The Greatest Gift Read Online Free PDF Page A

them to sit down.
    Susan pointed to Connie, glaring. “That woman has had it in for her brother since the day I met her. She rips him and tears him down every chance she gets.”
    They sat in silence for a few minutes. “Now this is nice,” Dennis said. “Isn’t it?” The women looked away from each other while Dennis paged through the book.
    “I’m sorry,” Connie finally said in a pointed tone. She lowered her head. “I’m just upset about my brother and niece.”
    Dennis sat on the desk between them. “Look, I’ll admit I don’t know much about women. I wasn’t very good reading my ex-wife’s moods or finding time to listen to my kids with their problems. I usually tempered her frustration with chocolate. Hmmm.” He reached over and rummaged through his top drawer. “Do either of you want some? Would that help?” He held up a couple of Kit Kat bars. “Left over from Halloween.” He waggled them in front of Susan and Connie with a smile.
    Connie and Susan looked at each other. “Oh, pul-ease,” they said simultaneously.
    “Okay,” he said. “I see I struck out with that suggestion. Forget the chocolate. I need your help, both of you.” He winced, pressing the bandage so it stayed intact.
    Connie crossed her arms. “Only a religious nut would believe my brother’s story about traveling back in time and meeting Jesus of all people. Jesus.” She rolled her eyes. “Could the doorway lead to another part of town?”
    “Sure,” he said. “But I doubt that’s where he ended up.”
    “How can you be sure?”
    “George Farmer told me some amazing stories. When George first told me about his travels, I didn’t believe him. But when I saw Michael leave with my own eyes, all my doubts vanished.” He held up the black book again. “I’ve read the stories about the miracles in here. It all adds up now. Didn’t you see what I saw?”
    The women looked at each other.
    “I wasn’t inside the church when he disappeared,” Susan said. “But, I was outside and I was in the back of the church. I would have seen anyone leaving.” She hesitated and opened her mouth, yet no words were formed.
    “Tell me,” Dennis said.
    “I saw what the cloth did when we were in the car accident.”
    “What cloth?” asked Connie.
    “Michael was carrying around this cloth. It had these red-stained markings on it. He kept pulling it out of his pocket, looking at it. We were driving to the church when some car comes out of nowhere and hits us. I had this big gash from the glass cutting me. Michael placed the cloth on my neck, and it stopped bleeding. It not only stopped the bleeding, the wound disappeared. It was a miracle.”
    “Are you kidding me?” asked Connie. “Okay. You get hurt. You’re bleeding. My brother puts a cloth on your wound. It stops the bleeding. Wow, what a miracle.”
    “I thought I was going to die,” Susan said. “I felt my body float. I could see myself sitting in the car from above.”
    “Oh, you are the drama queen of Northport. I wouldn’t expect you to react any differently.”
    Susan glared. “Pastor, you know about the cloth. Right?”
    He nodded. “I didn’t see it do anything like what you said, Susan. So I can’t be sure.”
    “I know what I saw, and I know what I felt,” Susan said.
    Connie stood and waved. “I’m out of here. There are way too many crazy theories being discussed in this room. I’m going to do what any normal sister would do when her niece and brother go missing. I’m going to organize another search party. I do care about Elizabeth and Michael.”
    “I guess that makes sense,” Dennis said. “I’m not sure searching here though will lead to finding them. I do know what I saw.”
    “I know he was up near the manger with you and you handed him the doll. Then, poof, he’s gone. Magicians do this all the time. There’s nothing supernatural about this, Pastor. So he could have disappeared behind it and gone out another door. I know the church