“Ruth. . .wait,” Joe called out.
She hesitated, her hand on her skirt. Slowly, she turned and looked at him again.
“Please give me a chance to explain. You owe me that.” His eyes pleaded with her, and she felt powerless to walk out now, even though the boat’s whistle sounded again, a warning for departing passengers to get on board.
Sergeant Underwood and Hankins were walking toward the cell, blocking Ruth’s vision. “Is this the man?” he asked Hankins.
“Yep, he’s the one.”
“They said you were dead!” Joe said, gaping at him.
“And you were gonna swing from a rope,” Hankins snorted.
Ruth could not stay out of it for another second, even though she tried. One question burned through her brain, and she had to know the answer. Then she would rush out, board the boat, and leave Dawson.
“Joe, why did you run?” Ruth asked, approaching the cell.
He looked into her eyes and shook his head. “I was weak and scared. I had been beating all those men in poker for over a week. They hated me. I knew everyone would back up his story. Hankins pulled a gun first,” he said, turning to Sergeant Underwood. “I fired back in self-defense, but no one would believe that, either. Then he disappeared, and one of his buddies said he died as a result of the gunshot after he was taken back to camp. They said they buried him there,” he added bitterly, “and everyone believed them. Even I believed them,” he added on a heavy sigh. “Then when the deputy fell asleep with my cell unlocked, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Whitworth, this fella is willing to drop charges against you.” Underwood took over again. “The provision is that you pay for his medical expenses.”
“Medical expenses?” Joe asked bitterly.
“Yep. I had some big medical expenses,” Hankins crowed.
“I’m going to wire the authorities in Skagway,” Under-wood stated. “They may still request a trial.”
“Why?” Hankins looked disappointed. “I’m alive. I ain’t pressing charges if he pays for my medical expenses.”
“I’ll do that,” Joe said, looking at Ruth.
The sound of the boat whistle was more vague now, and Ruth heard it with less concern. It wouldn’t hurt to wait another week and leave with Dorie, she decided. Then she remembered her trunk, abandoned at the dock.
“I must go,” she said.
“Ruth!” Joe was staring at her cranberry woolen dress and matching hat. “Are you leaving Dawson?”
She took a deep breath. “Not today. I’ll wait a week to see what is going to happen to you.”
She started to say more but restrained herself. She would give him a week; somehow, she felt she owed him that. She had been taught by her parents to always be fair, and as a Christian, she tried to be a forgiving person. In good faith, she felt she had to give him one last chance. One more week in Dawson would not change her life, whereas if she left now, never to see him again, she knew her life would drastically change. For in that ten minutes that she had stood in the jail, looking into his pleading eyes, she knew she still cared for him.
❧
On Sunday, after the church service, Ruth and Joe sat in the living room of her house. Dorie had tactfully disappeared to her room to work on her newspaper article. So much had happened in the past few days that Ruth’s head was still spinning. Still, she forced herself to listen to Joe as he spoke calmly and looked at her with eyes that begged forgiveness.
“I know it will take a while to regain your trust, but I’m coming to you now as a different man. God finally got my attention,” he said, with a wry grin.
“And you rededicated your life this morning at church,” she said, smiling at him. “Even the pastor thinks I should forgive you, so what choice do I have?”
“Don’t tease me, Ruth,” he said earnestly.
She took his hand. “I’m sorry. You’ve been through enough. I think it’s time to put the past behind us and get on with our lives.”
“Now that I’ve made my settlement with Hankins, I’d like permission from you to continue working your claim this summer, Ruth. It’s a rich one, and by the time the boat leaves at the end of the summer, we could have a real nest egg for that ranch.” He dropped his head. “I’m sorry. I’m assuming too much. It’s your money.”
“Excuse me, but I believe we had a deal.”
He looked up, startled.
“We’re partners, remember? Half of the proceeds of that claim belong to you. You could have your own nest egg.”
He took her hand in his and moved closer. “Ruth, I’ve dreamed of a ranch for years. How do you feel about that?”
She smiled. “I could feel good about that. . .if I were with the man I love.”
Joe took her into his arms, tilting her chin back and smiling into her face. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a person like you, but I promise you, as God is our witness, I will be the best Christian I can possibly be. And the best husband,” he added.
Tears filled her eyes. “Joe, I’ve always prayed to have the kind of relationship my parents had. I know God blessed their marriage because their lives were dedicated to pleasing Him. I do love you, and now that you have come back to God, I feel we have a chance for real happiness.” She put her hand to his cheek, gently stroking his clean-shaven face. “Must I wait until the end of the summer to put you to the test? About being a good husband?”
He laughed. “Of course not. Nothing would make me happier than to get married right away. If you’re planning to stay on here and help get the missionary hospital going, then I can be a weekend guest, if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine with me,” she said, smiling into his eyes as he lowered his lips to kiss her.
❧
Peering through a crack in the door, Dorie felt like a mischievous child, and yet seeing the two together again, happy and so in love, warmed her heart. And it gave her new hope. Ruth and Joe had been given a second chance at happiness.
Dorie smiled, quietly closing the door. Maybe someday it would happen to her.
Silent Stranger Page 16