by Cameron Judd
“Curtis, that’s wonderful news! The mission preachers will be over the moon!” Eli would call David Brecht at first opportunity and let him know. “Just wonderful all around.”
“I know. And the thing I like best is that he’s going to ask them to rename the place after the little girl. The one who got stole away and died. The Danielle Moody Memorial Rescue Mission. She actually was Rev. New’s granddaughter, y’know. He used to be named Moody.”
“Yeah. I know. Funny how things end up connected that you’d never have guessed at first.” Eli was looking again at the smiling and surprisingly similar faces of Kendra and Melinda as he said it. His own Melinda, who had been adopted. He wondered ...
“I’m going to my car now, Eli. I’m tired of shivering in this wind.”
“That’s a good idea, Curtis. I’m going to mine, too. No telling how long those women will talk.”
“Yeah.” Curtis put out his hand. “See you later, brother.”
“Later, Curtis.”
Curtis and Kendra were just about to drive away from the scene when Curtis noticed Donald New walking to his Volkswagen. Curtis pulled his own car up near New and rolled his window down.
“Thank you for what you done for us today, Brother Don,” he said. “It was mighty good of you to dunk us for Jesus like you did.”
“It was my pleasure, Curtis.”
“Y’know, Brother Don, I was just telling Kendra I don’t know that I’m anybody who could ever be of any use to the good Lord, dunked or not. I want to be, but look at me! I’m just an old nobody who spent most of his life selling pencils and dodging the shadows of telephone poles. I ain’t nothing no good to nobody, never have been. Half this county will always believe I’m Curtis-crazy no matter what I say or do. They ain’t going to take nothing about me seriously. I don’t think even the Lord above could get any usefulness out of me. No sir.”
Donald New put his hands on the car door and leaned in close enough to look Curtis in the eye as he spoke to him. Kendra was listening, too, intently.
“Listen to me, Curtis, and let me tell you something that I know for absolute fact to be true, if anything is. Everything in my life has taught it to me. It’s just this: Our Father above takes great delight in using His crookedest sticks to draw His straightest lines. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
Curtis glanced over at his wife, who was nodding and blinking back tears. She understood better than most. Curtis looked back at New.
“Yeah, preacher. Yeah. We understand. But are you really sure it’s true?”
“As sure as I am that the sun is in the sky, my friends.”
“Thank you, preacher.”
“God bless you, Curtis. And you too, Kendra,” New said.
“He already has, preacher. Time and time again.”
“Amen,” said Kendra.
Donald New straightened and backed away from the car, and waved as Curtis and his wife drove away into the beautiful countryside of Kincheloe County, heading toward Tylerville and home.
END
Cameron Judd
About the Author
Cameron Judd is an award-winning author and former newspaperman who has been a lifelong Tennessean. He is best known for his many works of western and frontier fiction, but with HARVESTMAN LODGE has moved into mystery/suspense fiction. In the newspaper field he is a winner and co-winner of the Malcolm Law Award for Investigative Reporting, and in 2005 was the winner of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s Wilma Dykeman Award for his historical fiction set in Tennessee. He is a three-time national finalist for the Western Writers of America Spur Award.
Cameron Judd has written nearly 60 novels, most of them westerns and historical novels, under his own name and several pen-names. His works include his “Tennessee Trilogy”: THE OVERMOUNTAIN MEN, THE BORDER MEN, THE CANEBRAKE MEN, and his Civil War trilogy: THE SHADOW WARRIORS, THE PHANTOM LEGION, and SEASON OF RECKONING. His more recent frontier novels include COLTER’S PATH and THE LONG HUNT. Other titles include JERUSALEM CAMP, SNOW SKY, TIMBER CREEK, THE GLORY RIVER, THE QUEST OF BRADY KENTON, BRAZOS, KENTON’S CHALLENGE, and FIREFALL.
He lives in Northeast Tennessee with his wife, Rhonda. They have three grown children.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Quotes
Prologue ~ The Girl on the Porch
Part I ~ TYLERVILLE AT 200
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
Part II ~ Rising Angel
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Part III ~ Explorations
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
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Epilogue ~ BICENTENNIAL
Cameron Judd
About the Author
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Quotes
Prologue ~ The Girl on the Porch
Part I ~ TYLERVILLE AT 200
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
Part II ~ Rising Angel
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Part III ~ Explorations
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
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Epilogue ~ BICENTENNIAL
Cameron Judd
About the Author
