Скачать книгу

      “Dad’s coming?”

      Rebecca nodded, her throat clogged with emotions she couldn’t express in front of her son. She laced her hands together to keep them from trembling.

      “This is gonna be great.” Peter snatched up the box of crackers and the glass of orange juice and left the kitchen.

      “Everything isn’t as great as Peter thinks?” Rose asked.

      Rebecca took her son from her grandmother, needing to hold him close. Burying her face against his hair, she breathed deeply, relishing his baby scent. “No. There were other people at his place, and I could tell he wasn’t too pleased by our call.”

      “Have faith in the Lord, child. Everything will work out.”

      Rebecca remembered Gabriel saying those same words to her earlier that day. She wanted to believe them. “Granny, I’m trying.” She tightened her hold on Josh, drawing strength from her youngest who had been through so much in his short life.

      “You haven’t told me about your first day on the job,” Rose said as she opened the refrigerator to remove some sliced chicken.

      “Interesting and challenging.”

      “Challenging?”

      “Not the actual work so much as how to get along with my co-worker.” Rebecca started to tell her grandmother about Mabel when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get this then tell you.”

      She swung the front door open and found Gabriel in cutoffs and a sweatshirt. He filled the entrance with his overwhelming presence. She greeted him with a smile, pleased to see him. Her spirits lifted.

      “What brings you by?”

      “I wasn’t there when you left today, and I wanted to know how the rest of your first day on the job went.” His gaze trekked down her.

      “Checking for scorch marks from the Dragon Lady?”

      He chuckled. “Are there any?”

      “One or two. Come in.”

      “I’d better stay out here. I’m in desperate need of a shower after running laps with the team.”

      “How’s Peter doing? Giving you any trouble?” Rebecca came out onto the porch.

      “No, he hasn’t complained since that first day. Actually he ran next to David today. For the first lap they carried on a conversation.”

      “Good, because this morning I was concerned something happened at practice yesterday.”

      “Why?”

      “He came home and kicked his tennis shoes under the bed.”

      Gabriel chuckled. “Probably because he’s done more work these past couple of days than he’s done in a month’s time.” He raked his fingers through his sweaty hair. “I have to give him credit. He’s done everything the team has done.” Leaning against the railing, he folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. How was your day?”

      She sat in the swing and turned Josh in her lap so he could see Gabriel. “The job’s fine. I’ll win Mabel over. I think she was shocked that I wasn’t out the door right at four-thirty. I think I further shocked her by staying until all the files were logged and put away.”

      “I bet you did. When I first came to work as the police chief, I had to win Mabel over, too. Just because I was the boss meant nothing to the woman.”

      “Since you’re still the police chief, there’s hope for me.”

      “There’s always hope, Rebecca. I think that’s one of the messages the Lord was giving us when He sent us His only son.”

      Fear nibbled at her. Dare she have hope? Rebecca thought about Peter’s birthday. She prayed that Gabriel was right.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SXARXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAg0AAAEBAAMAAAABArwAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE3OjQwOjIzAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAH//wAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAfQAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAJDoAAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAL/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAHgD ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAI/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDv3VrG6wyx4DmvFb2uDWcjdJ27BtDv5Tls22NrYHGXS5rIbqZe5tf/AEXOVJ2RW7Jr Ixrtws2OJr1IDhHpyfdW97m/pWf9cWDyUJfeSTHQxlGEh8sf0m1ISlDTXV5xxsBINjSW/my8R/nN atDEoyXhgqdsba4MGRcCSS4isOpp/kb/AP1Uumx+osvexgqtY62T7mxthrbPfr7d27b/AMZXZWqm U0DqrCBHuqHl9KtbHDW7BIEaEU0+p9HZg4VuZ9pvvFLB+g3BrXGQxx3EWfT3fy1ZqwTdc5jKqK6m sZvc5riSXsDnbQ19dft/qKz19j39HyWMaXvcGBrQCSSXs7BVqch1mZbViltwocxl4aa3FrtjGbHh z99bm7HJ1C9ka0T23RZo9DHxyBWHPa7dLJadrSfawO9u5R6dV6uZVXYysVjdwxzdQAS33W2Vub7v 3VUq6rZ1a/KxqaHNHS7LKnvJayWx6Vjnb5bX+kbb/wBaR+m5VFWTi2ufW2rINhoeLGEWBoAd6Ndf 0tke/wBOtCtR2XSxyjYkDxDf6x4/+g0PsTM3HDKKfsw9QsfQ+yx9cAVWM+zuGx9DN1n0dqK3oOPi 0tsyX0sFjoYX2WCdCT+kP/UI2CQ1rhBDje6GkcDZV7o/d9qt9cYH9PoEEgWCJ+BTiBVrBu5zOi0X 7m4oqusbBLKsiTE/S9zfakegZoOmJZp/w1ZB/wC/7Fa+rIezqGUCIGwR49v710jYBQEQRaSaLyzO n1D1XB1Zfjj3gvNhZz/oz+h+h/o1Km77OQ4NxB6s7SbHMLth2Odvt9z9v5yv4hZPUqgACz1CYEEy 6z6TlXuvx66cd7iBJua0kSOWPP5yBARbNmSfY51dMWkt3NubBggQN387/YSQbn47sbEsrIc03HaR pzZT/wCSSSU//9Dtch9Qh280P3NduE8Nc17mua0s/nWt9NypnJYy9lhzb3Ct+8NiWxu37Sxrmb/3 P6n+DXBY9oGhsIPcFxn8StTHyBp+m/6f/mSox5Y458YNnxiOv9b5kR52xQhQ/l+9F637fjmn0vtu du1PqtaN2tbcdu78327fX9rP6R70nZzBkfaqTffaDO25jmsjaWtb+j9T2sf+kZ+j9Tf/AIX+a9LF x8hmn6YfOwf+SRcnrWFgNHq2eo8tLxWx7J2g7d2+x7Gf2P53/g085Muwo/4LNDLLIeGMbJ0r0/8A eur9YOsdTxOivf6bMe7KLcbHta9xIfZO54gN9N1VTbbN+/8ARvWUw9Eoo/Z2LnnHyMljGfbcMPc1 r6mSxv2xj2t2tYP01W/6H856Sp/asrq+QzKtwzZg0scMbH9epjg542vvs9f6d3+j/wBEn6XgdGGD szTe1/S7TdZU5rAXsf6Ye/02PsbfWxtLbH+m78z/AAidxkR1JvqI6/8ARbMYwjAAy9cTf6uWPJ+s kPTceL1xxzhh/wAOeVDb0rLvY/CPVsXNOQ6u25lbpsf6ftZ9o2H3/Tbv3O37/SRMK+4dWsvwqarh ixi4dNjmNIqrf6TvSY/Y71rLPUyPd/1tHdnfVeu3Jv6ZlXXHI332Y1FZY5u1ptyHMyrmVWY+O5rN 1lfqP/4Kv/BrLHW8/HYzF6LiU41b67ciuz232+m02us/TXMZ9B1FvpV+lv8A5tiMZyO0T/hehs+x ny8QI4brTMI4IRh8+T0Q9v5vZj8mP+bx/wA46d3WcjJyWftW4VGmw1/YsJ7q797XnZkWstG23HdX t9/2j0GfznpfpEumX/WHqByc5lTXY982s+0vcambS4YuPjhjqm+3+Zf/ADe+2xZlnVfrk4O9TLkP AaRtrLYex1jQ3bV6bfVp/mbGfo8j/tPZb6dmy90T6yZnTMU4fUqW24eARRbZRrZS6XMDMir+bta1 7dnq+z/jrrk6UpiPyiR7CX/oKcnJzjCXB7WQkx9MSZnh7Y4/q4cMpcH/AKHkbXTeov6Tj29VrxD+ mcw5gyLPTd6lrg2xlLSPZVS5/wDO5X/Q+nZed9fmMyrw7EBxKXCtljb6/Ue8/wA29tVnpt+z2/mX bv8AyCNZ1zob8cXHOx/SsBjc4Akd2Gl36Xd/wfpqjRm4fUKnvfRXVWxxZV6hr9zPzXhvtfVu/Pq/ wajjnl+4YgNGZ4bOTDqT+lKWP8JfN8vq/vq+rubk253UuoZFN9zbrXMGEza4sDTLWvpc5v0Wv/SW M/nH2LbPU8XdtPS8prhw01NMf2G2LnrmYX2j7U01DJLQz1g5oftEDZvDt232tVLIfSX+oXsLxrvL hu0/lzvThlvo1c2YSmZcNX0H6IHpjH/BeqtyaXtAPTskNYdzB9mJAP7zY3bX+1JcHdYxhLmWbHdy x8HXzY5JScRrZh94Xt+L/9Hsct3S6LR67muc5trnnaHR

Скачать книгу