Desperate Rescue Read Online Free PDF Page A

she’d probably love to see the world blown up because then her ideals would be justified. We had a huge fight and didn’t talk for weeks.”
    “We’re you both living at home then?”
    “Yes.” She toyed with the straps of her knapsack. “In Nova Scotia.”
    “Did your parents always live there? How did you end up in the middle of New Brunswick?”
    “My father worked on the oil platforms. He met my mother in Halifax and settled there. I took some college courses in agriculture and management and was close to securing a job up here at a local potato-processing plant.”
    He glanced over at her. “And you lost all chances when Noah kept you?”
    “I’d been gone for two years and there wasn’t much fight left in me. Plus, I’m still malnourished. That was Noah’s way of gaining control over people. Hold back just enough food to ensure you’re always hungry.”
    Eli’s already firm grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles ached.
    Kaylee looked as if she could barely stand discussing this. Still, she said, “I came to the point where I just got used to the gnawing hunger. Everyone around me was the same way and they didn’t complain.”
    He felt the uneasy pause.
    “Certainly not in front of Phoebe or Noah.”
    He was at a loss at what to say. Finally, he murmured, “Doing without can make us better people.”
    “What good is doing without food?” She pulled up on her knapsack as she snapped, “It destroys the body and you’re certainly not any better for it.”
    Guide my words, Lord, he prayed swiftly. “Have you asked your pastor about that?”
    “I told you, Pastor Paul is not my pastor. I went to the church in Riverline because Lois asked me to and I owed her for helping me settle in. That’s all.”
    He swallowed. “When bad things happen to Christians, we try to remember that our time here is miniscule compared to eternity in Heaven.”
    “Yeah, if you’re good.”
    Eli shook his head. “No! You’re saved by faith, not by works.” He hadn’t expected to witness to Kaylee and pulled a face as he tried to concentrate on his driving. And where they were going. “Do you like Lois’s church?”
    She took her time answering. “Yes. The people there are wonderful. They’re kind and considerate.”
    “They’re doing God’s work—not for salvation, but because they love Him.” He felt his tight grip on the wheel relax, hoping to give good answers without his full attention. “I wish I could take back all the awful things my brother did to you. You didn’t suffer any permanent damage, did you?”
    “Physically, no.”
    He knew what she meant. “Emotionally, you’re strong, too. You’re here today, aren’t you?”
    She twisted around in the seat and pinned him with a steady stare. “Were you kids raised in the church?”
    “Mostly. I don’t know the reasons for the breaks we took from church. Mom and Dad didn’t discuss it. All I know is that Phoebe loved church and would become withdrawn when she couldn’t go. Being the youngest and the church having some great kids’ programs, she had all the fun. Our parents felt that Noah and I should sit through the regular service. We were treated as though we were the same age, even though he’s eighteen months older than I am.”
    Noah bullied everyone. It wasn’t until he started his cult that his parents saw that. By then, he’d taken Phoebe and hurt them all.
    As if reading his mind, she asked, “How long have you been looking for Phoebe?”
    “Actively? Five years,” he answered.
    “Searching must have been hard for you,” she murmured. “But in all honesty, Eli, it’s not going to be easy to talk to her.”
    The forest deepened and the quiet road narrowed. The sun retreated behind a bank of thick clouds and the brilliant fall leaves mutated into dark, ominous clumps.
    “Then just get me in,” he finally said.
    “I won’t be welcomed, you know. Noah was the only one who wanted me there. He called me