Grace Restored
A Freedom Lake Novel
Toni Shiloh
Published by Toni Shiloh, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 by Toni Shiloh.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or other—for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Edited by Marylin Furumasu.
Cover design by Toni Shiloh.
Cover art photos © 4774344sean/Crestock used by permission.
Published in the United States of America by Toni Shiloh.
www.ToniShiloh.wordpress.com
Grace Restored is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To the Author and Finisher of my faith.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Prologue
June 11, 2003
“Promise we’ll always be friends.” Michelle Thomas glanced at her best friends, Jo Ellen Baker and Chloe Smith. Graduating from high school was going to change their relationship no matter what. She just prayed it would stand the test of time.
“Of course, we will,” Jo said in her no-nonsense tone of voice.
“Just because we’re going to college doesn’t mean our friendship will change,” Chloe stated in her soft voice.
Michelle sighed. She loved her friends, but sometimes, they didn’t seem to understand how tenuous time could be. In the blink of an eye, life could be altered.
“I love you, guys.” She smiled at them, eyes misting over.
“Aw, group hug.” Jo exclaimed.
Michelle wrapped her arms around them. Life couldn’t get much better.
The sound of the doorbell brought the hug to a close. Her parents had gone out for date night and had allowed her to have a sleepover with her girls. She knew they didn’t like her opening the door when they weren’t home, but she was an adult now.
She peered through the peep hole and frowned. Why was there a police officer at her door? She opened the door. “May I help you?”
The officer removed his hat, a somber look coloring his features. “Are you Michelle Thomas?”
She nodded. This was getting stranger by the minute.
“I’m Officer Simpson with the Kodiak City Police Department, may I come inside?”
What were the Kodiak City Police Department doing in Freedom Lake?
“Who’s at the door, Chelle?” Jo called out.
“The police.”
Jo quickly padded to the door to stand next to her. “How do we know you’re really the police?”
Trust Jo to be cynical and non-trusting. Who would lie about that?
He handed over his badge and Jo examined it. Michelle wanted to laugh at her serious expression, but something was off. Something wasn’t right.
Chloe peeked over Jo’s shoulder. “Looks real to me.”
“I suppose,” Jo replied. She handed the badge back. “Just say what you have to say right there.” Jo pointed past the threshold, as if the officer wasn’t strong enough to cross it if necessary.
The officer met Michelle’s gaze, his gray eyes softening. “Ms. Thomas, your parents have been involved in an accident.”
“What? Are they okay?” She swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat. She met Jo’s eyes, noticing the creases in her forehead. She vaguely noted Chloe’s hand on her back.
“Ma’am, I regret to inform you...”
It sounded like a recording. The words didn’t make sense. How could they be dead? She just saw them. Her dad had teared up after the graduation ceremony while they were taking family photos.
Slowly, the sound of wailing penetrated her thoughts. She wished they’d shut up. How could she hear what the officer was saying if they wouldn’t stop?
Her knees buckled and she felt arms come around to steady her.
It was her.
She was the one wailing. She was the one making the incessant noise.
They were dead. At the blink of an eye, her parents were dead.
Chapter One
Victory was hers. The judge had sentenced Brett Donn to twenty years in prison for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. It was his third OWI and the judge was all too happy to remove him from the streets of Indiana.
Michelle Thomas loved her job.
She stepped outside, enjoying the cool breeze that blew as her hair fluttered in the wind. Spring was coming and she couldn’t wait. It was her favorite time of year. Not too hot, not too cold. Plus, the constant snow had grown tiresome. Her heels reverberated against the cobbled street. Now that court was over, she could head back to Freedom Lake for her afternoon appointments.
She opened the door of her coupe and settled into the leather seat. The new car smell greeted her, thanks to the air freshener that sat out of sight beneath her seat. Placing her leather briefcase on the passenger seat, Michelle pulled out her iPhone. It was time to let Mrs. Flake know the results of Mr. Donn’s arraignment.
The widow had wanted to attend the sentencing hearing, but ended up at home sick with the flu. Michelle knew Mr. Donn’s imprisonment would bring closure to the woman. Although it wouldn’t bring her husband back, at least she would be able to sleep at night knowing the man responsible couldn’t hurt anyone else.
She wished her parents’ murderer had been handed the same punishment.
Michelle shook her head, trying to jar the thought from her mind. Her chin-length hair brushed her cheeks and she swatted at it in irritation. Why did the verdicts always have to point back to her parents’ injustice?
The man who hit her parents’ head on...well, boy really considering he’d only been seventeen...had received probation as it was his first offense. The fact that he was an honor roll student with wealthy parents caused the judge to take pity on him. Her parent’s death had
