Fearless Hope: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

strange familiarity of the house and grasped the railing tightly as he followed the women up the stairs.
    “Five bedrooms!” Marla exclaimed, still playing the happy homemaker. “Just think, Logan, each of our children can have a room to themselves and one left over for a nursery.”
    Verla beamed. “You have three children and you’re expecting?”
    Marla smiled modestly and laid a hand on her flat stomach. “I’m due in seven months.”
    Logan didn’t know whether he wanted to laugh or shake her. When Marla got in a certain mood, she sometimes didn’t know when to stop.
    He followed the two women into one of the upstairs bedrooms. Verla, encouraged by what she interpreted as Marla’s enthusiasm, became quite excited.
    “Just look at this view!” she crowed, waving a hand with as much pride as if she’d created the countryside all by herself.
    He looked, and was dumbfounded. This view, too, felt familiar. Very familiar. From here, he could see the other house that had made him nearly swerve off the road.
    The feeling of déjà vu was so strong, it was nearly overwhelming. It made him wonder if he needed to talk to a psychiatrist when they got back to New York.
    The rooms were empty of furniture, but one felt more familiar than any of the others—the smallest bedroom. He could have sworn that he had stared at that particular water stain on the high ceiling before.
    The been-here-before feeling was not at all unpleasant. In fact, it was the exact opposite. He felt a peace here that he had not experienced in a very long time. He gave a huge, involuntary sigh as he felt the perpetual knot in his stomach relax. Perhaps his writer’s muse was trying to tell him something.
    “This would be a wonderful place to write,” he said, wistfully.
    At this, Verla turned her sales pitch up a notch. “Property in Holmes County just keeps climbing. Everyone wants to move here. With a few improvements, you could probably resell this place in a couple years at a nice profit, especially with the two hundred prime acres that come with it.”
    “How much?” he asked.
    Marla shot him a surprised look.
    Verla named a price. He did some quick calculations. He could afford it if he cashed in some stocks.
    Of course, he wasn’t serious about buying it. Not really. And yet the idea of living here did hold a certain attraction. “Would you like to own a house in the country, Marla?”
    She smiled. “You’re joking, right?”
    “Not entirely.”
    “We need to talk,” Marla said to the Realtor. “Could you give us a minute alone, please?”
    “Of course.” Verla left the small room, closing the door behind her.
    “Have you lost your mind?” Marla asked. “This place doesn’t even have electricity ! It is a million miles from anywhere !”
    She was absolutely right.
    “I know.” He shook off the longing to possess the house. “The idea is ridiculous. It’s just that I’m in such a slump and for a moment there—just for a moment—I had this crazy thought that maybe this house could help me find my way out of it.”
    •  •  •
    Hope lay in bed, staring out the window. Her two children were coloring quietly on the quilt beside her. They were good children, made more so by her strange mood. Every now and then, Carrie looked at her with worry written on her little face.
    “Momma’s okay,” Hope soothed. “Just tired. Go ahead and color.”
    They weren’t used to seeing her lying abed in her nightgown this late in the morning. They were used to her being up, the cow milked, and breakfast on the table. Sometimes she would have already put a line of clothes out to dry before they awoke.
    “Mommy?” Carrie said. “Daisy-cow is crying.”
    “I know.”
    The truth was, she had been trying to ignore the sound of their old cow bawling for the past half hour. She simply couldn’t face getting up, getting dressed, and going out to milk her.
    “Mommy,” Adam echoed his big sister, tugging at her sleeve.