Matthew looked impressed. “Wow. You really walked out when you were fourteen? And you never went back? That’s awesome!”
“I didn’t walk out. My mom threw me out, and it wasn’t awesome. I went hungry a lot of times. I slept anywhere anyone would let me for as long as they let me, and that was never very long. I wound up dropping out of school. So excuse me if I don’t get real upset for you, Matthew. I happen to think you have a pretty plush setup.”
“Why did your mom throw you out?”
Lainie stood up and put her hand on his shoulder. “That is none of your business. Now, I’m going back to work. You need another root beer, you know where they are.”
13
Lainie heard the hymns pouring through the screen door out into the night air as she opened the gate to Elizabeth’s yard. Elizabeth looked up when Lainie walked in, but her fingers never missed a note.
“You know, I had forgotten how much I love playing these old songs. I must have played through the whole hymnbook today.” She followed Lainie into the kitchen. “How are things with Matthew?”
Lainie poured herself a glass of iced tea and slipped out of her shoes. “He’s okay. Fayette’s a good mom. I think they’ll get through it.”
Elizabeth plopped onto a kitchen chair. “Pour me a glass too, would you, honey?” She smiled her thanks. “I got a call this morning from Lurlene, she’s the choir director. Nadine had to go over to El Paso, so Lurlene asked me if I could come play for choir practice Wednesday. Why don’t you come with me? You have the sweetest voice, and I know you’d add so much.”
“Choir practice? You’ve got to be kidding, right? Like Juanita’s going to let someone like me join in.”
“Oh, don’t let Juanita get to you. She doesn’t have as much say as she thinks she does. And besides, I’m not even talking about joining, just coming Wednesday night and singing with the choir. I have to confess, though, I did tell Lurlene what a nice voice you had. She’s the one who told me to bring you with me.”
“I have to work Wednesday night.”
“But choir practice doesn’t start till after prayer meeting. You should be done in plenty of time.”
Lainie got to her feet. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it, but no promises. Right now I’m going to grab a shower.”
Prayer meeting was over and the choir members were making their way to the choir loft when Lainie walked through the front door. Elizabeth was already seated at the piano with Lurlene looking over her shoulder and pointing out something on the music. Elizabeth looked up and beckoned Lainie forward with a smile.
“There you are. Come up here and meet Lurlene.”
Lainie walked to the front of the church and was pulled into the warm embrace of the choir director.
“Welcome! I’m so glad you came. So Elizabeth tells me you’re a soprano.”
Lainie shrugged. “I haven’t a clue.”
“Well, if Elizabeth says so, you are. She is one woman who knows her music. Now why don’t you take that chair on the end of the first row there?”
For the next hour Lainie was lost in the music. She had no idea what the notes on her sheet music represented, but Lurlene was easy to follow as she deftly led each section of the choir through their parts. When she finally put the whole together, the anthem made Lainie’s arms break out in goose bumps.
Finally, Lurlene stepped back from her lectern. “Well, I guess that’ll have to do. Lainie, I’m so glad you came. We gather in the adult Sunday school class as soon as they let out on Sunday for a quick run-through before the service. If you’d like to join us then, we’d love to have you.” She smiled at Lainie and closed her music folder. “Russ, close us in prayer, would you please?”
As Russ’s drawling bass filled the room, Lainie found herself listening instead of tuning him out. When he prayed that the efforts of the choir would glorify God, she wondered if God would even notice such a small group, and at the same time she felt a pleasure that she had not experienced since she was a little girl listening to her father praise a carefully colored page from a coloring book.
Each member of the choir took the time as they left to tell her how much they loved having her sing with them. Even Juanita squeezed her arm and bared her teeth in a smile as she passed. “Well, how about you? Wasn’t it nice having you sit in with us this evening.”
Not sure who it was supposed to be nice for, Lainie just nodded. Juanita swept past her up the aisle, calling for Russ to come on. He finished his conversation at his own pace, then ambled up the aisle after her.
Elizabeth gathered her music from the piano and joined Lainie. “Whew. That just about did me in. I remember now why I retired from this.”
Lainie smiled at Elizabeth’s bright eyes and rosy cheeks. “Oh, I think you had a pretty good time tonight. It’s lucky that you spent all that time playing hymns this week. You were good to go.”
“Oh, luck didn’t have anything to do with it. It never does, you know. The Lord knew I was going to need to get my fingers all warmed up, even if I didn’t.”
Lainie fell silent. Elizabeth seemed to turn every conversation to what the Lord did, or wanted, or was going to do, and it still made Lainie uncomfortable.
The silence lasted until Elizabeth got herself settled on her cushion behind the wheel of the pickup and pulled out onto the highway.
“So what’d you think of choir practice? You looked like you were enjoying it.”
Lainie reached for the bored mask she wore on such occasions, but a smile made it to her face first.
“It was fun. When we finally put it all together, it sounded amazing. I’ve never done that before. It was cool.”
“I’ve always been on the piano bench and not in the choir, but to me it’s a tiny foretaste of what heaven’s going to be like. Just countless voices raised in praise.” She smiled at Lainie and pulled into the drive. “And you, sweet girl, have the voice of an angel.”
Elizabeth led the way into the house, still humming. “Let’s have a glass of tea.”
“You’re sure in a good mood. You really miss this, don’t you?”
“I guess I do, but I know these old fingers can’t keep up like they used to. It’s time for someone else to take over. It’s nice to help out once in a while, though. But the reason I’m singing is Steven! I just can’t stop praising God. Why don’t we take this tea out on the porch.”
“Steven?”
“Oh, my goodness, I forgot you weren’t in prayer meeting. Steven’s coming home. He should be here by Thanksgiving. And if that’s not a reason to give some thanks, I can’t think of one.” Even in the dim light of the porch, Lainie could see the tears sparkling in Elizabeth’s eyes. “I’ve just prayed nonstop since the day he left, and of course the rascal hardly ever called or wrote, so I just had to count on no news being good news. Every now and then, he’d write to Ray on the email and Ray would make a me copy, but I never did learn to use those computers, so I’d just have to wait till Ray would tell me something.”
“So Steven will take over the High Lonesome, and Ray . . . ? I guess he’ll leave, right?”
Elizabeth set her glass down on the table with a little thump. “If you ask me, and nobody does, more’s the pity, both those boys can find something better to do with their lives than run a honky-tonk. Not one good thing’s ever come from there. And a whole lot of hurt just pours through those doors.”
“Hey, don’t feel like you have to hold back. Tell me what you really think.”
The rocking chair slowed a bit. “Well, you just pushed one of my buttons. Last Chance got along just fine for years without a bar, and I’ve just never gotten over the fact that it was my own son-in-law who brought one in. I thought I’d never be able to lift my head again.”
“But won’t it be nice to have Steven back in town? I mean, what else is there to do here?”
“Well, if the only choices were selling spirits or going hungry, some folks would just as soon go hungry. But fortunately, St
even’s got a few other options. There’s the ranch, for one. Joe Jr. is always looking for reliable hands.”
“Oh, that’s sounds exciting. He’ll probably jump at that.”
“Now you’re just pecking at me to see if you can ruffle my feathers. Well, not tonight, Miss Lainie. My boy is safe and he’s coming home, and that’s all that matters to me. The Lord has taken care of him this far, and he doesn’t need me, or you either, to figure out what comes next. Now I’m going inside. Matlock is fixing to come on. You need another glass of tea?”
Lainie shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll just stay outside a while. It’s been a long day.”
“Is that Ben? I wonder what he wants.” Elizabeth stood with her hand on the latch as the patrol car came to a stop at her gate and Ben Apodaca got out and ambled up the walk.
“Evening, ladies.”
“Evening, Ben. Come sit down. Can I get you a glass of tea?”
“No thanks, I’m not staying.” He tipped his hat back and looked at Lainie. “I assume you had a good talk with Elizabeth.”
Lainie nodded, afraid to trust her voice.
“Good. Well, I just stopped by to tell you your story held up.”
“Well, of course it held up, Ben. Lainie didn’t track you down in the middle of the night to lie to you.”
“Be that as it may, I thought you’d like to know that those guys you told me about are all in custody.”
“Even Nick?”
“Nick’s in the hospital. I guess he got messed up pretty bad when those drugs went missing. But they’re keeping tabs on him, and he’s sure not going anywhere for a while. Just thought you’d like to know.”
“Thank you, Ben. We appreciate it.” Elizabeth had to speak for her, because Lainie couldn’t say a word. Her face was in her hands, and wrenching sobs wracked her body.
Russ held his cup up for a refill when Lainie brought the coffeepot over during breakfast the next morning. “Didn’t know you could sing, girl. We need to see you up there in the choir.”
Juanita cleared her throat and tried to catch Russ’s eye. But if he remained oblivious to Juanita’s telepathic message, Lainie caught every word. Over my dead body. She poured Juanita’s cup. “Well, it was a lot of fun, but I don’t know about joining.”
“We don’t want to rush Lainie into anything, Russ. You know what a commitment that choir takes. And besides, as far as we know, she’s not even a . . .” Juanita’s voice trailed off.
“Not even a what, Juanita?” Russ’s voice took on its usual irascibility. “We’re not asking Lainie to lead the women’s missionary society or teach junior high Sunday school. We just get up there and make a joyful noise. Why shouldn’t Lainie join us?”
“Well, it may be just noise to you, Russ Sheppard, but it’s a ministry to the rest of us. And anyone who joins us needs to have their heart right before they set foot in that choir loft.” She turned to Lainie and bared her teeth in a smile that never reached her eyes. “I’m sure you understand that, don’t you, Lainie? It’s not that you don’t have a lovely voice, because you do. It’s just that, well, you need to really be able to live out what you sing. Otherwise it’s just a performance. I’m sure you understand that, don’t you?”
“Sure. I understand perfectly. I just sang last night because Elizabeth talked me into it. It was fun, but I don’t need anyone checking me out all the time to see if I’m good enough. So don’t worry about it, okay? Now, do you need anything else, or should I bring the check?”
As Lainie returned the coffeepot to its stand, she heard Russ’s muttered, “Well, that was real nice, Juanita.”
Juanita stopped to talk to Fayette when they got up to leave, but Russ held back a moment.
“You know, Lainie, I wouldn’t be too put out by what Juanita says. She doesn’t mean things to sound the way they come out sometimes.”
Lainie shrugged. “No big deal.”
Russ placed the exact change, including tip, on the table. “Probably not, but I wish you would think about joining the choir. We’re starting our Christmas music pretty soon, and we could sure use you.”
Lainie smiled. “I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.” Russ took his hat off the rack by the door, walked outside, and got behind the wheel of his truck. Juanita didn’t stop talking until the pickup slowly started backing out of its parking place.
“So you’re thinking of joining the choir, huh?” Fayette began making another pot of coffee.
“No, actually, I’m not. I went to practice last night, but that’s it. But if Juanita wants to get all torqued over it, that’s her problem.”
“Oh, Juanita. No, everyone who heard you last night has commented on what a nice voice you have. Lurlene stopped in for a minute before you got here, looking for you. I know she wants to talk to you about it.”
Lainie raised an eyebrow. “Really? Are they that desperate?”
“Desperation has nothing to do with it. She said you have an outstanding voice and wonders how long you’re planning to stay in town.
Lainie shrugged and began clearing Russ and Juanita’s table. “I guess I don’t know myself. I’m just taking it as it comes.”
“Well, you’ll give me some notice if you decide to take off, won’t you?” Fayette gave her a look. “I’d like to know I can count on you being here if you’re on the schedule to work.”
Lainie walked past Fayette with the bin of dirty dishes and shouldered her way through the kitchen door. She didn’t need to be afraid of Nick anymore, and things in Last Chance were getting complicated. She didn’t usually stick around for complications, but this one might be different. At any rate, she was making no promises.
14
The crisp cool of dawn stretched further into the morning as summer faded into early fall, and by the time the sun crested the hills and warmed the windows of the Dip ’n’ Dine, the diner hummed with customers.
In the weeks she’d been working with Fayette, Lainie had learned the ebb and flow of the diner, and after the breakfast crowd had thinned, there was usually a minute or two for a break and a cup of coffee. She had just grabbed a cup when she saw Rita’s car sliding into a parking space with a spatter of gravel. Rita started waving before she got out of the car, elaborately mouthing something Lainie couldn’t begin to decipher. She gave a weak wave in return.
“So what do you hear from Steven?” Rita was already talking as she pushed through the front door.
Lainie shrugged. “Nothing, as far as I know.”
“Well, that’s just the strangest thing I ever heard. It’s been weeks since we heard he’s on his way home. You’d think a boy would let his own family in on his plans.”
“Oh, you know Steven.” Fayette joined them from the kitchen. “He always did dance to his own tune. He’ll turn up.”
“I’m just saying it would be a whole lot easier to plan a big ol’ ‘welcome home’ parade for him if we knew when he’ll get here. That’s not the kind of thing we can pull together in an hour, you know.”
“Tell you what. Why don’t you just go on and make your plans? Pick a day, say between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and go for it. Even if you find you have to move the date around a little bit, you’ll still have all the hard part done.”
“Well, you sure make it sound easy. Do you know how much work is involved in doing something like this? I’m talking about a full-blown parade—Boy Scouts, FFA, 4-H, mounted sheriff’s posse, and I don’t know what all.”
“Rita, I’ve seen you work. You can do this kind of stuff in your sleep.”
Rita shook her head and rolled her eyes before she left with the same whirlwind of bustle with which she had entered. “You call me the absolute first minute you have any news from Steven, you hear me?”
Lainie threw her hand up in a mock solute. “Yes ma’am!”
Fayette winked at Lainie. “Now you’re catching on.”
The autumn sun had already dipped below the horizon when Lainie slipped her a
rms into her sweater and stepped out the door of the Dip ’n’ Dine. She watched a pickup pull into the parking lot across the road and two cowboys she didn’t know get out and go into the High Lonesome. Ray still had said nothing about leaving Last Chance. And truth be told, she had avoided the subject as well. It was so much easier to take each day as it came, to just enjoy a Sunday drive to Silver City, or a movie in San Ramon, or even a quiet talk on a slow night at the High Lonesome. The future, with all its complications, could wait in the shadows. But with Steven coming home soon, that future was getting harder to ignore.
“Okay, Ray, what are you thinking? Are you going to let me know your plans, or will you just be gone one day?” Lainie shoved her hands in her pockets and started home.
She was about a block from Elizabeth’s when a pickup pulled up alongside her.
“Hey, pretty lady, need a ride?” Les Watson brought his battered truck to a near stop in the middle of the road and leaned out the cab window, squinting red-rimmed eyes in an effort to focus.
Lainie kept walking. “I’m good, Les. Nearly home. You just come from Ray’s?”
“Naw, I been up to San Ramon. That nanny-goat Ray’s gonna lose hisself his best customer if he don’t watch out. I don’t need a wet nurse when I stop by to unlax a little after work. If I wanted someone to nag me half to death, I’d just go on home.” He laughed. “You sure I can’t give you a ride? You gotta be dead on your feet.”
“Tell you what, Les. Scoot over and let me drive and I’ll take you home.”
“Shoot, Lainie, not you too. You been spending way too much time with Elizabeth, or Ray, one. You’re gettin’ to be as bad as they are.”
Lainie stopped at Elizabeth’s gate. “Well, I’m home now anyway. Are you sure you can make it the rest of the way?”
Les flapped his hand toward Elizabeth’s door. “You go on in. It’ll be a sorry day when Les Watson can’t get his own self home and it’s not even Friday night.” He gunned the engine and his truck sped toward the corner. Lainie watched the pickup disappear in the distance, clipping a hedge and narrowly missing a stop sign as it careened around the corner. For the first time she was grateful that Last Chance rolled up its sidewalks at sundown. No one needed to be on the streets till Les was safely home.
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