by P. Creeden
There had been talk of keeping the establishments open for longer. Some said midnight, others said all through the night, at least during the summertime. John had been adamantly against it, but he’d been one of the minority, it seemed. Business was booming for the city and the boardwalk, especially during tourist season. The crashing waves drowned out every possible sound and every possible thought, and Colette welcomed the numbness that came with it. Her lids grew heavy and her muscles ached from the long walk. She wished she could lie in a bed and sleep but didn’t want to risk trying for the inn at this time of night. Not only would she stick out like a sore thumb, making it easy for Jason to find her, but she had a very limited savings. She had little more than thirty dollars to her name, and she had no idea where she was going from here.
All she knew for sure was that she wanted to get as far from Jason as she could. Her stomach twisted and turned cold. He’d probably chase her to the ends of the earth if he could. He’d always been the dogged and determined kind who never gave up on anything. She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms and shawl around them and then set her chin atop. The moon was barely visible from under the boardwalk, but it reflected on the waves. Movement to her left made her jump, but then she saw it was just a homeless man who ignored her and kept mumbling to himself. Maybe staying there wasn’t the safest thing to do. But she honestly had nowhere else to go, did she?
She’d seen a map of the country and railway lines stretching across it in the station. Maybe she’d choose a stop at random and head that way. Any large city would do. It would be easy to get lost there, to hide. Would she need to change her name? She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
As the waves continued to crash, Colette let the relentless sounds numb her again, and remove all thought. It wasn’t long before she’d fallen asleep.
Waves crashed against the shoreline, but there was also a horn from a ship. Colette woke with a start at the sound. Although the sun had not quite risen yet, the sky had a gray pallor as the beginnings of light leaked its way over the horizon. As she pulled herself from leaning against the pillar and straightened, her neck and back both protested, the muscles seizing up momentarily. A small cry of pain escaped her lips as she stretched herself, trying to get some measure of relief before she stood. Then she made her way to her feet. And for the first time since she’d discovered she was with child, she felt suddenly nauseous. Her stomach lurched and she gagged. Tears sprang to her eyes as the world tilted and she found herself clinging to the pylon again. For a long moment she stayed there, eyes closed as she clung, her breath coming in rapid pants as her stomach threatened to betray her again. After a long moment, she opened her eyes and blinked away the tears that leaked out. At least she’d seemed to get control of her dizzy spell. She released the pillar, and though her stomach didn’t lurch, the queasiness that she had before remained, threatening to take control again should she moved too quickly.
Slowly, she made her way across the sand and back toward the end of the boardwalk that would take her nearest the train station. She wasn’t sure what time the first train would arrive, but she knew that she wanted to be on it and heading toward Winston where she could switch to the Central Line and then go whatever direction she needed. Butterflies in her stomach threatened to make her heave again, but she placed a hand over it and tried not to think again about how she had nowhere to go. In her other hand, she clutched her carpet bag until she reached the end of the boardwalk and stepped up, dusting the sand from the bottom of her feet. The sweepers were out getting the sand that had accumulated overnight off the boards before the last of the tourists woke that morning. She felt bad for adding more sand. But then she pulled her shoes from her bag and slipped them on her feet. The feeling of vulnerability she’d had when her feet were bare disappeared immediately, and somehow, she felt stronger. Even the queasiness she’d been suffering abated.
Excitement began to bubble up instead. Intending to put all her troubles behind her, she stepped up to the train station’s doors and pulled the handle, excited when it fell open in her grip. She stepped in, and her eyes immediately laid upon a man standing at the counter and her heart stuttered in her chest. Jason. He was already looking for her at the train station.
Chapter 5
Fear spread icy tendrils from Colette’s heart to her limbs, threatening to lock her in place as her eyes stayed fixed on the man she least wanted to see in the world. Her stomach lurched, but the gag didn’t come. She thanked God as her limbs unfroze, and she backed quickly through the door and outside once more. Her heart raced in her chest and she began to pant as though she’d been holding her breath. Jason was still looking for her. Of course, he’d be at the train station. She needed to go somewhere else. But where would she go? If she went to her only friend’s house, she’d surely be caught. And Anne, her friend, couldn’t be expected to help her hold off Jason on their own when she only lived with her grandmother.
No she needed a man to help keep her safe. And then pastor’s wife’s words came to mind. If she needed anything... Usually those words were said to placate another. Platitudes but not necessarily something meant to be true. As she gripped her carpet bag, she stared toward the church. It was a sanctuary, a place of safety, wasn’t it? Each step she made toward the place, her heart began to beg God in prayer that she would find solace there, even though it was the middle of the week. But when she stepped up to the church building and pulled on the door, she found it locked.
Her heart sank and tears sprang to her eyes. She felt betrayed—let down. How could no one be there? Where could she turn for help now? She honestly didn’t know where the reverend and his wife lived in town. And wouldn’t it be an imposition to bother them at home? With her back bent, her eyes fixed toward the ground and her feet, she made her way back down the porch steps, feeling lost.
“Mrs. Tolliver?” A quiet voice said as Colette reached the bottom step.
Her gaze shot up and she met eyes with a surprised-looking pastor’s wife wearing gardening gloves. Relief flooded Colette. “Mrs. Grant! Oh, thank the Lord.”
She couldn’t help herself. She rushed toward the woman with tears stinging her eyes and embraced her. Mrs. Grant patted her back, whispering, “There, there, child. Everything’s going to be all right. You’re fine. God is in control.”
After letting out a sob that Colette didn’t know she had in her, she finally pushed back and met eyes with the older woman. “Mrs. Grant, you had said that if I needed help, I should come and see you. Can you help me now?”
Mrs. Grant’s eyes grew serious as she nodded. “The Lord woke me early this morning and gave me the itch to start gardening. I was wondering what that was about and now I see what his plan was. He needed me to be here for you. Of course, I can help you now. Tell me what it is you need.”
Colette swallowed the lump in her throat as she willed words to come. And when they did, they came in a flurry. She told the pastor’s wife about everything that had happened between her and Jason since she’d gotten the news of her husband’s death and how her life had been an out-of-control storm since. The older woman sat there nodding with a serious but understanding expression until finally Colette had finished. Then Mrs. Grant stepped forward and pulled Colette into her arms and gave her a real, true hug. One like she hadn’t felt in days, at least. Colette shed a few more tears, and then Mrs. Grant pulled back. “Now that we’ve heard everything, child, follow me. I’m going to speak to Mr. Grant as well and give you shelter for at least a little while. We won’t let anyone know you’re here. If anyone asks about you, we’ll only tell them that you’re safe. All right?”
Following the older woman, Colette nodded, suddenly feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. For the next day or two she stayed in the Grant’s house while Mr. Grant dealt with the police to see what Colette’s rights were, when he returned that evening for dinner, his face was grave. “It seems that both your husband and his brother owned the house where
you live. Before your husband passed away, he’d signed a quit claim deed, which means that upon his death, your brother-in-law became full owner of the house. He has also made it clear that he owns everything within it and has told the deputy that he would not let you return to get your things unless you intended to stay. It is as you said, he’s offering you marriage and a home. You are certain you do not want it?”
“I’m certain,” Colette said, her hands shaking as she formed them into fists. The last thing she would ever do on God’s green earth was marry that man. She hoped that she would never see him again at all.
The next day, however, Jason came knocking at the door. Mr. Grant attempted to stand in the doorway and keep him from coming in, but Jason made a ruckus. “If I could just see her and explain, I know she’d understand! She’s just not seeing things with reason! You know how women are.”
She caught sight of him standing there looking wild but refused to come to the door. For a long while, Jason paced the outside of the house on the street, and she could see him from her second-floor window. He didn’t seem as though he was ever going to leave, but sometime in the night, she looked outside and finally saw no one there. It didn’t help things much, though, since sleep still fled from Colette.
The following day, Jason was back with flowers and more, and tears sprang to Colette’s eyes when she saw him. “I’m never going to escape him, am I?
Mrs. Grant set a hand on her shoulder. “I think it would be best for you to leave Atlantic City if you don’t want any more to do with the likes of Jason Tolliver. He doesn’t seem to be the kind to give up easily.
Colette turned and met eyes with the older woman. “But where would I go?”
“Do you not have a single relative or friend that you could at least impose on for a little while? No one who would receive you?” Mrs Grant asked.
With a lump in her throat, Colette just shook her head.
Mrs. Grant’s lips thinned and then she stared off for a moment before finally saying, “There are not many options for you. I can send you to my cousin’s place, where you’ll be safe. She lives in Richmond, Virginia. It would put some distance between you and your brother-in-law, at least. I would hope that he wouldn’t keep following you when you’ve made it clear that you have no interest in him amorously.”
“I have.”
Mrs. Grant nodded. “I’ll telegraph my cousin and make sure that she is prepared for your arrival, and then we’ll have to have Mr. Grant, and perhaps the sheriff, escort you to the train station.”
Colette swallowed hard. She hated being at the mercy of strangers and relying on other people’s kindness for her care. Although she believed that Mrs. Grant’s cousin was likely just as kind and caring as Mrs. Grant, she didn’t know this person. Maybe there was something else. “You said there were other options?”
Mrs. Grant shook her head and waved her hand and then let out a laugh. “The only other thoughts that come to me are heading out to the wild frontier out west as a teacher or a mail-order bride, but I would think those would be your last resort.”
Fisting her hands to keep them from reaching for her belly, Collette tried to chuckle with the pastor’s wife. No, neither of those options would be very good with her small secret. She’d been hiding her morning sickness from both of her caretakers all this time, successfully, it seemed. But that small secret would be enough to keep her from becoming a teacher or a mail-order bride, no matter how desperate they were for both out west according to the papers. She released a sigh. “Last resort, for certain.”
That afternoon, Mrs. Grant sent a telegram to her cousin as promised and received word that her cousin, Cornelia, would be happy to help. It was a relief for Colette to hear that she had someplace to go and was hopeful that the distance would be enough to deter Jason from following her. Even at church on that Sunday he’d watched her relentlessly. After breakfast the next day, a sheriff’s deputy arrived to escort them to the train station. The pastor and Mrs. Grant both came along. Although Colette was happy for their company, she felt as if maybe the whole thing was an overreaction. Was Jason really so dangerous that she needed the police to help keep her safe from him? And the deputy seemed as though he were unhappy with the whole process, as well, making Colette feel even more foolish.
Then, at the train station, Jason arrived and barreled toward her as if no one else existed, eyes wide and wild. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you for days.
He reached out toward her, and she flinched back. His fingertips grazed her arm just before Reverend Grant stepped in the way and pushed his hand aside. “That’s enough of that Mr. Tolliver. Colette has made it clear that she doesn’t have an interest in becoming your wife.”
“If I could just talk to her. I know that she’ll see reason.”
“I’m not interested in talking with you,” Colette finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re not thinking straight. You’re letting your mourning and your emotions get the best of you. Just let’s sit down and discuss things. The reverend can even be present for it. It’s what’s best for you and you know it too. What are you going to do? Be a burden to a bunch of strangers the rest of your life? We’re already family. I’m the only family you’ve got. Let me take care of you, like I should.”
Starting from her core, Colette began to shake. Her hands fisted at her sides as she shook her head. “You are not my family. I will never go with you.”
The soft expression that Jason had been wearing while he was pleading with her turned hard. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. “You’ll change your mind.”
“I won’t,” she said quickly.
“You will,” he said stepping forward. The deputy stepped in front of him, a hand out to keep him from reaching Colette. Jason glared at him a moment before leveling his menacing look back at Colette. “This isn’t over. It’s far from over. You think you can just put some miles between us and I’ll go away. Think again. I will never stop coming for you Colette. I love you and no matter where you go, I will come for you.”
The blood drained from Colette’s face, leaving her cold. Her head spun as the world tilted and she felt faint. She doubled over as her stomach lurched, but she kept herself from gagging or becoming sick. Mrs. Grant’s hands were on her shoulders. “Are you all right, dear?”
Colette straightened herself and tried to put strength back in her legs as she stood tall. Her eyes met Jason’s and found them confused and concerned. Somehow, in his own twisted way, Jason cared for Colette, she knew that, but she didn’t want it. With every part of her being, she wished that he would stop, that he would give up and leave her alone, but he was threatening to do the opposite. She turned her back on him as Mrs. Grant led her to the train that was departing for the main line soon. The deputy and Mr. Grant continued to hold Jason back and promised to keep him from boarding the train with her.
It didn’t stop his voice from echoing off the corners of the station and reaching her as she boarded the train. “They may be stopping me now, but know that I’m coming, Colette! I’m coming!”
Chapter 6
“Sheriff Maxwell Clayton. It has a nice ring to it, right?” Thomas said with a smile and his arms wide as Maxwell walked up toward the front porch of what used to be his father’s house.
Tightening his jaw, Maxwell just shook his head.
Missy Clayton, Thomas’s mother and Maxwell’s stepmother, stepped out of the door, wiping her hands on her apron. Missy was only about twelve years older than Maxwell, himself, but he still respected her and called her Ma, just as his father had always asked him to. Missy’s face brightened as soon as she saw him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it now that you have gotten even busier as acting sheriff.”
Maxwell stepped up onto the floorboards of the front porch and gave Missy a side hug and a kiss on the top of the head. “I wouldn’t miss Sunday dinner if wild horses dragged me away.”
“That c
ould happen, too!” Thomas said with a laugh, his excitement evident in the way he could hardly stand still. He bounced from one foot to the other.
Maxwell set a hand upon his brother’s head and roughed up his hair. “No worries there. I don’t tend to let myself get caught on ropes when wild horses are involved.”
“Right,” Thomas said with a smile. “You gentle them first.”
Clapping his brother on the shoulder, he said, “That’s right. Now what does a man need to do to get some supper around here? I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
Thomas laughed and ducked past his Ma. “I’ll go get the table set.”
Missy shook her head at her son. “I think Sunday dinners are his favorite time with you, Maxwell. Even though he follows you around like a shadow whenever he can.”
“He’s a good boy, Ma. I’ll always keep an eye out for him. Don’t worry.”
She took hold of his arm and hugged it to herself. “I know you will. You’re a good man... no, a great man. Just like your Pa. I have no doubt you’ll take care of him and always will.”
Maxwell let her guide him into the house and then sat down at the table while Thomas flitted about and finished setting the places. They had a pleasant stew with plenty of bread and conversation, mostly ruled by the youngest of the three family members. Once they’d finished, Missy eyed Maxwell in such a manner that he frowned. “What is it?”
Before speaking, she took a deep breath. “You’re twenty-eight and that’s not too young to take on the responsibility of sheriff full-time. You’re good at the job and the other deputies respect you.”
His frown deepened. “Well, that’s up to the townsfolk. The election isn’t until November and there might be someone else who steps up for the position.”