A Season for Family Read Online Free PDF

to move. It’s kinda creepy in the dark but still cool.”
    Heath nodded, glad it wasn’t the lack of sleep getting the better of him. But this kind of talent had to be expensive. He spotted an opportunity, baited the trap.
    â€œI’m surprised you can afford art like this on the tight budget Amos keeps reminding me about. It must have cost a small fortune.”
    She waved away Heath’s concern. “Oh, the paint is donated and I do all the work myself.”
    â€œ You’re the artist?” Heath stared again at the walls.
    â€œOh, I don’t know about being an artist, but I do all the painting around here. I had some help with the exterior, but I did the inside by myself before we opened.”
    Heath couldn’t recall another day in his life when he’d been caught off guard so many times in such a brief period. Either this woman was something special or he was slipping.
    Whatever the answer turned out to be, it was just a job. A job standing between him and the rest of his life.
    â€œI came to get you for Bible study,” Olivia explained.
    â€œIt’s been a long day. Can’t I get a pass since it’s my first night here?”
    â€œNice try, but I already saved you a seat up front.” A smirk lifted one corner of her mouth. “Right next to Amos.”
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    Heath was mesmerized by Olivia as she spoke to the small group. She perched on a folding chair in the common space they called the big room, sitting tall with one foot tucked beneath her. For half an hour she talked about the Book of Job in a way that made the man’sstruggles come to life, like the scenes she’d painted on the walls in the hallway.
    Until that moment Heath had viewed Job merely as one more character from the stories he’d been told during childhood. Noah built his ark, Moses parted the Red Sea and Lazarus returned from the dead. Those were little more than fairy tales to Heath. Still, he loved a good superhero.
    But Olivia was presenting a flesh-and-blood man whose trust in God overcame the worst trials Satan had up his sleeve. She made a convincing argument for faith and it was tempting to buy into her perspective.
    Heath would keep that in mind. Charisma was an excellent shield. The world was full of smooth-talking leaders with hidden agendas. A disapproving puff of air rushed past Heath’s lips at the aggravating thought.
    The point of an elbow poked against his ribs. Amos’s scowl indicated that Heath should bow his head, somebody was praying. He dipped his chin but slanted his eyes toward the others. He recognized a few faces from dinner, when he’d kept mostly to himself. During the meal he’d risked a glance across the room at Olivia. Her eyes were already fixed on him, affirming what he expected; she was keeping him under scrutiny.
    And she should. He was a stranger, new on her turf, and as far as she knew he’d been convicted of a cyber crime. Yet he hadn’t seen any judgment in her eyes, only kindness.
    The closing prayer droned on, so Heath’s gaze wandered back to the front of the room and homed in on Olivia. As if he’d tapped her on the shoulder, she looked up, gave him a brief smile and lowered her eyelids again.
    â€œShame on you,” Amos hissed when the meeting was dismissed.
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œFor lookin’ around when Bruce was praying.”
    â€œIf you’d been minding your own business you wouldn’t have noticed.”
    â€œI was just checkin’ to make sure you were participating.”
    â€œI agreed to attend. I never said I’d participate.”
    â€œThat’s true.” Olivia came to his rescue. “Heath is meeting all the requirements and he’s done an okay job.” She looked his way, her eyes wide with expectation. “So far.”
    â€œIt must be tough to get an atta boy around here,” he mumbled.
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    Olivia watched a sullen glaze settle in