Tapestry of Secrets (Appalachian Blessings Book #3) , livre ebook

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148 pages

English

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This Decade-Spanning Novel of Family and Faith Will DelightNow in her eighties, Perla Phillips has carried a secret since she was eighteen years old. When she sees her granddaughter, Ella, struggling for perfection, she decides to share her secret to show that God can use even the biggest mistakes for good. But before she can reveal what happened during that summer sixty years ago, she has a debilitating stroke. Carrying a secret of her own, Ella arrives back in Wise, West Virgina, to help her aunt Sadie care for Perla. Both know the woman wanted to tell them something, but she's now locked in silence. Together they begin looking into the past, but they may learn more than they expected. Will they have the courage to share their hearts? Or will the truth remain buried forever?

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	02 août 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441269621
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Sarah Loudin Thomas
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931063
ISBN 978-1-4412-6962-1
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Kathleen Lynch/Black Kat Design
Cover image by “theboone” / iStock photos
Author is represented by Books & Such Literary Agency
Dedication
For Aunt Bess (1904–2006) who taught me to listen for God and then patiently waited for me to do it.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Sarah Loudin Thomas
Back Ads
Back Cover
1

C RAGGY M OUNT , V IRGIN IA J UNE 2008
W HY DID SHE AGREE to have lunch with Mark? He’d been out of her life for almost a year now. What had possessed her to say yes when he suggested meeting? Ella peered at her former fiancé over her menu, then refocused on the day’s special when he caught her looking.
Honestly, she wasn’t even attracted to him anymore. She’d once thought those dense, dark curls and square jaw were handsome, but what she’d once seen as chiseled just looked hard now.
“Don’t you have Perrier?” he asked the server.
“We have bottled water,” she said.
“Only still, though. Am I right?”
The server looked confused.
“Not effervescent.” Mark spoke slowly as though talking to someone who wasn’t very bright.
“Oh. Right.” The server nodded. “Yes, only still.”
Mark sighed. “Fine. Unsweetened tea for me, and Ella, do you still prefer yours sweetened?”
“Yes, please.” She folded the menu and gave the server an apologetic look.
Mark dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “We’ll order in a minute.”
The server raised her eyebrows at Ella and headed for the kitchen.
“I was ready to order.” Ella tried to tamp down her annoyance. Although she wasn’t seeing Mark anymore, she could still be nice. Based on what she knew of him, he could use a few examples of nice in his life.
Mark leaned in. “We’re in no hurry, right? Now that I’m an associate at the firm, I can afford a long lunch now and again. And you, well, artists set their own schedules, don’t they?”
Ella bristled. She bit her lip to avoid speaking too quickly. Gran always said, “Sow in haste, repent in leisure.” She tried to take that to heart. Words were hard to take back once spoken.
“Generally, that’s true, but I do have a deadline I need to meet so I can’t stay too long.” That was almost the truth. She did have a self-imposed deadline that she had pretty well already met, but Mark didn’t need to know the details.
Mark’s face pinched, but then he smoothed it back out and smiled. “Fine. What looks good to you?”
Ella caught the eye of the server, who was approaching with their drinks. “I’ll have the shrimp quesadilla special.”
The server nodded and looked at Mark.
“Are the crab cakes made with lump crab?”
“I think so,” she said.
Mark rolled his eyes. “Bring me the crab cakes.”
As soon as she walked away, Mark shook his head at Ella. “Ten to one it’s backfin.” He smirked. “I could probably bring suit against them for false advertising.”
Ella suppressed a sigh. What was she doing? “But you wouldn’t waste your talents on a frivolous lawsuit.”
Mark considered her. “No. I wouldn’t.”
“So,” Ella began as she smoothed her napkin in her lap, “what have you been up to? Seeing anyone?”
Again, Mark looked annoyed. “Well, as I mentioned, I’m an associate now. It was down to Paul Warren and me, and Paul, well, he just didn’t want it as much as I did. You’ve got to be willing to sacrifice to get ahead at Finley, Robertson, and Ellison.”
“What did you sacrifice?” Ella chastised herself. That wasn’t a nice question.
“Whatever I had to,” Mark said. He watched the server approaching and narrowed his eyes at the plate she set in front of him. He poked a crab cake with his fork and opened his mouth as if to speak.
Ella jumped in. “Thank you so much. It looks delicious.” She widened her eyes at the server, who darted a look at Mark and then scurried away.
“This is not lump crab. I was going to send it back.”
“I’ve found that backfin can be more flavorful,” Ella said, cutting into her quesadilla. “Why don’t you taste it first? And anyway, we’re here to catch up with each other. Let’s not let the food be a distraction. By the way, has the name of the firm changed? Seemed like it used to just be Finley and Robertson.”
Mark’s mouth twitched as he examined her. “You should probably study the law yourself. You’d make a fine defense attorney. Yes, Mr. Ellison is the newest partner. I’m still getting a feel for him.”
Ella sipped her tea. “I suppose that’s one of the advantages of making my quilt hangings—no co-workers or supervisors to figure out.”
Mark sneered, then caught himself. “You’re a fine craftsperson. How’s business, by the way? Still dreaming about running off to your family farm to live the artist’s life?”
Ella bit the tip of her tongue, wishing she’d never confided her dream of building a studio near her family and creating quilt hangings that would carry the art of Appalachia to the wider world.
“Dreams are just that, I suppose.” She wasn’t going to defend her ambition to Mark. Not now.
Ella suffered through another twenty minutes of chitchat and did her best to enjoy her food, which was really good. She persuaded Mark that she honestly didn’t want dessert and walked through the front door into the heat and humidity of June in southwestern Virginia with a sense of relief. But Mark wasn’t quite done with her yet. He draped an unwelcome arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
“We should do this again.” He stopped and turned her to face him. “I’ve missed you. I know you had your reasons for leaving, but I’ve changed. I’d like to try again.”
Ella swallowed and used all her self-control to keep from twisting away from him and running for freedom. “That’s quite a compliment, Mark. I appreciate it. But I really don’t think there’s a future for us.” His face darkened, and she rushed her words. “Thanks for lunch. I wish you luck at the firm—I’m sure you’ll be successful.” She smiled and took a step back so that he had to release her. “After all, you’re quite the eligible bachelor. I’m sure you’ll find the right girl for you.”
Mark’s head drew back, and he sucked air in through his teeth. “Yes, well, I think I know which girl is right for me.” He reached out and tweaked her chin. “We’ll talk again.”
Ella opened her mouth, but Mark had already turned and was disappearing around a corner. She watched him go as dread rose in her belly. Why oh why had she agreed to lunch today?

Perla got out the good sheets with the embroidered pillow slips. She flicked the fitted sheet over the bed in the guest room, letting it drift into place. She couldn’t say why, but she had a feeling someone might come for a visit. And if no one did, it was still nice to use the good linens. Maybe she’d sleep on them herself. She smoothed out the creases and wished it were Ella coming. Perla worried about her granddaughter—maybe more than she should. She sometimes thought Ella was too willing to make sacrifices to please others. And when you got right down to it, there was only one opinion that mattered. A Bible verse popped into Perla’s head: “For they loved human praise more than praise from God.”
She shook her head. She’d never really tried to correct what she saw in Ella, even though she well knew how destructive it could be to spend too much time worrying over what everyone else thought of you.
She sat on the edge of the bed to rest a moment, reaching up to smooth a stray wisp of white hair back into its twist. Maybe it was time to share her own story. It was common knowledge that she’d had Sadie out of wedlock back in 1949, something no one raised an eyebrow at anymore. It had become an overlooked fact rather than the shame she once carried. What Perla had never shared—what she’d long assumed she never would—were the circumstances and the name of the man she once loved. She’d loved him and wanted to please him enough to risk everything and suffer the consequences. Of course, she wouldn’t trade a minute of that pain now, but that was because God had been merciful enough to redeem her.
Perla finished making the bed and leaned against the headboard. She was so very tired. Normally the thought of visitors—actual or hoped for—energized her, but today she felt worn to the bone. Maybe it was thinking about her mistakes and dredging up those days she’d long put behind her. And such thoughts inevitably brought her around to Sadie. Should she try to tell Sadie the truth first? Sadie had refused to listen the one time she offered to share the tale. Her daughter said that Casewell Phillips was more than father enough for her and she didn’t want to sully his memory with another man’s name. Perla had felt shamed by her daughter and never mentioned it