Free More Than Great Riches by Jan Washburn Page B

hands
     against his chest and shoved with all her strength. Keith laughed as though her resistance
     was just part of a game.
    A loud knock at the door froze them both in place. Instantly he released her. Free from
     his grasp, she surged to her feet. Who is it?
    That blessed rumble answered. It’s Leif, picking you up for choir practice.
    Thank you, Lord
    
    
     . If Leif had come to arrest her, she would have been happy to go off to jail with him.
     She never intended to join the choir. She had even forgotten that tonight was rehearsal
     night. But suddenly she couldn’t imagine any place she would rather be than at choir
     practice.
    Bursting with gratitude, she threw open the door. Come in, Leif. I’ll be ready in a
     minute. We’re finished with our business here. She threw a meaningful look at Keith. As
     soon as I find the auto insurance policy, I’ll bring it to you—at the office, she stated
     plainly.
    Keith resumed his urbane charm. That will be fine. He tucked in his shirt, straightened
     his tie, and smoothed his hair as he nodded to Leif. It’s nice to see you again, Chief.
     With the papers under his arm, he strolled nonchalantly to the door.
    Have a good evening, Mr. Bradford. Leif measured every step Keith took as he left the
     house. It gave Tracy a huge sense of satisfaction to see the scowl on the Viking’s face.
     
    
    
     ****
    Tracy felt a wave of nostalgia as she took her place with the other sopranos in the choir
     room. She started singing with the cherub choir when she was three years old. She couldn’t
     remember missing a rehearsal in all the years that followed—with the junior choir, the
     teen choir, the senior choir—until she left Allerton.
    Old Mrs. Edson was still the director and prim Miss Templeton was still the accompanist,
     as though her three years in New York never happened.
    She waved to Maggie among the altos. Maggie stared at her in disbelief. You came! she
     mouthed.
    Tracy shrugged with a helpless lift of her hands.
    She tucked her feet under her chair, making room for Miss Shirley Temple, Sheila Dunn, to
     edge her way to the seat beside her. Immediately Tracy sensed an air of hostility. Leif
     said the choir wanted her back, but apparently that had not been a unanimous ballot.
     Sheila’s vote would have been a definite, No way. Absolutely not.
    Sheila turned to her with a lofty air. I didn’t expect to see you here. You didn’t sound
     too enthusiastic about joining us.
    Leif sort of kidnapped me. Tracy forced a smile. But I’m glad I came.
    Icicles dripped from Sheila’s voice. Well, don’t think that makes you special, she
     sniffed. Leif is always helping somebody.
    Tracy didn’t bother to respond. She took a quick glance over her shoulder at Leif in the
     bass section. He was leafing through his music folder, totally unaware of the frigid
     temperature two rows ahead of him. So if Leif didn’t think she was special, what did he
     think of her?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

More than Great Riches
    CHAPTER VII
     
    The aluminum bleachers were crammed with excited parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters,
     and townspeople. When the crowd stamped their feet to pump up the team, Tracy actually
     felt herself bounce off her seat. The major leagues weren’t able to compete with Allerton
     Little League when it came to crowd support.
    It was fun to be out in the fresh air, thinking about something other than her problems.
     Maybe Leif didn’t want her here, but he was stuck with her. She really did love baseball,
     and she refused to disappoint Mark. With Leif on one side of her and Luke on the other,
     she felt like a member of the cheerleading squad. They stood in unison to shout
     encouragement as Mark stepped up to the plate. His shirt proclaimed that his team, the
     Spark Plugs, was sponsored by Henry’s Garage.
    Henry’s Spark Plugs were down a run with two outs, but they had runners on first and
     second