Julia's Last Hope Read Online Free Page B

body, singing hymns in her rich soprano as she worked. Jennifer and Felicity exchanged relieved glances and smiled at their mother as she turned toward them.
    “Where have you two been?” asked Julia, halting her song long enough to pose the question.
    “Didn’t Hettie tell you?” asked Felicity.
    “Since when is Hettie your messenger?” Julia responded, stepping back to study the two faces before her.
    “We just went to the drugstore,” offered Felicity.
    “I have no objection to your going to the drugstore—when you have permission to do so,” Julia replied evenly.
    Both heads dropped.
    “Sorry, Mama,” murmured Jennifer. She had known they would get themselves in trouble.
    “You know the rules of the household,” went on Julia. “Permission is always needed to leave your own yard. I don’t think that is too much to expect. Do you?”
    Two heads shook as one.
    “In the future, you will see that permission is granted—first,” stated Julia.
    This time the two heads nodded.
    Julia turned again to her rose beds, and the girls went back to the house and sat in the swing. Jennifer squirmed on the wooden seat, but Felicity had already forgotten the scolding.
    “I cleaned my closet,” she called to her mother.
    Jennifer sucked in her breath.
    Julia lifted her head. “I’m glad to hear that,” she responded.
    “It’s as clean as Jennifer’s,” went on Felicity.
    “Good,” said Julia.
    “Do I get a reward?” asked Felicity.
    “Indeed!” said Julia, and Felicity’s eyes sparkled.
    “You may join us for dinner tonight,” Julia finished.
    “But I always—” began Felicity, then felt the nudge of Jennifer’s toe.
    “Exactly!” responded Julia, and turned back to her roses, singing as she worked.
    After dinner, John lifted the family Bible from the bureau and turned the pages absentmindedly. He knew he had to tell the girls about the mill, but he wasn’t quite sure how to do it, what to say. True, changes were in store for all of them—but what changes?
    He knew Julia was right. Of course God would care for them—just as He had always done. But God had assigned the care of the family to the father of the home, and John felt as if he were failing his family. Even though he was not responsible for the closing of the mill, he still felt the guilt. He wanted to supply for the needs of his family as he had done in the past.
    Though he tried to appear confident, his shoulders sagged. He had spent the afternoon with other men from the lumber mill, and the conversation always came back to the same stark truth. There would be no work in this small town once the mill closed. And there would be no sale for property—no matter how fine it might be. The little town of Calder Springs would soon be a ghost town.
    Julia reached for John’s hand and tried to encourage him with one of her confident smiles—though deep within her heart she felt little confidence.
    John found the place where they were to continue their scripture reading and cleared his throat. He read the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people with one young boy’s lunch, and Julia found herself wondering just how many times in the future Christ would need to multiply the loaves in her cupboard.
    The girls listened attentively to the scripture verses. Even Felicity seemed to be concentrating on what her father read.
    John closed the Bible and laid it aside. He cleared his throat, and Julia knew he was searching for words.
    “Before we pray,” he said at last, “we—I—there has been some news that has come to us—your mama and me—today that we need to tell you about because it affects all of us.”
    Jennifer looked down at the bows on her shoes. One was crooked. She bent to twist it to its proper position. Felicity stirred restlessly beside her. Jennifer straightened and gave her sister a silencing look.
    “We—we may be having some changes in our lives,” John continued, and Julia nodded pleasantly, as though changes were always