In Every Heartbeat - By Kim Vogel Sawyer Page 0,64

Then he stomped to the door. “Forget it, Pete. There’s always something more important than me. Pleasing God. Pleasing your professors. Well, go ahead and do what you need to do. I won’t bother you again.”

He heard Pete call his name, but he ignored him and took the stairs two at a time. No way Pete could hop after him fast enough to catch him. He grabbed up Winston’s English umbrella, snapped it open, and stepped out into the rain.

CHAPTER TWENTY

If only he had two good legs! Pete slapped the banister at the top of the stairs. He wanted to run after Bennett and assure him he didn’t want their friendship to dissolve. Why did it seem he was losing the people who meant the most to him? First Libby, and now Bennett.

He blew out a mighty breath and hopped back to his room, where the assignment lay on his desk, awaiting completion. He’d specifically requested all of the week’s assignments in advance, and his instructors had been happy to oblige when he’d explained why he wanted to work ahead.

If he had everything finished by Wednesday, as he hoped, he planned to board a train on Thursday morning and journey to the place of his birth. He could hardly believe his parents were still living in Clayton, although no longer in the apartment they’d rented when Pete was young. But his pa still worked at the brewery, the noon-to-eight shift, according to the information Jackson had uncovered. Pete still remembered the yeasty smell on his pa’s clothes when he returned from work. And the sick stench of his breath when he’d spent too much of his paycheck on his employer’s product. If Pa had spent his paycheck on groceries instead of liquor, would he still have sent Pete out on his own?

Pete picked up his pencil to continue working on his essay, but his hand trembled, making legibility an impossible feat. He put down the pencil and closed his eyes. How he anticipated the moment when he’d be able to look at his parents, face-to-face, and tell them how much he loathed them for the pain they’d inflicted on him.

A Bible verse they’d studied in Pastor Hines’s class winged through his mind: “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” A twinge in his gut accompanied the remembrance. He’d just told Bennett that he wanted to serve God well, to be an instrument of God’s love to those he met. How did finding his parents for the sole purpose of verbally attacking them fit with being an instrument of God’s love?

But his parents didn’t deserve his love. They’d rejected him— thrown him out the way people threw away garbage. God could love them if He wanted to, but Pete had no use for Gunter and Berta Leidig. Once he’d had his say, he intended to talk to Jackson about something else.

He had no desire to hear congregants call him Pastor Leidig. The reference would be a constant reminder of his uncaring parents. He’d given it a lot of thought, and the best way to rid him of his worthless birthright was to throw off all the trappings of his former life. He wanted to be Pastor Rowley. Aaron and Isabelle wouldn’t mind, and Aaron’s parents—who’d become his surrogate grandparents— would be delighted to have Pete share their name.

Only a few more days of being Peter Leidig. He could hardly wait to make the change. But first, he needed to finish his work. Thoughts of his disagreement with Bennett fled as he focused once again on the waiting assignment.

Alice-Marie’s father cranked a lever and the Model T’s engine changed from a steady chug-chug to a sputtering, persistent cough. “Here you are, ladies. Back again.”

Libby fought against the vehicle’s vibrations and wrenched the back door open, eager to clamber out. Although she’d initially thought riding in a motorcar sounded exhilarating, the bouncing motion had churned her stomach. Or maybe it was the secret she now carried that had made her sick. Regardless, she sighed with relief when her feet found solid, steady ground.

Alice-Marie sat in the front seat, silent and ramrod straight, until her father rounded the car and opened the door for her. Even after she stepped off the running board, she kept her lips tightly clamped. Libby hadn’t known Alice-Marie was capable of prolonged silence. The girl even talked in her sleep. But during the entire three-hour drive from her home to