by Grace Walton
“A cowhand?” Hollister asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” Gage said as he nodded. “Before I knew what had happened, the pastor came to me concerned.”
“Dan Gentry?” This time Hollister’s voice was disgusted.
“Yeah, he’s been concerned about you ever since you got back.”
Hollister’s next words were heavy with sarcasm. “He’s so concerned he gossips about me? I got to hand it you, Gage. You Christians really know how to make a fellow feel loved and cared for.” The British accent was back and in spades.
Ferguson stood taller. “We’re not perfect. We make mistakes just like everybody else.”
“Yeah, but his mistake is going to hurt Maggie.”
Gage nodded. “I know. But I can’t control what other people say or do, even if they are supposedly Christian. Dan made a bad mistake. And now all of us are going to pay for that mistake.”
Hollister thought for a moment. As much as he wanted to rain down retribution on the young pastor, he couldn’t. That would only complicate Maggie’s life further. No, the best thing he could do was slink out of her life. But that would be very hard to do, if he took control of Montana Miracles.
“I’m going back to my ranch. I’m going to become the best citizen Bozeman has seen until all this blows over. I’m ready to give honest testimony about tonight to any law enforcement officer who needs to hear it. And I’ll try to work out this PTSD thing. But I need you to do one thing for me, Gage.”
“What?”
“I need you to keep her safe. And I need you to keep her away from me.”
Chapter Thirteen
“No one knows what goes on in a person’s mind when they are dying. It’s probably the one thing that we all have to do alone, meeting our maker,” Dan Gentry intoned.
He looked very solemn for such a young, untried man. Maggie sat watching him. There wasn’t much of a turnout for Chase Brown’s funeral. He’d lived a reckless and profligate life. One that had harmed and disturbed many in this little community. The bitter cold had kept some folks at home. Even in Montana 30 below was a reason to stay by your fire and hunker down. The church was almost empty. A few rows at the front were taken up by Chance’s family.
They were as cold and bleak as the landscape right outside the pretty stained glass windows. The Browns had burned their bridges with most of the congregation when they’d started bad-mouthing Maggie years ago. Oh, a few had believed their lies, in the beginning. But now, most folks saw Chance Brown for who he’d been. A very troubled and selfish boy who never gained the faith or maturity that might have saved him.
The coroner’s report clearly revealed he’d been an addict. And he’d been one for a very long time. Most likely, he’d been hooked even before he was sent off to the state penitentiary. When that had become common knowledge, even the last hold-outs, who’d clung to their stubborn beliefs that a local football hero couldn’t have been involved in crime, had to admit he’d always been hard to like. He’d acted way too entitled.
The guys who’d spent time with him on the playing field, the ones who’d taken part in the obscene bet that had almost destroyed Maggie’s life, weren’t at the funeral. Like rats on a sinking ship, they’d ditched their former friend. Maggie wasn’t surprised. Folks who would wager on an innocent girl’s chastity, wouldn’t feel compelled to honor an old buddy.
The funeral had been going on for quite some time. Dan was in full preacher mode. Although he’d never really known Chase, he saw this as an opportunity to preach a salvation message to a captive audience. It was something of which many pastors took advantage. And who’s to say it didn’t bring some to faith? Maggie certainly was not going to judge her fiancé.
Though she wished this particular service would be over soon. She felt very unsettled as she looked around the small sanctuary. Of course, there were a multitude of flower arrangements. The Browns were natives of Bozeman. And they owned a local ranch. So even if they didn’t have many folks who were there to support them in their time of grief, they had plenty of flowers.
The church’s furnace was working at full capacity. It’d have to be to warm the old cavernous room. The vintage stained glass windows didn’t help keep the heat in. Maggie was sure she could almost see her breath in the freezing place.
She had her brother Gage on one side. And her sweet sister-in-law, Carrie, settled on the other. They were there to protect her. She wished they understood she no longer needed their protection. The peace she now had was more than enough to keep her safe.
She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she’d done everything she could for Chase. She’d returned evil for good, just as the Bible instructed. She’d tried her best to save his life. A life he’d so needlessly squandered. That gave her a great measure of peace.
And now, with Dan droning on about eternity, she let her mind wander. She thought of Hollister. She’d not seen him since she’d fallen asleep at Doc Fuller’s. When she’d awoken the next morning, he’d been gone. Gage was there in his stead. It had been almost a week since that day. She’d spoken to law enforcement officers. She’d been questioned about that horrible night.
Once or twice, she’d wondered if there was more to the interrogations than just fact gathering. There had been several pointed questions about her involvement. They’d made her nervous, at first. But once she realized all she could do was tell the truth and let God take care of the rest, she’d settled down.
It was funny how going through something so traumatic could strengthen a person’s faith. She’d just kept the psalm about going through the fire and not being burned in her mind, and all had been well.
The coroner’s report confirmed what Chase had told her in the truck. His body, weakened by his drug abuse, just couldn’t withstand the withdrawal process. His major organs failed in a swift cascade.
Maggie looked around the big open chamber. The church was nothing fancy. It was country-plain. But looking at the sparse crowd, she saw a multitude of varying emotions on the different faces present. Some looked truly sad. Others were distracted. One young girl even surreptitiously looked down at her cell phone. A man yawned. An elderly couple shivered and huddled closer together. Gage’s face was carved in stone. Carrie’s lovely visage was wreathed in compassion. On the front row, Chase’s grieving dad pulled his sobbing wife into the circle of his arms.
Maggie felt sorry for them. She averted her eyes from their sadness. Some things were too personal to be watched. Her gaze chanced upon Fiona.
The woman was sitting all by herself near the front. She wore a respectable dark suit. Her now brown hair was pulled severely back from her thin face. It was caught at the nape of her neck in a loose bun. She wore no flashy jewelry. Her face was raised towards Dan. Her expression was one of rapt attention.
The change in her was remarkable. Maggie had never seen the like. She was very happy for her new friend. But something about the set of her eyes and the turn of her lips spoke of more than a Godly devotion to the sermon.
Maggie had noticed it a couple of times before. Fiona almost lit up when Dan was giving a sermon. He was a good preacher. But Fiona’s response to him was more about adoration than Biblical study. It hadn’t worried Maggie before. It was common for new believers to latch onto a Godly person instead of the gospel. Usually it was quickly dispelled as the novice gained more wisdom and perspective. Maggie had no reason to doubt Dan’s faithfulness to her.
Her wayward thoughts were captured by the groanings of the old organ. It wheezed to life in the flower-scented sanctuary. The smell of hothouse lilies was heavy in the frigid air. Dim but colorful shadows from the windows fell across the old hardwood floor of the sanctuary. Weak sunlight streamed through the thick panes of vivid glass to form a patchwork on the wooden pews. The congregation rose as the family was escorted down the aisle.
Maggie froze as the Browns stopped by her pew. She prayed they would not cause an awful scene here in the church. Gage must have thought the
same. He turned his big body to shield her from their view.
“Can we speak to your sister for just a moment,” Mr. Brown’s strong voice carried throughout the sanctuary.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Maggie’s brother warned.
Brown nodded. His wife’s tear stained face lifted. It was obvious they were both broken by the death of their son.
“We just need to say we’re sorry,” the man said. And it wasn’t a mumble or a whisper. He spoke clearly so that all could hear.
“What?” Gage asked stunned.
After all the gossip and rumors this was not what he’d expected from the Browns. It wasn’t often he was surprised by human behavior. But right now he was.
“We’ve been awful to you all, just awful,” the woman said. She dabbed at her eyes with a soaked handkerchief. “And we wanted you to know we’re truly sorry.”
Mr. Brown nodded his head. “We just didn’t want to believe Chase could be so bad. That he could hurt someone like he hurt Maggie. We’d sent him to rehab so many times. And he’d come home every time and try to do better.”
“But it never lasted,” said Mrs. Brown sorrowfully. “Then he got sent to jail and we knew he’d keep using drugs there.”
“But that is no excuse for our behavior,” the older man continued. “And we wanted to apologize.”
Hearing their heartfelt sorrow, Maggie edged out to the end of the pew. She hugged Mrs. Brown. “No apology is necessary,” she said. “I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
The older woman shook her head. “No, we were wrong about so many things. We were blind to so much. And we said and did things that were horrible. So we wanted to apologize here, in front of everybody so they’d know just how wrong we were. You shouldn’t have ever had to shoulder the burden of what our son did. And we just made it worse. Can you ever forgive us?”
Maggie’s eyes teared up. It was an amazing thing these folks were doing. They were humbling themselves in front of the entire congregation. It was apparent they were truly broken and repentant.
“Of course I forgive you. I forgive you and Chase too. We all make mistakes. God has forgiven me so much, how could I ever hold on to anything you’ve done against me?”
“Thank you,” Mr. Brown said with humility.
“We don’t deserve your compassion, but we’re so thankful for it,” added Mrs. Brown.
Without another word, they continued quietly down the broad aisle. As the whole congregation slowly made their way out into the bitter cold, Maggie stood in her place. Each person who passed acknowledged her in some way. There were kindly gestures, and affirming ones, as well.
Finally Dan strode down from the pulpit. Fiona hurried to his side with a wide smile upon her face. He stopped and lowered his head to whisper to the woman. It was a level of intimacy uncalled for, especially at the end of such a solemn occasion as the funeral of a young man. Maggie noticed them. Their behavior was odd. But she was still so caught up in her emotions, she didn’t stop to examine why it was so out of place.
“Come on,” Gage said. “Let’s go home.”
Maggie was puzzled as to why his deep voice sounded angry. She looked up at him. He was watching the couple up near the altar. And he had a mean look on his sculpted face.
“It’s nothing,” the girl said. “Dan is helping Fiona as she learns more about faith. That’s all.”
Her older brother looked down at her. It was obvious he didn’t share her opinion on the innocence of the two in question. But he didn’t say a word. He just led his wife and sister out into the cold, weak sunshine.
The church’s parking lot fronted onto Bozeman’s old downtown area. There wasn’t a lot of traffic. It was off-season for skiing. And the weather wasn’t right for mountain climbing. The summer rodeos were many months off. Not even tourists wanted to be out and about in this kind of killing weather. Every so often, along the short narrow street, there were braziers burning in old barrels. Many people stopped as they walked to warm their hands.
Down the street Gage saw Hollister’s truck. It was parked in such a way that it wasn’t really visible to the crowd leaving the funeral. His friend looked bleak. His hard face was leaner than it had been just a few days before. Hollister’s mirrored shades covered his eyes. But the thin forbidding line of his mouth and his locked jaw spoke of the man’s intense struggle.
Gage was sure a funeral would bring back unwanted memories for his friend. Reminders of death and pain went hand in hand with memorials. Hollister had to be suffering. His PTSD was, most likely, riding him hard.
Gage had sent some of the men to check on his friend. They came back shaking their heads and saying they couldn’t find the man. His ranch house was dark and locked. His truck was nowhere to be found.
Seeing Hollister now, Ferguson’s mind settled a bit. At least his friend was still alive. He steered his womenfolk away. The last thing he wanted was for his sister to see Hollister right now. At the moment, she had enough to deal with without adding Hollister’s troubles to her own.
“I’ll get us back to the ranch,” the big man said.
Maggie stopped. “Can you drop me by the café?”
“I can,” he said. “But I’d rather you just come on home with us.”
“The café is my home,” the girl said with a sad smile. It was a point of contention with her big brother. He hadn’t liked the fact that she’s chosen to move into Bozeman. “I want to get home to my little apartment over the store and just decompress.”
“If you come out to the ranch, I’ll make you dinner,” Carrie said by way of enticement.
“I don’t think I could eat right now,” the girl answered. “I don’t want anything but a nice long bath and some solitude.”
“I understand,” the red-headed woman replied. She looked up at her husband. “Let’s drop Maggie off and get home. A hot bath sounds like heaven to me too.”
He nodded. It wasn’t optimal, but it’d have to do. He knew his sister would be safe. Her coffee house was situated just a few blocks down the street. He kept one of the Montana Miracles staff there all the time. If the café wasn’t open, his man would sit out in a vehicle and guard the door. It was a twenty-four seven assignment. He was taking no chances. The threat from Chase Brown might be over, but Gage didn’t want the fallout from any potential psychiatric break in Hollister’s PTSD to cause her harm.
A few minutes later, he pulled up his big car to the front door of the coffee house. It was standing open which was suspicious.
“Stay in the car,” Gage ordered the women. He pulled a small gun from its place in a concealed holster.
“No, it’s OK.” Maggie tried to stop him. “I had some of my workers open for me this morning. The door is probably just standing open as they load in supplies. We do it all the time.”
He turned to frown down at her as she scrambled out of the car. He was about to chastise her for not following an order he gave for her safety when she started talking again.
“See,” she said as she pointed to a few vehicles parked on the street in front of the small establishment. “There’s Dan’s car. He’s supposed to meet me here for lunch. Looks like he got here quick.”
Gage nodded and holstered his weapon. He leaned down so his sister could kiss his cheek. She patted his shoulder before she turned to leave.
“You don’t have to worry about me so much, Gage,” she said. “I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”
Maggie didn’t wait for his response. She just darted, through the cold, into the store.
“She’s right, you know,” Carrie observed as her rangy husband folded his big frame to fit it back into the luxury car. “She’s a grown woman. And a resourceful one.”
He growled something indistinct under his voice.
“You sound like a grizzly bear,” she giggled.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing between that Cooper woman and the pastor. I don’t trust her.”
Carrie reached acros
s the car and ran a soothing hand down her husband’s arm. “People change, you know they do. Look how I’ve changed.”
“You’re different,” he said.
Her giggles became outright belly laughs. “It’s a long way from haute couture runway to Montana ranch wife. That takes a whole lot of change.”
“Yeah,” he mused. “But you were always a nice person.”
The signature auburn head of the woman shook. “We both know it’s not about niceness. Plenty of nice folks haven’t been changed like I have, like you have. It’s not about the image you present to the world. I know that better than anybody. My whole former life was all about image. It was nothing of any substance, but very appealing from the outside.”
“Then you met me,” he teased.
“True,” she agreed. “But more importantly, then I met the Lord.”
“You trust Fiona Cooper too much,” he said acerbically.
“And you don’t trust anybody,” she teased.
“I trust you,” he replied. And mentally he added he’d always trusted Hollister. But he was wondering if he could now. His friend was more than a little damaged.
“Let’s get home,” Carrie said snuggling close to him in the car’s seat.
Gage forced his troubled mind away from his sister. He’d just have to have faith that God was in control, always.
Maggie shivered as she walked to the open door of her coffee house. She was careful of the icy sidewalk. And she kept her gloved hands in the deep pockets of her coat. Her breath came out in frosty gusts. The cold stung her exposed face. She reached up to anchor herself on the door.
Just inside the doorway she saw them. Dan and Fiona were locked in a fierce embrace. They kissed each other as if they were starving. Maggie stood there stunned as a halo of light from the café’s interior showed their silhouette clearly. Dan and Fiona were so caught up in their passion they failed to see the stunned young woman standing there watching them.