by DiAnn Mills
“You might go tell my pa.”
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
Could this be Eli Scott?
“A boy your age shouldn’t be worried about his father unless he’s done something that he ought to be ashamed of. All right. Your name and your reason for being here is your business. Let’s get you inside before my children get up. I have just enough time to heat the water before they’re awake.”
“They know me.”
“From where? School?”
The boy pressed his lips together hard.
“Are you Eli Scott? Annabelle Scott’s nephew?”
The boy shrugged.
“Miss Scott told me about her nephew who ran off, or rather, his father kicked him out after he was expelled from school. So I ask you again. Are you Eli Scott?” Zack held back his anger. He hadn’t forgotten what had been done to Curly and Charlie—and Chloe. Yet the boy looked miserable. And where did he get the bruise alongside his left cheek and the scar along his left jaw? Must have been his father. Zack could only imagine how the kid had looked right after he’d been beaten.
The boy glanced away. “And what if I am Eli Scott? You gonna beat me up for what I did to your kids?”
“Is that what you want? Looks like someone already laid a fist into you. Maybe a knife to your face.” Zack rose from the ground, offering Eli a chance to run off. “You hurt my children. They’re six years old. And you bullied a good friend of mine, Chloe Weaver.”
“You gonna take me to jail?” Defiance lined his face—a pale, thin face.
Zack purposefully hesitated. “I’ll admit you’d get fed there, and you’d have a better bed than my empty barn.”
Eli turned toward the pecan trees. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, just a long-sleeved flannel shirt. Too big and probably stolen. He was thin and broad shouldered. Zack considered taking him to jail. Revenge still rooted in him every time he thought about Eli’s bullying. But Zack remembered when Dad had taken an interest in him—when most folks in town thought the only place for Zack Kahler was a military school.
“Who bruised your face?”
Eli sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Miss Scott said your father tended to be hard on you, so I expect I already know.”
Eli said nothing but glanced toward the trees again.
“You can run if you want to, or you can come with me to the house.” Zack turned and started to walk away, then swung his attention back to the boy. “I’m not hauling you to jail or contacting your father. You’re a man, a young one at that. Looks to me like you’ve paid for what you’ve done in the way of missing a few meals and losing a little sleep. And I’m not sure I want to know what happened to your face. But for breakfast and a hot bath, I expect an apology to Curly and Charlie.”
Eli’s jaw clenched, and his lips pressed together so hard that they looked blue. “Yes sir.”
He was either too cold or too hungry to argue. Maybe Zack had made some progress.
Once in the kitchen, the water grew hot in short order. Zack filled the tub in the water closet while Eli drank a hot cup of coffee. As soon as the boy closed the door to the water closet, Zack woke the twins.
“We have a guest for breakfast,” he said after morning hugs. “And I want you to use your best manners.”
“Is it Miss Chloe?” Curly said.
Nice thought. “No, but you know him. Do you remember Grandma’s story about how Jesus forgave the men who hurt Him?”
“Yes. We’re supposed to love everybody.” Charlie sat up in bed. “Did you adopt more kids? Some newsboys?”
He smiled. “No, but you might need to remember Grandma’s story at breakfast.”
“Grandma says we should always forgive bad people,” Charlie continued. “’Cause that makes God happy.”
“I’m sure today you two are going to make God very happy.”
While the twins dressed, Zack scrambled eggs, fried sausage, baked biscuits, and cooked grits—a little more breakfast than usual. Eli emerged from Zack’s bedroom into the dining room wearing jeans and a shirt that hung on him like a feed sack.
Charlie gasped. “Poppy, that’s Eli, the bad boy who—”
“What did we talk about this morning?”
“To forgive,” Curly said.
“Right. Do you two understand what forgive means?”
The children exchanged looks that spoke of anger and fear. He couldn’t blame them. He was itching to tear into Eli himself.
“Not be mad at him anymore?” Charlie said.
“Making God happy is not always easy.” Zack lifted one twin’s chin then another. “Remember, He loves us when we do bad things too.”
Zack pulled out a chair from the round oak table in the dining room. “Sit down, Eli, so we can have our breakfast before it gets cold.”
Eli awkwardly took a seat. The twins chorused the blessing, and breakfast began. Midway through a heaped plate of food, Eli cleared his throat and aimed his attention at Curly and Charlie.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you,” he said.
“You were bad.” Curly frowned. “But I forgive you.”
“Me too,” Charlie said.
The twins stared at Zack, and he smiled his approval.
Eli had made a good step forward, but what about Chloe? Would he someday ask her for forgiveness, too? For that matter, could she forgive him?
“And I forgive you for what you did to the twins.”
“Good, Poppy.” Charlie nodded. “I’m proud of you.”
After breakfast, the twins helped clean the table and wash the dishes before Zack helped them into the buggy for school.
“You ate a hearty breakfast this morning,” Zack said to Eli.
“Yes sir. It tasted fine. Thank you again.”
“Do you have plans for the day?”
“No sir. With harvest done, farmers have no need for help. The ranchers I’ve talked to aren’t interested, either.”
“Why don’t you help me out at the newspaper today? That ought to take care of lunch and dinner. This evening we’ll talk about some plans for your future.”
“Why are you helping me?” Suspicion crept into Eli’s voice.
“Because you need it.”
“Won’t Miss Scott be surprised when we tell her this?” Curly said.
Zack shook his head. “Curly, Charlie, give me your attention.”
The two immediately turned to him with their familiar, wide-eyed expressions.
“This is a secret. You cannot tell anyone that Eli is with us. I will do my part and keep him busy at the newspaper in the back where folks won’t see him. I need your promise that you two will not breathe a word about Eli.”
“Yes sir,” Curly said. “I promise.”
“Charlie?”
“Yes sir. I promise.”
“This is our special secret for today. If you tell anyone, I’ll have to give you lots of chores for a very long time, and I will be very disappointed.”
They both nodded.
“I’ll tell you when it’s the right time to tell Miss Scott or your friends or your cousins.” That should cover it. “This morning I’ll take Eli to the newspaper office before I take you to school.”
Zack studied Eli’s face. Sweat streamed from the boy’s forehead and dripped onto his cheeks. It had nothing to do with the heat from the cookstove.
All morning long, Zack made sure Eli stayed in the back of the newspaper office. Occasionally folks brought in news articles, and he didn’t need anyone finding Eli before Zack figured out what to do with him. The sheriff had agreed to drop all charges if the culprit came forward and confessed, but would he face public humiliation for his actions?
At noon, Zack gave Eli two chicken legs, a roll, and a generous slice of chocolate cake—a lunch made by Gil’s wife. “You ready to talk? I know you’ve read the article.”
Eli nearly choked on the chicken. “It made me sound like som
e poor hick off the river bottom.”
Zack shrugged. “What are you then?”
“I can leave right now.”
“Go ahead. Make sure you stay off my property. Because the next time I find you there, I’ll be taking you to the sheriff.”
“I won’t go near your place.”
“Thank you.” Zack swallowed a retort. “How do you plan to take care of yourself or amount to anything?”
Eli’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s what I thought. You don’t have any plans.” Zack paused, hoping he hadn’t made the young man so angry that he wouldn’t listen. “Son, swallow your pride and admit what you’ve done. Then start all over by living right.”
“But my name is gonna be in the newspaper.”
“With the way you’re headed, your name will be there anyway.”
Eli took a deep breath. “After I make a fool out of myself, then what? Oh, I forgot. You’ll have more folks reading your paper to see what happens to me. Then you’ll make more money.”
“Believe what you want. But I’m telling you that I’ll help you find a place to live and a job.” The kid was too much like Zack used to be. Zack would be eternally grateful for the forgiveness of all those people in Kahlerville whom he’d offended as a troubled boy.
“Yer not lying to me?”
Zack shook his head. “I think the best thing you can do to show others who think you’re no good, is to make something of yourself. But I don’t know if you have what it takes. Could be—”
Eli stiffened. “I’ll do it. I’ll tell the sheriff. I hate living out in the cold.”
“Let’s go see Sheriff Jackson.”
“Now?”
“Right now.” Zack pointed to the door.
Outside the newspaper office, Eli stopped cold. “This is hard.”
“But you can do it.” Zack directed him down the street. What had happened to Zack in the past few months? First he’d adopted two homeless children, and now he was attempting to turn around a wayward young man.
At the sheriff’s office, Eli paled. “What if he wants to take me to my pa? Lock me up?”
“You’re seventeen, Eli. If your father wanted you around, he wouldn’t have kicked you out. Did he put that scar on your face?”
Eli trembled. His hand touched the door knob, then slid back to his side.
“This is the beginning of a new man.” Zack would have touched Eli’s shoulder, but he remembered when he didn’t want anyone touching him.
Eli opened the door and stepped inside. “Afternoon, Sheriff. I need to talk to you for a few minutes.” He swung his attention to Zack. “You comin’ with me?”
“I can.” Zack tipped his hat. “Sheriff Jackson, this is Eli Scott. He has a few things to tell you.”
“Sit down.” Sheriff Jackson gestured to a couple of chairs. “What can I do for you?”
The smell coming from the cells behind the sheriff assaulted Zack’s nostrils like an outhouse in August. That should cause Eli to think about where his current path was taking him.
Eli paled, and the scar on his face deepened. How could this young man ever trust anyone unless God touched his heart?
“I–I’m the one who took the food from the boardinghouse and the blankets and coffee from the wagon. And I stole this coat from the livery.”
The sheriff pressed his lips together. “I suspect you need to apologize to those folks and see what you can do for them.”
“Yes sir.”
“Where’ve you been living?”
“At Mr. Kahler’s place mostly. In his barn.”
“What are you going to do now?”
Eli shot a look at Zack.
“We haven’t gotten that far, Sheriff,” Zack said. “But I have some ideas.”
The sheriff nodded as though contemplating Eli’s situation. “I’d like to know what you decide, because, son, you can’t live like this anymore. The people here in Kahlerville are forgivin’ now, but that will change after the first of the year when the holidays are over. You need to find a place to live and finish your education. I heard your father kicked you out after some trouble at school.”
“Yes sir. He did.”
“Then show him he’s wrong and make something of yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t keep yes-sirring me. Get on out of here and do what’s right before I’m forced to lock you up.”
Eli wasted no time in making his way to the door and grasping the knob with a trembling hand.
A few minutes later, the two made their way back down the street toward the newspaper. “You’re a free man,” Zack said. “No more hiding. I’ll not print your name in tomorrow’s article. No point in it. The only folks who’ll know your name will be the ones who’ll get an apology. Tonight we’re going to visit my parents and see if we can find a place for you to live. Even a way to finish your education. Right now—”
“I need to confess to the man at your newspaper office and to the owner of the boardinghouse.”
They passed the feed store, and Jacob stepped out. “Afternoon, Zack. Who’s your friend?”
Zack glanced at the young man beside him. “Jacob, this is Eli Scott.”
“Does he work at the paper?”
The thought had come and gone all morning. Hank wanted to retire, and Gil was capable of replacing him, but that left a hole in Gil’s slot, and the paper couldn’t afford to lose a typesetter. “If he wants it.”
Eli started. “Yes sir. I’d be proud to work at the newspaper.” He stared into Jacob’s face. “Sir, I’m the one who took your food. I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”
“What else?” Zack said.
Eli dragged his tongue over his lips. “If you need for me to work off what I took, I’m willing.”
Jacob eyed Eli for several moments. “The newspaper article said the debt was forgiven if you came forth. So we’re even, but that means you don’t steal any more of my food.”
“Yes sir. Thank you.”
Jacob tipped his hat and headed down the street toward the boardinghouse. Zack doubted if Eli had said so many “yes sirs” in his entire life. Jacob had been generous, and Zack hoped Eli understood that. Things could have been real hard for the young man.
Zack shook away the green demon that attacked him every time he saw or spoke with Jacob. He trusted the look in Chloe’s eyes. She cared for him. But a knot twisted in his stomach. How would she feel about Zack befriending Eli after what he’d done to her?
Chapter 26
Chloe yawned and massaged her back muscles. If Christmas didn’t come soon, she’d be too tired to enjoy it.
Mr. Barton walked through the dining room into the registration area—laughing. “Miss Scott and Simeon are doing some heavy courting.”
“Isn’t Rose supposed to be chaperoning them?”
“Oh, she is. Mostly she’s laughing and encouraging both of them. I believe if I asked Simeon’s Miss Scott to wash dishes and mop floors, she’d do it.” He smiled, and Chloe shivered. She could only imagine his thoughts.
If only he’d find someone else.
“I saw Zack Kahler today. He had a young man with him that he’d just hired.” Mr. Barton paused. “Come to find out he’s the one who’s been helping himself to my food here. The kid confessed to the sheriff and apologized to me. Seemed scared, and there’s a scar on his face and the telltale signs of a bruise. Anyway, while we were speaking, Zack offered him a job.”
That’s my Zack. He cares for other folks. “Who was the young man?”
“Eli Scott. Any kin to Miss Scott?”
Her insides twisted. Zack is helping Eli? Why? Look what he did to the twins and me. “He’s her nephew. She thought he had joined the army.”
“A shame for such a good woman to have an unruly nephew. Then I heard a while back that his father had a bad temper. Maybe a steady job will keep him from stealing. Good day. I will be by after dinner.”
Chloe took a deep breath t
o steady herself. Zack had a reason for what he was doing, and later she’d ask him why. Yet why would he go to the trouble of helping Eli? She paused in her thinking. Zack had been in trouble as a boy until Brother Whitworth took the time to lead him down a better road.
Rose walked into the hallway between the dining room and parlor and on to the registration desk. She wore a lovely beaded blouse with a dark gored skirt.
“May I have a word with you if you’re not busy?” she said.
Chloe smiled. She welcomed a diversion from her puzzling and confusing thoughts. “Certainly. How can I help you?”
“First of all, I’m so pleased that my aunt has found happiness.”
“So am I. She is such a dear lady, and I want to see her happy. Simeon is one of the kindest and wisest men I’ve ever met.”
Rose nodded. “I’m a little concerned about her idea of adopting a couple of children, but I’m sure God will work that out.”
“Indeed He will.” Chloe sensed Rose wanted to talk about something other than her aunt and Simeon. “Is something bothering you? I mean you sound troubled. If it is none of my business, I understand. But I am a good listener.”
Rose tilted her head, and a cascade of curls spilled to the side of her face. The young woman was a beauty. “I do have a few things on my mind, and I really would like your opinion. My aunt thinks of you as family, or I wouldn’t be troubling you with this.”
“I’m honored. And there’s not a soul about.”
“Well, I graduate next May with my teaching certificate, and I see that my aunt could use another teacher. Has she said anything about needing help? The last thing I’d want to do is insinuate that she can’t handle her students. I’d love to move to Kahlerville and begin teaching here.”
Chloe leaned over the counter. “I think she’d be thrilled. The school is growing, and if she adopts children, she’ll need help.”
“Wonderful. I’ve been praying about it for the past few months, but sometimes it’s hard to distinguish what God is directing from what I want to do. I’ll ask Aunt Annabelle what she thinks about the idea.”
“My guess is she has secretly wished for the same thing.”
Rose strolled closer to the desk. “I have another question, a rather personal one. Is Mr. Barton spoken for?”
