A Passion Redeemed Read Online Free PDF Page B

knew what to do. How to calm him down, soothe him, love him.
    Mitch closed his eyes and kneaded his forehead. Usually she'd put her arms around him and hold him, whispering words of love and encouragement and prayer. Always prayer.
    Mitch jumped up to dispel the thought and tripped over Runt. A swear word got as far as the edge of his tongue before he bit it back. Runt looked up with liquid-brown eyes. Mitch sighed.
    "It's not your fault, buddy," he muttered. Runt's eyes followed him as he paced the room. He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. He had been doing better lately, hadn't he? More like himself? Going for days at a time without even thinking of her. Even weeks without missing her. She was across the ocean, for pity's sake, engaged to someone else. How much farther out of his life could she possibly be?
    And then, tonight. Charity. Those hypnotic eyes, staking through his heart with bitter regret and deadly allure.
    Just like before.
    Mitch slapped the newspaper out of his way and sat back down, hunching on the far edge of the sofa, opposite Runt. He put his head in his hands. She was poison, pure and fatal, even toxic to his mood. Like a spider spinning a light, breezy web, beckoning ... "Mima would love to see you, Mitch. We all would. "
    He sat up and burrowed his fingers through his hair, cursing the attraction he felt, even now. That had always been the problem. Loving Faith and avoiding Charity. Ignoring the fascination she seemed to have with him.

    Until he gave in.
    Mitch jumped up, shaking it off. The guilt, the regret, the attraction. He fumbled through his desk drawer for the Bible Faith had given him. He uncovered it beneath a stack of coffeestained galley sheets. Clutching it to his chest, he sank back on the sofa, calm finally settling in.
    He wanted to avoid Charity completely, but something in his gut told him no. He had to see her again, if only to warn her about Rigan. His jaw hardened. She needed to know.
    Mitch leaned his head back on the sofa and closed his eyes. It would be good to see her grandmother and great-grandmother again. In the eight months he courted Faith, he'd grown fond of Bridget Murphy and her mother, Mima. They had been like family. Then the war ended, and Faith's family had returned to Boston, leaving Charity behind. To help take care of Mima, she said. Somehow Mitch suspected she had other motives. She always did.
    He sat up and opened his eyes, flipping the pages of the Bible at random. He settled on 2 Corinthians, and his eyes widened as he scanned the page. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship bath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion path light with darkness?
    A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips. So much for Bridie's implication that he pursue Charity O'Connor. "As far as the east is from the west, " so is Charity from her God. Mitch sighed. It was a real pity. She was an amazingly beautiful woman who drew him like a magnet. Once, he would have gladly explored the bounds of her generosity without compunction. But Faith had changed everything. Attraction, lust, and beauty had been enough before. Not anymore. Now he craved the beauty of the Spirit, the touch of God in his soul. His love for Faith had been pure, God-directed, exhilarating. Never again would he settle for less.

    Mitch continued to read, the power of the words warming his body like the fire had been unable to do. He yawned, realizing his tension had finally dissipated, slinking away like the dusk at the end of day. He placed the Bible on the table and stood, stretching to release the kinks.
    Thoughts of Charity suddenly flashed in his mind, and he stiffened his jaw. By the grace of God, he could do this. He would warn her and be done with it. And then he'd get on with his life.
    He looked up to the ceiling, brows arched in expectation. "I'm gonna need your grace to do it, you know." He stifled a yawn and blew out the lamp. "A boatload should