After All These Years

Sally John

Description

Popular fiction author Sally John's first series The Other Way Home (more than 65,000 copies sold) comes to life with a fresh, new cover for a new audience of readers. In After All These Years, the second book of the series, Isabel Mendoza's past is just a memory...until Tony, her boyfriend from college days, arrives in Valley Oaks. Romantic sparks fly again, but Isabel is a Christian now. Can she share her love for Jesus with Tony while keeping her painful secret? Meanwhile, Lia Neuman arrives in town as new owner of the pharmacy. Isabel befriends and welcomes Lia, but vandalism threatens the pharmacy and Lia's life. Officer Huntington, Valley Oaks' deputy sheriff, investigates the crimes against Lia, and love unlooked for, begins to bloom. After All These Years demonstrates how God's redeeming grace can touch the past and bring healing to the present.

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736938761
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Something shifted between them, as if a veil were yanked away

I don t understand it, Lia whispered. I think I ve been robbed.
What happened?
I was just putting away the drugs that were delivered today. See this? She reached up and tapped empty spots, and then she turned to face him. Morphine and everything containing codeine.
Cal s eyebrows shot up.
I had a full supply.
You re sure-Of course you re sure. He studied the shelves up behind her shoulder, his peppermint gum-scented breath filling the tiny space between them. Maybe they were accidentally moved out of place. Let s search through all the drugs.
I already did that!
Well, we ll do it again. And then probably again. Hey, don t worry. He lightly touched her forehead and pressed away the frown.
It was when he brushed strands of hair back from her face that something shifted between them, as if a veil were yanked away, abruptly bringing into focus a nameless emotion. He stopped smoothing her hair. Surprise registered in his eyes, and she sensed hers reflected the same. Slowly he tilted his head downward until only a hair s breadth separated them
About The Author
Sally John is the author of several novels, including the popular The Other Way Home and In a Heartbeat series. She has recently coauthored a book with Gary Smalley, A Time to Mend, in Nelson s Safe Harbor series. A two-time finalist for The Christy Award and a former teacher, Sally lives in Southern California with her husband, Tim.
A FTER A LL T HESE Y EARS
SALLY JOHN

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The New English Bible, copyright Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press 1961, 1970. All rights reserved.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Just Come In, words and music by Margaret Becker, 1989 His Eye Music (SESAC). International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

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



AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Copyright 2002 by Sally John
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-2092-6
ISBN-10: 0-7369-2092-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
John, Sally D., 1951-
After all these years / Sally John.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-0881-8
ISBN-10: 0-7369-0881-1
1. Female friendship-Fiction. 2. Vandalism-Fiction. I. Title.
PS3560.0323 A68 2002
813 .54-dc21
2002003319

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 / LB-MS / 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Kaiya Grace John, at the beginning of your journey
Contents
About The Author
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Other Books by Sally Jhon
Acknowledgments
My fictional characters always draw breath from the real world. I d like to thank those people in my world who so graciously give of themselves. This story would not have been written without them.

Thank you:
Leila McGrath, for inspiring the essence of Lia ; and Lynn and Janet Fyfe of the Orion Pharmacy, Orion, Illinois, for creating Lia s store and expertise.
Martha Nieto, for giving Isabel an incomparable heritage; and Myrna Strasser of WDLM radio station, for animating Isabel s career.
Sue Laue, for your passion for journalism I caught years ago and passed on to Tony ; and Juanita Arellanos and Pastor John Jairo Cano of Colombia, for rescuing Tony .
Michael Skelton, for the Valley Oaks map, without which I would have become lost; and Tracy Charlesworth, for your excellent critiquing and the hours of brainstorming.
Chip MacGregor, agent, and Kim Moore, editor, for your unfailing enthusiasm and direction.
And, as ever, Elizabeth, Christopher, and Tim, for being there.
Prologue
Man plans his journey by his own wit, But it is the LORD who guides his steps.
-Proverbs 16:9

Leon, Mexico

The bus rolled along a cobblestone road toward the outskirts of the city, its motion stirring the summer dust and heat through the open windows. Distant dry hills shimmered under intense sunshine.
Two women sat side by side. Though not of the same generation, they mirrored one another. Their eyes were wide set and the color of deep caramel that foretold of brilliant flecks on a different day. But not today. Today an identical vertical crease separated the brows of each.
Both women were small, though the older one was rounder. She wore her silver-streaked black hair in a single thick braid down her back. Her blouse and skirt were bright floral prints, a rainbow of colors. The lines in her face spoke of hard work, her hunched shoulders of strength. The relaxed pose of her mouth exuded a contrary peace. A large mesh shopping bag engulfed her lap.
The younger woman was also of Mexican heritage, but there was an air of otherworldliness about her. Perhaps it was in the angle of the jeans-covered leg and the sandaled foot that stretched across the aisle, blocking it. Or in the jaunty hang of the backpack slung over a slouched shoulder. Or in the cut of her layered shoulder-length hair with its copper highlights.
Her face, however, was different. The Americanism was fading from her face.
Abuela , the younger woman said, addressing the mature one as grandmother and continuing in Spanish, I m not going back. May I live with you?
The older woman silently studied her granddaughter for several moments. The only indication that she heard the question was a slight tilting of her head. Of course. But what about your studies?
The young woman didn t reply.
How long will you stay?
Until She pulled in her foot and shrugged the backpack onto her lap. Until I want to breathe again.

Evanston, Illinois

What about college? The tall man slouched over the table in the updated suburban kitchen. A weariness was etched in his eyes.
At the counter a young woman spooned tea into a silver infuser, set it in a pot, and then poured steaming water over the leaves. Each motion was efficiently executed, wasting no energy. I ve changed majors.
Past tense?
Her black ponytail swished at her waist as she carried the teapot over to the table and set it beside two porcelain cups. Past tense. It s done. She kissed the top of the man s head and sat down across from him, tucking her long skirt beneath her. Dad, don t worry.
He opened his mouth as if to offer a customary retort and then closed it. Retorts were for another day. But not today. Today his navy blue cardigan hung haphazardly, his blond hair hung unbrushed down the nape of his neck, a book lay beside him unopened. Everything about him represented all that was not customary on this day.
His daughter reached over and squeezed his hand. Like him, she had a determined chin, a small nose, and high cheekbones. Also like him, she was taller than average, though not lanky. Unlike him, her eyes were black and slightly almond in shape with long black lashes, a reflection of her mother s heritage. Dad, the path is clear, and it s full of good works already prepared for me to do.
You re too young to know any better. How will you live? How will you make ends meet? For goodness sake, how will you survive the emotional work of two?
She chuckled and pushed up the sleeves of her sweater. The distinctively unconstrained response diminished the hints of Asian femininity. You of all people know that I m not in this alone.
But how- how can you give up your dreams?
She squinted momentarily, as if a bandage were being ripped from a wound. Then her features fell again into their tranquil lines, though now there was a hint of resolve in the set of her jaw. I didn t. They were just replaced, changed by Someone who knows better. It will work, Dad. It will work.
One
Seven years later
Valley Oaks, Illinois

She s a gift. Gina Philips nuzzled the two-month-old bundle of tawny fur. From me and Brady.
Isabel Mendoza laughed as the kitten batted a paw at Gina s white lab coat. She s adorable! But why would you give me a gift?
Because, the vet s voice softened and her deep green eyes glistened, you have a new emptiness in your heart right now. She ll help soften the pain. Here, take her. Snuggle a bit.
Isabel accepted the little animal, who promptly curled against her neck, just above her heart. She blinked away her own unshed tears and waited for the tightening of her throat to ease. Aww. But I can t afford-
I said gift. Entire kit and caboodle sort of gift. She knelt behind the rec