BooksBarbecue
Back Cold Aim
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE FOR JANICE CANTORE
  3. Map of Rogue’s Hollow
  4. Dedication
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  6. Epigraph
  7. PROLOGUE
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. EPILOGUE
  62. 1
  63. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  64. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

“Good morning, Don,” Oliver said as deputies brought the large man into the room. Cherry, broad and strongly muscled, towered over Oliver. He nodded to Oliver and sat still while the deputies shackled the belly belt he wore to the floor. They unshackled his hands, a concession to Oliver because Cherry brought with him his Bible and a notebook.

How could they do a Bible study if his hands remained shackled? Oliver had argued. The sheriff had eventually relented, and for the past month, they’d had many productive study sessions.

Once he was settled, the deputies left the room and Oliver opened in prayer.

“Father, we ask for your presence in this room as we study your Word. Open our eyes and hearts to your truth.”

“Amen,” Cherry said. “I missed our visit. Glad you could reschedule.”

“It’s been a rough few days.” Oliver gave him a sketch of the brief but destructive fire in the Hollow.

“Everyone okay?”

“No lives lost, but a lot of destruction. Tess handled the crisis well.”

At the mention of Tess, Cherry showed the hint of a smile, all the emotion he ever revealed, Oliver had learned.

“That chief, your lady, she’s a tough cookie. Is she too tough for you?”

“I don’t know that I’d use the word tough, but she is dedicated.”

“I wouldn’t have said that a cop and a padre would mix.” Then he grinned. “One is all about putting people in jail, and the other is all about setting people free. Justice and mercy—ain’t that opposite ends of the spectrum?”

Oliver couldn’t suppress his own grin. Don had a point. “Not really opposite. All fair justice is dispensed with some mercy, I think. And, uh, we mix fine. We both help people, just in different ways.”

The big man considered this. “I guess you could say that. I never thought of arresting people as helping them. But in my case, you two were a great tag team. Her arresting me and you explaining God to me . . . well, you needed a captive audience, and you got it.”

Oliver laughed. “God will use whatever it takes, Don.” He switched the subject away from his personal life to the portion of Scripture they were set to study. But it was hard to concentrate on 1 Samuel. Cherry hit a nerve, as he often did. Was Tess, the dedicated and courageous chief of police, too tough for him to handle? “Opposite ends of the spectrum”?

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