Free Crossing Values by Carrie Daws Page A

Dad’s belief in God’s provision with the possibility of dumb luck and hard work.”
    “I can see your mom jumping all over that one.”
    Peter chuckled as he put the drill down and opened up the mud bucket. “Yeah. She basically told her that no one could convince her one way or the other. She was just going to have to decide for herself which she thought was the most likely.”
    “Free will at its best.”
    “Or worst.”
    “Pete, do you really think she’ll end up walking away?”
    “I don’t know, Andy. Cassie’s dying really caused a lot of turmoil in her family. She’s been running from dealing with it for years.”
    “Maybe she was running. I think God has her right where He’s been waiting for her.”
    “Maybe. We did have an interesting conversation earlier this week about the resurrection. She wanted to know if any evidence outside the Bible existed to prove Jesus came back to life.”
    “Man! She asks some great questions! If she ever wants to try out law, let me know!” Andy smiled broadly.
    “How about less chatter and more mud on that seam!” Peter pointed his drywall knife at the wall beside Andy. It’s not that I think she’ll ever leave Mom, he thought. But would she stay for more than Mom?
    “Touch-y! What? Don’t want her working all the way in Crossing?”
    Time to derail this conversation. “I heard Allie talking to Mom about babies at Thanksgiving.”
    Andy froze just as he was about to apply more mud to the wall. He turned to look at Peter, his eyes narrowing a bit. “How about we get this first coat of mud done so I can get home. I told Allie I’d be home before 10:00 p.m.”
    “10:00 p.m., huh?” Peter feigned innocence best he could. But a smirk resisted his best effort.
    Andy just turned and threw a rag at him. “Get to work!”
    : : : : :
    “Peter? You here?”
    “Hey, Dad! I’m in the kitchen.”
    “Your mother sent over some chili for lunch.”
    “Great!”
    Peter washed his hands and grabbed a spoon. “Want some?”
    “No, thanks. Had some with your mom and Amber before I came here. Place is really looking good.” Frank looked over the walnut cabinets and multi-colored Brazilian walnut floor. The large stainless steel refrigerator almost looked out of place in the midst of all the wood.
    “Yeah, it’s coming along. The countertop is in and should be installed Monday. That just about finishes off the kitchen.”
    “What did you end up going with?”
    “The black engineered stone with blue chunks. You were right. I do like the stones in it, as well as the easy maintenance.” Peter grabbed a glass and filled it with water.
    “Hmm. Got anyone in mind?”
    “To install it?”
    “To live here with you. You’ve been working hard most nights, even got Andy and Logan out here with you. Just wondering if there’s a purpose behind it besides you gettin’ out of my house.”
    Peter swallowed his bite of chili and looked at his dad. “Not sure, Dad. Hoping, perhaps. Working towards it, maybe. I just . . . I don’t know.”
    Frank nodded. “Yeah. Well, you keep workin’ and let God guide the rest. It’ll be fine.” He walked over to the sink and looked out the window. The trees encircling the small backyard looked like a snow-covered paradise in the daylight.
    Peter looked at his father for a moment. God, what is going on here? “Dad what’s really going through your mind? You’re almost speaking in riddles and only half making sense.”
    “Pete, I know we’ve had our differences over the years. Your mom and I knew one day you’d move out, and six months ago we worried about your lack of work on this house. We didn’t want you to focus so much on takin’ care of us that you lost track of what you wanted.”
    Frank turned to face Peter. “The past couple of weeks we’ve been praying a lot. The path of marriage is a great one, full of amazin’ joys and sometimes tremendous heartache. But it only works with a person who wants to dedicate