor blessed everyone, asking God to watch over each of them during the coming week. The affection in the pastor’s voice when he prayed for his people always brought tears to Renee’s eyes. This little town might not be much on the map, but no one could stay here long and claim he or she was not loved by this church.

When Renee lifted her head, she looked around. The day was still overcast, but some light came through the side row of windows made of vintage bubbled glass. She made her way past a few of the people walking down the aisle until she stood next to the sheriff.

“I want to apologize for my words the other night,” she said to him quietly. “About the arrest and all.

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