My Hope Is Found: The Cadence of Grace, Book 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

around his.
    Her needle pierced the fabric, and she yanked the thread taut. After half a dozen tiny stitches, she took a deep breath, her thoughts far from the garment in hand.
    Toby’s a good man
. She nearly said it out loud, so quick was she to remind herself. He would be a good father to her son. But did she love him? Lonnie fiddled with a corner of the little dress. She thought of his smile, of his kindness and goodness, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she cared for him. Very much. The future would be bright. It had to be.
    Leaning against the windowsill, she focused on the tidy row of stitches. The gray thread blended nicely, as she’d hoped. Elsie brushed past her, setting a plate of warm pumpkin bread at her side, followed by a cup and saucer. The dollop of butter melting on the bread made Lonnie set aside her chore long enough to have a taste. Brushing crumbs from her dress, she sipped the hot brew.
    By the time Jebediah finished and Addie hopped up to put the book away, the sound of Jacob’s cries came muffled from the bedroom. Lonnie’s feet thrummed up the stairs, and she found him on her bed, his baby quilt tight in his grasp. A wide smile spread across his face, revealing several teeth he had worked hard to produce. He babbled at her and rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes.
    She clapped and, reaching out, caught Jacob as he lunged into her grasp. They sank on the edge of the bed, and she buried her nose in his creamy neck.
    She breathed in his scent and shut her eyes. “My boy,” she whispered as they swayed side to side. Jacob nestled his face into her shoulder as if to rub away his sleepiness. Lonnie kissed his forehead and smoothed her palm over the silken skin and into curls the color of autumn.
    Hair that mirrored his father’s.
    She battled against the ache. With a kiss to the top of Jacob’s head, sheclosed her eyes, fighting off the memories of events that tore Gideon from her grasp. There was no sense in longing for what she could not have. No need to glance around to know that his drawer was empty. His scent long gone. And the echo of his laughter had long since faded from the walls.
    The bed creaked when Lonnie stood. Pressing her son to her chest, she stepped toward the door.

Four
    Gideon shook out his jacket and draped it over the shrubs. Shivering, he grabbed his only other shirt from his pack. He shook out the wrinkles, not really caring. Teeth nearly chattering, he yanked it on, followed by his jacket and pack. Without ceremony, he pressed on. As he fumbled the top shirt button into place, the breeze that tapped its chilly fingers against his chest made him wish for a patch of warm summer sun where he could lie down for a few hours and dry out proper.
    An apple slipped from his pack and hit the damp and frosty bracken. He grabbed it up as his empty stomach rumbled. Judging by the light, he knew it had to be well past breakfast. He’d dawdled long enough trying to get dry. With only damp wood for a fire, the night had been a cold one. He’d tried to sleep but kept waking up shaking, so he finally forced himself to rise and keep moving, despite the dark. Another apple tumbled from his pack, and with a grunt, Gideon retraced a step and grabbed it, all the while thinking he’d forgotten to secure the flap of his pack. After sticking the small apple between his teeth, he pulled the pack off and tugged on the leather cord, cinching it tight.
    “Hiya.”
    Pulling the apple from his mouth, Gideon glanced up to see an oldwoman standing in the path. “Mornin’.” He wiped the back of his hand over his lips.
    With a large walking stick in one bony fist and a basket in the other, the woman gestured toward him with her elbow. “You ain’t from around these parts.”
    “No ma’am.”
    She studied him a moment. “Where ya headin’, son?” An army of multicolored skirts swayed when she shifted her weight, the tattered hems brushing against her snowy boots.
    “Fancy Gap,”