Prelude: Prequel to The Lewis Legacy Series Read Free Page B

Dad sit up straighter and pay close attention.
    “I feel it in my gut that our boys are going to war again,” he’d announce several times a week. “I’m afraid these conflicts are going to blow up in our faces soon enough, and off they’ll march.”
    Sarah prayed the conflicts wouldn’t result in a war, but after reading her Bible, she couldn’t deny the truth. Before Christ’s return, there would be wars, a mass uprising of nation against nation, man against man. As much as she wished otherwise, she couldn’t ignore the prophecies of famines, pestilence, earthquakes, and other catastrophes.
    Mom usually turned a deaf ear to Dad’s predictions. “I don’t want to hear such things, Bill. Thinking about a war that may or may not happen, and knowing some of those poor soldiers won’t come home alive or in one piece, is simply heartbreaking.”
    “If and when war happens, we need to focus on those who will come home,” Sarah had insisted. “They’ll need our prayers as much as anyone.” She’d reiterated the same statement when her father was wheeled into a Houston operating room for open heart surgery six months ago. Her mother had fallen apart emotionally while Tess paced the cold, sanitized floor. “God isn’t done with Dad yet,” Sarah told them, hauling both women into the chapel to pray. “He certainly doesn’t need a bunch of weepy women falling apart around him.” If she wasn’t confident and optimistic, she’d get mired down in their gloom and doom, and that wouldn’t be good for any of them, much less her father.
    Snapping to attention, Sarah turned to Tess. “My break’s almost over, and I need to get back to Perry’s. I’m sure we’ll get busy after the celebration. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll treat you to a piece of pie.”
    “Not right now.” Tess sounded distracted. “Do you think I should give Sam my new private phone number?”
    Sarah stared at her, unable to hide her shock. Was Tess that desperate to find a man? “That’s a bold move, even for you. Why would you do such a thing?” She held up one hand. “Never mind.” Tess planned on marrying Sam. Enough said.
    Captain Lewis paused to speak with little Jeff Arnold, crouching down and ruffling the child’s curly blond hair. When Sam raised his arms and pretended to soar like a bird or a plane, Sarah smiled. He never talked down to kids and treated them as equals. In the past, he sometimes seemed like an overgrown kid himself, but now he seemed so much more like. . .a grownup.
    Tess tugged on her arm a few seconds later. “Sam’s coming across the street. Oh, my lands, he’s headed straight this way. Would you take a gander at those baby blues? I’d forgotten how pin-you-down beautiful they are. Like a deep ocean inviting me to take the plunge.”
    Her sister really needed to stop reading those Hollywood magazines. Tess jostled her arm as she rushed forward to embrace him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. Sarah tried not to frown at her sister’s shameless behavior. Considering Sam’s cheek sported a colorful collage of pinks and reds, Tess wasn’t the only one who’d kissed the man.
    “Sam, you’re looking mighty handsome. Welcome home!” Tess’s voice dripped with honey. “We sure have missed you around here. Prayed for you every day.”
    “Thanks, Tess. It’s great to see you again. I felt the prayers of everyone in Rockbridge. They meant a lot.”
    Sam pulled back and Tess dropped her arms, her own cheeks flushed a pretty pink. Sarah almost laughed when Tess fluttered her eyelashes and gave Sam a coquettish glance. She could have sworn she’d seen Tess perfecting that move in the full-length mirror earlier that morning.
    Clearing her throat, Sarah addressed Sam. “If you’d like to come down to Perry’s after the parade, Captain Lewis, Myrna made a special peach pie in honor of your homecoming. She said to offer you a big slice. On the house. I’ll toss in a cup of