The Preacher's Daughter

by Lyn Cote

  This time Zoë swore at her.

  Though hurt, Lucie stood her ground. “Now.”

  Riel called Lucie several uncomplimentary names, then he swung around to Zoë. “Go on! She can’t keep us apart forever.” He grabbed the back of Zoë’s head, yanked her face to his. He kissed Zoë roughly and then shoved her hard toward the passenger door. “Go on,” he snarled.

  Riel’s actions spoke of such disrespect for Zoëasa person that Lucie’s hand clenched around the tire iron. What was Zoë thinking? Couldn’t she see what kind of jerk Riel was?

  Zoë slammed out of the truck and into Lucie’s car. Lucie tramped after her, not knowing what to say. She’d managed to get the girl physically away from Riel. Lucie had snatched her out of a situation that had been fraught with dangers—about which Zoë, in her innocence, didn’t have a clue.

  Lucie felt a little sick from the violence in Riel’s manner and her own audacity in following him out to this lonely spot. Thank You, Father, for Your protection. Please get us home safe now.

  Inside the car, Lucie waited until she was back on the county road before speaking. “Zoë,” she began.

  “I’m not listening to you. You made me come with you. But Riel and I are going to be together. We love each other. You can’t stop us!”

  The anger, rebellion and blistering venom in the girl’s tone chilled Lucie. Her tongue failed her. What could she say?

  “If you and Sophie try to stop me, I’ll run away! Riel and I are in love. He’s the only one who loves me.”

  Sharper than a serpent’s tooth, a thankless child! How good Sophie had been to Zoë after her parents died! How could Zoë be so blind to the danger she’d put herself in tonight? DATE RAPE flashed like bright orange neon in Lucie’s mind. The urge to shake the girl surged through Lucie.

  Then in her mind, Lucie heard one of her mother’s favorite scriptures: “A soft word turneth away wrath.” Lucie pressed down her outrage. Zoë needed most to hear the truth.

  “Do you hear yourself?” Lucie asked gently. “Sophie loves you. Nate loves you. The kids and I love you. God loves you. We wouldn’t do anything to make you so unhappy. We’re just trying to protect you from getting in over your head. Just now, Riel didn’t treat you like a person who loves you should.”

  Zoë hunched against the door and turned her face away, giving no answer.

  This childish response sucked the wind out of Lucie. Was I ever this young and rebellious? She hoped not, but she did recognize her younger self in Zoë—a little.

  Lord, give me words. She’s so young. She doesn’t understand that she’s playing with fire. Another thought intruded. How would Lucie break the news of this episode to Sophie?

  Near the end of the morning baseball practice, Tanner kept watch over Lucie where she stood on the pitcher’s mound. Something was wrong. The woman had barely spoken all morning. And when she did speak, she only said one word at a time. And she didn’t even smile. And though he hadn’t realized it till today, he’d already gotten used to Lucie’s smiles. The day had dimmed without them.

  “Strike three!” Lucie announced in a flat tone, her usual verve missing.

  Ignacio came up beside Tanner as they watched the two teams switch places on the field. “La señorita is not herself today.”

  Tanner nodded. So he wasn’t the only one who felt it. Maybe Ignacio would have a clue to what might be wrong.

  On the field, Miguel paused at the pitcher’s mound. “You got a toothache, Señorita Lucie?” he asked loudly. “You don’t look so good.”

  Lucie patted Miguel’s shoulder. “I just didn’t get enough sleep last night. You get to your base.”

  Miguel did as he was told, but his backward glance said plainly that he didn’t buy it.

  “Even the muchacho sees it,” Ignacio commented, his arms folded in front.

  Tanner shoved his hands into his pockets. “What do you think it might be?” he muttered from the side of his mouth.

  Ignacio shrugged. “Women. Who can understand them?”

  Tanner let out a breath. Not me.

  The older man turned from Tanner. “You got to do something.” He walked over to his team to get them started batting.

  Me? Tanner’s eyebrows lifted. What could he do? I’m no good with women. His failed engagement had taught him that. I didn’t even notice anything was wrong until she handed me back the ring. He watched Lucie wind up for another pitch. Even her movements were dulled.

  Lord, what do I do? Then he thought of Nate. Had they gotten bad news? He chewed the inside of his mouth, a worry habit from childhood.

  The final inning of the game passed without incident and without inspiration. Lucie, where did you go?

  Finally, the bells chimed noon. Kids surged around him, yelling, “¡Adiós!” “Bye!” “See you tomorrow!”

  His attention on Lucie, he still high-fived, waved and smiled at the kids.

  Under the noon sun, Tanner joined Ignacio and Lucie and her nephews in gathering up the balls, bats and mitts to be stored in the church basement. What to say? What to say?

  “Hey, Mikey and Danny, how about you come have lunch and spend the afternoon with me?” Ignacio invited. “I’m going fishing on the river and I got poles for you. And we’ll take los perros, the doggies, too. They’ll like fishing.”

  Mikey and Danny jumped up and down. “Can we, Lucie? Can we?”

  “Sure,” Ignacio cut in, “then Tanner can take her to the café for a nice quiet lunch. She needs a break…especially if she didn’t get enough sleep last night.” The man gave Lucie a glance, which said “You’re not fooling anyone, señorita.”

  Tanner was caught up short. The older man had set the problem of helping Lucie squarely into his lap. No dodging permitted. Tanner felt sweat popping out on his forehead. Was it the sun? Or the idea of having lunch alone with Lucie?

  “That’s okay.” Without her usual enthusiasm, Lucie dragged the drawstring and tightened the cloth bag that held the balls and mitts. “You guys don’t have to—”

  “We want to!” Tanner blurted. “You deserve a break. And we have to eat, don’t we?”

  Ignacio whisked the eager boys and excited dogs into his truck with a promise to deliver them all back at the farm in time for supper. As Ignacio drove away, Tanner looked across the tree-lined square at the café. At lunchtime, it would be packed with avid eavesdroppers.

  Maybe they should go someplace where they could speak privately. And in this small town, that left only one option. “Why don’t you come home with me? I cooked a roast beef last night and I have some leftovers for sandwiches.”

  “You don’t—”

  “Come on. The parsonage is just behind the church.” This woman had become a friend in the past weeks. He couldn’t let a friend down—even one who drove him crazy on a regular basis. “You’d be doing me a favor. I hate eating alone,” he coaxed her.

  “Okay.”

  In his snug, red-and-white kitchen, Tanner insisted that Lucie take a seat at the table. “And you don’t have to help me. I’m capable of making a couple of sandwiches.” Opening his fridge, he rattled off the choices. “Wheat or white? Mayo or butter? Cheese? Lettuce?”

  “White, mayo, and yes to cheese and lettuce.” She still sounded glum.

  Seeing her in his kitchen gave him an odd feeling. He ate alone so much. He moved the Bible commentary he’d been reading during his meals to the top of the fridge. He combed his mind trying to come up with a way to let her know he was interested in what was bothering her, that she could expect help. On the counter, he laid out the roast beef, Swiss cheese and opened the lettuce keeper. He breathed a silent prayer and took the plunge. “Lucie—”

  The ringing of the phone interrupted him. He crossed to answer it.

  His mother’s honeyed voice took him totally by surprise. He gripped the receiver. “Mother?” He almost added, “What’s wrong?”

  “Tanner, darling,” she gushed in her usual style. “How are you?”

/>   “Fine.” He watched Lucie still slumped in gloom. Even her gold curls had lost their bounce. “How are your wedding plans going, Mother?”

  “Oh, not much planning. Just a small wedding.” The slightest hesitation. “In fact, something’s come up. And we may push the date forward. I’ll let you know what we settle on, dear.”

  “What came up?”

  “Oh, nothing. You know how schedules change. Barry is just so busy with his agency right now. Everyone’s looking to buy or sell a home.”

  “Okay.” Even he sensed something lurking behind his mother’s words. Had she decided not to remarry for the fourth time and just didn’t want to say so? “What can I do for you?”

  “Oh, I just called to see what you’re doing.”

  This really got his attention. His mother never called just to see how he was doing. She always called to make announcements or to give advice, not to chat. What gives? “Oh?”

  “So, what are you doing?”

  Lucie sighed and the sound rippled through Tanner. The image of taking Lucie into his arms and holding her softness close shuddered through him.

  “Tanner?” his mother prompted.

  Dragging his mind back, he couldn’t tell his mother he was making a sandwich for a woman. It would start up the third degree. And after his mother’s very vocal and very negative reaction to the breakup of his engagement, he never even mentioned dating anyone to her. And Lucie and he weren’t dating. “Just getting some lunch.”

  “How’s the church?”

  “Fine. The community’s growing and so is St. Andrew’s.” He waited for his mother to reveal her motive for calling him.

  “Good.” She paused as though she didn’t know what to say next. “Well, I won’t keep you, dear. Just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “I’m glad you called, Mother.” He said the obligatory words, still wondering about her unrevealed motivation.

  “I am, too. Goodbye, dear.”

  “Bye.” He hung up and turned to Lucie. “That was my mother.”

  Lucie looked up at him. “Is she coming for a visit?”

  “No.” Lucie’s question shocked him as much as his mother’s call. “She lives in Thousand Oaks, California. We don’t get together often.”

  “Too bad.”

  He turned his mind away from the puzzle of his mother’s unusual phone call and back to Lucie. She sat kind of hunched over. Miguel had been right; she looked as though she were suffering with a toothache. While Tanner spread mayo on white bread, he tried to come up with conversation, a diplomatic opening, but in vain.

  Finally he turned to her, set the plates with sandwiches and chips down. “Shall I say grace?” he asked as he sat down.

  She nodded.

  “Dear Lord, thank You for Your bounty. Thank You for Lucie who has brought such joy and hope to Pleasant Prairie. And for Your tender care. You never fail us. Give me the words to help this warmhearted and giving woman. In Christ’s name, Amen.”

  Lucie picked up her sandwich and stared at it as though she didn’t know what to do with it.

  He gave up trying to come up with a smooth way of introducing his concern for her. He just put it into plain words. “Lucie, what’s wrong?”

  Then he watched in horror as tears sprang to her eyes. “Is it Nate?” he asked. “Did Sophie get bad news?”

  She shook her head and wept harder. “Nothing’s gone right this summer, and on top of everything else…”

  He waited.

  “I can’t tell you,” she finished at last. She gazed at him, trying to swallow her tears.

  He reached over and touched her arm. “I’m a pastor, remember? Whatever you tell me will be kept in strictest confidence. You know that, right?”

  She nodded, wiping her eyes with her paper napkin. “I trust you, but I can’t.” She bit her lip. “But pray for me and Sophie’s family.”

  He folded her small hand completely in his. He wished he were the kind of man that people confided in easily. He wished he could help this woman who had become such a part of his life in such a short time, but all he could do was promise, “I will. I will.”

  For the first time, Lucie was alone in the house. The boys were still with Ignacio. Sophie and Carly were at the hospital with Nate. Zoë was at DQ—or at least, Lucie sighed long and loud, she hoped Zoë was at DQ.

  In the quiet, Lucie reached for the wall phone in the kitchen. As her hand touched it, it rang. She lifted the receiver.

  “Hi, sis! It’s me, Anna.”

  “Anna! How are you?”

  “Fat and sassy. My morning sickness is finally over. Hey, how would you like to teach in Wisconsin? There’s an opening for an art teacher at the high school near here. You could live with me and Joe until you found a place.”

  Lucie’s heart sank. Any other time the opportunity to live near her sister and her husband would have been excellent news, wonderful news. Tears sprang to her eyes. She worked at keeping them out of her voice. “I can’t get away for an interview.”

  There was a pause. “Nate’s still that bad?” Anna asked.

  “Still hospitalized.”

  “Should I come?” Her sister’s concern radiated in her tone. “I can get away—”

  “No, I’m here—”

  “If you need help. If Sophie needs help—”

  “You’ll be the first to know.” Lucie choked back more tears.

  “Okay. But if you need to talk, use that calling card I bought you.”

  “I will. Love you, Anna.”

  “Love you, Lucie.”

  Now filled with a longing to consult the one who’d know just what to do, Lucie hung up and dialed a familiar number. There was only one person who could help, really help. She hated to add another burden, but she had no one else to turn to.

  “Hello?” A soft, sweet voice answered the ring.

  “Oh, Mom!” Lucie wailed. “I don’t know what to do! It’s Zoë.”

  Chapter Seven

  As Lucie wound up for another pitch, she worried her lower lip. Two days had crawled by since she’d called her mother and asked for advice and help with Zoë. I can’t put this off any longer. I have to make a decision!

  Thank heavens for these daily games and Mikey, Danny and Fella. These distractions kept her sane. With a clear blue sky overhead, she pitched the ball and her mother’s voice replayed in her mind. Your father can manage without me. A few bachelor days make him appreciate me more. Of course, I’ll come if you and Sophie need me.

  Lucie had known when she called that this would be her mother’s response. But Lucie had always hated it when people expected Dorothy’s help at the drop of a hat. Lord, I don’t want to burden my mother. She and Dad are semiretired and they deserve this time of peace. And Zoë would disturb anyone’s peace of mind!

  “Strike two, Sarah.” Lucie called out, and then she again ran forward and bent to pick up the ball that had fallen short on its way to her. But the catcher, Sammie Torres, was returning the ball better. His throw had almost reached her. She gave him a thumbs-up. He replied with a seven-year-old’s gap-toothed grin and then squatted behind the batter.

  From the stands, a mix of grandfathers shouted encouragement. Fella woofed his and Sancho beside him yipped his.

  Lord, help me here. I’ve got to make a decision about whether Mom should come or not. And I need to know if there is anything else I can do for Zoë. Prairie heat and humidity smothered her like a moist electric blanket.

  Weighed down with worry, Lucie tossed the next ball. Sarah missed. The little girl’s crestfallen expression tugged at Lucie’s heart. “Strike three,” Lucie announced in a sympathetic tone. “That’s the game.”

  Her downturned emotions swirled inside her.

  The two teams swarmed around Lucie as she joined Tanner and Ignacio under the shady oaks by a picnic table. The warm wind puffed in her face. It was nearly July and this afternoon she had planned to take the boys to the pool in Dailey, usually a pleasant prospect. But the
thought brought her no lift.

  “Hey, Señorita Lucie!” Miguel hailed her. “My mom wants to see me play ball.”

  Lucie looked down into the boy’s burnt sienna face and the lively black eyes. The little guy had become dear to her already. She ruffled his mop of straight black hair. “What?”

  “My mom wants to see me play ball,” he repeated in what he probably thought was a patient tone of voice, “but she can’t take off work. And it’s hot in the mornings. Can’t we play in the evenings sometimes after cena, I mean supper?”

  All around, the children fell silent as though awaiting her answer.

  Lucie had never thought of that. What a good idea.

  Tanner spoke up in a strong tone. “That’s something Señorita Lucie, Ignacio and I will have to discuss—”

  “Why?” she snapped, her mood suddenly on edge. Why was everything a big deal with Tanner? “What’s wrong with having a practice in the evenings?” But her voice stilled as she encountered Tanner’s we-need-to-discuss-this-first look.

  She took a deep breath, trying to take the edge off her impatience. She should have expected Tanner’s response. She had to say one thing for the man—he was consistent. But right now, she just didn’t have the patience for this. “Kids, ask your parents if they’d like to come some evening and tell us tomorrow.”

  The kids nodded and shouted, “Okay!” “¡Bueno!”

  Tanner looked irritated.

  Lucie felt her own expression becoming grimly fixed. She faced him, her arms folded in front of her.

  Tanner glared back at her.

  Ignacio smirked at her and Tanner. He chuckled and then he laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” several children demanded. “What’s the joke?”

  Ignacio shook his head no. “See you tomorrow, boys and girls! ¡Mañana, muchachos, muchachas!” he said, his eyes dancing.

  Within minutes, only Mikey and Danny were left playing with Fella and Sancho in the shade while Lucie and Tanner confronted each other.

  “So what’s wrong with the parents coming to watch their kids play?” Lucie put her hands on her hips.