By His Hand: Truly Yours Digital Edition

by Jennifer Johnson

  Abby shut the lid. “You mean it?”

  “Sure.”

  “I say this day can’t get much better.”

  Chris knocked on the screen door at the Wards’ ranch. “I brought your milk.” He smiled when Victoria opened the door holding a sleeping Emily against her chest.

  “You want to come in?”

  “I probably should get the eggs and go.”

  Peewee ran to the door with a cape tied around his neck. “Hi, Cis. I Sup–Man.”

  He raced away with his arms spread like an airplane.

  “Where’s Sondra and Dylan?” asked Chris.

  “I told them to go for an afternoon picnic. They don’t get much alone time.”

  Chris peeked inside and watched as Peewee jumped from his toy chest to the floor then zoomed down the hall. “Better get the big one.”

  Victoria groaned. “Come on in.” She walked over to Peewee. “You can be Superman as long as you stay on the ground.”

  Peewee nodded. “O–tay, Aunt Vic.”

  Victoria shook her head and looked at the ceiling. She glanced at Chris. “I’m going to lay her down, and then we can visit.”

  “Can I watch?” Where did that come from? He’d never been interested in babies and children. Sure, he liked them just fine, figured he’d even have one or two someday, but he didn’t go out of his way to hang around them. Still, something stirred inside him when he saw Victoria holding baby Emily to her chest.

  “Sure.”

  He followed her to the baby’s room and watched as Victoria laid Emily in her bed. She petted Emily’s hair and smiled. “She looks so peaceful.”

  Chris gazed at Victoria’s profile. He drank his fill of her flowing curls, her light skin, her smooth neck. “You’ll make a great mother.”

  Victoria looked up at him. “I hope so. I never thought about it before I came here. I’ve always been a fairy-tale kind of girl, dreaming of my Prince Charming.”

  “Prince Charming?”

  Victoria looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah.”

  “You’d make a beautiful princess, Victoria, inside and out.” He moved toward her, yearning to kiss her once more.

  A crash sounded from the living room, and Victoria raced from the room. Chris grunted and walked out, as well. If only the little guy could have waited ten seconds longer.

  Victoria’s hands grew moist as she walked toward the familiar building. It had been two weeks since the newspaper article, and she needed to pick up her last check from the bank. Trying to avoid as many coworkers as possible, Victoria had decided to go on Saturday. Lord, please don’t let Zack be here.

  Guilt filled her heart. Zack had been nothing but kind to her when they saw each other at church services. He hadn’t done anything to make her feel as though he didn’t trust her, and yet the thought of seeing him at the bank made her stomach queasy.

  Her hand slipped from perspiration when she grabbed the long, metal door handle. How embarrassing. Mom would die to know I’d let my nervousness show so much on the outside. Grabbing the handle more firmly, she straightened her shoulders and pulled open the door.

  “Hi, Victoria.” Zack’s smiling face greeted her from just inside the door. “Here to pick up your check?”

  A thud landed in her gut, and she swallowed the pride mixed with embarrassment that threatened to heat up her cheeks. She forced herself to smile. “Yes.”

  “I’ll get it for you.” He escaped to the back office and then returned with her check in his hand.

  “Can I go ahead and cash it?”

  “Absolutely.” Zack walked behind the counter. He grabbed a pen from beside the computer and handed it to Victoria.

  Willing her hand not to shake, Victoria focused on writing her signature. She pushed the check toward him. “Thank you.”

  Zack opened a drawer and counted out her earnings. He then repeated the procedure as he placed the crisp bills in her hand. When he placed the last bill on top, he looked up at her. “Victoria, I’ll be so glad when that case is over. Everyone is anxious to get you back.”

  Victoria looked up and into his eyes. He obviously meant every word he said. She gazed around the office. One of her coworkers waved from behind her desk. Victoria smiled and waved back. Putting aside her pride, she admitted how much she had enjoyed working at the bank, and it wasn’t because of Zack at all. She liked all her coworkers, and she loved handing customers the cash from their well-earned checks and crunching numbers to be sure her drawer balanced correctly. She did want to return to her job. “I’ll be glad, as well.”

  He touched the side of her hand. “Would you like to go to lunch today?” She looked back at Zack. “As a friend,” he added, but his gaze told her he wanted to go as more than that.

  She smiled. “Maybe another time. I’m heading out to Chris’s house.”

  “Chris’s?”

  She felt her cheeks warm. “Well, I go out there to spend time with Abby.”

  Zack’s eyebrows lifted and he nodded slowly. “Abby’s a wonderful girl.” He exhaled a long breath and then winked. “Chris is a pretty nice guy, as well.”

  “Hey, Sassy-Girl.” Victoria bent down and scooped the dog off the floor. Though she’d never had animals growing up, she’d found them to be real treasures. Abby’s dog always made her feel welcome and didn’t care a whit about who her dad was and what he’d done. She lifted Sassy-Girl to her chest and allowed her to lick her cheek once. Petting the dog’s head, she walked through the mudroom and into the kitchen. “Abby, you home?”

  “In here.”

  Abby’s muffled voice sounded from the back of the house, probably Abby’s room. When a sniff sounded, Victoria knew Abby had been crying. Victoria swallowed the lump in her throat. Though she and Abby had talked about Victoria’s dad and the article in the paper, Victoria carried a deep fear that kids at school would make fun of Abby for associating with the “embezzler’s daughter.” Especially since the article came out just a few weeks after Abby had started her senior year.

  Most of the townspeople received Victoria as they had before, probably because of Victoria’s relation to Sondra as well as her consistent attendance at church, but still a few would yell cruel things to her from the grocery parking lot or mumble ugly comments under their breaths at the gas station. Victoria remained determined not to let those people make her feel bad, but she also knew the town had come to associate her with the Wards and the Ratliffs, and she surely didn’t want to make things hard for any of them.

  Victoria peeked into Abby’s room to find her young friend sitting on her bed hugging her pillow to her chest. She sniffed and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. Victoria set Sassy-Girl on the floor, and the dog hopped onto the bed and curled up beside Abby. Victoria’s heart constricted. “What’s the matter?”

  Abby shrugged.

  “Not ready to talk about it?” Victoria sat on the edge of the bed, allowing a little space between them.

  Abby clutched her pillow to her chest. “It’s Austin.”

  “Austin?” Victoria’s mind raced through the people she and Abby had talked about since Abby had gone back to school. “Is that the boy in your advanced chorus class?”

  Abby nodded.

  If Victoria remembered correctly, he was the one with the striking blue eyes and sleek black hair who also played tight end for the football team. Victoria also thought he’d sounded a little too flirty and quite a bit too pushy for her liking. “What about him?”

  “He asked me to the chorus dinner.” Abby broke out into fresh sobs.

  Victoria’s mind raced. What is a chorus dinner? She’d been a bit of an introvert in school, but she had always known the usual teenage outings. A chorus dinner she’d never heard of. “That’s okay. You don’t have to go with him.”

  Abby smacked the pillow to the bed. “I want to go with him.”

  Victoria frowned and tried to think of where the pain in this scenario was for Abby. “Okay then, I don’t know what you’r
e supposed to wear exactly, but it sounds fancy, so we’ll find a gorgeous dress, and we’ll fix your hair and makeup.”

  Abby shook her head. “I already have a dress. Chris and I went shopping, and he already agreed to let me get my hair and makeup fixed. My friends and I were going to go to Cut and Dried together the day of the concert.”

  Victoria felt a bit confused and had to admit the prick of hurt that stabbed her heart as to why Abby hadn’t told her about the dinner. She would have loved to help Abby pick out dresses and hairstyles, however this new piece of information was something to ponder. Abby had shared this special occasion with her brother, the very one who had known precious little of what to do with Abby when Victoria met him, who carried a handkerchief in his pocket and wiped bird droppings off his windshield with it, who often carried a wrench in his side pocket. And he, Chris Ratliff, had taken Abby shopping for a dinner dress.

  A smile formed on Victoria’s lips when she thought of the tough, burly man sitting in front of the dressing room three-way mirror waiting for Abby to show him yet one more fancy gown.

  “We were going to surprise you,” Abby interrupted Victoria’s thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah. Chris and I wanted to show you how well we had done together.” Abby shrugged. “Kinda show you how much you’d taught me.”

  “Oh, Abby.” Victoria’s heart felt it would burst with love for the young lady sitting beside her. She wrapped her arms around Abby and hugged her tight. “I am so proud of you … and Chris. It sounds like you’re going to have a great time.”

  Abby pushed away and shook her head. “Nope. He dumped me.”

  “What?”

  “Two weeks before the dinner, and Austin up and decides he wants to take Mallory instead.”

  “Oh, honey.” Victoria grabbed Abby into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I don’t even know why. He didn’t give me a reason. Just broke off the date.”

  Victoria lifted Abby’s chin. “I know just what we need. Go wash your face and get your shoes on.”

  Abby gasped. “I’m not going anywhere like this.”

  Victoria swatted her hand. “This is no time to think about appearances. We have to do some seriously productive mourning.”

  Abby wrinkled her nose. “What?”

  “We’re heading to the store to splurge on every flavor ice cream we can find, and then we’re going to stop by the video store and rent every funny movie we walk past. Then you and I will come back here and drown ourselves in icy sugar and ridiculous laughter.”

  One side of Abby’s lips tilted up slightly.

  “Come on now.” Victoria stood and helped Abby up, as well. “We’ll even share with Sassy-Girl.”

  The dog barked and wagged her tail. Abby wiped her eyes and headed toward the bathroom. “Okay.”

  Victoria counted the money in her purse. Good thing I cashed my check. Victoria sighed, knowing she should be cautious with the last of her income. She had planned to seek God in how to best spend and save what little bit she had for this indefinite amount of time. Splurging on ice cream and movie rentals probably was not the wisest choice.

  Water spewed from the faucet in the bathroom, and then a cabinet shut. “Victoria.” Abby peeked around the side of the door.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m so glad you came by today.”

  Victoria smiled as her whole being filled with a true sense of belonging. Thank You, Lord. You never fail to guide me, even when it comes to how to spend the last bit of my earnings.

  fifteen

  A flash of thrill filled Chris as he pulled up to the house and saw Victoria’s Suburban in the drive. It had been a productive day at the shop; he’d even squeezed in an hour to work on Mary Ann between his afternoon appointments. But it had been a long one, as well, and seeing Victoria’s beautiful smile and sparkling eyes would be the perfect reprieve from his work. He turned off the truck and hopped out.

  Whistling, he bounded up the steps and opened the door. “Hello, Vic and Abby,” he called as he kicked off his boots in the mudroom. The only greeting was laughter sounding from the living area. Turning the corner, he walked into the kitchen and found steaks marinating in some kind of good-smelling sauce. Toothpicks stuck out from every angle of the steaks, he assumed to hold in place the bacon that wrapped around each of them.

  A squeal of laughter sounded again from the living room. He smiled as he walked toward them. “Sounds like we’re having a good …”

  He stopped when he reached the room. No less than ten partially eaten cartons of ice cream sat on the coffee table, the end tables, and the cushions of the couch. Abby sat on the floor with her legs crossed and three cartons sitting around her. Victoria sat on the couch with her knees under her chin and her arms wrapped around her calves. He couldn’t tell if she was comfortable or possibly willing away a stomachache.

  Once again, Victoria sported an old pair of his sweats and sweatshirt while Abby wore an old pair of pajamas. Both of them had their hair pulled up in a knot with strands sticking out from every angle. Chris wondered if the plan had backfired and Abby had taken the lady out of Victoria.

  A noise sounded from the television, and both Abby and Victoria broke out into new peals of laughter. Chris glanced at the screen then back at the girls. Victoria stuck her spoon in a carton of chocolate-looking ice cream then licked the spoon. She glanced toward Chris. Her eyes bulged and her cheeks flushed crimson, as he knew she’d just realized he’d gotten home.

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Having fun?”

  She uncurled her legs and hopped off the couch. “I didn’t know you were here.” She gawked at her watch. “Wow, it’s later than I thought.”

  Abby looked up at him and waved. “Hey, Chris. We’re in mourning.”

  “What?” Chris furrowed his eyebrows.

  Victoria grabbed his hand and guided him into the kitchen. A stirring whipped through him as he followed the ruffled woman wearing his clothes. Maybe it was the softness of her skin or the light tickling of her fingernails when she touched him. Or maybe it was the wisps of hair that clung to the back of her neck from beneath her knot.

  Whatever it was, he wanted to twirl Victoria around and grab her in his arms. He wanted to pull the knot from her hair and let the length fall down her back. He shook his head to clear his mind.

  The time was coming when he planned to tell Victoria exactly how he felt, but it wouldn’t be tonight in front of his little sister. Victoria stopped and whirled around. She rested her finger over her lips, telling him to be quiet. Leaning closer to him, her soft perfume filled the air. “Austin broke off their dinner date.”

  “What?”

  “She’s been really upset because he broke off their date, so we spent the …”

  Chris walked away, opened the counter, and grabbed the church directory. “I’ll take care of this. No boy is going to treat my little sister with such disrespect. He knows better than to do a girl like that.” He flipped open the book.

  Victoria put her hand on top of it. “Chris, don’t. It will only make things harder for Abby.”

  Chris shook his head. “Austin knows better.”

  Victoria nodded. “Yes, he does, but if you call and his parents make him take her, Abby will be miserable. She’ll resent you all over again.” Victoria nudged him with her shoulder and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “I heard you took her shopping for her dress. I’m so impressed.”

  Chris bit his lip. Victoria’s playfulness was about to undo him. If she wasn’t careful, he’d be wrapping his arms around her and planting a firm kiss on her inviting lips. He looked into her eyes and shrugged. “It wasn’t too bad.”

  Victoria stood on tiptoes and kissed his lips. “I’m really proud of you.”

  She didn’t know what had come over her. Chris just seemed so rugged, so manly with the blots of grease on his forehead and cheek. When his work-worn hands grabbed the directory with an urgency to right the wrong that had been done
to his sister, Victoria nearly came unglued. She wanted him to care for her in such a protective way.

  Actually, she wanted to talk to Chris about her feelings for him. They hadn’t spoken of their kiss in the truck, and Victoria wondered if Chris had felt as much a connection as she had. She opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the ingredients for the salad. Shutting the door with her hip, she looked around the kitchen. Was she willing to live in this small country home?

  The thought struck her hard as she placed the lettuce in the sink to wash it off. When Victoria insisted that Abby watch the rest of the movie, Chris had offered to help her cook dinner as soon as he cleaned up. The shower turned off, and Victoria knew it would be a matter of moments before he returned.

  Her heart pounded as she considered a life of cooking every day. Sure, she had loved her time at the ranch. She had enjoyed collecting eggs, feeding chickens, cooking, and doing chores, but was she ready for the permanence of it? Maybe she had to be. Daddy had taken the only life she’d ever known. She knew when he and Mother ran off her life would be different forever, so why did she suddenly feel burdened standing in Chris’s kitchen?

  “It smells wonderful in here.” Chris walked up beside her. “What are you cooking?”

  “It’s my old cook’s version of filet mignon. It’s a little different than what you’d get in a restaurant. She used a light marinating sauce that softens the meat.”

  Chris rubbed his stomach. “Sounds good to me. I’ve never tried it, so I wouldn’t know the difference anyway.”

  Never had filet mignon? Hadn’t everyone had filet mignon? In Victoria’s opinion, it was the best cut of steak. Additional proof their lives had been so different.

  “What can I do?” Chris interrupted her thoughts.

  “You can chop up the cucumber for the salad.” She placed the knife and washed vegetable into his work-worn palm. She loved the strength in his hands. Surely she’d never resent their roughness, or that they were permanently darkened from his work.