Read Redemption Lake for Free Online Page B

Jones’s programs. He’d watched the sermons so much he could almost recite them verbatim. Travis couldn’t believe he was actually almost face to face with Pastor Jones. He wondered if the pastor was going to be one of the facilitators for the retreat. He knew it couldn’t get any better.
    Travis guessed they probably had to keep secret the fact that G.I. Jones would be here; otherwise there would probably be hundreds of people trying to register. He was going to meet a celebrity. Man, he was glad Beryl had made him come. This was truly going to be a trip of a lifetime.
    Standing next to G.I. was his wife, Nina Jones. The first lady—as she liked to be called—looked just as she had on television. People often said she was the African American version of Tammy Faye Baker—only on the heavier side. She could have easily been a nice plus sized model. Nina’s hair was always done in some sculptured style, and her makeup literally looked as if it had been painted on by the same makeup artist as Bozo the clown. But unlike the woman he saw smiling and grinning on television whenever the camera was squarely on her, she entered the room with a sneer sprawled across her face as she looked around the cabin without saying a word. She wore a black and silver jogging suit that definitely didn’t look like it had been purchased at Wal-Mart, his favorite shopping place. She also had silver matching accessories and what looked like a brand new pair of black tennis shoes.
    Travis looked down at his old, worn sneakers. He wished Beryl had bought him a new pair before they came on the trip. He’d tried to get her to loan him some money to buy some new shoes and a pair of jeans he’d been eyeing at Wal-Mart, but she mumbled something about there not being any money for him to buy new jeans and sneakers—again looking at him like it was his fault.
    â€œGood morning,” G.I. Jones said.
    â€œOh, good morning,” Shelby replied. “I’m Shelby Tomlinson. Are you here for the couples retreat?”
    Travis watched as Shelby’s mouth dropped wide open with recognition, realizing who was standing before her.
    â€œAh, yes.” G.I. strode toward Shelby to shake her hand. “I am George Jones.” He gestured toward his wife. “And this is my wife, Nina.”
    Nina’s smile was weak as she nodded her head and said, “Hi.” Unlike her husband, she didn’t move closer to greet Shelby and didn’t acknowledge that anyone else was even in the room.
    Dismissing the anger Beryl had previously been emitting, Travis took the opportunity to introduce himself. Turning toward G.I., he extended his hand and made his own introductions. “Hi. G.I.; I’m Travis, and this is my wife, Beryl.”
    Beryl, who’d had her face buried in her sketchpad, finally looked up to see what the spectacle was all about.
    Then her eyes widened. She dropped her pen and did a slight wave to the Joneses.
    G.I.’s handshake was strong and firm. “Nice to meet you. And please call me George.” George sighed. “I wish it were under better circumstances, but such is life.”
    Nina Jones rolled her eyes at her husband’s comment.
    Travis was glad he wasn’t the only one who had a wife with a rolling of the eyes problem, but Nina looked so weird doing it. It seemed out of character for the woman he’d seen so many times on the television.
    Then after making a point of rolling her eyes at Travis again, Beryl finally spoke with a simple, “Hello.”
    Travis didn’t understand his wife sometimes. Here she was sitting in front of a high man of God, and all she could say was hello? She hadn’t even stood or offered to shake the man’s hand. Travis was embarrassed by his wife’s nonchalant attitude.
    George nodded his head toward Beryl. The preacher wore a baseball cap with the letters JC embroidered on it. Travis had seen the emblem