After counting back, Meg was surprised that she’d been home more than two weeks. She was feeling better in every way, except that she wanted Lucy and Teddy home. She’d mentioned it to Nita earlier in the day and she’d given Ace instructions to ask Rachel when the children could return.
Meg hoped he gave the doctor a good report on how well she was behaving and that he brought the news she wanted to hear, yet at the same time she was a little anxious about seeing Teddy and Lucy again. Teddy was old enough to know who she was, but it might take time to get back to their former relationship. Meg feared that Lucy might not remember her at all. It would absolutely break her heart if her baby girl wanted nothing to do with her.
Almost as if she’d summoned up Ace with her thoughts, Meg heard the clank and rattle of the wagon nearing the house.
Nita walked through the back screen door, carrying two glasses of tea. “It’s a good thing I made this,” she said, her eyes dancing with pleasure. “It looks like we have company.”
Meg jumped to her feet. “Company? Who?”
“Looks like Doc Gentry’s rig up ahead of Ace.”
“Lucy? Teddy?” Meg cried, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.
“I can’t tell,” Nita told her, but she was speaking to Meg’s back. Meg was already down the steps and halfway to the lane.
Chapter Eight
Even through the dust blowing back from Rachel’s rig, Ace saw Meg running toward the lane as soon as he rounded the curve in the road. The joy on her face was inexpressible. His heart, the heart that longed for a woman to love him with that same depth, constricted in sudden pain when he realized hers would be broken when she realized Rachel had not brought Teddy and Lucy.
He knew the exact moment she recognized there was no one with Rachel but her mother-in-law, Libby Granville. The joyous expectation on Meg’s face vanished like a dandelion puff in the wind, and like the puff, she seemed to fall apart before his eyes.
As he pulled toward the back of the house, he saw Rachel alight from the wagon and take both of Meg’s hands in hers. He had no idea what she was saying, but he could imagine. Before he rounded the corner of the house, he saw Meg straighten and urge something that resembled a smile to her lips as she gestured toward the porch. Then she welcomed Libby, who swept her into a warm embrace. Still holding her hand, Mrs. Granville and Meg followed Rachel up the steps.
Having no desire to interrupt the ladies’ visit, Ace unloaded the baskets onto the back porch. He could hear the feminine chatter through the screen and tried hard not to eavesdrop. He was almost finished with his chore when the back door opened and Rachel stepped out onto the porch.
The first thing he noticed was that her pregnancy was beginning to show. Always a beautiful woman, Rachel Gentry positively glowed with health and happiness.
“You’re looking well, Doc.”
“I’m feeling well,” she said with a contented smile. “There’s nothing like love to make things right in the world. You should try it.”
Ace swung the last basket down from the wagon bed and set it on the porch. “I don’t see that in the cards for me.”
“And why not?” she said, planting her capable hands on her hips.
He did the same. “Half-breed. Ex-con. Killer.” He cocked a dark eyebrow at her. “Shall I continue?”
She mimicked his expression. “How about good Christian? Devoted son. Dependable deputy. Shall I go on?”
“Let it rest, Rachel.”
She sighed. “I thought having you help her would give you a chance to...” Her voice trailed away.
“To what?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “We all know how you feel about her, and Gabe and I thought it would be a chance to show her that there are good men, and that she doesn’t have to be alone or afraid forever.”
One corner of Ace’s mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “Even if I thought there was any future for us, and I don’t, it’s a little hard to make any kind of impression when the object of your affections cringes if you get too close.”
Rachel frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She’s scared to death of me.”
“Surely it isn’t that bad.”
He offered her a mocking smile. “Actually, it isn’t, and I don’t think it’s just me. I suspect she’d do the same if any man got too close. On the other hand, I have seen some improvement.” He gave a negligible lift of his wide shoulders. “I like to think she’s getting better bit by bit, day by day.”
“I’m sure she is. She’ll be a lot better when the kids come home.”
Ace lifted one booted foot to the porch and rested his arm on his knee. “When’s that likely to happen?”
“I thought I’d come and see how she’s doing to make sure she can handle them. Maybe in a couple of days.”
“She was really disappointed when she realized you didn’t bring them with you.”
“I know. I almost burst into tears myself when I saw her face fall, but I wanted to check on her first, and I’ll have to make arrangements with Serena and Dave.”
She flashed Ace a quick smile. “I’d better get back inside before she suspects we’re talking about her. Do you mind carrying in those things from the buggy? We brought supper, and Pip brought some books she thought Meg might like.”
Pip. Ace smiled. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to the nickname Gabe’s elegant mother, Libby, insisted her grandkids call her. “I’d be glad to.”
Rachel went back inside, and Ace went to unload the buggy. He entered the front door, carrying a cast-iron Dutch oven in one hand and a pie plate in the other.
Rachel turned to Meg. “We brought supper. I fixed a pot roast, Allison sent a loaf of bread and Ellie baked you one of her peach pies.”
“Abby sent you some things her girls had outgrown for Lucy, and I brought you some books and a couple of magazines,” Libby added. She cast an oblique glance at Ace. “Somehow, I didn’t think Mr. Verne or Mr. Poe were your kind of reading material. I suspected they were for someone else.”
Ace, who was replacing the lid to the iron kettle after sneaking a peek, caught the look and smiled. “Guilty as charged.”
“I’ve been reading them,” Meg said, avoiding eye contact with him, “but you’re right. They aren’t the kind of thing I normally would enjoy. Actually, I’m not sure what I might like.”
“I’m certain you’ll much prefer Undine or Jane Eyre.”
“Romances?” Ace said with raised eyebrows.
“Yes, romances!” Libby’s face was flushed with indignation. “Undine even has an enchanted forest, sort of like a grown-up fairy tale. I know that romances are considered dangerous.” She adopted a scandalized look and placed a hand over her heart in a dramatic gesture. “Why, they might even cause a woman to dream about a life where two people love each other madly. Can you imagine?”
When everyone laughed, she dropped the pretense and said, “I beg to differ. Romances aren’t at all dangerous. Why, I lived a romance. My marriage to Sam was a beautiful love story, even though it had a miserable beginning.”
Ace knew people seldom spoke of Libby’s first marriage to Lucas Gentry, Gabe and Caleb Gentry’s father. Her marriage to him had been very similar to Meg’s marriage to Elton, but as she said, things had turned out well in the end, when Lucas divorced her and she married Sam, Blythe and Win’s father, who gave her the love she deserved.
Lifting her chin, Libby looked from Meg and Rachel to Ace and Nita. “I also believe with all my heart that no matter what our circumstances, sometimes God gives us a second chance.”
She offered the group an uncomfortable smile. Rachel was smiling fondly at her mother-in-law, and Meg was regarding her with a thoughtful expression.
Good, Ace thought. Libby had mentioned second ch
ances, too. He wondered if Meg noticed.
“I’m sorry,” Libby was saying. “I’m afraid it’s a subject I’m quite passionate about. I see romance novels as reminders that there is the hope of happiness for us all out there, if we’ll only find the courage to trust.” She threw her hands into the air. “Well, good heavens! What would we do without hope?”
Exactly, Ace thought. That was exactly what Meg needed. Hope and the courage to trust. Without commenting, he headed outside to bring in the last of the gifts. As he loped down the steps and out to the buggy, he hoped that Libby was right and that Meg did find renewed faith in love in the pages of the books she’d brought. If she weren’t so broken, she could find it in her Bible, but just now she didn’t seem much interested in anything God had to say. He prayed that would change soon, but for now, he’d settle for Meg finding hope anywhere.
* * *
After carrying in the books and the bread, Ace disappeared, leaving the ladies to their visit. Nita fixed them all some tea and sliced the pie while Meg visited with her callers.
Don’t get used to it, Meg. Things will go back to the way they were once you’re up and about. They always did. No one came to visit unless she was recuperating from one of her encounters with Elton. Still, manners demanded that she show her appreciation.
“Thank you so much for everything,” she said, overwhelmed by the display of kindness, however brief it might be. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course we didn’t have to do it. That implies it was a duty. We wanted to,” Rachel said. “Allison and Ellie have both wanted to come and visit, but they knew you didn’t need any company at first.”
“Miss Grainger and Miss Ellie want to come and just...visit?” Despite her background, all the ladies had been kind to her in the past, and they did go to the same church, but they were far above her economically and socially. Why, Rachel was a medical doctor, for goodness’ sake. Abby was married to the wealthiest man in Pike County, and Allison was an educated woman, a teacher.
Rachel must have seen Meg’s uncertainty and disbelief. “Meg, all of us have tremendous respect for the way you’ve handled your life. We wanted to be your friend, but Serena told us how Elton didn’t want you getting too close to anyone, and we didn’t want to cause you any grief by pressing the matter.”
Friends. The sad truth was that she didn’t have any. She could thank Elton for that.
“We’re all hoping that maybe now that—” Realizing that she was about to overstep the bounds of correctness, Rachel paused. “We’re all hoping we can be your friends now.” Before Meg could comment, she added, “When I let them know you’re doing so much better, I’m sure they’ll have Colt drive them out some evening.”
“Colt?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Rachel said. “I guess with everything that’s happened, you haven’t heard that the sheriff and Allison are a twosome. In fact, they’re planning a January wedding.”
Everyone in Wolf Creek knew that Allison Grainger was the town’s spinster schoolteacher, but Sheriff Garrett’s headstrong children had come between him and every woman he’d tried to court since moving to town.
“What about his children?” Nita asked.
“Believe it or not, they’re ecstatic,” Rachel said incredulously. “Once Colt had a showdown with them and they realized he was serious about wanting to complete their family, they helped orchestrate the whole thing.”
“That’s unbelievable.”
“That’s what everyone says,” Libby added. “The whole town is waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the children really seem to like her, and it’s obvious that Allison and Colt are crazy about each other.”
Satisfaction glowed warmly inside Meg. Thank goodness happiness was in the cards for someone. Though she knew Allison Grainger only from church, she’d heard lots of good things about her, and of course her sister Ellie, whose laundry she did weekly, was a sweetheart.
“Are you settling in here, Mrs. Granville?” Nita asked Libby when Meg grew silent.
“Oh, yes. The library is open, and everyone is very supportive. It makes me feel good to know that the books are doing something besides sitting on the shelves gathering dust.”
“And your son and daughter who came with you...are they still in town?”
Libby offered a bittersweet smile. “No, they left last week. Win plans on returning soon, though. He’s been talking with Nate Haversham about buying the bank.”
“Nate’s wife’s health has gotten progressively worse the past few months,” Rachel offered, “and he’d like to spend more time with her.”
“Win has also talked to Will Slade about buying part of his sawmill business. It seems it’s been going downhill since that, uh, incident with his wife,” Libby added with an apologetic look at Nita and Meg. “Ex-wife now, I suppose.”
Meg had heard about the incident. Martha, the pretty, dark-haired wife Will had brought home from one of his trips to Little Rock a few years back, had run off with a bigwig who’d come down from Springfield, Missouri. Will had been like a bear with a sore paw ever since. No one, least of all Will, expected her to divorce him, but he’d been served papers a year ago, and he was rumored to hit the corn pretty hard from time to time. That couldn’t be good for business.
“Does Win think Will will take him up on the offer?” Meg asked.
“It’s too soon to say.”
“And what about your daughter?” Nita asked.
“Blythe doesn’t think a small town is right for her. When Win moves here, she’ll stay in Boston. Her dream is to open a boutique and design clothing for wealthy ladies.”
“That sounds exciting,” Meg said. “I know you’ll miss her.”
“I will,” Libby agreed with a rueful nod, “but she’s a grown woman of twenty-two, and she’s been well educated and brought up to know her own mind, even though she’s far too shy to speak it very often. Neither Sam nor I wanted her to be at the mercy of any man the way I—”
Libby paused a moment before continuing. “Though it is not at all acceptable in certain social circles, Sam and I wanted Blythe to be independent, though neither of us feel she has an enterprising nature the way her brothers do. She’s actually more of a caretaker.” A resigned breath trickled from her. “She’ll have to find her own way, just as we all have.”
“Whatever she chooses, at least she has a way to support herself if the need arises. That must be a comfort to you,” Rachel said.
“Yes,” Meg agreed, thinking that even though she and Blythe Granville were the same age, they had far different opportunities for the future. “Having an education is bound to give her more options than I’ve had.” She offered her guests a wan smile. “It’s too bad I don’t live in Boston. I could sew for her.”
“You’re going to be fine, Meg,” Libby said. The belief that what she said was true shone in her eyes. “You just need to trust that God has a plan for you. My own past has taught me that He can turn even the ugliest of experiences into good things.”
Meg glanced away toward Nita, who was looking at her with compassion in her dark eyes. Meg didn’t want pity. She didn’t know what she wanted. Even though she didn’t doubt Libby’s sincerity, Meg couldn’t see anything good coming from the treatment she’d suffered at the hand of her husband, except that it was over at last.
“We should go,” Rachel said. “We’re tiring you.”
Meg glanced up, aware that she’d drifted off to that dark place in her mind where she tried to keep all the bad things locked away. “Oh, no! Stay a bit. It’s nice to have company. I was just woolgathering.” She forced a smile. “Ellie’s pie is really good, isn’t it?”
“It definitely is. I’ll tell her you said so,” Libby replied.
The conversation drifted off to other, less painful topics, and all too soon, Rachel was telling
Meg that she’d like to examine her before leaving. When they exited the bedroom several moments later, Nita held out the Dutch oven to Rachel.
“I swapped pots, so you could take yours back with you,” she said.
“Thank you, Nita.”
Nita placed her hands on her slender hips. Her gaze moved from Meg to the doctor. “In my opinion, she’s doing too much. What do you say?”
Rachel laughed. “I haven’t seen what she’s doing, but knowing her as I do, I suspect you’re right. Actually, she’s coming along very well. Being at home and getting back to her life seems to be good for her, and I think if she does overdo it, her body will let her know.” She gave Meg a pointed look. “What happened to your elbow?”
“I slipped coming down from the plateau. I’m fine. Really.”
“I just don’t want those ribs reinjured,” Rachel said.
“Am I well enough for Teddy and Lucy to come home?” Meg asked hopefully, ignoring the comment about her ribs.
“Yes, but I’m not sure what day. Soon, though, I promise. Okay?”
Meg beamed. “Yes.”
* * *
Later that evening, as Ace went down to the creek to bathe away the grit of the day, he thought about the change the doctor’s visit had brought about in Meg. It was slight, but he’d made a life of studying details—of behavior, appearances and changes in the world surrounding him. Whether he was in prison and on the lookout for someone planning to waylay him, or if he were tracking a man or a deer, it was those subtle variations that often made the difference between success and failure.
For the first time, he’d seen a full-blown, genuine smile on Meg’s face and a hint of optimism in her green eyes, all because she had something to look forward to. All because she had hope.
* * *
After they enjoyed the wonderful supper the ladies had brought, Nita insisted on doing the dishes so that Meg could take a walk before dark. Like her son, she saw the glimmer of optimism in Meg’s eyes, and just for this one day, Nita wanted to give Meg an opportunity to savor the knowledge that she would soon hold her babies in her arms and to dream about what she would say to them.
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