Chapter Five
Kate carefully took inventory of the small pile of goods Mr. Johansen deposited on the counter. Something was missing. She checked her copy of the list. “Were you out of corn meal, Mr. Johansen?”
“No, I gave it—” The tall Norwegian lowered his thick blond eyebrows as he surveyed the counter. A grin bursted across his face. “I lost it. I will find it. When I come back, I will count the eggs you brought for me. I will be back in half a minute. Do not leave.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be right here,” she said then smiled when the man was quickly distracted by another customer. It looked like this was going to take a while. She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hand as she watched Mr. Johansen conclude his business with the other customer and turn toward his storage room.
She wished the smell of those lemon drops behind the counter wasn’t so strong and tempting. Her stomach let out a small rumble, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Suddenly a tanned arm came to rest next to hers on the wooden counter. She tensed as a too-familiar voice called, “Johansen, grab me a few packs of that tobacco while you’re back there.”
Mr. Johansen glanced over and paused. His gaze bounced warily between Kate and the man beside her before he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Kate straightened and slid farther away from the man, hoping he’d take the hint. He didn’t. “Kate O’Brien, why do you have to go around looking so pretty?”
She kept her gaze trained on her egg basket. “Andrew Stolvins, why don’t you find some nice girl to settle down with and leave me alone?”
“How can I think about another girl when you’re around?” He leaned sideways onto the counter to get a better look at her.
She dodged the hand that reached toward her, then turned to pin him with a cold gaze. “Don’t.”
He stared at her with predatory green eyes. “You’re going to have to start being nice to me again.”
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s amazing what you can find out in a small town if you ask the right questions,” he said nonchalantly. “For instance, I heard your financial problems are so bad that you’re going to lose the farm if this harvest isn’t enough to stop the foreclosure.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I made it my business.” He smiled smugly. “You see, I just bought the wheat combine and thresher from Mr. Fulsome. If you want your wheat harvested, you’ll have to go through me now. I’m raising the rate three percent on each farm. I know you can’t afford that so I’m willing to negotiate. What are you willing to bargain?”
Her fingers clenched the handle of the basket tightly. “I’m not bargaining with you. I’ll pay the same rate as everyone else.”
“How do you plan to pay me? You don’t expect me to accept these, do you?” He chuckled, then snatched one of her precious eggs from the basket. He held one in the air to inspect it. “They look like they’re worth a pretty penny but appearances are deceiving, aren’t they?”
“Put it back.”
He tossed it back and forth between his hands but his gaze never left Kate’s eyes. “What’s it going to be, Kate?”
The egg slipped from his clumsy grasp. Kate gasped and reached out for it but Nathan appeared from behind her to beat her to it. The egg landed safely in his cupped palm. He stepped between them to carefully deposit the egg in the basket, then turned to face Andrew Stolvins. “Is there a problem here?”
Andrew glared up at Nathan. “This doesn’t involve you.”
“If it involves Kate, it involves me.”
Andrew shifted to stare over Nathan’s shoulder at Kate. “Is that how it is now?”
Nathan answered for her. “That’s how it is. From now on, you’ll leave her alone. Is that clear?”
A tense moment passed in silence before Mr. Johansen emerged from the back room. The store owner apologized for taking so long. Andrew grabbed his tobacco and left. Kate let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Johansen looked perplexed but shrugged. “I guess I will add that to his account.”
Kate waited while Mr. Johansen totaled her order, then applied the credit for the eggs. She paid him for the rest and was finally ready to go. Once Nathan had her purchases settled into the back of the wagon he turned to meet her gaze seriously. “Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?”
“I’d rather hear what happened at the courthouse.”
He nodded. “That’s fair enough. You can tell me about that fellow and I’ll tell you about the judge while we eat lunch at the café.”
“I’m not paying for lunch at the café when I have food at home.” She covered her stomach as it growled in protest. It would take at least another half hour to get home and it was already long past one.
Nathan grinned. “It’s my treat. I may not be a cattle baron but I can afford to pay for one meal in the café while I’m here.”
She didn’t like the idea of him paying for her but perhaps this was his farewell lunch. He’d order the food, tell her what he’d learned, they’d sign the paper he must have folded away somewhere and finish the meal. He’d make a quick exit. It would be amiable and painless. They’d go their separate ways, which was exactly what she needed.
At first Nathan did exactly as she’d planned. He ordered. After that he didn’t seem inclined to talk about his meeting right away. Instead, he asked about the man in the store. Kate sent him a quelling look. “First tell me what happened at the courthouse.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather wait until we get our food so we won’t be overheard.”
“Oh,” she breathed, then took a sip of her water. She didn’t need privacy for her explanation. The whole town knew the story he wanted to hear. “That was Andrew Stolvins. He courted me for a while two years ago, after my parents died.”
Nathan’s brows rose with interest. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of man you’d want as a suitor.”
“He was new in town. I was young and vulnerable. Andrew seemed like a nice, stable young man, so when he asked to court me I said yes.” She shrugged. “Like you, I was convinced I was following God’s will. For the first time in the six months since my parents’ deaths, I was hopeful. I thought my life was finally turning around.”
Nathan’s gaze filled with concern. “That isn’t what happened, is it?”
She shook her head. “I found out that Andrew wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or, rather, Sean and Ellie spied on him enough to find out the truth. Andrew didn’t want me. He wanted my inheritance.”
She paused as their food arrived and waited until the waiter left, to continue. “When I found out, I broke off our relationship. It’s lucky for him that I did, since my inheritance was hardly anything more than an expensive mortgage on the farm.”
Nathan pulled the napkin away from his cutlery. “Why is he bothering you if you didn’t have what he was really after?”
“My siblings weren’t shy in telling the town what type of man Andrew really was. It hurt his reputation but it hurt his pride more. He’s gone out of his way to make my life difficult since then.”
“That’s what I walked in on.” He glanced around the café with a frown. “Why doesn’t anyone stand up to this man and make him leave you alone?”
“I can handle Andrew Stolvins just like I handle everything else—on my own.”
He looked at her carefully then gave a slow nod. “I think I understand.”
“Good.” She took in a deep breath then smiled. “Now, let’s say grace, then you can tell me what happened at the courthouse.”
“It seems we have run across a slight…problem,” he said a few moments later.
“What kind of a problem?” she asked suspiciously.
He glanced around at the busy café. The room was loud and everyone seemed too involved in their own conversations to listen in on theirs, but he inclined his head to speak lowly.
“Kate, we can’t get an annulment. At least we can’t for a month or two or even longer.”
She stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean we can’t? Why not?”
“There’s no one to perform it.”
“But didn’t the judge—”
“He isn’t here.”
“I know that, but he left Mr. Potters in charge. Surely Mr. Potters can help us.”
Nathan shook his head, stating dryly, “He doesn’t remember how.”
“I should have known,” she said with a moan, then bit her lip thoughtfully as she searched for some other option. Unable to think of anything, she asked, “What do we do?”
He swallowed a piece of his chicken pot pie and shrugged. “We wait.”
She pushed her green beans around on the plate, knowing he was right. “What will people think? I don’t want to tell everyone we’re married—it’ll just make talk when you leave. But if you stay at the farm, there are sure to be questions.”
“We’ll tell them I’m your hired hand, but I agree. We need a chaperone.”
“Where would we find a chaperone?”
“In jail.”
She froze as he continued eating. “What?”
“Do you remember the little thief from a few days ago?”
“You mean the one who made off with your horse?”
“Yes, unless you know of a different one,” he said with a grin. “The sheriff doesn’t know what to do with him so he asked if we would consider taking him in.”
“We can’t! I feel for the child but I can hardly manage my brother and sister. How can I take on another child?”
“Sheriff Hawkins just wants to have him work a bit for us as a form of restitution. I was thinking, if the boy and I took on part of the harvesting, you wouldn’t have to pay the harvesters for that part of the field. That would mean you get to keep more of your money.”
She shook her head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“I’m not afraid of hard work and the boy needs a roof over his head and a new start. It’ll be good for him to put in an honest day’s labor.”
“I couldn’t just make the boy work. I would need to feed him, clothe him and get him into school. He’ll have spiritual and emotional needs.”
“You won’t have to do it on your own. I’ll take responsibility for him. He could live with me in that abandoned cabin not far from the farm. I’ll pay room and board for us both.”
“Well…” she wavered. How could she turn the needy boy away? What if no one else would take him in?
“I told the sheriff we couldn’t take him in forever and he agreed to keep looking for a more permanent option. Besides, I’ll be leaving in a few months. The boy should have a family by then.”
“Fine. You convinced me.” She pulled in a deep breath. “Now we’ll just have to convince Ellie and Sean.”
Nathan tugged his Stetson a bit farther down on his head as if that would shield him from the boy’s wary stare. It didn’t. He leaned back against the wood behind him and crossed his arms as he snuck a glance at the boy sitting in the back of the wagon. The boy’s gaze shot away from him toward the schoolhouse where Kate talked with Sean and Ellie. Sean glanced at the wagon, then nodded soberly. Ellie crossed her arms looking less than convinced at whatever Kate was saying.
“Who are you?”
Nathan tipped his hat to look at Lawson. From the way the boy was staring at the schoolhouse, it appeared as though he hadn’t even spoken. Nathan felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. “I’m Nathaniel Rutledge, but I go mostly by Nathan. You’re Lawson, right?”
Lawson gave a stiff nod.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lawson.” He smiled wryly. “I mean without also meeting your friends, Smith and Wesson.”
The boy didn’t respond.
Nathan allowed the conversation to fall into silence for a few moments, then he couldn’t help but ask, “How long have you been on your own, Lawson?”
“It’s been two or three years the best I can figure.”
Two or three years ago the boy would have been ten or twelve. That was certainly no age to be forced to fend for himself. “That must have been mighty hard.”
Nathan glanced at him to find the boy looking in the opposite direction, seemingly intent on studying their surroundings. Nathan cleared his throat. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“We’re going back to the farm where you shot at me.”
He raised his brow. “I shot at you? I remember you did a fair share of shooting yourself.”
Lawson looked at him with a frown. “You hit my hat and busted a hole clean through it.”
Though he inwardly smiled at Lawson’s first real display of emotion, Nathan frowned back at him. “You stole my horse. I think we’re square.”
“You got it back, didn’t you? ’Sides I didn’t shoot him,” Lawson grumbled.
“Good thing you didn’t, either,” he said dryly.
Lawson turned indignant. “I wouldn’t shoot a horse, mister. My ma taught me right from wrong.”
“I suppose that’s why you went around stealing, too.”
“Better stealing than begging,” he said. There was a short silence before the boy spoke again. “Since you killed my hat I think you ought to give me yours. That would make it an even trade.”
Nathan chuckled, then pulled the article more firmly onto his head. “No.”
Lawson frowned, then looked past Nathan to where Kate was still talking with her siblings. Ellie shrugged and gave a long-suffering sigh. Kate turned to send them a victorious smile.
“Who are they?”
Nathan tensed in surprise, then turned to find Lawson sitting much closer than he had been earlier. “The young lady is Kate O’ Brien. You have her to thank for letting you stay at the farm. The other two are her little brother and sister.”
“Are you two sweethearts?”
He watched Lawson curiously. “Not quite. Why?”
The boy shrugged. “You’ve been watching her the whole time.”
“I was not.”
Again, the boy shrugged then settled farther away. Kate led her siblings toward the wagon and introduced them to Lawson. For a moment everyone under the age of fifteen stared at each other. Sean broke the uncertain silence with a friendly grin. “I won a new marble today. Do you want to see it?”
Lawson nodded hesitantly. Sean lifted Ellie into the back of the wagon, then climbed in after her. Ellie frowned. “You didn’t show me the marble when I asked earlier.”
“You know I couldn’t take it out in class. I’ll show it to you now.” Sean settled next to Lawson and pulled Ellie down beside him.
Kate smiled as she stepped up beside him to whisper, “I’d say that went pretty well.”
“Ellie didn’t seem to like the idea.”
She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t personal against Lawson. She just didn’t want to add another boy. She said we’re overrun with them now.”
He laughed. After helping her into the wagon, he started down the road to what would be his temporary home. But only for the next two months, he reminded himself. This home, this growing family was only his for the next two months. He couldn’t let himself get too attached, or it would hurt to leave them behind.
He ignored the sinking feeling in his gut that told him it was already too late.
The first few stars began to twinkle in the huge Texas sky as Nathan and Lawson made the short walk to the cabin that evening. Lawson trudged beside Nathan with his head down. Occasionally he’d glance up at the woods around them and each time his face seemed to grow more troubled. “Is something on your mind, Lawson?”
The boy ducked his head again. “I was just thinking.”
“About what?” Nathan prompted when it became obvious the boy wasn’t going to continue without some prodding.
Lawson glanced up to survey him with a measuring stare. “How did you end up here?”
Nathan smiled wryly. “That�
�s a pretty complicated story. It all started when I saw this advertisement in the paper—”
“No, I didn’t mean here as in ‘this place.’ I just meant…” Lawson’s words stumbled to a halt. His gaze searched the forest as if the words he needed were written in the trees. Finally he turned back to Nathan. “I’ve never had this before.”
Nathan had never felt more confused. “Had what? Supper?”
“Yes. I’ve never had supper in a house with people who acted like I mattered.” Lawson rubbed the furrows in his brow. “I don’t usually talk to people much, but I don’t know how long I’ll be here and I need you to tell me something.”
“I’m listening,” Nathan said quietly.
“I don’t know much about who you are to that family. Maybe you’re just a hired hand, but you fit, Nathan. You fit it there with them and I want to know how you did it.” Lawson swallowed, then continued urgently, “I want to know what made you the kind of man who can fit in a family.”
Nathan met Lawson’s gaze for a long moment, then he turned to look at the farmhouse. Light danced cheerily out the windows. The house looked worn in a lived-in sort of way that made it feel like a home. A home he’d thought would be his. Lawson thought he fit there. He didn’t, but telling Lawson that wouldn’t really answer the question so he said the one thing that came to his mind.
“Choices.” He turned back to Lawson with a helpless shrug. “I guess somewhere along the way, I made enough good choices to cancel out the bad ones.”
“What kind of good choices did you make?”
“I decided not to let the mistakes I’ve made in the past define who I am in the present. I decided to be honorable even when those around me aren’t.” Nathan paused. He wondered if he should continue but Lawson’s rapt attention urged him onward. He wondered if this was the first time anyone had told the boy that he could decide what kind of life he wanted to lead. Perhaps the Lord had arranged everything just to bring them to this moment. “I decided to admit that I wasn’t a good man.”
Unlawfully Wedded Bride (Love Inspired Historical) Page 6