Helsinki Sunrise Read Online Free

driven her away from God.
    What Mikko hadn’t told him, was how attractive Eveliina was. Adam hadn’t imagined she’d be this beautiful, svelte woman. But bitterness tainted her beauty.
    Having met Eveliina, he began to understand Mikko’s fervent prayers for his sister. Her eyes revealed more pain and resentment than Mikko had been able to articulate. Tonight, Eveliina Mikkola’s name would move to the top of his prayer list.
    Without a word, Adam opened the door that led inside the cottage. He needed to get his things from the sleeping space upstairs. This was one time he was really grateful he was a neat freak. He hadn’t anticipated anyone’s arrival. Of course, not cooking had helped keep the place spotless. Zero food, zero dishes.
    Eveliina remained outside on the deck.
    He didn’t blame her. She was a woman alone out here with a stranger. If she thought he intended leaving, she might calm down and ditch the log. He didn’t trust her with it.
    Besides, he had to move. She would need the room, and he needed darkness and sleep.
    The steep wooden ladder reminded him of the bunk bed he’d had growing up, except this one was much longer. He climbed the ten rungs and crawled through the narrow entrance. There was no place to stand in the low-roofed room so Adam sat as he gathered his few belongings. He’d put them into his backpack when he got downstairs.
    He rolled up his sleeping bag and, knowing he was alone in the cottage, tossed it out the opening. It landed with a thud that didn’t sound like the floor. Floors didn’t cuss. Adam poked his head out the narrow door. Eveliina glared at him, hair disheveled, sleeping bag in one hand, birch log still grasped in the other. When would she trust him enough to relinquish her hold on that piece of wood?
    “Watch what you’re doing.” She threw the sleeping bag onto the daybed. It rolled off onto the floor.
    “Sorry.” A smile tugged his lips, no matter how tight he clamped his jaw. When last did she have a good night’s sleep? His grumpiness had nothing on her.
    He hurried down the ladder, clothing and pillow under his arm. He packed his clothes neatly inside his backpack that stood beside the daybed, which sufficed as a couch in the lounge that served as the kitchen and dining room.
    Eveliina cut him a look. Her gray eyes held no warmth. “You can’t sleep there.”
    Adam wouldn’t have wanted to. He’d fully intended sleeping inside the sauna tonight where it was darker, and definitely far warmer now than inside the cottage. The small house no longer felt cozy. Eveliina’s arrival had brought with it an iciness that sank deep into his bones.
    “I know. It wouldn’t be right. You, a beautiful, single woman, and me, a man of God…spending the night together in a cottage on a lake?” He chuckled. “What would people think?”
    The pale red colors of Finnish sunsets swept across her face. She narrowed her eyes, looking more catlike than before. He’d better be careful. Teasing seemed to rank among her many aversions.
    He pointed to the daybed. “Do you mind if I take the mattress to the sauna? I’ll sleep in there tonight.”
    Her head snapped from Adam, to the daybed, and then back to Adam. Would she show a smidgen of compassion? For a moment, Adam thought she’d deny him even that small comfort.
    “Fine.” She wagged her finger at him like a schoolmistress. “Just make sure you bring it back in the morning.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” He bit his cheek. She’d not approve of a smile.
    Adam carried the narrow mattress in one hand and his backpack in the other. He slipped out of the same door he’d entered minutes ago.
    After standing his backpack in the corner of the sauna, Adam laid the mattress down on the bottom bench. It was darkest there. He sat for a while, to think and pray.
    By the time he returned to retrieve his sleeping bag, Eveliina had locked the cottage door. Looking through the glass door, he noticed she’d finally discarded the log