FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY
by
CQB
CHAPTER
7
THE CHAPTERS
“Alone at last,” Joe’s voice had a mischievous edge to it as he grabbed Vanessa around the waist. They had quickly deposited the bag of trash in the trash cans at the corner of the house, and then returned to the Hardy’s back porch.
“I adore the earrings Joe,” Vanessa said, cuddling close to her boyfriend.
“Why don’t you show me how much you adore them?” Joe challenged.
Faith went out the door without even bothering to look for her coat. She caught Joe and Vanessa kissing on the back porch.
To the six-year-old, it struck her funny that the teenagers went out in the cold just to kiss. Faith couldn’t help but giggle.
Hearing the child, the young couple parted. “I think we have company,” Vanessa said, smiling at the child.
Joe squatted down, bringing his six-foot height closer to Faith’s eye level. Noticing that Faith wasn’t wearing a coat, Joe immediately pulled off his letterman jacket and wrapped it around the little girl.
“What brings you out here in the cold, Miss Faith?”
Faith glanced apprehensively at Vanessa. She studied the older girl for a moment, and then smiled. If Joe liked her, she must be okay.
“I wanted to tell you somethin’,” Faith began softly, “’bout my prayer.”
“Your prayer?” Joe questioned.
“At the mission,” Faith explained. “The preacher said that if we ask Jesus for somethin’, He’ll give it to us. So I asked for a warm place for me and Mama to stay.”
Joe felt his emotions stir at the humbleness of Faith’s prayer. ‘Her name suits her,’ he thought.
“I think Jesus told you to help us,” the little girl finished, tugging Joe’s coat tighter.
Joe didn’t know what to say. He glanced up at Vanessa and saw the blond beauty wiping a tear from her eyes. Suddenly, Joe felt Faith wrap her thin arms around his neck in a tight hug, and he knew he didn’t need to say a word.
“Thanks for listenin’ to Jesus, Mister Joe,” Faith whispered in his ear.
* * *
Later that night, Rachel and Faith once again climbed under the covers in the beautiful bedroom. Rachel fingered the envelope Laura had offered her earlier. She knew the crisp dollar was safely tucked inside. Rachel picked it up from off the night stand and handed it to Faith.
The child looked questioningly at her mother. “You got lots of nice things today from Santa and our new friends, but this is just from me.”
Faith opened the envelope and a grin spread across her young face. “Is it mine? The whole dollar?”
“Yes honey.”
“Can I do whatever I want with it?”
Rachel was a bit perplexed, but said, “Of course.”
Faith hopped out of bed and moved to the dresser. She put the dollar back in the envelope. She ran over to her pile of gifts and dug out her new box of crayons. She chose a purple one and painstakingly began to write on the envelope. When she was through, she hurried back to bed and gave the envelope to Rachel.
“Will you mail it for me, Mama?”
Rachel couldn’t hold back the tears that began to spill as she read the words scrawled on the envelope:
TO JESUS IN HEAVEN
THANK YOU
* * *
A few weeks later…
“They’re here,” Joe called out as he hurried to the front door. He pulled open the oak door and was attacked by a rambunctious six-year-old.
“Hey Freckles,” Joe laughed, using his nickname for Faith. He carried the child while her mother followed the teenager into the Hardy’s dining room.
Laura hugged Rachel and then pulled Faith from Joe’s arms. “Hello Faith!”
Fenton also gave the child a hug and greeted Rachel warmly.
“Hi Mrs. Woods,” Frank said as he joined them. He moved up behind Faith and ruffled her hair. “Hey kiddo!”
“Hi Mister Frank!” Faith grinned, looking up at him.
Soon the family and their guests were settled around the table passing the mashed potatoes, creamed peas and succulent roast beef. While enjoying the delicious food, the conversation quickly turned to their recent Christmas together.
“Who would have dreamed our life would change so drastically over night?” Rachel said, shaking her head slowly. “You all went out of your way to make this Christmas so special for us.”
“I got lots of stuff,” Faith chimed in, and then stuffed a big spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
The Hardys and Rachel chuckled at Faith’s bluntness.
“She’s right though,” Rachel added on a more serious note. “You showered us with gifts and gave us a warm place to stay. If that wasn’t enough, Mr. Cassidy offers me a job and us a place to live until we can afford something ourselves.”
“I’m not so sure you and Faith are the only ones who benefited from Christmas,” Tigh Cassidy commented as he and Gertrude strode into the dining room. They had just stopped by on their way back to the inn.
“I certainly have to agree,” Gertrude added, placing a box on the table. “It is wonderful having you working at the inn, Rachel. You have become a great asset.”
“Are these éclairs?” Joe asked, eyeing the bakery box.
“Yes Joseph,” Gertrude answered. “Don’t eat them all yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Joe said as he helped himself to a chocolate éclair.
“The truth is,” Frank stated as he swatted Joe’s hand away from the box and grabbed an éclair for himself. “It all started with Joe flirting with a six-year-old.”
“True,” Joe agreed. “Faith stole my heart from the moment I first laid eyes on her. Who could resist those eyes, those freckles, and that smile?”
Faith hopped down from her chair and climbed up on Joe’s lap, just as he was about to bite into his éclair. Faith looked up into Joe’s deep blue eyes.
“That looks good,” she said, her hazel eyes now fixed on Joe’s dessert.
Frank could barely contain a snicker. Fenton nearly choked on his coffee, Laura, Gertrude and Rachel exchanged smiles, and Tigh stifled a chuckle as Joe gave Faith the éclair. Joe almost looked as if he was in pain.
“Thanks Mister Joe,” Faith said, chocolate all around her mouth. Before he could respond, Faith hugged Joe and planted a chocolate kiss on his cheek.
“You’re welcome Faith,” Joe said with a laugh, “You are so very welcome!”
THE END
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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.