Love Still Stands Read Free

cupping his fingers against the sun as he tried to see
     the car racing toward them. “There’s more damage inside the house. The driver said
     it needed to be reported.”
    “What kind of damage?”
    “It looks like someone tried to set fire to the place.”
    Her audible intake of breath made him wish he’d softened the words a little.
    The car slammed to a stop. A grizzled-faced man in a brown uniform and shiny patent
     leather boots exited the driver’s side. He left the car running, the sirens blaring,
     and the door open. Hand on the gun hanging from his hip, he strode toward them. “Who
     are you people and what are you doing on the Johnson property?”

Chapter 3
    T he sound of a siren screaming pulled Luke from the depths of his disbelief. The destruction
     inside the house made the spray paint outside seem inconsequential. He couldn’t believe
     this was the same house he’d stood in only two months earlier, envisioning himself
     sitting in a hickory rocker in front of the fireplace reading The Budget , Leah across from him darning the boys’ socks, and the kinner playing games on the
     rug in the light of the pole lamp.
    Someone, teenagers would be his guess, had used the living room for a party. A party
     that included a bonfire, apparently. They’d ripped apart old furniture left by the
     previous owners, torn out bookshelves and countertops, and then stacked them all on
     the living room floor for fuel. The walls and ceiling were seared black. The house
     reeked of burned wood, beer, and other things he didn’t want to contemplate. An empty
     keg lay on its side in a tub with a few inches of water in the bottom. Broken beer
     bottles, red plastic cups, cheese curl bags, and crushed corn chips were strewn across
     the floor. The upstairs rooms were virtually untouched except for the occasional obscene
     drawing, but every window in the house would have to be replaced.
    Someone had drawn pictures with purple, green, and blue markers on the one wall that
     still had discernible wallpaper, scenes that made Luke turn away. He chose not to
     imagine what activities had occurred in the downstairs bedroom. They’d found dirty
     blankets crumpled on the floor, more food and beer trash, a St. Louis Cardinals T-shirt,
     one blue sneaker, and one green rubber flip-flop.
    The siren whopped and whistled, then died away.
    “Did someone call the police?” He forced his gaze from the mess to Silas. “We don’t
     need them.”
    “The semi driver called the sheriff’s office.” Silas lifted his straw hat and rubbed
     his bald head with blunt fingers. “He made the call while Elijah came to get me.”
    “Not your fault.” Luke kept his gaze on his friend, not wanting to look at Leah’s
     accusing face. Her repeated sighs hung in the air all around him, like question marks.
     Questioning his decision-making, questioning his leadership, questioning his love.
     “Did any of the others find this…this destruction at their places?”
    “ Nee , as far as I know, but I haven’t heard from every family yet. Some, like you, are
     just arriving.”
    Luke squatted and peered at a brown blob on the charred floor. It smelled like rotten
     hamburger. “Let’s talk with the policeman and then we’ll get started cleaning up this
     mess.”
    “I’m not sure it’s safe.” Silas frowned, the skin of his forehead wrinkling. “It might
     not be structurally safe. We may need to raze it to the foundation and rebuild.”
    “The fire didn’t penetrate to the load-bearing beams. The upstairs is still livable
     as it is. It can be salvaged.”
    “Let’s wait until Thomas and Benjamin get here.” Silas tapped the frame of the nearest
     window. The remaining glass broke free and showered his boots with a tinkling sound.
     “Benjamin’s a carpenter. He’ll know more about all this.”
    “The children have to sleep somewhere tonight. What about the barn? Is it damaged?”
    “No, but it’s filthy and filled with old