Helsinki Sunrise Read Online Free PDF

“Including today, ten more days.”
    She shook her head. How could anyone smile about a fortnight without food, except of course for the money they’d save? A missionary’s salary was probably reason enough to make one grin broadly. “Is that crazy brother of mine on this fast with you?”
    “Only for the first week.” Adam’s laughter filled the air, thicker than the smell of filtered coffee. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him about week two.”
    How had she not noticed the way the upward curve of his mouth placed a twinkle in his soft brown eyes?
    “You don’t look like you’ve been without food for days. A razor maybe.”
    Adam scratched his jaw and chuckled. “I might leave it a while longer.”
    How often she’d wished Joel would lose his baby look. A man a little rough around the edges was enticing, and a few days without a shave had certainly given Adam that edge. “Don’t leave off shaving for too long—you look perfect the way you are.” Had she really said that? She hurriedly stood. “You need to go.”
    Adam reached out to stop her. “Eveliina, sit. We should talk. I have something to tell you.”
     
    ****
     
    Eveliina smacked her hand on the table like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum. “What do you mean you’re not leaving?” Even though it would have been nice to continue to feel the flutters, it was pointless. The sooner this ended, the better. She really needed her space to unwind. She’d been looking forward to it since Thursday.
    “Just what I said. Your brother gave me this place to use for three weeks. I need this time away from the world to fast and pray…to prepare. Please, it’s really important.”
    “And it’s just as important for me to be here. What do you propose I do?”
    “Go home? Go to your grandparents’ other summer cottage. You’d be in Lapland before dinner.”
    Eveliina shoved her chair back and sprang to her feet. There wasn’t a chance a pair of missionaries were going to dictate her actions. Nobody did that. Even if one was her brother; even if she found the other highly attractive. “No.”
    Adam chuckled. “Well then, we have a problem.”
    Eveliina put her hands on her hips. “You can’t stay. I need this time to unwind from the stresses of work.”
    “I can’t go, either. God told me to come here, to pray and fast.” His gaze was soft, the hint of humor in his eyes unmistakable. Did he really find this funny? “Who do I obey, Eveliina? You or the Creator of the universe?” His question was unfair.
    How could she argue with that? She could find a way to make Adam want to leave. This island was just too small for both of them.
     
     
     
     

5
     
    Everything had gone so crazy after Eveliina’s arrival that Adam completely forgot he’d left the canoe tied up on the other side of the island. When he went to put on his sneakers, he remembered—his shoelaces were still tied to the canoe. Hopefully, they’d been strong enough to keep the vessel secure overnight.
    Had that really been but twelve hours ago?
    He grabbed a short length of thin rope he’d tucked away in the side of his backpack for emergencies before setting off. He needed to take a walk—to pray and give Eveliina time alone to come to a decision about the impasse they’d reached.
    Still clad in what he called his Jesus sandals—those brown plastic slip-ons that cost almost nothing—Adam headed through the forest. They weren’t exactly walking shoes, particularly not for this uneven terrain. He stumbled several times as the forest floor gave way beneath thick moss, or when a rock covered by undergrowth suddenly made an unannounced appearance. He should have put on the sneakers sans shoelaces.
    Adam made a mental note to never again use his laces as a mooring line. In fact, he vowed not to remove them from his shoes once they were laced up.
    Nearing the other side of the island, he raised a prayer of thanks to heaven. The yellow canoe bobbed in the water. He