Saints Among Us Read Free Page A

her aunt’s well-meant orders, Alice could not help but be grateful that she had had a legitimate reason to decline.
    “You’ll need to find people to serve on your committee.”
    “My committee?”
    “And since you’re going to be talking with people about crafts, why don’t you check around and see who might be interested in purchasing space for a booth?”
    “Why don’t I?” Jane shrugged her shoulders in resignation. “And while I’m at it, I might as well volunteer to make a few items for the baked-goods table.”
    “Oh, good,” said Ethel. “You could’”
    “And if this idea flies,” Jane said, “why don’t you contact Zack and Nancy Colwin to see if they’d chair the baked-goods committee?”
    “That’s a good idea.” Ethel looked around, instantly diverted. “I need a pencil and paper to jot down all these ideas.”
    As Alice rose to find the requested items, Louise cautioned her aunt, “Don’t forget that a project of this scope will require a vote of the church board.”
    “Yes,” said Alice. “I hope you won’t be too disappointed if people don’t feel they are up to rushing this into production in such a short time.”
    “Does that mean you plan to vote against it?” Ethel immediately looked suspicious.
    “No, I think it’s an exciting idea,” said Alice.
    “Particularly since you aren’t getting stuck with the work,” muttered Jane in an undertone as she rose to retrieve the dessert she’d brought in earlier.
    Alice smiled at her sister. “Exactly,” she agreed with a laugh.
    “But seriously, Aunt Ethel,” said Louise. “This is a big undertaking even if you only do half of the things we just discussed, and Alice is right—there is not much time to plan.”
    Ethel lifted her chin. “If the good Lord is involved, we can’t fail.”
    Jane met Alice’s glance, and the sisters smiled.
    “I suspect you’ll have no trouble persuading folks to your way of thinking,” Jane predicted.

Chapter Two
    J ane went down to the Clip ’n’ Curl the following Monday morning to get the ends of her long dark hair trimmed, as she did every six months or so. Betty Dunkle, the owner of the shop, always tried to talk Jane into a cut and perm, telling her a shorter style would make her look younger, but so far Jane had resisted. She liked her hair just the way it was and found it especially easy to twist up out of the way when she was cooking.
    She was sitting in one of the cracked leather chairs in the waiting area when a headline from the Philadelphia newspaper, which had been tossed in a nearby basket, caught her eye. VOLUNTEERS AID IN ANIMAL-RESCUE EFFORTS , read the headline. And in smaller type below that, CARE AND COMFORT FOR SUFFERING PETS .
    Perhaps this would interest Alice. Picking up the article, Jane skimmed the content.
    “Would you mind if I took this home?” she asked Betty when the hairdresser called her name.
    “Go right ahead. I read it yesterday,” Betty told her. She held up a lock of Jane’s hair and swished it back and forth. “Are you going to let me take a few inches off this and layer it?”
    “No!” Jane put a hand protectively to her head. “Just a trim, please.”
    “You said you’d think about it.” Betty sighed dramatically as she began to section and pin Jane’s hair out of the way.
    “And I have,” Jane assured her. “I just haven’t
finished
thinking about it.”
    Betty smiled, knowing when she had lost a skirmish. “Okay. Just keep it in mind.”
    Jane headed home immediately after her hair appointment, the newspaper beside her on the seat of her car.
    As she turned into the gravel driveway to the left of the graceful old Victorian, she spotted Alice sweeping the large porch. Braking, she rolled down her window and called, “Alice, I have something for you.” She grabbed the newspaper and waved it out the window.
    Alice’s brown eyes lit up with curiosity. She leaned the broom against the doorframe, grabbed the old flannel shirt