Preacher Wore A Gun

by Joyce Livingston

  Copyright

  ISBN 978-1-60260-101-7

  Copyright © 2008 by Joyce Livingston. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 721, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.

  All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  One

  “You didn’t.”

  After switching her cell phone to her other ear, Tassie Springer sat down in the worn floral upholstered chair she had rescued out of a Dumpster eight years ago when she graduated from high school and moved to Omaha to enter college, nearly broke, tired, and discouraged. All she knew back then was that she wanted to leave Grand Island to get as far away as she could from the memory that plagued her day and night. Attending college in Omaha seemed to be the only logical and acceptable excuse she could use to get out of town—and away from him.

  “Yeah, Mom, I did. I quit. My boss accused me of lying when I stood up for another employee. Considering the six faithful years I had worked for him after dropping out of college, he should have known I’d never lie, so I quit.”

  “So—what are you going to do now?”

  Tassie swung her jean-covered leg atop the footstool then rested her head on the crocheted doily she had placed on the chair’s headrest to cover a torn spot in the fabric. “At this point I’m not sure what I’m going to do, although I have come up with several options.”

  “You could come back to Grand Island.”

  Tassie patted her knee then waited until Goliath, the big black Lab she had rescued from the Humane Society, rested his big head there, his eyes focusing on her as if she were the queen of his life. “I’ve considered that. I may live in Omaha but Grand Island has always been my home. I’ve never wanted to admit it, Mom, but I made a big mistake, dropping out of college after my sophomore year to take that low-paying job. I was just tired of going to school all day and working nights and weekends babysitting my neighbor’s three children while she worked. Then, with having to wedge in study time, my grades went into a downward spiral. I guess I was overstressed and suffered a burnout. If I was going to drop out of college, I should have come back home then, instead of taking that dead-end day job at the photo shop. I much preferred the babysitting but, unfortunately, it just didn’t pay enough.”

  “I—I wish your father and I could have paid for your college but the money just wasn’t there at that time.”

  Tassie crinkled up her face. She had only meant to explain, not accuse. “I know, Mom. I never expected you to pay my way.”

  “If you really want to finish your education why don’t you come back and attend the University of Nebraska in Kearney, live here with your father and me, and drive back and forth? It’s only a fifty-mile trip. You might even be able to find a ride. A lot of Grand Island residents go to UN Kearney.”

  “Funny you should mention that. I’ve been seriously thinking that very thing. Coming home would solve a lot of my problems.”

  “Your father and I are in a little better financial position now than we were back then, so we could help with some of your college expenses.”

  “No, Mom. I’m a big girl. Twenty-six years old to be exact. If I can’t make it on my own, I shouldn’t even try.”

  “Just remember, we’re here if you need us, financially or in any other way. The spring flowers in the garden are beginning to bloom and you always liked to help with the gardening. Think what fun we could have together.”

  “You do make moving back sound enticing.”

  Her mom responded with a laugh. “I hope so. I am trying to entice you, and this time of year would be the perfect time to make a new start. It would be so good to have you home again. Your room is sitting there just like you left it.”

  “You know, Mom, other than a few friends at the church I attend, I have no real ties to Omaha, especially now that I am out of a job. I’ve already checked. If I did enroll in the school’s Kearny division, all of my credits would transfer. I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in hospital or healthcare management and the Kearney branch has a Bachelor of Science degree in that field.”

  Smiling, she clutched the phone even tighter. “Let me reweigh all the options overnight and pray about it again, and if I come to the conclusion I think I will, you can put the light on in my bedroom, Mom. If I decide to come, I’ll be there in no more than two days.” She could almost see her mother’s beaming face on the other end of the line.

  “Oh, my precious daughter, you have no idea how happy this makes me. I can’t wait to tell your father there’s a chance you’ll be coming home. He’ll be as excited as I am.” Her mother’s voice fairly chirped with joy, which made Tassie feel absolutely wonderful, a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. It was always nice to know you were loved. Who said you couldn’t go home again?

  As Tassie stood and told her mother good-bye, Goliath jumped to his feet, eyeing her quizzically.

  “If I do decide to go you’re going to love Grand Island, Goliath. My parents have a huge fenced-in backyard. You’ll be able to run to your heart’s content and not be cooped up in this stuffy apartment all day. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  Goliath, apparently not understanding her words, walked nonchalantly away.

  Two

  “Stop! That’s breakable!” Mitchell Drummond grabbed for the lovely crystal vase as it tumbled from the table but he was too late. It hit the floor and shattered into a zillion pieces.

  “No, don’t step in it, Babette. Sit on the sofa or go to your room. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He gazed at the broken shards, not exactly sure how to go about cleaning them up. Rather than do as she was told, his four-year-old daughter made straightaway for the pile of broken glass and began to stomp it with her feet.

  “Babette, stop!”

  When she failed to heed his warning and continued to tromp through the broken glass in her pink ballet slippers, he grabbed onto her arms, lifted her up, and firmly set her on a nearby chair. “Stay there and don’t move until I say you can.”

  She gazed at him for a moment then slid off the chair and once again began to tromp through the glass, pounding her little feet into the shards as if trying to break them into even smaller pieces.

  About to explode with anger, Mitchell grabbed at her, tugged her out of the shattered mess, and held her in his arms. “Didn’t you hear Daddy? Daddy doesn’t want his baby girl to get hurt. You have to stay out of the glass!”

  She tried to wiggle free but he held her fast.

  “Let me go.”

  “No, not until you promise to stay out of the glass.” Promise, he thought. I’m asking a four-year-old to make a promise when I’m not even sure she knows what the word means. Turning, he carefully lowered her onto the sofa. “Be a good girl. Sit there, pumpkin, and watch Daddy till he gets all the pieces into the trash can, okay?”

  But his pumpkin apparently didn’t like the idea of sitting and waiting. Instead, she jumped off the sofa and right into the pile of broken glass again, giving him a defiant look that made him sick to his stomach.

  “Dad! You broke that ugly vase?”

  Mitch turned as his thirteen-year-old son sauntered into the room, wearing his athletic shoes with the cleats in the soles and swinging his bat. “It wasn’t ugly. It was expensive, and don’t wear those shoes in the house, Tony. T
hey’ll tear up our hardwood floors. And quit swinging that bat before you break something.”

  Tony pointed to what was left of the vase. “Me break something? Looks like you already did. Don’t yell at me!”

  “I didn’t break it. Babette did.”

  A smirk crossed the young boy’s face. “You’re blaming a little girl?”

  Babette pointed to her father. “I didn’t break it. Daddy did.”

  “Yes, you did; I saw you!” Mitch felt like a heel when Babette began to cry.

  “You’re a mean old daddy. I hate you. I don’t want you for a daddy!” Crossing her arms over her slim chest, she spun around and headed for her room, wailing all the way.

  “Now look, you made her cry.”

  His anger flaring, Mitch glared at his son and pointed to Tony’s feet. “Didn’t I tell you not to wear those shoes in the house? That’s it, Tony! You’re grounded and no TV or baseball games for the next two days!”

  Tony huffed then swung the bat over his head, barely missing the ceiling light fixture. “And who is going to be home to make sure I stay grounded? You’re always off working on a case, and Grandma lets me do anything I want.”

  “Not this time, young man. I’ll give her specific instructions as to what you can and cannot do!”

  Tony let loose a belly laugh. “As long as she has her booze she doesn’t care what I do.”

  “Your grandmother told me she wasn’t drinking anymore.”

  “Oh, yeah, as if you can believe her any more than you could Mom.”

  “Leave your mother out of this.”

  “You’re the one who always talks about her, not us kids,” Tony shot back.

  “Go to your room—now!” Mitch gestured toward the stairs, his hand shaking with anger. “And don’t come out for the rest of the day, do you hear me?”

  Tony shrugged. “Ha! Yes, Father. Anything you say, Father.”

  Mitch watched as his son headed up the stairs toward his room, swinging his bat from side to side as he walked, banging it into the walls. I’ve tried so hard. Where have I gone wrong?

  He cleaned up the remains of the expensive vase he had bought for his wife the last Christmas she had been with them, then moved into the garage where he emptied the shards into the large trash container.

  After making sure the floor was squeaky clean, he headed up the stairs to apologize to both Tony and Babette. But when he reached his daughter’s room and found her curled up on her bed, fast asleep, her thumb in her mouth, he quietly closed the door.

  He moved on down the hall then, ignoring the Do Not Enter sign with its skull and crossbones, and pushed the door open a crack. “Can I come in, son?”

  When Tony didn’t answer, Mitch rubbed his forehead. Should he go in? Invade the boy’s privacy?

  “Tony?”

  No answer.

  “Tony, are you there?” Maybe he decided to take a shower. But he hadn’t heard the water running when he had passed the hall bathroom the kids shared.

  He carefully widened the crack and peered inside.

  Tony was gone—probably climbed out his window and headed to a friend’s house. If this was the first time he’d done such a thing, Mitch would have been worried. Unfortunately, this disappearing act was nothing new when it came to his son, or his oldest daughter.

  ❧

  Three days later, Tassie threw herself onto her bed and gazed up at the huge poster-sized picture of her and her three best friends taken during their grade school years. She remembered how upset her father had been when he discovered she had thumbtacked it to her bedroom ceiling. Later that day, when her friends had come over, all four had stretched out on her bed, giggling at their images, trying to decide which one was the cutest, which one was the ugliest, and which one had the prettiest teeth. That last question had made them all laugh since all four had been wearing ugly braces at the time.

  What dreams and lofty goals she’d had back then. How could she have let those things slip from her fingers like that? If she would have been stronger, able to say no when she should have, would things have been different? But she hadn’t been strong. She’d been weak and that weakness would be bothering her the rest of her life.

  “Tassie?”

  Tassie rubbed at a tear before turning to face her mother. “Yeah, Mom, come in. I was just lying here—reminiscing.”

  “Supper will be ready in a few minutes. By the way, I got a big bone for Goliath from the butcher when I went to the store this morning. He’s out in the backyard, having the time of his life chewing on it.”

  Tassie pulled herself to a sitting position, folded her legs, then wrapped her arms around her knees. “Thanks, Mom. That was really thoughtful of you. I know you don’t like animals in the house but. . .”

  Her mom waved a hand at her. “Don’t give it another thought. A lot of my ideas have gone by the wayside since you’ve been away. Times have gotten so much worse, even in a peaceful city like Grand Island. I’d feel much safer with a dog in the house.”

  “Goliath won’t mind staying in the backyard. Maybe Daddy and I can build him a doghouse to sleep in.”

  “No, he’s used to staying inside. Your father and I agree it would be best for all of us if Goliath stayed in the house anytime he wants but especially at night.”

  Tassie tilted her head in question. “You’re not just saying that because you think it will please me?”

  Mrs. Springer lifted her hand, witness-style. “Honest, we really do want Goliath inside.”

  “I had no idea he’d get that big when I got him. He has been terrific company. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

  “Then it’s settled. Goliath comes inside whenever he wants. Come on, let’s eat supper. I’m sure your father is already at the table.”

  Once the three were seated and her father had prayed, he reached across and grasped his daughter’s hand. “I can’t tell you how happy we are to have you home again. We’ve missed you.”

  Tassie swallowed at the emotional lump in her throat. “It’s good to be home, Daddy.”

  Opal Springer picked up the platter of golden pan-fried chicken and handed it to her. “I’ve fixed your favorites, sweetheart, even lemon meringue pie for dessert.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Everything looks wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.” She carefully perused the platter then selected a beautifully browned breast, her favorite piece.

  Her father speared a pickled beet with his fork. “Have you decided what kind of job you’d like for the summer?”

  “Not really, not that I have such terrific skills to offer an employer. I didn’t mind my job at the photo shop but I can’t say I’d want to do it again. I’d like to get a job at the hospital or a doctor’s office, but I doubt they’d want to hire and train me when I’m only going to be there for three months. I’d have to be honest with them. But I am going to apply at those places anyway. I’ve also thought about maybe a job as a salesclerk at Dillard’s or Penney’s in the Conestoga Mall. They usually hire summertime help and I might be able to work for them on weekends after school starts.”

  “What about one of the Wal-Mart stores? They always seem to be hiring.”

  “I’ve thought of that. I guess I’ll just start making the rounds tomorrow and see what I can find.”

  They finished their meal with pleasant conversation and then, after helping her mother clear the table and load the dishwasher, Tassie went to her room to unpack the bags and boxes she’d brought in from her car. Later that night, after giving Goliath’s head a final pat, she switched off the lamp and lay snuggled up all cozy in her bed, staring at the luminous stars stuck to her ceiling, the ones she had placed there when she was in junior high, and she felt warm and comfy. At long last, she was home again and it felt oh so good.

  ❧

  Unfortunately, some of that feeling of euphoria disappeared the next morning as she left the hospital and walked from store to store in the mall in search of em
ployment. Three hours later, weary in both mind and body and filled with discouragement, she headed for home.

  “How’d it go?” her mom asked as Tassie entered the house and tossed her purse onto the kitchen counter.

  “Not good. When the lady at the hospital human relations office discovered I’ll be starting college in the fall, the only job she offered me was in food preparation in the hospital kitchen, a minimum wage job with crazy hours. I had hoped for more. No one else where I applied or inquired wanted full-time help, especially for only three short months.”

  “What about Wal-Mart? Did you go there? They may be interested in summer help.”

  Tassie kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes. Her feet hurt. “I’m going there first thing in the morning.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find something, dear. You just have to be patient.”

  “Patient? I don’t have time to be patient. By scrimping, I’ve managed to save almost enough to enroll in college but not nearly enough to stay there.” She lifted her hands in frustration. “No full-time job, no school.”

  “I’ve told you your father and I will help.”

  “Thanks for offering, Mom, but no. I have to do this on my own.”

  “But. . .”

  Tassie lifted her hand. “No, Mom, I mean it. Just letting me stay here at home until I get on my feet is more than enough.” She grinned at her mother then bent and kissed her cheek. “Besides, I know you’re praying for me. Surely God will answer prayer. Where is your faith?”

  By eleven o’clock the next morning, Tassie had already been to Dillard’s, Penney’s, Wal-Mart, Target, Super Saver, and Skagway, with each manager saying he or she would go over her application then call her, as if all she had to do was wait by the phone. From there she trudged on to Walgreen’s, U-Save Foods, Bag ’N Save, and Pump and Pantry, with much the same results, although one of the managers she met with did give her a little hope.

  “So how did it go today?” her father asked after the three had gathered around the dinner table and thanked the Lord for their food. “Find anything promising?”