The Shepherds

By Shirley Bellinger

How do pastors handle the messiness of their congregations and not lose their minds? Come walk with Adrian and Paul and their families as they try to do just that. 

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The author was born and raised in the Green Mountains of Vermont. 45 moves later, she is living in view of the Blue Rid

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors' Tranquility Press
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781959453581

Book preview

Prologue

The October day was as good as it gets. Warm and sunny and the foliage was spectacular. Yes, it was a good day in Danvers Ford and Greystone Falls and most folks were enjoying it. They had no idea that in just a short while, something so bad would happen that it would impact the lives of many in the town for a long time to come.

The people most involved were oblivious to the danger; one was happy and carefree and the other tortured by past memories. Soon their lives would converge and things would change.

CHAPTER

1

Daisy

Daisy was humming a praise song as she drove home in her battered old Toyota. It had been a good day and a busy one. Busy meant more money and that was good. Unless of course it was because of funerals and then, it was bad. She laughed at herself over that thought. She and Daniel had spent the morning substituting at Danvers Ford Elementary School. There were teacher's meetings in the afternoon so school let out at 12:30. After their lunch she had three piano lessons to give in Greystone Falls and Daniel had begged to stay with the Brandts to play with the kids and the new litter of puppies. Mrs. Brandt had assured her that he was no bother at all so she had gone on alone. The lessons had gone well, even though all the kids involved would rather have been outside playing, than practicing piano. It was a beautiful day and she herself would have preferred being outside to enjoy it. But duty called. Now, though, she was done for the day and could enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

It was warm for mid-October and the sky was a clear serene blue. Only a few little clouds marred the expanse and the sun beaming through the window onto her face was warm and soothing. She glanced at her watch. Nearly three o'clock. There would still be plenty of daylight when she got home. Maybe she and Daniel could go for a walk or play ball. She hadn't had much time to play lately. Raising a six-year-old alone wasn't an easy task and Michael hadn't left them much when he died. She had tucked the money from that small insurance policy away in the bank for an emergency and for Daniel's education. So far, they hadn't had to use any of it. God was good! Of course, Michael hadn't planned to die at twenty-eight years old. He had planned to grow old with her. She wiped a tear from her cheek and wondered how long it would be before she could think of him without tears. It had been nearly two years. She should be growing used to his absence by now. But there was still a huge ache inside her heart when she thought of her beloved husband. She looked around at the countryside and tried to keep her thoughts on the beauty around her. As she passed Green Hills Church she waved at the children in the playground. She knew them all, as she helped with the children's choir there as well as directing the adult and children's choirs at her church, Pleasant Valley. Green Hills had trouble keeping a choir director and she had said she would help to get its Christmas musical going but it kept her hopping. Thank goodness, they had someone to lead the adult choir because she couldn't have done that as well. As she came down one of the winding hills that gave the church its name, she marveled at the beauty of the colors. There was a bright red sweet gum. Right next to it a yellow poplar and on the other side of the road, a maple flaunted its brilliant orange. With the backdrop of Virginia pines, it was breathtaking. She said a quick prayer of thanks for the beauty that God had given to the world.

Her thoughts turned to Michael again in spite of her efforts. It had been a day much like this one when she first met him. She sighed and then smiled at the memory. Her mother had just died, and since her dad had died four years earlier, it left her alone in the world except for an aged aunt and some distant cousins. She had been going to college in Lynchburg until her mother's last days and then had dropped out of school to care for her. Just before her mother died, she had told Daisy that there was money put aside for her to finish school.

I would have mentioned it before, but I didn't know if I might have to use some for the doctors and all. But it looks like we won't have to touch it. I want you to finish school. You can sell the stock or get someone to run the farm for you. But you must finish school. Promise me. God gave you a beautiful voice and the gift of singing and playing and teaching. You mustn't waste it. Promise me!

With tears clogging her throat, Daisy had promised and a week after the funeral, she was back in school. A neighbor gave her a good price for the cows and offered to work the land for her until she decided what to do with the farm. It seemed like a good solution. She didn't want to sell the farm. It was the only home she had ever known but she didn't think she was cut out to farm it herself. So, she would keep it for now.

Not too long after that, on the way to class one morning, she had a flat tire. Fortunately, she had a spare and she was just beginning to change the tire when a man stopped to help her.

Let me do that young lady. You don't want to get those clothes all dirty. He was an older man and seemed harmless so she thankfully accepted.

It took him no time at all. Then he said There you are, ready to go. But I wouldn't try to go too far on that spare. It's pretty far gone. It may be flat in no time.

I don't have any idea where to go here in Lynchburg. Do you think it will get me home to Danvers Ford?

Might, but I wouldn't risk it. Could have a blowout and that could be dangerous in a little old car like this.

He frowned at her Toyota. She got the feeling he didn't approve of small, foreign cars.

There's a gas station just a couple of blocks from here. I know the owner and he has a young guy working for him who is a great mechanic. I am sure could fix that tire in no time at all. He looked at the car again and added, Probably wouldn't charge much either."

She blushed when she realized that he thought she was poor but said thank you and took note of the directions to the garage. She almost decided to wait until later, but then remembered her last class didn't get over until after six o’clock and it might be closed by then. So she had gone immediately to the garage and her life was changed forever.

She smiled more broadly now, remembering. She had pulled in and gotten out of her car. Seeing no one she walked into the service bay and it too, appeared to be deserted. Hello, she had called out finally. Suddenly there he was, peering out at her from under a truck.

Hello, yourself. Can I help you? he drawled.

She tried not to stare but he was so good-looking, it was a losing battle. At first, she couldn't even speak but finally managed to tell him her problem.

I can fix it but not for a couple of hours. This truck is a rush job and I promised it by noon. Can you leave the tire? Then come back later and I will mount it for you.

I don't get out of class until six o'clock. Won't you be closed by then?

Naw. I'll be here at least until seven or eight o'clock. Come by after class and I'll have it ready.

All day long she kept seeing his face in front of her. No matter what the class was or what she was doing, all she could see was his face. Stop it, she scolded herself. 'You don't even know what kind of guy he is; probably not your type." But he haunted her in spite of her best efforts and when she got back to the garage that evening and saw him again, she knew this was the man she would love for the rest of her life.

And amazingly, he was attracted to her. When the tire was on her car and she had paid him, he asked her if she would have supper with him. Not dinner, supper.

She had to smile at that.

I know you don't know me. We haven't even been properly introduced but somehow I feel like I have known you always. His look was serious. Something tells me that I shouldn't just let you walk out of my life. There's a diner just down the street. Not fancy but the food is good. And it's a safe place. Please? He grinned at her and added, by the way, my name is Michael Defoe

Daisy Martin, and yes, I would like to have supper with you. And the rest was history. They had connected almost instantly.

Michael was polite and neat and clean, (after he changed from his work clothes and washed up). They had a wonderful meal and she was shocked when she looked at her watch and found it to be nearly ten o'clock. She left him there at the diner, but she also left him with her phone number.

He called her the next night and they went to a movie on Friday and he came out to Danvers Ford and went to church with her on Sunday. Once she discovered that he was a Christian and that he loved the Lord as she did, the last doubt faded and she was head over heels in love with him. And he seemed to feel the same way. They decided to marry on Christmas Eve. That was just over two months after they met but somehow they both knew it was the right move. Her pastor had his reservations until he talked with Michael and then he gave them his blessing. The wedding was small but lovely and they spent their honeymoon at home in the farmhouse where she had grown up. Michael loved the farm and was anxious to start working it. They decided he would keep working in Lynchburg until spring and then he wanted to start planting and maybe do mechanic work for folks in the area. He insisted that Daisy continue with school and so their lives took on an easy rhythm and they were deliriously happy. Midway through her senior year she found that she was pregnant and they were both overjoyed. She graduated with honors and felt like the fattest person there, being huge with Daniel. Daniel arrived in August and life was perfect. Michael adored their son and her. He worked the farm and fixed cars and tractors for people who came from miles around. Those who had heard of his work and good reputation. She cared for the house and for Daniel and when the woman who had led the choir at Pleasant Valley Baptist decided to retire, the church asked her to take over. She thought that she was too young for such a big job, but people loved her and she had a talent for getting the most out of every voice and the choir soon had a reputation for excellence. The sound of a horn startled her and she waved to the kids in the car passing her. She looked down at her speedometer. Whoops, she had to pay more attention to her driving. Going ten miles under the speed limit was bad for her reputation as a speed demon. She brought the car up to the speed limit and then tried to distract herself with the brilliant colors of the woods as the road wound up the side of yet another hill. But the memories wouldn't stop. She wished she could stop them there. Back when life was a joy each day and the future seemed to go on forever. But it ended. One cold January morning, her world turned upside down. She had gone to give a piano lesson, taking Daniel with her. When she pulled back into the lane to the farm, she met the ambulance with Dr. Tom's car right behind it. The ambulance continued down the lane and turned onto the highway and she noticed they weren't using the siren. Dr. Tom waved for her to stop. He walked over to her car and at once she knew something was terribly wrong. He was kind but the words were brutal. Michael had been working under a haybine. The jack had slipped and he had died instantly from massive head injuries. The next few days passed in a blur. She remembered the new Pastor, Adrian, coming by and trying to offer words of comfort but she could not be comforted. If it hadn't been for Daniel and his need for her, and the secret that she hadn't yet shared with Michael, she might have given up. She was pregnant, due in July. But in February, she miscarried and that very nearly was the end of her. But though she railed at God and questioned Him, she never let go of His hand, and He pulled her up out of the pit and life went on. And it wasn't a bad life. She and Daniel were close. He was a good boy and they had a lot of fun together. She had lots of friends, work that she loved, a comfortable home, enough to eat. Except for the empty spot in her heart, life was good.

She started down the long hill and slowed down out of habit. The turn at the bottom was sharp and she wouldn't want to meet someone on the wrong side. As she rounded the curve, her shocked eyes saw a large truck in her lane. There was nowhere for her to go as the almost vertical hillside began just inches from the edge of the pavement. She pulled as far to the right as she could, close enough to see the individual blades of grass on the steep bank and a dandelion blooming cheerily. But it wasn't far enough and she watched in horror as the truck made a sudden turn to the right, went off the road, came back on and then, in a skid, came sliding directly toward her door. She got a look at the driver and started to smile when she recognized Marshall. There was no time for fear. The four-wheel drive truck was much higher than Daisy's car. The grill crushed her door and Daisy's neck snapped with the impact. She heard the most wonderful music, felt warm arms around her, and then Daisy went to be with her Lord and her Michael.

CHAPTER

2

Marshall

Marshall wasn’t paying any attention to the lovely scenery on his way home that day. He had lost an important client that morning. Well, actually he hadn't lost him, he had sent him away. Bob Mason had come in just before noon with his seventeen-year-old son, Pete. Pete had just bought his first vehicle and needed insurance. Marshall knew at once that he was going to have trouble with this one. He hadn't seen Pete in years. He and Johnny used to play together, but after Johnny died, he avoided all the kids around Johnny's age as much as he could. He tried not to even look at them. Seeing Pete almost grown, tall and very polite and so proud that he had worked hard and bought himself a truck, well it was almost more than Marshall could bear. His secretary was off that day or he would have asked her to handle it. But he was the only one in the office so he welcomed them and tried to set his mind on the task at hand. He had started filling out the paperwork when suddenly it became too much for him. He wanted them out of his office now, before he said something really ugly. Bob and Pete both stared at him in shock when he jumped to his feet.

Bob, Pete, I'm sorry but I can't write this policy now. I feel rotten, must be getting a migraine. Could you come back tomorrow morning? Or if you can't wait, I am sure that Jones & Spencer can help you out. I really am sorry but I just can't do it today.

Bob and Peter had left, looking angry and once they were out of the office, he locked the door, turned the sign around to read 'closed' and headed for the ABC store. Days like this were just not beer days. He had taken the bottle of rum and the two-liter bottle of coke out to the bass pond and the next few hours were spent drinking, watching the fish jump and cursing his miserable life. He thought about his dead son, but gave no thought to the one still alive or to his two daughters. He thought about Rebecca and her complaints about his drinking but not about how well she cared for him and how much she loved him. He thought how God had cursed and punished him but not how much He had blessed him with a loving family and a comfortable life. He stayed there, drinking and feeling sorry for himself until an acquaintance pulled in with his boat in tow and asked Marshall if they were biting. He gave a noncommittal answer and left at once. It was nearly time to head home anyway. Rebecca would be surprised but at least she couldn't complain that he was late again. Did he have a meeting at church tonight? He tried to remember but his brain was too fuzzy to think. He concentrated on the road and staying within the lines. He might be a drunk but he was a safe drunk. He always drove carefully on the way home. As he reached the curve at the bottom on Long Hill, a flash of white caught his eye and he was excited to see a large buck disappearing into the gloom of the woods. I know where to look for you now, big guy. He muttered under his breath and then laughed at the prospect of downing a trophy buck like that. He didn't realize that he had drifted into the other lane until he rounded the curve and saw Daisy's car just feet ahead of him. He knew that car well, had helped Daisy get the cheapest insurance which was all she could afford. He had known Daisy all her life and loved her as everyone did.

No, Daisy, he growled as he wrenched the wheel to the right, forgetting that the shoulders had just been re-graveled. He felt the rear end fish tail, pulled it back to the left on instinct and know at that instant, it was the wrong move. He saw Daisy's sweet face, just as he hit her, saw her neck snap back and her smile fade, and his last words as his blood pressure soared and the blood vessel ruptured were, Dear God, No! Please

CHAPTER

3

Dr. Tom Smith was seeing his last patient of the day when the call came in. He was to have taken the afternoon off, but Dr. Scott was out of town and his other partner, Dr. Franks had gone home early with a migraine. Tom suspected he was really playing golf. These migraines always seemed to hit him on good golfing days and although Tom wanted to say no, he always said sure when asked to fill in. He took his faith seriously and his job of servant to the sick was important to him. Fortunately, Meg, his wife and nurse, was able to take over the bandaging of a nasty looking but not serious chain saw gash. Bubba, you've got to be more careful. Next time you might cut your leg off, he said as he grabbed his bag and left the office. Bubba grinned and waved and Tom knew he would likely see him for the same thing in the not-too-distant future. He headed for the accident site, driving fast but carefully. Ty hadn't said much. We got us a bad one, Tom. I don't think you can do much but we have to try. You can get here faster than the rescue squad if you can leave now. He hoped it wasn't anyone he knew. In less than five minutes he saw the flares at the bottom of the hill and slowed to a stop just before the curve. Grabbing his bag, he ran around the curve and stopped dead at the sight. He recognized both vehicles at once. Marshall was his insurance agent and a patient, and had once been a close friend. Daisy was ...well she was Daisy. He forced himself to hurry but as soon as he got to the car, he knew there was nothing he could do. He had seen enough death to recognize his old enemy. He reached in from the passenger's side and felt for a pulse, hoping he was wrong, He wasn't. He hurried to where Marshall lay slumped over the wheel of his truck, his face a mass of cuts from the windshield glass that lay all around him. No pulse there either. Marshall was wearing his seat belt and the truck was barely damaged. Tom wondered what had killed him. Broken neck? The initial examination didn't support that. Well, he was dead and the autopsy would show the cause. He leaned closer and wasn't shocked to smell the strong, sweet odor of rum. Marshall had gotten an early start today it seemed.

When he climbed down from the truck, Ty and several members of the Rescue Squad stood there waiting. He shook his head. Nothing you can do here except take them to Holdren's.

Then he began to cry. He stayed there while they separated the two vehicles and he insisted on moving Daisy himself. Her head flopped like a rag doll and a thin stream of blood trickled from her mouth but she seemed surprisingly unmarked. He tried to pick her up and that is when it was discovered that a piece of chrome from Marshall's grille had gone through her door and through her and into the seat. He held her while they cut it away and pulled it out and all the time he sobbed as did most of the men there. He tried to pray but the words would not come. Only God, why? God, why? over and over.

He rode in the ambulance with her and with reluctance left her at Holdren's. Someone had driven his truck there. They handed him his keys and he went home.

Adrian Manson, Pastor of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church was playing ball with his boys in the back yard. It was rare that he found the time for play, but whenever he could spare a minute away from his other duties, he tried to spend time with the kids. Hallie got what was left of him at night, which sometimes wasn't very much. They were in the middle of a spirited game of one base when he saw her come out on the porch. Even without words he knew that something was terribly wrong. He dropped the bat and sprinted to the porch. She tried to find the words but all that would come out was 'Daisy and accident'. She pointed up the road and that was all he needed. In seconds he was in the car and flying up the road. Less than five minutes later, he too saw the flares and the ambulance pulling away with no siren blaring. He pulled as far off the road as he could and raced up the hill, all the while knowing in his heart, he could do nothing useful. He saw some of his flock, Baron Middleton, Kent Phillips and Rupe Barnstable, all looking woeful and a group from Green Hills, Ty Holt, the sheriff, Peter Wentworth, Mike Armistead and Cecil Hopewell. They looked the same.

A second ambulance had arrived and they were loading

Marshall's body into it. He spoke quietly with the men for a few minutes but when he asked what had happened, they just shook their heads sadly. Marshall started early today. You could sure smell the rum He led them in a brief prayer and then at a loss, went on home. He wondered briefly where Daniel was but then his grief drove the question from his mind.

Mrs. Brandt was unprepared for the visit from Deputy Mike Fisher, commonly called 'Fish'. Ty had sent him over to Daisy's house and when he found no one home, he went next door which was the logical thing to do in a close-knit community. He saw Daniel playing near the barn with the Brandt kids before he even got to the house and he knew there was no way he could break the news to the boy. Mrs. Brandt burst into loud sobs as soon as she heard the news but regained control when he asked her to tell the boy. Can you call Miss Mercy too? She is next of kin. Only kin as far as I know. Someone's got to take the kid. He left quickly. Not because he didn't care but because he had no idea what to do or say. Fish had been really fond of Daisy too.

Miss Mercy had come at once and cried all over Daniel who was still in a state of shock. How could his mama be dead She just went to give lessons? She couldn't be dead. She told him she would be home early and that they would have pizza for supper. Mercy fixed him a meal but it wasn't pizza so he went to his room and locked the door and waited for Daisy to come home. Rebecca had been in the garden, pulling a few carrots for the stew, when the sheriff's car pulled into the driveway. She knew at once that Marshall was in trouble. She never dreamed that he was dead. Ty was kind and he held her while she cried. After a few moments, Rebecca recovered enough to ask, What happened?

Ty thought about lying for just a moment, but knew that would just be delaying the inevitable. He hit another vehicle. Are they alright?

No. Ty took a deep breath and said the unspeakable. It was Daisy's car and she is dead too.

Rebecca's pain was evident in her scream of anguish. Oh, dear God, no! Not our Daisy!

He helped her to the house, still crying uncontrollably and called Tom who had just gotten home.

When Tom arrived and tried to give her a sedative, she refused.

It will wear off and I will still have to face it, Tom. Thank you but no thanks. Now go home and take a shower. You are covered in blood.

She turned away and went slowly up the stairs to her bedroom. Both men left, not knowing what else to do.

When Adrian got home, he sat in the car for several moments, trying to get his mind in working order once again. He couldn't seem to get the picture of Daisy's little car out of his mind. He had only glanced into it one