“I hope you will be that woman.” He kissed the top of her head. “Now, would you help me choose the rest of the furniture, the drapes, the rugs—”
She stood on tiptoes and stopped him with a kiss. He responded in kind until the noise of hammering from a nearby room reminded them they were not alone. They gave each other sheepish grins.
“We should probably go back to the ranch.” Evangeline took Justice’s hand and led him toward the stairs. “Susanna has enough to do without having extra children to watch all day.”
“I can’t talk you into dinner at the hotel?”
She thought for a moment. “No. I still have some sewing to do. I’d better go back.”
They returned to the ranch in time for Evangeline to help Susanna prepare dinner and to regale her and Nate with a description of Justice’s fine new house.
“He has a bathroom.” She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Can you imagine?” She took a platter of sandwiches to the kitchen table, where Justice and Nate awaited their dinner. The children were playing outside in the snow, which gave the adults a rare chance to talk without interruptions.
“Are you listening, honey?” Susanna eyed Nate. “Justice installed a bathroom in his new house.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot, Sheriff. First Tolley installs one, now you. You’re making it mighty hard for the rest of us menfolk.”
“If you other men would follow their good example, it would be easier on your wives.” Susanna poured coffee for everyone.
“Sorry to cause you trouble, friend.” Justice chuckled in his warm way that suggested he wasn’t the least bit sorry.
After Nate offered a prayer of thanks for the meal, he addressed Justice. “When will you tell Gerard and Isabelle you’re courting?”
Justice looked at Evangeline, and a shadow crossed his eyes again. “Sweetheart?”
Susanna laughed. “You keep calling her sweetheart, and they’ll guess without being told.”
Evangeline’s giddy happiness vanished. This was something she and Justice should discuss in private. He was concerned about something, probably Gerard. But she was certain her son had changed his opinion of Justice after his rescue from the cougar.
She gave her cousins a wry smile. “I’m sure the right moment will arise. For now, I want Gerard to recover from his ordeal before he faces a potential change in his life.”
Justice grunted. “And don’t forget he’s still under suspension for breaking those slates.”
Evangeline’s heart dropped. Yes, she’d remembered the suspension, but in her mind, Gerard had suffered enough for his misbehavior. While her son might have changed his opinion of Justice, she wasn’t sure Justice had changed his view of Gerard. If she expected him to take on the responsibilities of a father to her children, she must make sure he loved them and would treat them fairly. She quietly sighed. This was why courting was better than an engagement. If both she and Justice still had reservations about important matters, they must not rush into a binding relationship.
The children trooped into the mudroom and shed mittens, hats, coats and boots. Susanna dipped a pitcher of hot water from the tank of the stove and carried it out to the washbowls. Once they’d cleaned up, they filled the kitchen with their chatter.
“We’re starving.” Gerard gave the platter of sandwiches a hungry look as he took his place beside Natty. The boys jostled each other playfully.
“Hey. Manners.” Nate barely raised his voice, but the boys quit their roughhousing right away.
Not meaning to, Evangeline glanced at Justice. He wasn’t exactly frowning, but he wasn’t smiling either. Lord, please don’t let him be hard on Gerard. I can’t think of marrying him if he doesn’t get along with my son. In truth, Gerard and Isabelle were her first responsibility. But if she married Justice, she would have to let him lead the family. If she didn’t see some evidence he and her son would get along, perhaps she should call off the courtship.
* * *
As he sat in church with Nate’s family and Evangeline, Justice enjoyed their harmonizing as they sang the hymns. They shared smiles of agreement over several points in Reverend Thomas’s sermon. And yet he felt as if a pall had been cast between Evangeline and himself at some point yesterday, probably the moment when he’d reminded her about Gerard’s suspension. If so, she wasn’t being fair to him. Miss Prinn had pronounced his punishment, not he. Even if the boy had a change of heart, he still must pay for destroying someone else’s property. Justice hoped Evangeline wouldn’t pay for the slates with Gerard’s inheritance. He needed to experience some tangible loss for his wrongdoing. Until then, Justice doubted the boy would have a change of heart, much less that he’d learn his lesson.
The minister finished his sermon with a clear Gospel message, then offered an invitation to anyone who wanted to accept Christ as their Savior. One man on the other side of the sanctuary stood up and walked to the front. His wife remained in the pew, her face shining with happy tears. Justice prayed Gerard would go speak to the minister as well. After their discussion on horseback on Friday and now Reverend Thomas’s sermon, surely the boy understood what it meant to be saved.
He glanced down the row. Gerard and Natty wiggled in their seats as though eager to run outside after sitting still for over an hour. Justice sighed inwardly. He should be pleased to see Gerard with his better-behaved cousin rather than Deely and Cart. Once their suspension was over, it would be a challenge to keep those three apart.
After a final prayer and hymn, the congregation stood to go their separate ways.
“We’re expecting you for dinner, Sheriff,” Susanna said from the middle of the pew.
“You’ll come, won’t you?” Evangeline gave him an equally expectant look. Isabelle also gazed up at him with a sweet smile. That little girl had already found an important place in his heart.
Down the row, Gerard and Natty exited the other end, followed by little Frankie, and were running along the wall toward the back door. Always the diligent father, Nate strode after them.
“I’m sorry, ladies. My deputy has done more than his share of the duties these past few days.” He gave them a frown of regret. “I need to stay in town so he can rest.”
“Oh, but—” Evangeline sighed and nodded. “I understand.”
As they filed out of the pew and up the aisle, Justice had the unhappy feeling she didn’t understand at all. It wasn’t work keeping him from her, but their unspoken disagreement about Gerard. He couldn’t spend another afternoon at the ranch pretending everything was all right. Early tomorrow morning when they were alone and working on the Christmas village, they could sort it out. If not, he feared they must call off their courtship, even though his heart would break all over again.
Something deep inside him rebelled against that idea. If he didn’t fight for Evangeline’s love, her father and Lucius would win from the grave. Somehow he must make this work.
* * *
On Monday morning, Evangeline drove the buggy into town and left Isabelle, Lizzie and Natty at the schoolhouse. Gerard gazed longingly at the building, then hung his head as they drove on. She wished Justice could see her son now, full of contrition and depressed because he couldn’t join his friends. Of course this suspension meant she wouldn’t read to his class today or tomorrow, but on Wednesday, she’d take him back and begin reading Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the perfect story for this time of year. That was, if Miss Prinn permitted it.
Another activity she must forgo while Gerard accompanied her was painting the Christmas village. As much as she loved her son, she doubted he could keep the secret from the other children, so she couldn’t permit him to see the project in the library’s back room. After his suspension ended, she’d have to work quickly to finish the latest figures Justice carved.
Thoughts of Justice had tormented her since
yesterday. After he’d asked to court her Friday evening, she’d been so happy. Then on Saturday, despite her delight in the beautiful house he wanted to share with her and the children, she’d begun to wonder whether it was fair to any of them for her to marry him. When he refused Susanna’s invitation to Sunday dinner, it had been like Lucius all over again. Her late husband always gave work as an excuse for avoiding situations he didn’t want to face. But that, she told herself, was where the comparison ended. After Lucius’s death, she’d learned many of those times he’d gone to a gambling hall. Then Hugo confirmed what she’d always suspected about his having a mistress, and more of his absences were accounted for.
No, Justice was nothing like Lucius. He was honest, hardworking, sober. He cared deeply for her. She cared deeply for him. Somehow, some way, they must make things work between them.
As they drove down Main Street, Gerard glanced at Winsted’s Mercantile, then gazed up at her, his dark brown eyes exuding innocence. “Mother, may I go to the mercantile and buy some candy?” How quickly he’d forgotten his regrets over missing school.
“Maybe later, my darling.” Should she permit him to have a treat when he needed to replace the slates he’d broken? Justice would probably say no. But she still made decisions about her children and must decide whether candy might seem like a reward for his mischief.
They arrived at the library and hurried inside. On these cold days, she was especially grateful for Adam Starling caring for the horse and buggy so she didn’t have to walk back and forth those four blocks in the icy wind.
As they entered the library, she heard a soft click in the back corner. Gerard didn’t seem to notice either the noise or the roaring fire in the potbellied stove. Justice must be working on the village. She couldn’t very well check to see, so she went about her usual routine.
The morning wore on slowly, with few patrons willing to come out on a cold Monday. Gerard grew restless. He’d brought a rubber ball, but tossing it across the room into the trash bin quickly bored him. Then he stood several books upright on a table and took aim.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Evangeline held out her hand.
He hung his head and gave her the ball. “Is it time to eat?” He gazed hopefully at the dinner basket she’d set on a table.
“Not yet, my darling.” Evangeline sighed. She dug two pennies from her reticule. “Here you go. Run over to Mrs. Winsted’s and get some candy for both of us.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned as he donned his coat and hat.
“Don’t dawdle. Come straight back.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He dashed out the door and across the street.
She laughed at his quick change of mood. Oh, how she loved her children. They were the only good to come from her marriage to Lucius. And now their future was financially secure, thanks to Arthur Pettigrew’s generous bequest. Her only concern was their need for a good male influence. Could Justice be the father they needed? Or would his strictness be as bad as Lucius’s detachment? Before she agreed to marry him, she must find out.
* * *
Justice hadn’t expected Evangeline to bring Gerard to the library. If he hadn’t looked out the door at the right moment, the boy would have seen him, and the Christmas village would no longer be a secret. He’d managed to close the door and then slip out the back entrance, locking it behind him. He circled around several blocks and returned to his office from the west.
O’Shea was dozing in one of the three jail cells, his long legs hanging over the end of the cot. Envying his deputy’s trouble-free sleep, Justice threw logs into the potbellied stoves, one in the cell room, the other in his office. His own sleep for the past two nights had been fitful because of his troubled thoughts and the ache in his heart. With his plans to have a heart-to-heart talk with Evangeline this morning not working out, he’d have to endure his misery for a while longer. In the meantime, he had work to do.
He sat at his desk by the front window and thumbed through the latest pile of wanted posters. None of the outlaws appeared familiar, but Justice would be on the lookout for any of them who dared to come to his town. At least he’d used to think that way. Since Evangeline arrived, he felt as if he’d lost his edge. He also felt frustrated over not being able to finish his carving. With only eleven work days left until Christmas Day, he needed to complete his figures so Evangeline could have time to paint them.
A flash of red across the street caught his attention. Gerard, in his unmistakable red plaid coat, was entering Winsted’s Mercantile. Justice huffed out a cross breath. Evangeline shouldn’t have let him run free. That wasn’t a meaningful suspension. But he couldn’t do anything about it unless the boy caused trouble.
Several minutes later, Gerard emerged from the store. To Justice’s annoyance, Deely Pine and Cart Fendel followed after him. Each boy held a licorice stick, and they were laughing. He didn’t doubt they’d stolen the candy.
He set aside his work, hoping none of those three would end up with their mugs on wanted posters. Right now, it wasn’t looking good for any of them. He grabbed his wool jacket and hat, adjusted his gun belt and strode from the building. And spent the next hour trying to find them. Tracking was difficult because their shoe prints mingled with countless others in the patchy snow and mud-covered ground. Concerned they might take revenge against Miss Prinn, he stopped at the schoolhouse. The children in each of the three classes greeted him with their usual smiles, a pleasant reminder he’d always done well with the young ones. None of the teachers had seen the suspended boys. Nor had anyone he spoke to on the street. Unless someone brought a complaint, he didn’t know where else to look.
“Lord, please keep those boys out of trouble,” he whispered as he headed back to the office.
The words hadn’t been out of his mouth for a second when he realized how he’d failed. He hadn’t asked Mrs. Winsted if they’d stolen the candy. They might not be guilty after all. He strode up the street toward the mercantile ready to correct his mistake.
And was halted in his tracks by the jarring clang of the fire bell ringing from the corner of Main and Foster Street. His heart jumped to his throat, and he ran toward the alarm. No need to look any further for three little troublemakers.
* * *
“What on earth, Gerard?” Evangeline posted fists at her waist. “How could you lose your coat in a simple, fifteen-minute trip to the mercantile?”
Busy eating his licorice stick, he shrugged and blinked those innocent brown eyes. He hadn’t liked the red plaid from the beginning. With the black patch she’d sewed on it to cover the tear, he’d balked at even wearing it this morning. Too bad she hadn’t completed his new coat, which she planned to give him for Christmas. She’d have to work quickly over the next two evenings so he could wear it to school on Wednesday.
“Furthermore, you weren’t supposed to eat your candy until after dinner.” She nodded toward the table where she’d set out their food. “And another furthermore, where’s my candy?” She held out her hand.
He blinked again. “Uh...it got et.”
“Got et?” Her brows rose as she looked down at him. “Where did you learn such poor grammar? Maybe your sandwich should get et by me.”
While he giggled at her playful wording, she grasped his hand and led him to the table, then took the sticky licorice. “You can finish this after you eat your ham sandwich.” She sat with him and offered a prayer of thanks for their food before they began their meal.
Several patrons came in to return books and check out others. Georgia Eberly stopped by to chat. She was planning a trip to England to visit her sister Beryl and promised to find a replacement to take her shifts at the library. A clanging bell somewhere in town interrupted their conversation.
Georgia gasped. “That’s the fire alarm.” Looking outside, she pointed to a plume of black smoke rising in the distance over the build
ings on the north side of Main Street. She grabbed her coat. “They’ll need my help on the bucket line.” As if apprehending Evangeline’s unspoken fear, she added, “It’s not the school. Wrong direction.”
“Should I go, too?” Evangeline glanced at Gerard. She couldn’t leave him alone, and she wouldn’t be much help if she was worried about him at the scene of the fire.
“No. Children get in the way. Y’all stay here and pray.” She dashed from the building and up the street, joining other adults running in that direction.
“Wow. A fire. Can I go see it?” Gerard stood at the window staring at the smoke as the wind blew it toward the south.
“Certainly not.” Evangeline frowned at him. As a child, she’d seen a devastating fire when a neighbor’s home burned to the ground, and the memories sometimes still visited her dreams. “But we can pray for those trying to put it out.” He joined her at the table where they held hands and prayed for everyone to be safe and for the fire to be quenched quickly. “Now, I’m going to mark these books as returned, and I want you to return them to the right shelves.”
Although he grumbled at the task, he didn’t show the rebellious attitude he’d had for the past year, for which she lifted a silent prayer of thanks.
In midafternoon, soot-covered people trudged back down the street, mingling with school children who’d finished their classes for the day. Evangeline doubted Georgia would return to tend the library so she could attend the children’s play rehearsal. Since Gerard had behaved himself over the weekend, maybe she could send him to the church alone.
Before she could make up her mind about the wisdom of such a plan, Justice appeared in the doorway, sootier by far than any of the others she’d seen. Instead of addressing her, he held out Gerard’s coat, which was partially burned, and spoke to her son.
“Lose something?”
Gerard’s puzzled expression surprised her. “No, sir. I—” He bit his lip and stared down at his hands.
Cowboy Lawman's Christmas Reunion Page 20