NightWhispers

thein

M E L I N D A J . A B E R S O L D

Life as Ruthie Cox once knew it in Williamsville Missouri changes completely when she decides to leave the comfort of her mama’s care. She starts life afresh with the man of her dreams, and oh how he showers her with love. She delights in

experiencing life as a city girl. Yes, her lovebird introduces her to an element of thrill that she longed for while growing up in a very strict Christian home, yet her relationship with God grows to an extent she had never experienced.

Buddy’s world is turned upside down, right side up and completely shaken when he falls in love with Ruthie Cox. Their love was as close to perfect as perfect could be. Ruthie not only fulfi lls his manly emotions, but she also introduces him to a relationship with God. However, darkness from Buddy’s past lurks in their almost perfect world, threatening to destroy their future. Will love overcome his dark mistakes?

All the while God is reuniting old flames and bringing restoration to even the bleakest relationships.

Meanwhile, back in the cozy town of Williamsville, love is in the air and promises are being kept. All seems to be going wonderfully well until tragedy hits the life of a young woman recently graduated from high school. Will the townsfolk overcome the heartache that comes with the misfortune?

The Kirkus Review For The Crooked Path

In her fi rst novel, Abersold, who co-pastors an Alabama church with her husband, shows Christian prayer and faith at work in a small Missouri town.

As Christian romance, the book extends charity, love and forgiveness without stooping to vulgar sensationalism; think 50 tasteful shades of love. The story succeeds in portraying what the author imagines to be a simpler, cleaner life back in 1959.

A gentle romance peppered with homespun expressions of faith in action, which will satisfy readers who trust in the Lord.

Whispers In T

he Night

AB

ER

SOLD

Book Two

The Women of Faith Series

Includes Reading Group Bible Study

NightWhispers

thein

A novel

Melinda J. Abersold

Copyright © 2013 by Melinda J. Abersold.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013913137ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4836-7262-5 Softcover 978-1-4836-7261-8 Ebook 978-1-4836-7263-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Rev. date: 08/05/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:Xlibris LLC1-888-795-4274www.Xlibris.comOrders@Xlibris.com136297

Dedicated to my wonderful husband: Silas J. AbersoldI love you bunches

PART ONETo every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV

9

Prologue

1979

Ruthie sat on the front porch listening to the sparrows sing and watching two little squirrels chase each other around a tree. The sky was clear blue and there was a nice warm breeze gently sweeping over her face. She breathed in the fresh clean scent of spring as she sipped her coffee. She knew that she really should go inside and freshen up and do a few household chores. But this morning, she didn’t have the get-up-and-go that she normally had when she started her day. No, this morning she felt a little melancholy, and she really needed a break from her normal routine. She didn’t want to think about doing laundry or cooking; she only wanted to sit on the porch swing the entire day observing God’s creation. She felt almost envious as she watched the squirrels nip at each other’s tails as they ran in circles around the big tree trunk. After all, they really didn’t have a care in the world. Not that Ruthie was feeling sorry for herself, because she wasn’t, but she was just in one of her moods.

All in all, she was content and even happy at times; fact is she had a husband that loved her like crazy. For that she was grateful, because she wasn’t sure if she could love herself if she was in his shoes. And then there was her beautiful daughter, who was the apple of her eye and looked just like her daddy.

The leaves blowing in the trees and the scent of azaleas took her away from her thoughts for a few moments. Once again she looked up at the sky and whispered a prayer for Jesus to give her strength to make it through the day. She knew that if she could just get over this setback she would be fine. The setbacks didn’t come as often, but when they did, it usually took her a day or two to get back to normal. Not that she

10 Melinda J. abersold

battled with depression, because she really was a carefree person; that is, for the most part anyway. She was blessed with a wonderful family and great friends. What more could a soon-to-be thirty-eight-year-old woman ask for? She tried to think about matters at hand, such as preparing her Sunday school lesson and this Saturday’s church yard sale. But she just couldn’t seem to focus, because her mind was like a kaleidoscope that changed with every thought. Yes, so many memories, some good, some unbelievable, some of a raw love, and some downright painful.

Ruthie looked over at her Bible thinking she should read her morning devotions, but she dismissed the thoughts just as quickly as they came. Instead, she picked up her old tattered journal that Buddy had bought her what seemed to be a lifetime ago. She was holding it close to her heart when she heard the screen door creak. She looked up to see her husband step across the threshold, and their eyes locked for a brief moment. But then he turned his head and slowly walked to his Ford truck without saying a word. It hurt Ruthie when she saw the pain in her husband’s eyes. Nonetheless, he knew all too well what she needed; time. He would continue on with life as normal, and pray that his wife would soon snap out of her setback. Maybe if he were real lucky she would be back to her little spitfire self by the time he came home from work.

Her heart ached for him, and she longed to give him the happiness he deserved. And she would, but she just needed to take a trip, and she really didn’t know how long she would be gone. Yes, Ruthie realized that the only way she could come back was by going down memory lane yet once again. So she went into the house to make sure her teenage daughter was up and getting ready for school, and she explained that she would be gone for a while. She retrieved her car keys and took off for her therapy.

11

Chapter One

St. Louis, Missouri 1959

Love is blind, and lovers cannot see, the pretty follies that themselves commit.

—Shakespeare

Ruthie looked out the window of the truck as Buddy drove in complete silence. She was in deep thought about the direction that her life had taken. It seemed to her that everything was happening fast, almost too fast. Just a short time ago she was living in Williamsville, dreaming about leaving and starting a new life with Buddy. And now that her dream had come true, she wasn’t feeling the excitement that she anticipated. Yes, she loved Buddy, and she wanted nothing more than to allow her dreams to be intertwined with his. But she knew in her heart that she could not turn a new chapter in her life with the old chapter left unfinished. Her mama would forever be haunting her memories, and she would never really feel complete without reconciliation. She regretted the way she abruptly walked out of the church service without so much as looking back. She felt bad for not even leaving her mama a goodbye note. After all, wasn’t that the very least she could do? Never once had her mama mistreated her, yet she coldly broke her mama’s heart.

She wondered what her mama might be doing, and she prayed that she would find happiness. Ruthie knew that her mama had a true relationship with God, but her secret prayer was that she experience love again. She looked over at Buddy and felt her heart skip a beat. It

12 Melinda J. abersold

amazed her that just the sight of him made her heart melt and butterflies flutter in her stomach. That’s the kind of love she longed for her mama to experience. The good Lord took her daddy home to be with him ten years ago, and her mama had dedicated her life to him and raising her.

So in Ruthie’s heart she felt it was past time for her mama to move on. After all, isn’t that what she was doing by moving on with Buddy? She could see the dark circles under Buddy’s eyes, which were most likely from weariness. Ruthie knew that he hated to leave without giving her the chance to say goodbye to her family. He even suggested that she go back to her mama, but Ruthie knew that wasn’t even an alternative. No, leaving Buddy Nelson after tasting a piece of his love would have been much harder than walking away from those she loved dearly in Williamsville.

She knew in time she would adjust to St. Louis, and she would meet new friends. After all, wasn’t this what she longed for? She reminded herself again. She only wished that she hadn’t left the dress and shoes under the bed at Uncle Joe’s shack. The shack is where she and Buddy had lived for a short time while waiting for her to turn eighteen so they could get married.

They didn’t shack up as some people supposed, but they had shared the same roof, so to speak. Buddy was every bit the gentleman; in fact, he didn’t give Ruthie her first kiss until last night. He always said he wanted her first kiss to be special. Their first kiss opened a door in their relationship that caused a raw attraction. Ruthie could still feel the touch of his lips brushing across hers, but Buddy refused to take full advantage of her love. He desired that they honor God’s Holy Word even if he wasn’t exactly living for God. He said they would wait until their wedding night before they gave in to their desires, which was fine by Ruthie. The thought of giving Buddy all of herself made her feel a little uneasy. Once again, it was times like this she wished she had her mama. Ruthie was sure her mama would give her the proper female advice.

When Ruthie ran away from home, she left all of her personal belongings behind. The only thing she owned was her dress and shoes—the dress her mama had hand-stitched and the shoes she had purchased from Sears and Roebuck. Ruthie could still recall her mama pinching and saving so she could buy her the shoes. But that was just like her mama, always sacrificing for others. She looked down at the cute sundress she had on, and she thought it to be worthless in comparison to the beautiful dresses her mama hand-stitched.

13Whispers in The nighT

Ruthie was thankful for the nice clothes, shoes, and personal items that Uncle Joe gave her. Uncles Joe’s wife ran off some time ago, and she left behind an entire wardrobe. Everything just happened to be Ruthie’s size, which only proved that Buddy was her destiny. However, all of the fancy clothes in the world could not compare to the clothes her mama made for her.

Buddy could tell that Ruthie was battling with conflicting emotions, so he thought it best to give her some space. He realized she needed to sort through the events that brought them to this point. He wished that everything had turned out differently for Ruthie’s sake and her mama’s. But as it is, they did what they had to do so they could stay together. Buddy couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, especially not after the way he opened his heart to love. He was madly in love with his little spitfire, and oh how he loved to rile her up, because it made her look that much cuter. Truth be known, she became challenging when he ruffled her feathers, and he liked challenges.

````````````````````

“Look, Ruthie, we’re in St. Louis!” Ruthie jumped up, realizing she must have fallen asleep, and she rubbed her eyes as she looked out the window. She felt excitement flood her heart when she saw all of the bright lights and high-rise buildings. They had traveled down Highway 67 to get off on Telegraph Road, going to Kingston, and on to South Broadway, which is where his Mox lived. Buddy had called his mama Mox since he was a few years old.

“I can’t wait for ya to meet Mox. I’m sure she will be in bed, but I have a key to the house. You can rest in my room while I get a little shuteye on the sofa.” He reached over and took her hand into his.

She smiled and replied, “Wow! This is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Buddy laughed out loud as he commented, “Baby, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet! Just wait until I take ya to a picture show, and we go out on the town dancin’.” He felt excitement bubble up within him even as he talked about the events. “Ruthie, I feel good about this move. I really do.”

She batted her brown eyes as she replied, “Me too.” And she really did feel good. It just felt right being with Buddy. Every mixed emotion she had battled with earlier was replaced with joy, excitement, and amazement. “Buddy, guess who loves you . . .”