Grace and the Preacher

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

  The sunshine flowing through the windows beckoned her, and she made a snap decision. She would take a small lunch and her Bible and go to Lazer’s Creek. The music of the stream always calmed her soul. The pine trees would shade her, and she could find a quiet place to spend some time alone with God. This emptiness inside needed filling. Maybe there at the creek, surrounded by the beauty of  His creation, she’d finally be able to lay to rest the resentment she’d carried concerning her singlehood for far too long.

  An hour later, with a basket of sandwiches and her Bible in tow, she located the spot where she, Uncle Philemon, Aunt Bess, the boarders, and the man she’d known then as Rufus had picnicked. She didn’t have a blanket, but the grass had grown thick and green, and it made a fine carpet. She settled herself near the creek and laid her items beside her.

  The long walk beneath the morning sun had left her sticky with sweat, but the trickling stream offered relief. She slipped off  her shoes and stockings and inched closer to the water. She straightened her legs and dipped her feet. So cold! She squealed in surprise.

  The bushes behind her flailed, and she released a second shrill shriek as someone emerged from the brush. She leaped up, her pulse thundering worse than a stampeding horse. Theophil’s cousin stood before her. She gasped out, “What are you doing here?”

  Grace

  “I’m awful sorry I scared you. I was fishin’ upstream just a bit, an’ I heard you scream. Thought maybe somethin’ was after you.”

  Grace’s heart continued to pound. Hands over her chest, she glared at the blond-haired man. “I assure you, nothing was after me. You can return to your fishing spot.”

  Instead, he took a few steps toward her. She instinctively backed up the same distance, putting her at the very edge of the creek.

  “Actually, I’m kinda glad I came upon you.”

  He sounded friendly, not at all threatening, but Grace searched for an escape route anyway. Not that she could run quickly on bare soles. Why had she taken off  her shoes? She sat and began tugging them over her damp feet.

  “Been wantin’ to talk to you.”

  The shank of  her shoe caught on her wet heel and refused to budge. She jerked at it and grunted. “About what?” The shoe popped on so suddenly it threw her backward.

  He squatted and caught her shoulder. “My cousin.”

  She righted herself and wiggled away from his touch. She wadded her stockings and shoved them into her basket. “I have no desire to discuss him.”

  He rested his elbows on his knees. “Not lookin’ for a discussion. I just wanna tell you some things.”

  She stood and clutched her basket and Bible in her arms. “Mr. Boyd, there is nothing you can say that will—”

  “Wouldja just sit down for a minute?” He plucked a piece of grass and twirled it between his finger and thumb while squinting up at her. “I know you’re powerful mad. He knows it, too, an’ he don’t blame you any. But it’s hurtin’ him bad.”

  She wanted to be happy that Theophil was hurting, but somehow the statement took the indignation out of  her. An unexpected question found its way from her mouth. “Why are you still in Fairland?”

  He grinned and shifted to plant his bottom in the grass. Knees upraised, he draped his arms over them and continued to play with the length of grass. “Been stayin’ at the boardin’house with Theophil. Helpin’ him some in buildin’ that new livery, workin’ with him in the garden an’ with the chickens an’ horses. But mostly stayin’ to get to know my cousin.”

  She frowned. “How could you not know your own cousin?”

  He grimaced. “Well, you see, Theophil come to live with my family an’ me when he was just a little bugger. Skinniest kid I ever did see. An’ quiet? He hardly ever said a thing. Sure different from me an’ my brothers, I can tell ya. My pa was plain mad that we got stuck with him, an’ Pa didn’t mind tellin’ Theophil how he wished he wasn’t there. My brothers an’ me, we made great fun out o’ pickin’ at him.” Regret tinged his features. “So even though we lived in the same house, I didn’t really know him. Not as a person, just as somebody to torment.”

  A hint of sympathy coiled through Grace’s middle. She’d spent a lot of time alone as a girl, viewed by her peers as too serious to engage in childish activities, but she’d never been taunted or mistreated. Slowly she sat on the creek bank and set her basket aside.

  “Now, when me an’ Claight an’ Wilton—they’re my brothers—got a little older, up in our teens, we talked an’ talked about bein’ rich. Word came that a train carryin’ a shipment o’ gold would be passin’ right by Cooperville.”

  “Cooperville…” Grace tucked a waving strand of  hair behind her ear. “That’s where you lived?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Cooperville, Missouri.” He tossed the bent and wilted piece of grass aside and pulled up a fresh one. “I came up with a scheme to get that gold for ourselves. Me, Claight, an’ Wilton was gonna hold up the train an’ take the gold. But we didn’t have no way to get out o’ town. Escapin’ on foot would be plenty foolhardy. We’d surely get tracked down right fast.” He poked the length of grass into the corner of  his mouth, quirking his lips into a half grin. “So I got Theophil involved.”

  Grace gasped. “He helped you rob a train?”

  Earl held up his hand. “Just listen. Theophil worked for the liveryman in town, so I told him to get us horses. I told him to take the horses an’ wait under the railroad trestle. Figured we’d grab the gold, climb on those horses, an’ hightail it all the way to Mexico, where we’d live like kings. But things didn’t work out that way. ’Cause Theophil didn’t show.” He spat out the grass. “No horses. No getaway. Officials rounded us up, a jury found us guilty o’ attempted train robbery, an’ we got sent to prison.”

  Grace shook her head, stunned by the story. Little wonder Theophil had worried about retribution.

  “Gotta say, I held on to a lot o’ anger. Bein’ in prison ain’t no summer picnic.” He glanced at her basket, his grin returning. “For a long time all I wanted to do was get out an’ get revenge on Theophil. I branded him one lily-livered coward for lettin’ me get caught. An’ I was wrong.”

  He leaned forward and narrowed his gaze, pinning Grace in place with his fervency. “He didn’t bring them horses ’cause he didn’t wanna steal from the livery owner. He didn’t bring them horses ’cause he didn’t wanna be part of a robbery. He’d been taught better way back when, before he come to live with us, an’ he held on to what he’d been taught even when we called him all kinds o’ names like yeller an’ chicken an’—”

  Red streaked his cheeks. “Well, reckon I’d best not say all of  ’em.” He cleared his throat, shoved a thick strand of  blond hair from his forehead, and stretched out one leg. With his arms looped around his raised knee, he sent a serious look across the grass to Grace. “The point is, he lived better’n us. He had higher…dunno what to call ’em…ideals or such. An’ them higher ideals came from him tryin’ to live godly.

  “Ma’am, I made his childhood plumb miserable, an’ I did it on purpose. He has lots o’ reasons to be mad at me, to tell me to go away an’ never come back, but instead he’s bein’ my friend. I asked him how come he could forget about all the mean things I done an’ still be nice to me, an’ he said it’s ’cause o’ grace. God gave him grace, so he’s givin’ me grace.”

  He bobbed his head at her, his blue eyes shimmering with an inner peace that didn’t match his rough exterior. “Grace has a way o’ changin’ things. Mebbe it’ll do you good to hand out some o’ that grace to your preacher.” Abruptly he stood and shoved his hands into the pockets of  his patched trousers. “Best get back to my fishin’ pole. Hope some big ol’ channel cat hasn’t dragged it upstream by now.” He sauntered off, whistling.

  Grace sat for long minutes, staring at the gap in the bushes where he’d disappeared. She laid her hand on her Bible, and scriptures she’d known since childhood seemed to travel from the book to her m
emory. One verse in particular tapped at the door of  her heart. Fingers clumsy, she opened her Bible and turned to the eighth chapter of  Second Corinthians. She slid her finger along the verses to number seven and read in a rasping whisper. “ ‘Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.’ ” She stared at the words and considered her years of  faithfulness to God’s service, the knowledge she’d carried of the Scriptures thanks to Uncle Philemon’s preaching, the diligence she’d learned from Aunt Wilhelmina’s example. She was a good person, wasn’t she? Of course she was. Just as the Theophil that Earl had described was a good person.

  She thrust her fist against the soft grass. “But he lied.”

  “…abound in this grace…”

  Warm, salty tears slid down her cheeks and onto her lips. All her good works and her efforts to serve God were nothing more than useless deeds. Hadn’t Matthew written that if  God’s followers refused to forgive others, then the Father would withhold forgiveness from them? Yes, Theophil had been wrong to mislead her, but she was wrong not to forgive him. She was wrong to expect an earthly husband to complete her. She was wrong…about so many things.

  While the creek sang its melody and a warm breeze tousled her hair, she bowed her head and poured out her sorrow to God. Tears—bitter tears, shameful tears, and finally cleansing tears—dampened her face and the skirt of  her dress. By the time she finished, the burden she’d carried had drifted away like a twig on the ever-moving creek water. She felt light, almost buoyant, as she lifted her face to the bright sunshine.

  “Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace.”

  Theo

  When Earl didn’t show up at the boardinghouse by midafternoon, Theo hitched the team to Aunt Bess’s wagon and set off to Lazer’s Creek to find him. Belker Swain had shared his three favorite fishing spots along the creek, so he figured Earl would be in one of those places. He didn’t spot any sign of  Earl at either of the first two. But when he stepped through the brush at the third spot—the one with the smallest clearing and the most shade—there he was, sound asleep on the creek bank with his arm over his eyes like Sammy-Cat.

  Theo tiptoed over and nudged Earl’s hip with the toe of  his boot. His cousin’s arms and legs flew upward as if  he were a puppet and a giant hand had pulled the strings. Theo burst out laughing at Earl’s startled face.

  Earl rolled to a seated position and glared up at Theo. “Now what’d you do that for? I was havin’ me a good dream.”

  “You’re supposed to be catchin’ fish, not catchin’ good dreams.” He lifted the fishing pole and scowled at the empty hook. “What are we all gonna have for supper?”

  Earl rubbed his nose and snuffled. “Seems to me there’s always pork.” He patted the spot beside him. “Supper’s a ways off yet. Sit a minute. Got somethin’ to tell you.”

  Theo plopped down. He wasn’t much for fishing, but he liked sitting by the water. Especially liked sitting there with Earl now that they’d made their peace. Having Earl around was almost like having a brother. He never thought he’d be thankful that his cousin caught up to him, but that was the way of God—turning things around for good when folks let Him.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m gonna be movin’ on.”

  Theo drew back. “What? How come? I thought you liked it here in Fairland.”

  “I do.” Earl grabbed the fishing pole and tossed the hook into the water. “It’s a fine place. But there’s someplace else I’d rather be.”

  Theo nodded. Of course Earl would want to go back to Cooperville. His folks and his brothers were there. Everyone in the town knew him. He should’ve figured Earl would eventually return to his home.

  He clapped his cousin on the back. “Aunt Lula an’ Uncle Smithers’ll be glad to have you back. When you plannin’ to go?”

  “I’m plannin’ to set out tomorrow mornin’ first thing, but I ain’t goin’ to Cooperville.”

  Theo shook his head like a dog ridding his ear of a burr. “Then where are you goin’?”

  “Bird’s Nest.”

  Theo’s mouth fell open.

  Earl chuckled. “Yep. Bird’s Nest. Been thinkin’ on it. I went clear to Iowa tryin’ to find you, an’ I met the folks who bought your grandparents’ farm. Good people, name o’ Hooker. Spent a few days with ’em, helpin’ the man farm the ground, an’ I took to farmin’. He said if  I wanted to work for him, he’d hire me anytime. So I’m gonna take him up on his offer.”

  “You wanna be a farmer?” This cousin of  his was full of surprises.

  “Yep, I do. But there’s another reason I wanna go there.” He balanced his elbows on his bent knees and angled a grin at Theo. “Folks there recall your granny an’ grandpa. Even recall you. They all spoke highly o’ your kin, an’ because I said I was kin to you, they treated me real fine. Felt good, Theophil, to be liked, not ’cause folks was scared o’ crossin’ me, but because they expected good from me. Made me wanna…I dunno…be a better person.”

  Memories of  his years in Bird’s Nest rolled over Theo. He’d been gone so long. Seemed as though he should’ve forgotten. Especially since he’d worked so hard to forget when he was being Rufus Dille. But all he’d learned from Granny Iva, all the good feelings of  being loved, were deep inside of  him. They’d never go away, and he was glad of  it.

  He rubbed the underside of  his nose. “Maybe I’ll go with you.”

  Earl shook his head. “Nope.”

  Theo frowned. “Why not?”

  “ ’Cause you don’t belong there anymore. I reckon your time there when you was a little fella helped make you what you are today, but the ones you loved are gone. The people you love now are all right here in Fairland.”

  Fire attacked Theo’s face. He wished he could plunge his head in the creek. “Oh, yeah? Like who?”

  “Like Mr. an’ Mrs. Cristler.”

  “They’re at the reservation.”

  “They won’t be forever. They’ll be back, an’ they’ll wanna find you here. Then there’s all them people at the boardin’house—Mr. Swain, Mr. Ballard, Mr. Abel, Mrs. Flynn, an’ Mrs. Ewing. Why, those ol’ men an’ ladies look at you like you’re their long-lost son. They depend on you. They’d miss you somethin’ terrible if you went away.”

  He’d miss them, too.

  “Then, o’ course, there’s Grace.”

  Theo snorted. “She doesn’t love me. She…” His throat went tight. “She hates me.”

  “Seems to me she must be awful fond o’ you. If she didn’t care aboutcha, why would it matter to her that you playacted bein’ somebody you weren’t? Seems to me she’s double hurt ’cause she double cared.”

  Theo gaped at Earl. “I never thought about it that way.”

  “Well then, lucky for you that I got more brains than Wilton an’ could reason it all out for you.”

  They shared a laugh. Earl used the tip of the fishing pole to tap the surface of the water. Little droplets flew upward, catching the sunlight and glittering like the diamonds surrounding the emerald stone in the ring that still sat in its little box on the table in Theo’s room.

  He chewed his lip, hardly daring to believe. Could it be Grace still loved him? He had to know. He leaped up. “I’m gonna head back to town. I wanna find Grace.”

  “Waste o’ time.” Earl tap-tapped the water with the fishing pole, casual as could be.

  “Why’s that?”

  “She ain’t in town.” He angled his head upstream. “She’s set up about twenty yards from here in a big open spot.”

  Theo jerked his gaze to the north. He knew exactly the spot Earl meant.

  “She had a Bible an’ a basket o’ food with her—looked like she planned to spend the day.”

  His heart beating with hope, Theo took off at a trot.

  Grace

  She’d spent more hours beside the creek than she’d
intended, but she wasn’t ready to go home yet. There was one more passage of  Scripture she wanted to read, and she wanted to read it here, with the sound of the trickling water filling her ears.

  Grace opened the Bible to the twenty-third chapter of  Psalms and began to read out loud. “ ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.’ ” She tipped her head back and gazed at the clear sky. “I don’t want anything—or anyone—more than You.” Warmth flooded her as she envisioned her Father smiling down from the other side of the blue expanse. She returned her attention to the Bible. “ ‘He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul…’ ”

  She closed her eyes and savored those words. Her hours in prayer had already begun restoring her battered soul. Her heart still ached from her loss, but greater than the ache was the healing presence of  her Father. His love and forgiveness filled her, washing her in grace’s precious stream. She experienced a filling unlike anything before, and she knew it was hers to keep forever.

  She underlined the words with her finger and began again. “ ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall—’ ”

  “ ‘Not want.’ ”

  The male voice startled her so badly she nearly dropped her Bible. She sent a look over her shoulder, and her heart bounced as raucously as a bell’s clapper within her chest. “M-Mr. Garrison.” She quickly tucked her bare feet beneath the sweeping skirt of  her green dress.

  A shy smile curved his lips. His brown eyes shone with hesitance and yet something more. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Earl said I might find you here. Am I…intrudin’?”

  If  he’d asked the question six hours ago, she would have given him a very different answer. But thanks to the healing God had started inside of  her, she shook her head. “Not at all.”

  His face lit, sending flutters of delight through her. He ambled across the grass until he stood only a few feet downstream. He stopped, facing the singing creek, and slid his hands into his pockets. “You were reading. From Psalms.”