He smiled then, a smile that instantly drew people in with him. Many smiled back. “I’m always here to help you. In the daytime or the middle of the night. If you need anything, I’m here for you. Like I said, we’re family.” He opened his Bible then. “Now, if you’d all open your Bibles to …”
Caleb wearily sat down on the front pew and stretched his legs out in front of him. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to go over in his mind everything that had taken place that morning. He thanked God that he’d had a sermon that seemed to touch people. It just felt good to know that God trusted him enough to lead this congregation. It was daunting, but he felt he could handle the challenge.
He stayed in the pew for a few minutes more and simply basked in the presence of God that seemed to fill the building.
“Hello?”
The hesitant female voice startled him from his relaxed state. He jumped up and turned toward the back of the building, where a woman and a little girl stood.
Rachel. He watched as she fidgeted with her little girl’s bow, then wiped her palms on her own skirt. He smiled as he reached them. He noticed that she began to relax.
“Your daughter?” he asked as he bent down to her level.
“Yes, this is Caitlin. Caitlin, this is Brother Caleb. He’s the new preacher,” she said.
Caleb’s heart melted at the sight as eyes so much like Rachel’s looked at him curiously. “Hello, Caitlin. My, you’re a pretty little girl!” he said as he tugged on a strand of her ink-black hair.
“Hi, Bruddah Caley!” she returned as she reached out and pulled on a strand of his hair!
The two adults laughed. “I’m sorry,” Rachel said. “I should have warned you that shyness is not one of her problems.”
He looked up at Rachel and grinned. “I think she’s beautiful. Just like her mother.”
Rachel blushed and looked away momentarily.
Caleb just smiled at her. “May I?” he asked, indicating with his hands that he wanted to pick up Caitlin.
Rachel nodded, and he hoisted the little girl up and onto his shoulders. She squealed with delight, and he motioned for them to go up front and sit down.
Longing washed over Rachel as she watched her daughter and Caleb getting to know one another. This was the way it was supposed to have been. But the man playing with her daughter should be her father. Caleb Stone would make a wonderful father.
She had to blink several times to keep the tears at bay. Maybe it was being in this building again or something, but Rachel felt like the walls were closing in on her. She couldn’t let Caleb see her fall apart again. She had to be strong.
A hand came around her shoulder, and she realized that Caleb, Caitlin on his shoulders, now was at her side. She guessed he’d been watching her.
“I know it bothers you to be here, Rachel. I’m here with you, and we’ll get through this together, all right?”
“I’m sorry, I …”
“Shhh … It’s okay, Rachel. No apologies. I’m just glad that you’re here.” He took Caitlin off his shoulders and waited for Rachel to sit down; then he joined her, putting Caitlin on his lap.
“How did the service go?” Rachel asked.
Caleb chuckled and ran a finger across his chin. “Well, they didn’t fall asleep or walk out in the middle of my sermon, so I guess it went all right.” He thought a moment and absently brushed a hand lightly down Caitlin’s head. “It felt right. Just like it feels right to me that you are in this church.”
She looked away. Uncertainty marred her features. “I don’t know about that. That was one of the reasons I didn’t come to the service today—I didn’t want to ruin this special time for you. Not your first day, in your first church.”
He put his hand along the back of the pew and leaned closer to her. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Rachel. But it was unnecessary. I was more concerned about you this morning than I was about how my service would go.”
He hesitated, looking deep into her eyes; it was almost as if he could see what she was thinking. “I’ve thought a lot about you since Friday, Rachel. I want you to know that I’ve not changed my mind about wanting to court you. I want to get to know you and Caitlin better and for you to get to know me.”
Her eyes started to tear up again. “Caleb, you shouldn’t say things like that to me. If anyone suspects your intentions, there will be nothing but trouble.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “Rachel,” he said, his voice intense. “Do you care anything for me? Are you trying to let me down easily because you don’t feel the same way I feel for you?”
She gasped. “Oh, no! Please don’t think that, Caleb. You don’t know how much I care for you. I’m just so frightened that we both might get hurt.”
Caleb became still at hearing her declaration. “You care for me,” he repeated in a voice full of wonder.
Caitlin chose that moment to start wiggling, wanting down.
Impulsively, Rachel reached over and kissed Caleb on the cheek. “We’d better go. And don’t stop trying to convince me that this can be real. I want it to be so badly, Caleb.”
With that, Rachel took Caitlin by the hand. “Good-bye,” she said, and Caitlin parroted the word and waved to him.
“Good-bye,” he said faintly as they walked down the aisle and out of the church.
He fell back against the pew in a daze, his hand over his cheek. Two things kept running through his fogged mind. She cared for him, and she had kissed him.
He was a very happy man.
Chapter 6
Leander Cutler lifted his hat off his head as he entered the hotel dining area. A wide grin spread across his face as he spotted the person he’d been looking for.
His long, lean legs carried him quickly to the table in the corner, where Reverend Stone was wolfing down a very tall stack of flapjacks.
Caleb looked up and saw Lee coming toward him. He’d enjoyed getting to know the lawman in the three weeks Caleb had been in town. They had a lot in common, and it was nice having a friend with whom to share meals.
Lee stopped at the empty chair facing Caleb and announced himself. “Well, you were right. I ain’t never heard a sermon preached quite the way you did it yesterday!”
Caleb leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes in mock seriousness. “Is that some sort of backhanded compliment, or are you insulting my life’s work?”
Lee barked out a loud laugh but put a quick damper on it when he noticed everyone staring his way. He shrugged and plopped down into the chair. “Let’s just say I had never thought about the story of Jesus walking on the water in a humorous way. The way you described poor old Peter losing his faith out in those waves, well, I got pains in my stomach from laughing so hard. But when you brought the point around about folks like me being just like Peter at times, well, I saw myself going down in all those waves. It made me really think about my own life, Preacher. I’ve gone to church on and off my whole life, but it’s never really meant anything to me. But yesterday, although I didn’t walk down the aisle, I made a commitment to God in my heart, to serve Him.” He paused and thought a minute, a little embarrassed about his admission. “Do you think that’s enough?”
Caleb smiled proudly. “It’s a decision of the heart, Lee. All you have to do is really mean it. Walking down an aisle just gives some folks a little extra faith is all.” He reached over and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Lee. Being a Christian isn’t an easy life, but it’s a fulfilling one.”
The serious mood was broken when the hotel owner’s daughter came over and took Lee’s order. Her hazel gaze kept going from one man to the other.
Lee snickered when she finally walked away. “Reckon Miss Suzy, there, can’t make up her mind who she’s sweet on—me or you.”
“She’s a fine woman, but I’ll let you have her,” Caleb offered gallantly.
Lee narrowed his eyes. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with all those trips to the mercantile, would it?” he asked
shrewdly.
Caleb hadn’t told anyone how he felt about Rachel, but he’d managed ways to see her nearly every day. It didn’t matter if it was only for a few minutes; he was just content to know that she cared for him, just as he did for her. Even though he couldn’t publicly court her and call on her, he knew they would have a future together one day. No one else would do for him.
“That’s what a store is for, isn’t it? To stop by and purchase what you need?” he asked evasively.
Lee studied his new friend for a moment. “She’s real pretty. Probably the prettiest girl in town. I was interested in her myself when I first came to Springton,” he said, causing Caleb to look up at him sharply. Lee just ignored the look.
“I’d been here three days when I was duly warned about her, Caleb. That Primrose woman saw me greet Miss Rachel on the street one day, and she didn’t hesitate to fill me in on what happened three years ago. I guess you know ’bout that?”
A grim expression stole over Caleb’s face. “I know about it. I also know that Mrs. Primrose’s version and Rachel’s version of the story aren’t one and the same.”
Lee nodded. “To tell you the truth, I’ve always felt that a person’s past was their own business; and, Lord knows, I wouldn’t want anyone poking around in mine. I could tell she was a nice girl and wasn’t the scarlet woman Mrs. Primrose painted her to be. But after she got me well informed, she issued a warning. What it all boiled down to was, if I wanted to continue to be the sheriff of Springton, I’d do well to stay away from Rachel Branigan.”
Caleb’s jaw clenched and an angry flush rose on his face.
Lee sighed. “I didn’t feel anything toward her. I hardly knew her. She never paid much attention to me anyhow. I didn’t figure it was worth losing my livelihood over. I ain’t met a girl yet who was worth that.”
Caleb fiddled with the silverware by his plate as he thought about what Lee had told him. It sounded, more and more, like he wasn’t just fighting against a few people for Rachel. He was going to have to fight the whole town!
Because he and Lee had become friends and Caleb really needed someone to talk to, he confided, “Lee, Rachel was attacked and molested by her stepcousin, Milton Pierce. Rachel told everyone that and was never believed. But, Lee, I believe her.”
Lee studied his friend for a moment and then nodded his head. “Then that’s good enough for me, Preacher. You sound like you want to try to do something about it.”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I just don’t know how I’m going to do it!”
“Why, Reverend Stone! Just the man I wanted to see!” A boisterous voice intruded upon their conversation.
Lee watched as Caleb raised his head curiously. Caleb turned his head and looked back over his shoulder at the man walking in their direction.
Jebediah Pierce.
“Morning, Mr. Pierce,” Caleb greeted, praying at the same time that the smile on his face didn’t look as forced as it felt.
Jebediah puffed out his flabby chest and strutted over to the preacher’s table. He was a man who prided himself on his attire whenever he rode into town. As usual, he sported his brown suit with the matching vest, and around his neck he wore a thin ribbon tie like he’d seen the big ranchers wear back in Houston.
Today, he’d apparently decided it was about time he had a visit with the new preacher and make his presence known.
“Good morning to you, Brother Stone. No, no. Don’t get up. I’ll just pull me up a chair and join you, if you don’t mind.” He didn’t wait for an answer. He sat down, and that’s when he realized the sheriff was seated there as well.
“And how are you, Sheriff Cutler?” Jebediah greeted.
“Oh, fair to middlin’, Pierce,” Lee drawled unexpressively.
Caleb narrowed his eyes on the rancher as the man turned his attention back to him. He wondered what Jebediah was up to. Nothing good, he guessed. He’d probably like to know where that boy of his was. There were rumors about that he’d joined up with a gang of outlaws that had been stirring up trouble around this part of Texas. Lee had said that he was just waiting for Milton to mess up and that he had a cell with Milton’s name on it.
After a bit of small talk about weather and ranching, Jebediah finally got to the point. “Reverend, I’m not sure that you’re aware of this, but I was considered by the late Reverend Parker to be sort of his assistant on certain occasions,” he announced.
Caleb’s face remained unreadable. “Is that right?”
“Why, yes! He valued my opinion on many matters, and I hope that you’ll feel free to come to me when you need help of any kind.”
Caleb nodded pleasantly. Or so it appeared. On the inside he was fighting to remain impartial and not let his feelings for the man get in the way. He knew that Jebediah Pierce could have stood up for Rachel, but instead he’d turned his back. How could he forget that?
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Pierce. And by the way, I met your niece the other day at the mercantile. Rachel Branigan?”
The veins of Jebediah’s forehead bulged at the mention of her name and his face became red. “That woman is no kin of mine. Any connection she had with our family became severed when she …”
Caleb interrupted, “I heard the story, Mr. Pierce. I just don’t happen to believe that it was like everyone is saying. Didn’t you, even just once, wonder if she was telling the truth? What if that little girl, who everyone ignores like she has some horrible disease, is your granddaughter?”
Jebediah began mopping his brow with a handkerchief. “No, Brother Stone, I did not. I believed my son.” He put the hankie away and looked at the preacher with a show of outward calm. “But that’s just water under the bridge, isn’t it? Reverend Parker dealt with that.”
Caleb’s temper was about to reach the boiling point. He knew anger was something a minister, especially a new one, should always control, but … He was leaning forward to give the man a good piece of his mind when he felt a hard, swift kick under the table. He saw Lee frown and shake his head.
Suddenly Caleb reined himself and his anger back in. How had he let himself get so out of control? He was about to make a scene in a very public place over a matter that was important because it was personal. He would find a way to resolve the issue, but not today. He would be wasting his breath with this man.
“Well,” he said, letting go a deep, cleansing breath. “I believe the truth always has a way of letting itself be known.”
He got up from the table and tossed a couple of coins by his plate. “I’d better be going. I have visitations this morning. Give your wife my regards, Mr. Pierce. I’ll be stopping by to see her soon about the Sunday school class she volunteered to teach.”
Jebediah looked bewildered at the sudden impending departure of the preacher. “But I …”
Caleb ignored him and continued. “You have a nice day now.” He looked at Lee. “I’ll be seeing you, Sheriff.”
Lee jumped up himself. “I’ll walk out with you, Preacher. I need to be going, too.”
“Well,” Jebediah stammered, “good morning … I …”
They both tipped their hats and kept on walking till they were out the door.
Outside, Caleb stopped and leaned against the railing where folks kept their horses tied up. He was frowning and looked troubled. “I don’t know how to thank you, Lee. I nearly made a fool of myself in there.”
Lee shrugged. “I probably would have done the same thing if I’d been you.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got to get a handle on this thing,” he replied, shaking his head.
“Oh, by the way,” Lee said, “Harold Ray is expectin’ about four horses to come in today. He told me that he wired a Dallas ranch about what you wanted. One of those should suit you fine.”
“Okay, I’ll drop by and let him know that I’m interested,” he said, excited about finally getting a horse. “I was beginning to think I’d be stuck forever riding that rickety old buggy you lent me, Cutler! ’bout broke my ne
ck when the wheel went flying off yesterday evening!”
“That’s ’cause you don’t know nothin’ about how to drive one of those things!” Lee tossed back with a grin.
Caleb laughed and readily agreed. “You’re right. I guess you’ll have to teach me sometime.”
“Not before I make out my will. I might not survive the experience!”
Caleb shook his head and put his hat back on his head. “See ya later, Sheriff.”
“See ya, Preacher.”
Caleb stopped at Harold Ray’s stables to find out what time he needed to come by later that afternoon.
Harold Ray lifted his hat, scratched his head a little bit, then put it back on. “Wahl … I suppose they’re comin’ ’round five o’clock today. You can stop back by then.”
Caleb nodded and thought a minute before he asked the next question. “Uh … Harold Ray? I wanted to ask Rachel Branigan if she could stop in here and look at the horses with me. I know how a lot of folks here in town feel about her, but we’ve become friends and all—”
Harold Ray waved him to a stop. “Never did cotton to the way this town handled that situation. If you ask me, I think it’s high time that Miss Rachel had a gentleman friend! Addie and me talk about it all the time!” he said gruffly.
Caleb had seen the old man and Addie together. He should have known that Addie would have an influence on how Harold Ray felt about Rachel.
Caleb smiled at the man. “I’m much obliged, Mr. Norton! See you at five.” He tipped his hat and walked out.
Chapter 7
Caleb was headed to the mercantile to see Rachel, just as he did every day. She was still shy with him, and he hated having to make excuses to see her. But he wasn’t about to give up hope.
Caleb had nearly reached the mercantile when one of the “ladies of the evening” from the saloon walked by him. She pulled her shawl around her bare shoulders and shabby dress and looked at him warily.
He felt sorry for her. Like so many people in the world, she, too, needed Christ. Ignoring the woman or feeling superior to her would not help her situation. So he tipped his hat and said to her, “Morning, ma’am.”
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