The Price of Trust by Amanda Stephan Page A

sausage, and Kelly you can fry the eggs while I finish up with these biscuits, if you don't mind. The pans are already out," Penny directed them.
    Joe came over to stand at the counter next to Carly and started cutting potatoes into an electric skillet and she couldn't resist a sideways glance at him. He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling. She turned quickly and started the bacon. She'd always been a sucker for the tall, dark, and handsome sort, and he was definitely all of those.
    He finished with the potatoes and started on the onions. They started to cook, and she remembered how much she loved the smell of fried potatoes and onions. After her mom had died, that's what they had for dinner every night, until she learned how to cook other things. He reached over and flipped an onion into her pan and bumped her arm, making her drop her spatula.
    "What?" she asked, smiling. She scooped the onion out, tossing it back into the skillet.
    He was grinning mischievously. "Nothing."
    "Are you purposely trying to aggravate me?" she asked, waving her spatula at him menacingly. "'Cause if you are, I'm going to swat you!"
    He laughed and went back to his potatoes and onions. They worked in companionable silence, listening to the conversation around them.
    He leaned over toward her and whispered, "I'm glad you came today." It wasn't much, but it made her stomach flip-flop and her face turn red.
    Breakfast was ready just as Tom came in.
    "Smells good," he bellowed, smacking his lips and holding his stomach. "I'm famished! Good morning, Kelly, Carly. How are you girls doing this fine day?" He grabbed hold of Penny and started dancing around the kitchen.
    "Good morning," they said in unison, laughing.
    They all sat down amiably in the same spots as before, but this time Carly sat down next to Joe. Todd winked at Joe, and Carly made a face back at him. It was a cheerful breakfast with much talk, laughter, and eating, but it was over so soon. The girls helped Penny clean up while Joe and Todd went to saddle the horses.
    "Carly, how have you been? I haven't seen you at church for a while," Penny asked, running the dishwater.
    "I've been sitting in the back, but I've been pretty good," she replied. She wasn't too sure of her position with Penny. She was very kind when she spoke to her, but Carly felt that she was reserved and unsure of what to say. "Just keeping to myself pretty much." Carly rinsed the dishes as Kelly dried and stacked them on the counter.
    "I've noticed," she said quietly. "I wondered where you were when I saw Angie sitting beside Joe. Have you met Angie?"
    "Yes, I have," she answered evenly.
    Penny was silent for a moment. "She seems nice, but I think she's jealous of you, you know," she said with a smile. "Do you have any other relatives living?" she asked, changing the subject.
    "I don't think so. My mom's parents had already passed away before I was born, and my dad's parents never forgave him for marrying my mom. I guess they had words and split company. The only family I had was my parents. They were everything to me."
    "What about your spiritual birth, honey? When were you introduced to Jesus?" Penny couldn't help but feel for this young woman who had lost so much. She had always been a family-oriented person and couldn't imagine what it would have been like to live without them.
    "Both my parents were Christians before they met, and we went to church every Sunday and Wednesday. I asked Jesus to be my Savior when I was six, but the reality of heaven didn't hit me until I watched my mom die. I never had a doubt that I wanted to go there and see her again. Now that Dad's gone, it just makes heaven sweeter." Carly's voice broke slightly as she talked, but she held her head up and didn't cry.
    "I think that if I lost everyone I loved, I'd go nuts," Kelly said softly.
    "Dad used to say, 'If it don't kill ya, it'll just make ya stronger.' And I wasn't really alone. I've had Jesus with me through everything, and he's the greatest