The Days of Redemption Read Online Free

long,” he agreed, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I am verra pleased to see you. And shocked, too!”
    â€œBut it’s a good surprise, yes?”
    â€œIt’s good . . . but confusing, too.” His eyes narrowing, his daed looked him up and down. Just like he was checking for new flaws. “You must tell me what you are doing here.”
    â€œI’m seeing you, of course.”
    â€œDon’t tease.” Pointing to a sheet of notebook paper on the table, his father said, “I received your letter this morning. You gave no indication that you were on your way home. I think you could have done that, son.” He paused, looking him over yet again. “Unless . . . something bad happened?”
    â€œNothing bad happened.” Eager to push off any more charges of misbehavior, Ed picked up the note, saw the date, and grinned. “This letter is dated three weeks ago. I’ve written you at least two more letters since then.”
    â€œBut surely you could have remembered to let me know you’d soon be heading this way . . .”
    Knowing his father had no concept of how disorganized life at a mission post could be, Ed tried to explain things as well as possible. “Daed, when I wrote this, I didn’t know I would have to leave so soon.”
    â€œYou had to leave quickly?” Worry flashed through his cloudy eyes. “What happened?”
    Aware that several other residents of the retirement home had crowded around, Ed took time to weigh his words before answering. “Nothing terribly exciting. The folks at the home office took another look at the staffing at all of their sites. Some locations needed more people, other sites had too many. They had to make some cuts, so a few people were sent to Africa, others home.”
    â€œThat doesn’t sound like any way to run a company.”
    Knowing better than to try to explain the delicate balance CAMA—the Christian Aid Ministry Association— had to ensure was kept in each country, and the amount of work it took to provide for the many people they served, Ed shrugged and went for the simplest of explanations. “The people in charge were told that they had too many Americans in the compound. Next thing I knew, they were telling me I was on the list to leave.”
    â€œI hope you weren’t in trouble.” His father’s gaze searched his own, the same way he used to look him over when Ed would come home from school early.
    Luckily, he had a lot of practice deflecting his concern. “Daed, stop looking so worried! And why would you think I’d be in trouble? I was on the list because I’d been there the longest. Sending me home was their way of rewarding me for my hard work.”
    â€œI suppose that makes sense.”
    Ed didn’t know if it did or not—all he knew was that he hadn’t needed any kind of reward. Long ago, he’d learned to put his needs far behind the needs of the people he’d been serving. No matter how much he was inconvenienced or shuffled around, it wouldn’t hold a candle to the difficulties the people he was serving went through each day. The people he’d come to care for. He loved his mission work, but he had to admit, it was nice to be back in Ohio. At the moment, he was grateful for the cold air and was looking forward to a comfortable bed.
    And nothing was better than sitting with his father. “Daed, honestly, I was glad they asked me to leave. I’d been there almost two years. I was ready to come home for a spell.”
    â€œAnd I am glad you’re here, too. Now, how long will you be staying?”
    â€œAt least six months.”
    Some of the light in his father’s eyes faded. “And then you’ll be off to somewhere else?”
    â€œThat’s the plan.”
    â€œAh.”
    That one word cut through him like a knife. And with that cut, Ed felt the guilt that sometimes threatened