Free Stirring Up Strife (2010) by Jennifer - a Hope Street Church Stanley Page A

grinned and handed Cooper her purchases. "Pretty lady like you. With those super-cool eyes?" He stopped as Cooper blushed. "Sorry. But if you want someone to compliment you some more, you know where to find me."
     
Cooper gave him a grateful smile and left the store.
     
Inside the cab of Cherry-O, she sank back against the charcoal gray seat, popped one of the candies in her mouth, pulled her new Bible out of the plastic bag and began to finger its gilt edges.
     
"Okay, Lord. Let's see what you have to tell me." Cooper closed her eyes, opened the Bible, and placed her index fnger onto a random line of text. Opening her eyes, she read aloud, " The LORD watches over you--the LORD is your shade at your right hand ."
     
Cooper glanced at her empty passenger seat and immediately, an image of Brooke's face appeared in her mind. She was surprised, because she always expected to see Drew waiting in the recesses of her cerebellum. Cooper looked back at the verses of Psalm 121. "I hear what you're trying to tell me, Lord, and I'm going to go right home and work on that paper from Brooke's office. You've got a job for me to do and I'm on it."
     
The moment Cooper got home she retrieved the rag containing the remnants of Brooke's document from her toolbox. After taking a refreshing sip of cold sweet tea, she steeled herself and unfolded the rag. Just as she feared, there were dozens of paper scraps lying inside.
     
"Good thing I love puzzles," Cooper said to the rag and then cleared a space on her kitchen table. She set out two sheets of black construction paper side by side and dumped the bits of paper onto the sheet on the right. Her plan was to reconstruct the document and use tape on the connecting pieces in order to secure them to the sheet on the left.
     
Cooper began by sifting through the litter and pulling out the biggest scraps. She examined each one through a magnifying glass and then laid them out on the black paper. Unfortunately, she had been right to assume that many of the pieces would be covered by smeared ink, but she could also see legible, typewritten letters here and there.
     
"This is going to take a miracle," she said as she stared forlornly at the seemingly impossible task her, but she was determined to succeed in re-creating the document. Somehow, she felt that Brooke was looking over her shoulder, willing her to solve the riddle of her death.
     
"Yoo-hoo!" Ashley's voice interrupted Cooper's work. Her sister swept in the room with a stuffed Nordstrom bag in each hand. "Here you are, hiding up in your tower like Rapunzel!" she exclaimed and deposited the bags on the empty chair across from Cooper.
     
The action caused several tiny fragments of paper to flutter off the table and onto the floor. "Ashley!" Cooper held out a hand to prevent her sister from moving again. "Watch out."
     
Ashley pouted. "Well, that's a fine way to greet me, especially when I've got goodies for you."
     
Cooper eyed the bags warily. "Are you going to try and gussy me up again? I'm busy right now."
     
"Doing what?" Ashley put her hands on her hips. "You're going to that new church and you've joined a Bible study. Next on your list is to meet some nice man with a big heart and the type of career that would make him an excellent provider." She gave Cooper an appraising look. "But first you really need to get a haircut. Your hair has hung long and straight to your shoulders since you were ten. And how about just a little makeup? I know you've got that natural look going on and you can pull it off better than most, but you could enhance that pretty skin of yours and those nice, symmetrical lips with a bit of color. I'm not talking anything rash--"
     
"Speaking of rashes," Cooper interrupted, trying not to think about how Drew had liked her to wear her hair long and straight or how he had always insisted that she was attractive without the aid of makeup. "Why is your face so splotchy?"
     
Ashley gave a little squeak as she touched