Diamond Place by Robin Lee Hatcher

Author:Robin Lee Hatcher [Hatcher, Robin Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

“MOM! MOM, WAKE UP!”

Terri heard Lyssa’s voice through the mist of a dream. A dream she wasn’t ready to leave.

“Mom!”

A hand shook her shoulder, and Terri came awake with a jolt. “Lyssa?” Her gaze shot to the digital clock at her bedside: 2:47 a.m. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared.” Lyssa lifted the covers and crawled into bed beside her mother.

“What is it, honey? Did you have a bad—” As she began to ask the question, she felt a blast of wind shake the house, giving her the answer. “It’s storming, isn’t it?” She put an arm around Lyssa’s back and drew her close. “Well, don’t worry. March likes to come in with a lot of wind. We’ll snuggle down under these blankets and get some sleep. By the time we wake up, it’ll be over.”

Her words were true for Lyssa, but sleep evaded Terri as the storm continued to batter the house, whistling around the eaves. A leafless tree danced eerily outside her bedroom window, the shadows cast upon the blinds by a nearby streetlight. Then the lightning began, a bright flash, followed by a crack of thunder, another gust of wind, another flash of lightning, more thunder, again and again and again.

Terri hated storms like this one. They made the old place creak and moan. They made this small house feel fragile, and then Terri felt small and fragile, too. In the middle of a stormy night, she felt too alone, too frightened, and too insignificant to handle what life tossed her way.

She glanced toward the clock. It was past 3:30. It seemed much more than an hour since Lyssa had awakened her.

Drawing a deep breath, Terri searched her mind for memorized words from Psalm 107, comforting words that she’d turned into a personal prayer for times such as this.

God, you can still the storm to a whisper. You can hush the waves of the sea. I will be glad when it grows calm because I know you will guide me to my desired haven.

The fear in her heart receded as she silently repeated more words from the Psalms.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

At last, the thunder moved into the distance, rolling across the heavens but no longer close and threatening. The gusting winds slowed. Raindrops began to rat-a-tat-tat against the windowpane, a moment of warning before the skies opened in earnest.

Unlike wind, lightning, and thunder, Terri loved the sound of falling rain. She rolled onto her side, kissed Lyssa’s forehead, and closed her eyes.

In peace I will lie down and sleep.

Perhaps she could find her way back to that lovely dream. She didn’t recall what it had been about, only that she’d felt happy in that misty playground of her mind at rest.

The doorbell rang once, then again.

Terri’s heart felt as if it missed several beats as she sat up, tossing aside the blankets. She grabbed for her robe and rushed from the bedroom. A fist pounded on the door as she descended the stairs, alarming her even more.

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