Just Above a Whisper Read Online Free PDF

thought she could easily cry. He was scared. He was excited, but fear was evident as well.
    “I ordered a cradle, assuming he would complete it in plenty of time.” Jace’s voice was thoughtful with wonder. “And now he’s gone.”
    Maddie didn’t reply to this—there was no need. It was very sobering news. Death was a part of life, but also a sad part.
    “Do you want anything to eat?” Maddie asked after a long time. “I’ve got tea ready.”
    “Tea sounds fine. How are you feeling?”
    “Good,” she told him truthfully, and for the next few hours, they went about their normal routine. Not until it was time to turn in did the discussion return to their eternity again. The timing couldn’t have been worse. It didn’t let either of them sleep until late in the night.

     
    Alison sat in the dark of the bedroom, five-month-old Jeffrey at her breast, her heart praying for Reese Thackery. If she looked out the window and peeked around the tree, she could just make out the Zantow house. There were no lights burning, and Alison hoped that meant Reese was sleeping soundly.
    Jeffrey fell sound asleep when Alison wasn’t paying attention, and she bounced him a little to see if he wanted more, but he was completely relaxed, boneless as a cat, and ready to go back to bed.
    Alison tucked him into his cradle and slipped back into bed with Douglas, who had learned to sleep through the night feedings. Alison fell back to sleep too, but not before she had time to talk to God about trusting Him. Douglas had been talking about trust in his sermons. Trust was always the issue when she prayed. Did she pray believing God had a plan and she wasn’t the center of the universe? Or was she more willing to lie in her bed and tell God what to do with Reese Thackery’s life?
    Sleep came swiftly, but only because on this night Alison chose to pray in belief, knowing that God’s love for Reese laughingly outweighed her own.

     
    The bells rang early. First nine times, and then 48 times for Mr. Zantow’s age. Reese and Doc MacKay certainly heard them, but it didn’t deter the work. They had moved the body into the parlor, where the coffin and a piece of hastily prepared white sheeting were ready for the body.
    Doc MacKay sent Reese from the room just one time. Other than that, they worked side by side, doing what had to be done for the funeral the next day. While they worked, they talked. Doc MacKay, a fellow believer, wanted to know how Reese was really doing.
    “Are you afraid for the future, Reese?”
    “Not afraid, but certainly not sure of anything.”
    “Have you ever seen your papers? Do you know what to expect?”
    “I did see them one time, but not to read.” She made a face. “By the time I realized I should know what they said, my father was gone. I shouldn’t have been such a chicken.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “I never asked to see them because I feared angering Mr. Zantow.”
    The doctor nodded in understanding and asked, “Do you own anything in this house?”
    “A few items in my room, but nothing of value.”
    “Will you try to find work and stay in Tucker Mills?”
    “That’s exactly what I’ll do. I don’t know if anyone will hire me, or if I will be able to make enough to live on. I just know that I don’t wish to be indentured any more.”
    “I don’t think it will come to that,” Doc MacKay reassured her. “Don’t forget, you have the church family.”
    Reese smiled at him, her heart taking comfort in the reminder. She didn’t know what the future would bring, but she could trust that God had a plan. She could also thank Him for saving her and putting her with a church family that loved her unconditionally.

 
    Three
    The viewing was not largely attended. Mr. Zantow did work for many people, but he did not have a great many friends. Reese had sat by her father’s casket in this same living room, but she did not sit next to Mr. Zantow’s coffin. He was not family, and she felt