Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Journey
    The Journey
    The Journey
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    The Journey

    By J.D. Wylde

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    There are some who are blessed to hear the Divine voice. Stephanie Holmes is one who does hear. Like a modern-day Job, she is a reluctant traveler who follows an extraordinary path during a freak snowstorm that leave her and fiance, Daryl, stranded in the mountains of East Tennessee. On Christmas Eve, no less!

     

    And is it mentioned, she is eight months pregnant? 

     

    Daryl Robard knows these mountains from one side to the other. He grew up here. Wants to come back home and have a life here with Stephanie. And that life -- that future he desires -- starts now. He's certain he can find them shelter from the snowstorm.

     

    But Stephanie is reluctant to trust him or God. This is more than just a journey home. It's a journey of faith.

     

    For both of them. 

     

    With roads closed, their vehicle ditched in a snowbank and snow piling up all around them, Steph's faith is tested. And now she must choose.

     

    Does she trust the man she loves -- and the Most High Power he strongly believes in to make it through the night? Or do they die? 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJ.D. Wylde
    Release dateOct 12, 2020
    ISBN9781386622321
    The Journey

    Read more from J.D. Wylde

    Related to The Journey

    Related ebooks

    Christian Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Gentle STIRRING

      Mar 13, 2024

      A Gentle STIRRING
      6 min read

    • Article

      Healing

      Apr 8, 2020

      Healing
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Wrong Shampoo

      Apr 10, 2022

      Brandy scoured the rows of bubble gum bright shampoo bottles. How much time had passed already? She looked to the front of the store but couldn’t see the checkout lines. She had only been to Jeff’s apartment once so far and didn’t remember what brand

      16 min read

    • Article

      O Fortuna, Velut Luna

      Sep 15, 2018

      What is Miss Treece’s trouble, according to a popular notion? The man A has failed to show up. Arousing herself at the restaurant, she fixes her lipstick when her solo supper concludes and takes herself down the stairs situated behind the bar. There,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Running Away

      Feb 22, 2021

      Leaving London behind her, Millie drove faster, picturing thousands of crazed fans in pursuit, desperate for what – a lock of her hair? Or Julian; except after the last gig, somehow she knew he wouldn’t follow. She knew from bitter experience that di

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Double Life

      Dec 7, 2020

      Sadie is in the kitchen, already dressed in school uniform, fastening the clips on the violin she chose for her most recent birthday, when Gabriela heads downstairs the following morning. Seven years old: how the hell did that happen? Briefly, she wo

      6 min read

    • Article

      Drawn to THE MOORS

      Feb 8, 2022

      Drawn to THE MOORS
      11 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Safety

      Mar 1, 2023

      IT WAS only a dream, a bad dream, and nothing else. The man in Vidal’s dream was stalking a woman, spying on her from the shadows, following her down a dark alley as she sought refuge from a downpour. The woman was vaguely familiar to Vidal, though h

      13 min read

    • Article

      Fitting In

      Oct 1, 2021

      Fitting In
      6 min read

    • Article

      Gabriel & Holly

      Feb 8, 2021

      The first day was the most daunting. It helped that she’d arrived last night to settle herself in the cottage annexe before first contact this morning. Still, nerves attacked her as she stood before the door of the imposing but charming ivy-covered 1

      6 min read

    • Article

      Push

      Aug 4, 2022

      Push
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Women Who Ran Away

      Jul 20, 2020

      Grand Canal, Dublin, Ireland: 53.3309˚N 6.2588˚W. Even after she’d put her luggage in the tiny boot of the convertible, Deira still wasn’t sure if she was going to go through with it. Which was crazy, she told herself, because this was the easy bit.

      8 min read

    • Article

      A Quick Thrill

      May 20, 2021

      A Quick Thrill
      4 min read

    • Article

      Nothing to Declare

      Jun 15, 2019

      All the senior partners were having a laugh about a movie they’d seen. Forty-Five Years. Something, something about the movie taking forty-five years to sit through. The woman McGuinness thought he recognized was in it with them at the far end of the

      24 min read

    • Article

      A Double Life

      Feb 6, 2020

      A Double Life
      10 min read

    • Article

      I Met Myself Coming Back

      Oct 6, 2022

      I Met Myself Coming Back
      6 min read

    • Article

      Not Quite MR DARCY

      Aug 10, 2022

      Not Quite MR DARCY
      6 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      Practicing

      Mar 15, 2018

      This would have been her favorite season in the Allegheny woods. The shadows of the trees were rickety, and the wind had sap in its scent. But last week, Ty had left; now one day decayed into the next. Their house was abandoned. Only their father, si

      18 min read

    • Article

      The Hero’s Daughter

      Oct 1, 2023

      AS USUAL, THE other kids wanted to meet at the statue of her father. It was located at the edge of their village and made a great base for games of hide and seek. Deeyah found it mildly annoying. Though she was very proud to be the daughter of a reno

      6 min read

    • Article

      Blue ICE

      Dec 12, 2023

      Blue ICE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Blue ICE

      Dec 8, 2021

      Blue ICE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Family Matters

      May 15, 2020

      Family Matters
      5 min read

    • Article

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?

      Aug 8, 2019

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Waving Not Drowning

      Aug 8, 2022

      Waving Not Drowning
      6 min read

    • Article

      Freedom

      Aug 6, 2020

      Freedom
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Journey

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Journey - J.D. Wylde

      Chapter 1

      It might be Christmas Eve, the season of miracles and a time for rejoicing with good tidings of glad cheer, but Stephanie Holmes didn’t feel the holiday spirit. At least not at this moment. And she placed the blame for her less-than-charming mood solely on the reindeer. The rogue beast that had shot out of the woods – not once, but twice – and had put this whole hideous chain of events into motion.

      Glad tidings of good cheer? Bah humbug!

      Where was a gun when she needed one? Not that she could kill a deer. She couldn’t kill anything. Not even the attitude-riddled spider that lurked in the corner of the bathroom and dropped from the ceiling to scare the bejesus out of her when she brushed her teeth.

      But she wouldn’t mind a little smack-down, face-off with this last white-tailed wildebeest that had crossed their path. You know. A little Woman versus Wild.

      Okay, so that was just the residual anger talking.

      The only deer Steph wanted to get up close and personal with was the one she and Daryl passed by every day this holiday season as they walked up to their apartment in Columbus, Ohio. The one with the twinkling white lights attached to its cute metal-framed body. The one who cheerfully nodded his head up and down – even when Mrs. Martin’s Chihuahua lifted his leg on him. 

      The one she hoped to see again, if they survived this journey.

      You know, Daryl. Santa should keep a tighter rein on his beasts of burden.

      And I should have kept a better hold on the wheel. He reached out. Gently touched his gloved fingers against her cheek. I’m sorry, Steph. He inhaled a deep breath. Slowly exhaled it in a foggy mist. I could have hurt you.

      But you didn’t, she told him, rising on her toes, to brush a kiss against his mouth.

      Or the baby, he went on, not showing himself the same leniency, compassion and understanding her always showed her.

      But you didn’t, she told him, fisting the front of his jacket in her hands. We’re okay. She pressed her gloved palm against her rounded belly. We’re all okay.

      He nodded his head. At least she thought it did. The sky was quickly losing any of the pale light it clung to while the snow storm from hell raged all around them.

      She pulled her woolen hat further down over her ears, hunched her shoulders against the cold as she pulled on the zipper of Daryl’s parka. The only coat in their combined wardrobes that fit her now. 

      She dug in the pocket for her cellphone. Pulled it out. Glared at the screen.

      No service.

      She held it to the darkening sky. Turned it left and right. Took a few steps away, repeating the process.

      There’s no cell service, Daryl, she stated the obvious. What she’d known since they’d left the nearest town and started up the mountain.

      Crap.

      It was bad enough being this far away from Columbus, stuck on the side of the mountain out in the middle of who knew where, but, No cell service. Did you hear me? There’s no cell service.

      Daryl Robard, the man she loved, only grunted.

      At least that’s what she thought he’d done.

      I’m a little busy back here, he informed her.

      And she supposed he was.

      The top half of him was buried waist deep in the back of the Jeep where he was unpacking his gear and repacking their essentials into his backpack. Essentials which she hoped included her makeup. Her toothbrush. Her hair dryer. And the secret stash of Hershey bars she’d rolled up in her spare underwear and stuffed into the side compartment of her overnight bag.

      Don’t forget my camera, okay? she told his back, patting a gloved hand against its padded broadness. I really need that.

      She loved photography. And much as she hated being here, she saw opportunity for some amazing shots all around her. Not that she would ever admit it.

      She got a grunt for a reply.

      He pushed his way back out.

      She stepped back a step before initiating the interrogation.

      Did you get my camera?

      Yes. I got your camera.

      Toothbrush?

      His eyes narrowed.

      "Yes, I got our toothbrushes. And toothpaste."

      She ignored the touch of annoyance.

      Did you get my makeup?

      "Yes. I got your makeup."

      And with that announcement, he zipped up the backpack ending the interrogation.

      She didn’t see an electrical cord that would confirm he’d packed her hair dryer. Didn’t smell any chocolate either, which was sad. Really sad. The urge for chocolate was more than a need these days. It was a craving.

      You need anything else? he asked, slipping back on his leather gloves.

      What she needed was to be back in Columbus. Not stranded on a deserted mountain road in Who-knew-where, Tennessee. She opened her mouth, wanting to remind him of that yet again; but Daryl held up his hand. Stopping her before she uttered one word.

      "Here, Steph. Do you have everything you need from here?" he clarified, reading her mind and silencing her whine before she even got started.

      And it’s nobody’s fault, okay? Things happen. It’s not the best of days to be traveling.

      He tugged the hood of his olive-green parka up over his dark, wavy hair. A sure indication the subject was closed.

      We should have—

      He gently pressed one finger to her lips.

      Stayed home, she talked around it.

      But we didn’t, did we? he quietly replied.

      There was no arguing, accusations or laying of blame. He was amazing that way.

      You ready? he asked instead.

      She gave one fleeting glance into the back of the Jeep. Where her Hershey bars were still stashed in her overnight bag. Which was staying behind.

      Maybe we could...

      We can’t, he quietly told her, as he pulled the straps of the camouflaged backpack up onto his broad shoulders. I thought I could get us through.

      But, she protested.

      She really didn’t want to leave the safety of the Jeep, even though she knew that, with it listing half-buried in a snowbank so close to the edge of the drop-off, it really wasn’t a safe place to stay.

      Daryl was right.

      Much as she hated to admit.

      The road will be closed off at the bottom, if it’s not already. Nobody’s gonna be coming up.

      In other words: they were all alone.

      No one was coming to rescue them.

      She slowly breathed in. Sighed out an exhale just as slow. 

      He took her hand. Started walking.

      I still blame Santa and his deer, she muttered under her breath, as she walked with him.

      Steph.

      Okay, so maybe the deer that shot out onto the interstate, the one which had caused the chain reaction pile-up that had brought the holiday traffic to a snarling stop did not belong to Santa. And maybe he was no more to blame than the freak winter snowstorm that was bombarding this area, blanketing it in huge, drifting mounds of snow.

      But Steph would bet he was related to the beast that had shot out in front of

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1