by Jillian Hart
“But he’s my son!”
Yes, but Luke didn’t need his mother right now. He needed a father, a man who’d skinned his knuckles and knew about battles and war and honor. As he strode ahead of Cassie, he glimpsed Maude approaching from the opposite side of the alley.
Gabe reached Billy first and hauled him to his feet. “What’s this about?”
“He hit me for no reason!”
Luke shouted back. “It was too for a reason!”
“You started it!” Billy countered.
“Both of you,” Gabe bellowed. “Knock it off!”
The boys stopped hollering, but Cassie and Maude had reached the edges of the crowd. He could get to the bottom of this mess if the women stayed out of it, so he froze Cassie with a look. He tried the same glare on Maude, but she burst through the crowd and pulled dear, precious Billy into her arms. “How dare you question my son!”
Gabe spoke in a voice just for Maude. “Someone has to. The boy needs discipline.”
“How dare you!”
Gabe scanned the crowd for Mr. Drake but saw only onlookers. “Where’s your husband?”
“He’s speaking to the mayor.”
“I see,” Gabe answered.
Judging by the pained look in his eyes, so did Billy.
Gabe spoke to Maude. “Step back now. I’ll handle this.”
The woman’s face twisted with disgust. “No, you won’t! You’re all wrapped up with Cassie. You’ll take her side. She’s trash and everyone knows it!”
Gabe’s blood ran cold. “That’s uncalled for, Maude.”
“It’s true!” She pointed at Cassie, who’d stayed on the periphery as he’d asked. “You’re cheap and foolish, Cassie Higgins! You treated me like dirt. Now you know how it feels. I promise you, no one with an ounce of class will ever set foot in your store. If they do, they’ll pay.”
Using only his eyes, Gabe urged Cassie to speak her mind. Fight! Stand tall! Instead she wilted like a flower with a broken stem. He couldn’t stand there and say nothing, so he faced Maude. “Cassie’s a good woman. This town needs her.”
He scanned the crowd, matching eyes with each man and each woman, daring them to speak on Cassie’s behalf. One word of support would change the tide. Instead the edges of the crowd peeled back like the skin off an orange. Dale Archer turned his back and headed down the street. So did Mary Lou, Millie and other folks who’d earlier been friendly. Tomorrow the store would be empty, but Gabe clung to a single hope. Cassie had already told him that she loved him. Surely she wouldn’t leave him again.
When the crowd dwindled to the three of them and the two boys, Maude hooked her arm around Billy’s shoulders. With a smug look, she dabbed at his bloody nose and made baby talk. Gabe felt sick for the boy. As she led him away, he wondered what had happened to cause the fight. As much as he needed reassurance from Cassie, Luke needed him more and so he turned to the boy. “I figure you had a good reason.”
“Yes, sir.” Luke had a boy’s shoulders but a man’s glint in his eyes. “He was pestering Margaret.”
Everyone in town knew Margaret and felt sorry for her. Her mother had died six months ago and her father had fallen apart. Still a child herself at the age of eleven, she was raising her younger siblings, two boys and a girl who missed their mother. She also had curly hair and freckles. Someday she’d be a beauty, but not today. If Billy had been harassing the girl, Luke had done well to protect her.
Gabe clapped him on the back. “You did the right thing, son. Let’s go home.”
He looked to Cassie for agreement, but she had eyes only for her son. They were misty and wide and full of love. Then she looked at Gabe and he knew…Maude had shattered her hope. Unless he could persuade Cassie to lean on him—to let him protect and provide—she’d leave.
Expecting the fight of his life, Gabe guided them both down the street to Cassie’s apartment. Luke chattered every inch of the way, describing how Billy had pulled Margaret’s braid and called her “Freckle Head.” Luke had told him to stop. He’d warned him twice, but Billy had ignored him and cornered Margaret, chanting the mean name.
“That’s when I pulled him back,” Luke said. “He tried to push me, but I dodged just like you taught me.”
“That’s good.” Gabe was only half listening. He put his hand on Cassie’s back and she stiffened. He lowered it and felt lonely.
Luke kept chattering. “He swung first. I ducked, then I swung back. I hit him square on the nose. I don’t remember what happened next, but everything you taught me, it worked really well.”
“As long as you fought fair, I’m proud.” Gabe glanced at Cassie. She hadn’t said a word since Maude’s lambasting. He’d have preferred tears to silence, but anger would have been best. They could have fought for the future together. Instead she looked as pale as a dead body.
When they reached the stairs to her apartment, she spoke for the first time. “Luke, go wash up. I need to speak to Deputy Wyatt.”
The formality made his blood boil. Luke, standing straight and proud, climbed the stairs. The instant the door closed, Cassie sighed. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I can’t stay in Guthrie Corners.”
“Why not?” He ground out the words.
“This town hates me.”
“So what?”
“If I can’t make a living, I can’t feed Luke.”
“I can.” He touched her cheek, then leaned forward to kiss the spot where a tear had trickled.
Before his lips tasted salt, she stepped back. “I can’t lean on you like that.”
“You mean you won’t.”
“I can’t!” she cried. “I leaned on Ryan and he cheated on me—”
“I’m not Ryan O’Rourke!”
“Of course not,” she murmured. “But I know what it’s like to not have enough. You could die. You could lose your job—”
“Or we could have fifty glorious years,” he insisted. “You can’t let fear stop you.”
She squared her shoulders. “It already has.”
“Cassie—”
“If even a single person comes tomorrow, I’ll stay.” Moonlight shimmered on her cheeks and turned them pale. “But if no one comes, it’ll mean it’s time to go. This town hates me, Gabe. It’ll turn on you, too. Luke will struggle every single day. I can’t stand the thought!”
He saw her point but from another angle. “Luke can take it. So can I.”
“I can’t.” She hung her head.
Instead of cupping her chin, Gabe kept his hands at his sides. “You have to fight, Cassie.”
She raised her head but only enough to look at his chest. “Maybe people will come tomorrow. Maybe this won’t be a problem.”
“It already is.”
Her eyelashes fluttered up. “What do you mean?”
As much as he wanted to hold her close, Gabe stood tall. Cassie had to win this fight on her own. “It’s like before,” he said. “You’re making decisions for both of us, but not this time, Cassie. I’ve got a say in the future.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don’t care if you run your own business or not. I’m all for it,” he said with complete sincerity. “What I won’t do is marry a woman who doesn’t trust me to take care of her. I’d take a bullet for you. I’d dig ditches to see that you had enough.”
“I know.” She looked at her toes. “It’s just not…”
“Enough,” he finished for her.
She said nothing.
Gabe felt a fury that went back to the day she’d jilted him. “I’ve never been enough for you, have I?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” he demanded.
“I don’t know.” Her voice wailed.
“When you figure it out, let me know.” He turned on his heels and walked away. If she called to him, he’d go back in a heartbeat. He’d take her in his arms and be strong for them both. He’d do anything for her…except be a doormat. With the silence echoing, he headed home to his e
mpty house where he kept the Bible with Cassie’s name as his wife and the ring she didn’t want. Alone in the dark, he went to the bedroom that should have been theirs and sat on the mattress, worn more on one side than the other. Bereft and alone, he dragged his hand through his hair.
“She needs help, Lord,” he murmured. “Show me what to do.”
Thoughts tumbled through his mind. He imagined dragging in customers at gunpoint. He considered pounding on doors and making threats. Buy from Cassie or you’ll answer to me! But she didn’t need that kind of support. She’d said she’d stay if just one customer showed up. Gabe would have gladly been that customer—he’d buy the dishes she favored—but the thought smacked of disrespect, even manipulation.
“Please, Lord. Send someone to her shop.” He slid to his knees. “I’d die for her. I’d do anything—”
As he hit the floor, his boots slipped beneath the bed and nudged an old valise. His next thought lit up the moment, the future and everything in between. He’d used that valise to bring his things to Guthrie Corners. He could use it to leave with Cassie on an eastbound train.
If the sale flopped and she left, he’d be going with her. He’d lost her once to foolishness and he wouldn’t do it again. He wanted to go to her now and tell her he’d buy the train tickets, but the thought of Cassie leaving with her tail between her legs didn’t sit well. He understood about shaking the dust off his feet, but he also knew how the Lord felt about Pharisees and Philistines. Someone needed to put the Drakes in their place and Gabe intended to be that man. But how? The thought that came struck him as both simple and fitting.
Cassie went up to the apartment and saw Luke sitting on the divan, waiting for her with a question in his eyes.
“Are you mad at me?” he asked.
Cassie sat next to him. “No, Luke, I’m not. You were helping Margaret.”
She wished someone had helped her. Gabe had, but the town had turned against him, too. Sitting with Luke in the shadows, she imagined the brush of wings on her face and the peck of beaks. Maude had eaten her alive tonight. Cassie had wanted to fight, but Maude’s first words had wounded her so fiercely she’d lost the will. If she stayed in Guthrie Corners, she’d face that scorn every day. So would Luke. So would Gabe. She couldn’t bear the thought. She simply didn’t have the courage. Nor could she stand being dependent on anyone, even Gabe. At least in Chicago she’d have her pride.
“We need to talk,” she said to her son.
“About what?”
Cassie resisted the urge to smooth his hair. “What do you think about going back to Chicago?”
“I don’t want to.”
“I don’t either, Luke. But I have to be able to support us.”
His voice rose to a little boy whine. “What about Gabe? You like him, don’t you?”
“I do, but I’m worried about money.”
Luke had heard about money trouble all his life. He took the news with a quiet dignity he’d never before possessed. When had her boy started thinking like a man? Since he’d known Gabe, that’s when. Was she wrong to leave? Cassie called out to God in the dark of her soul. I need help, Lord. What should I do? I can’t stand the mockery, but neither can I bear the thought of leaving.
“I have to send a payment to Mr. Russell,” she said quietly. “If nothing sells tomorrow, I can’t do it.”
“It’s because of Mrs. Drake, isn’t it?”
“She’s been angry with me for years.”
“I don’t want to go, Ma.” He stood up. “I want to stay and fight.”
Gabe’s influence…again. Cassie felt both proud and scared. “We need to pick our battles, Luke. I don’t think I can win this one. And I have to take care of us. I have to buy food and clothes—”
“I’ll work.”
What a change in her little boy…She didn’t want to discourage him, but who in Guthrie Corners would hire him? What did a mother do? Cassie needed to chase the buzzards away from her son, but he was becoming a man who needed to stand on his own. She’d learned from Gabe that she needed to respect Luke’s pride, but she found it hard. She found it harder still to think of Gabe. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, but if she had to leave town to protect her son, she’d do it. She didn’t doubt that Gabe would provide for their basic needs, but she couldn’t bear the thought of public scorn. Gabe could lose his position, a job he loved. He’d blame her like Ryan did…
Cassie turned to Luke. “It’s best that we leave.”
He looked at her with wide, vulnerable eyes. “What about Gabe?”
Cassie didn’t say a word.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
She watched Luke’s expression, a mix of confusion and daring. Twelve-year-old boys didn’t go down the road marked love, but they knew it existed. Luke raised his head higher. “Gabe wouldn’t care about the store. I know it.”
“No,” she answered. “But I do.”
“Gabe wouldn’t run,” Luke said forcefully. “Neither will I. Billy’s a bully. I’m not sorry I hit him. He was being awful to Margaret.”
“I know, sweetie.”
Luke scowled. He didn’t like being called “sweetie” but it had slipped out and he took it. Cassie forced herself to sound stronger, more respectful of him. “We’ll have to see what tomorrow holds, okay?”
“All right,” he mumbled. “I’m going to bed.”
He walked down the hall, leaving Cassie to bow her head and pray for God to chase away the buzzards from her store, Gabe and especially her son.
Chapter Ten
The next day, early in the afternoon, Cassie lost all hope. She locked the door to Higgins Mercantile for the last time, then surveyed the merchandise she’d been looking at for a month. Not a soul had come to the sale, not even the Halls, though Thelma had sent a note saying they were under the weather. For a moment Cassie wondered if they’d heard about the ugliness at the social, but she decided they hadn’t. If Thelma had gotten word, she’d have dragged herself to the store to show support.
Gabe hadn’t shown up, either. She’d half expected him to pressure her by being that one customer she’d mentioned. Instead he’d kept his distance. The gesture made her love him all the more, but it didn’t change the facts. She hadn’t sold a thing and she owed Mr. Russell a payment. The buzzards had won.
Awash in despair, she headed for the back room to fetch a shipping crate. As she passed the dishes she loved, she heard a timid knock on the front door, turned and saw Margaret peering through the window. The girl probably wanted Luke, but Cassie hadn’t seen him all morning. At breakfast he’d asked if he could visit Gabe and she’d said yes. The silence in the store had driven her crazy, but she’d been glad to spare Luke the humiliation of no customers.
Sighing, Cassie went to the door and opened it. Margaret always looked a little pale, but today her freckles stood out like strawberries on her ashen face. “Are you all right, sweetie?”
“I’m okay.”
“Are you looking for Luke?”
The girl glanced down the street as if she was worried she’d been followed. Seeing no one, she looked back at Cassie. “I came to buy something.”
Cassie wrinkled her brow. “You did?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As she motioned for Margaret to come inside, Cassie pondered the peculiar nature of her visit. Had her father sent her? But why wouldn’t Ian Glebe come himself if he’d decided to show his support?
Margaret headed for the counter and the jars holding penny candy. She looked at the peppermint and licorice, the butterscotch and the gumdrops that would be dry by now, then she reached into her pocket and set two pennies on the counter. “I’d like candy for my brothers and sister.”
“Sure,” Cassie answered. “You’ll need some, too.”
“I only have two cents.”
“That’s more than enough.” Cassie filled four brown bags with as much candy as they’d hold. When she finished, she slid
the purchase across the counter.
“There you go,” she said brightly. She wouldn’t let her gloom show to a child.
“Thank you.” Margaret started to leave, then turned back with a solemn expression. “My father told me to stay away today, but I heard him talking to Deputy Wyatt and Luke. They said you needed people to buy things or you’d have to leave town. That’s why I came.”
Cassie stood speechless.
Margaret looked even more ashen. “I know two cents isn’t enough, but it’s all I have.”
Her one customer…a child with two pennies who’d mustered her courage to help someone else. Cassie felt a sudden, humbling rush of shame. Last night Luke had chased a buzzard away from this girl. Today she’d risked everything to repay his kindness. She’d brought the best gift she had—as little as it was—to honor him. Luke was her hero, because Gabe had taught him how. Looking at the pennies, Cassie saw the biggest buzzard of all coming straight at her. Black and ugly, the vulture had a name and its name was Pride. Her pride. Never leaning…Never trusting anyone…Not even Gabe when he’d waited fourteen years out of the purest love she’d ever known. She hadn’t trusted God, either.
Especially God, she admitted to herself. Today, in spite of her lack of faith, He’d sent that one customer. Two cents wouldn’t pay Cassie’s bills, but it was enough to keep her in Guthrie Corners. If Gabe would still have her, she’d stay forever.
As soon as Margaret left the store, Cassie hurried out the door. She had to get to Gabe. Three steps down the street, she recalled something Margaret had said about her father. I heard him talking to Deputy Wyatt. While she’d been hiding in the store, Gabe had been fighting for her. So had Luke. She sped to the sheriff’s office and went inside. Blinking, she flashed on the day she’d found her son in jail. Gabe had set the boy free to be a man. He’d set her free, too. Free to love…Free to trust.
Instead of seeing him behind the desk, she saw another deputy. “I need Gabe,” she said.
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
The man shrugged. “Dunno. He’s off today.”
