The Charity Read Online Free PDF

be happy that Jessica was there filling the void that stared at him from over the porch.
    “I’ll hand over the reins if ya promise me a couple of pints at the tavern tonight.”
    “Deal!” Jessica gave Gus a quick hug and sighed as she swung herself onto the horse’s back in one fluid motion. Habit compelled Gus to quickly summarize how Blue Jeep was handling that day and where the big horse was on his overall training schedule. Instinctively, Gus knew the big dappled gray horse was destined never to be a winner at the track and he knew that hardly mattered to Jessica. Blue Jeep was one of Jessica’s favorites for the rough terrain she loved. All of the information about Blue Jeep’s conditioning was given to her in the quick staccato speech of one horseman to another. Jessica had the same intuition Gus did for the big animals and full sentences or completed thoughts were unnecessary between them.
    “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” And with that she wheeled the horse away and started toward the wooded hillside.
    Gus stood and watched until horse and rider were enveloped in a cloud of dust. How many years ago was it that he chose the life he did? No, that’s wrong. He did not choose it. His path was born inside of him in the way a man is called to the priesthood. He took solace from that thought many times while he lay in bed alone. His line of work did not necessarily require him to be alone, but he thought it best and was proved right time and time again. Occasionally a doubt did creep up on him trying to create a breach of faith. He only had to think of the larger picture, the alternative life of himself and others if he did not live by his own beliefs, to bring the consuming fire back into his heart. There were really only two people on earth that would ever make him break his vows. One was already dead. The other just left him behind in a cloud.
    He touched his right hand to his forehead, then to a spot vaguely central to his gut, up to his left shoulder, and lastly, to his right. A cool feeling crept up between his shoulder blades and tightened the minuscule muscles around the hair follicles on the back of his neck. Something deep and ancient within his soul awakened trying to whisper the future into his ear. It had been too many years since he had listened to such voices and he shook off the feeling as just a vestige from his youth. If he had listened, or if he understood the meaning, he may never have allowed the smile on his face to linger as the dust slowly sifted back down to earth.
    Jessica gave Blue Jeep his head by loosening the reins and squeezing her legs in the signal that said ‘Go faster!’ and raced toward the edge of the pasture. She balanced herself over the horse’s neck and shoulders and felt its powerful muscles propel them forward. The surge of speed whipped her hair from her face and stripped away her tension and grief. She coiled her hands in the horse’s mane and allowed the action of its gait to pull her arms forward and back in a pulsing rhythm. Her senses filled with the smells of the early summer meadow and the sweaty horse. With each stride, Jessica felt the distance between her inner and outer selves close. It was only when she was alone, away from anyone, that she felt safe enough to be herself.
    In the solitude of being on horseback, Jessica let tears blur her vision. The act of graduating from Bowdoin College and being thrust out into the world gave Jessica an opportunity to think about herself and about where she was headed. The hubbub of the past few weeks bothered her. She had finals to study for and papers to write, the burden made heavier by a brain muddled by grief from the loss of her Aunt Bridget. She hid her feelings behind her work, but the sting was no less painful.
    Without warning, her imagination sprang to life, knocking her off balance and taking her breath away. She tightened her legs around the moving horse as flashes of memories came to her. Details