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Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Also by Silas House
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Contents
  7. Part One
  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. Part Two
  27. 1
  28. 2
  29. 3
  30. 4
  31. 5
  32. 6
  33. 7
  34. 8
  35. 9
  36. 10
  37. Part Three
  38. 1
  39. 2
  40. 3
  41. 4
  42. 5
  43. 6
  44. 7
  45. 8
  46. 9
  47. 10
  48. 11
  49. 12
  50. 13
  51. 14
  52. 15
  53. 16
  54. 17
  55. 18
  56. 19
  57. 20
  58. 21
  59. 22
  60. 23
  61. 24
  62. 25
  63. 26
  64. 27
  65. 28
  66. 29
  67. 30
  68. 31
  69. Part Four
  70. 1
  71. 2
  72. 3
  73. Epilogue: The Everything
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. About Algonquin
  77. Copyright

“I’ve spent my whole life listening to everybody else,” she said. She had always talked to Justin like he was an adult. “First my daddy, and then your granddaddy, and then your mother. But inside, I only listen to myself. Does that make sense?”

“I guess.”

“What the church is doing to your daddy—it’s not right. They’re going to fire him because he wouldn’t turn people away. And if there’s one thing I know for sure it’s that you never shun somebody because you don’t agree with them. We’re ever one of us children of God. You remember that. Alright?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Justin said again.

Asher came up the porch steps and opened the screen door. “Y’all ready?”

12

12

The windows were open, only letting in heat and loud birdsong. Church programs from last Sunday had been turned into fans, and women dotted their foreheads with Kleenex. The air conditioner had stopped again and the church was packed because they all wanted to hear what Asher would have to say. Jimmy and Stephen were not there.

The congregation had been assembled, given slips of paper, and cast their votes. Caleb Carey and a couple of the other deacons had made a big show of going into the church office to count the votes and a hum had arisen over the whispering crowd while they waited. Asher stood by the door at the back of the church, looking out the glass doors onto the parking lot and didn’t move until Caleb stood in the pulpit. “The vote is final: five to stay and forty-one to terminate,” Caleb read in his monotone way. “The deacons will start a new pastor search. That concludes our meeting today.”

“I want to say something,” Asher said, striding up the aisle. A few people had stood up but now they sat back down.

Caleb had his right hand up, waving it. “The church bylaws don’t specify that the outgoing pastor be allowed a response.”

“I’ve pastored this church for ten years and served it a lot longer than that,” Asher said, and Caleb threw his hands up. He sat down heavily in the front pew, shaking his head.

Asher faced the congregation. “I’ve served it all this time and you’ve voted me out because I welcomed two men to our congregation. Because I refused to turn them away.”

Flap flap flap went the church programs as they fanned.

“My brother and I had it pretty rough when we were boys. Our mother was a hard woman and she lived a hard life. Some of you helped us when she was so sick, and I thank you for that. But it’s easy to help somebody you agree with. If you had known Luke was like Jimmy and Stephen I wonder if you would’ve helped us at all.”