The Promise of Forgiveness

by Marin Thomas

  “What about your clothes?” Ruby called after Joe. All his personal possessions had been in the storage room where he’d slept.

  He waved off her concern. “I’ll pick up a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts in town.” Then he hopped into his truck and sped off.

  They were all upset about the fire, but there was something else bothering Joe. She’d have to wait until he returned to talk with him. Ruby hugged Mia. “I’m glad you’re safe, honey.” And grateful that the jerk who’d set the fire hadn’t seen her daughter in the hayloft. If he had, who knows what he might have done.

  “Is Grandpa sad, Mom?”

  “About the barn?”

  “No, Cora dying.”

  “Yes, he’s sad.”

  “Did he cry?”

  “Your grandpa’s a strong man. He’ll be okay.”

  Mia’s arms squeezed tighter, and Ruby buried her face in her daughter’s smoky hair. “Are you upset that you couldn’t talk to your birth mom?”

  “A little.” Ruby wished she’d been able to ask why she’d been left behind, but discovering that Cora had kept her baby photo—proof that she’d loved Faith as best she could—was enough for Ruby to forgive her.

  “While you take a shower, I’ve got an errand to run.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To pay Hank’s neighbor a visit.” No one believed Sandoval was behind the pranks against the Devil’s Wind, but Ruby wasn’t convinced.

  Ten minutes later she pulled up to the Bar T. Sandoval’s home looked more like a fancy bed-and-breakfast than a ranch house. She parked next to the fountain in the circular drive. The stupid water statue looked out of place in the bleak landscape.

  She climbed the porch steps and rang the bell. Expecting a maid to answer, she was surprised when Sandoval opened the door. If he was shocked to see her, he didn’t show it. Even at home the man was impeccably dressed—Western shirt, pressed slacks, brown cowboy boots, and a spit-shined belt buckle.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “Did you send one of your men to burn down Hank’s barn?”

  “His barn caught fire?”

  “Like you don’t know.”

  Sandoval stepped outside, forcing Ruby to retreat or get knocked over. “I had nothing to do with any fire.”

  “Maybe you didn’t pour the gasoline or light the match, but one of your ranch hands did.”

  He pointed his finger. “My father should never have given Hank that parcel of land and I’d like nothing better than to take it back, but I’m not a swindler like Hank. I don’t steal from others.”

  “Maybe you don’t cheat at cards, but you’re pissed at him for winning the girl.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Cora. You’re angry that she had Hank’s baby, then took off and left you both behind.”

  His shoulders slumped and the anger seeped out of him, leaving a tired old man standing before her. “Cora and I had an affair. A very short affair.”

  “How short?”

  He lifted one hand and spread his fingers apart, then folded two digits. “That’s how many times we slept together.”

  “So you didn’t love her?”

  “No. And I never wished her or Hank any ill will.” The truth shone in his eyes.

  Damn it. “Do you have any idea who’s sabotaging the Devil’s Wind?”

  “I do not. Now get off my property.”

  Before he shut the door in her face, she blurted, “Hank found Cora.”

  “Where?”

  “A nursing home in Amarillo.”

  “How is she?”

  “Cora had suffered a stroke a while back, but pneumonia took her. Hank brought her ashes home.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he whispered, then closed the door in Ruby’s face.

  Chapter 36

  Wednesday morning Ruby woke with a headache. She’d gotten little sleep last night, her mind in turmoil. She had some tough decisions to make, and convincing Hank and Mia to go along with her plan might be her biggest challenge yet.

  The sound of the front door opening and closing drifted down the hallway. Hank had finally woken up. Ruby went outside and found him picking through the rubble. “You’re supposed to wait until the debris cools off.”

  “I’m being careful.” He tossed a wrench into a pile of objects worth salvaging.

  “Sandoval isn’t the one making threats against the ranch.”

  “Didn’t think he was. If he’d wanted to, he could have forced me off the land years ago.”

  “Then why didn’t he?”

  Hank kicked a chunk of scorched wood. “He loved Cora, too.”

  Oh, Dad. Is that what you’ve told yourself all these years to make Cora’s betrayal easier to live with?

  “Roy sends his sympathies.”

  He stopped searching the burned remains and stared into the distance. She followed his gaze to the rosebushes. Last night after everyone had gone to bed, Ruby had heard the stairs creak. She’d tiptoed through the house to the front window and had watched Hank spread Cora’s ashes beneath the bushes. Then he’d sat on the porch steps in the dark for almost an hour before returning to bed.

  Cora had finally come home, and now Ruby was going to ask Hank to move.

  “We can’t stay here.” Ruby’s first responsibility was to keep Mia safe, but she couldn’t leave Hank at the ranch. And then there was Joe. She didn’t want to leave him behind, either. “I know the Devil’s Wind means a lot to you, but Mia and I need you.”

  His watery eyes blinked against the sun. “You asking me to go with you gals?”

  “We’re a family now.”

  His gaze swung back to the front of the house.

  “We’ll take the rosebushes”—and Cora—“with us.”

  “You want me to sell the place?”

  “You don’t have to live on the property in order to lease it to the oil company, do you?”

  “No.”

  “For now let’s sell off the cattle and board the horses closer to Guymon.”

  Hank didn’t say anything.

  “We could rent a house in Guymon; then after school you and Mia could check on the horses wherever they are, and Joe could drive back and forth to the ranch to keep an eye on the property. Just until the sheriff makes an arrest.”

  “Mia won’t want to leave,” Hank said.

  “That’s why I need you to tell her.” Mia would follow her grandfather anywhere.

  “You’re a good mother and a good daughter.”

  The Devil’s Wind was the only real home Hank had ever known—it was the linchpin that held him, Ruby, and Mia together as a family. The dusty wasteland had helped Mia and Ruby forgive each other. Helped Ruby forgive Hank . . . even Cora. And in between all the forgiving, the ranch was where Ruby and Joe had found each other.

  “We’ll come back here as soon as it’s safe,” Ruby said.

  “I’ll talk to Mia.”

  She was grateful for Hank’s support, but leaving would be stressful for him and she worried about his health. “Let’s hold off telling Mia until I speak with the sheriff one more time.” If there was the slightest chance the lawman was close to apprehending the arsonist, then they’d stand their ground.

  A cloud of dust formed along the road. “Joe’s back.” He’d been quiet since the fire, and any attempt to engage him in conversation had been met with a grunt or a nod. She’d invited him to share her bed since the cot he’d slept on in the barn had been destroyed in the fire, but he’d purchased a sleeping bag the day he’d gone into town to get horse feed and at night he bunked down in his pickup bed. Ruby wasn’t sure what was going through his mind, but she gave him his space, believing he’d open up when he was ready.

  “What have you been up to?” she asked
when Joe parked in the driveway.

  “I bought extra feed for the horses.”

  Ruby peered into the truck bed. He’d also purchased a forty-pound bag of dog food. There was enough feed to last the animals for a month.

  “I’ll go with you when you talk to the sheriff.” Hank took two steps, then stopped. “You make a fresh pot of coffee?”

  “Four scoops—strong enough to blow a hole through your gut.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Ruby waited for Joe to make eye contact with her, but his gaze skipped across her face, causing alarm bells to ring in her head.

  He set the last bag of feed on the ground, then shut the tailgate. “I’m leaving.”

  When the meaning of his words sank in, her heart froze inside her chest.

  “I thought I could do this.” The pain in Joe’s voice alarmed her as much as the vacant look in his eyes.

  “Do what?”

  “Be with you. Be a part of”—he waved his hand at the house—“a family.”

  Nooo! A shrill voice screamed inside her head.

  “I’m sorry, Ruby.”

  Anger shoved aside her hurt. She didn’t want an apology—she wanted a fight. “Don’t go.” Damn you, Joe. Don’t leave me. She’d finally found the courage to give him her trust and he was flinging it back in her face.

  His head dropped forward, and he stared at the ground. Ruby threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I need you.” She buried her face in his neck. “Hank and Mia need you.” She swallowed a cry when his arms came around her and he crushed her against him.

  “You don’t understand,” he mumbled in her ear. “Mia could have died in that fire and it would have been my fault.”

  Wanting to shake him, Ruby clutched fistfuls of his shirt. “My daughter’s safe. Because of you.”

  His body turned to stone, and he stepped away from her. “I shouldn’t have left Mia alone, not even for a few minutes.”

  She smacked her palm against his chest, wanting to hurt him. “Don’t lie. You’re not leaving because you think you failed to protect Mia. You’re walking out on me.”

  “I’m no good to anyone, Ruby, especially you.”

  “Shit.” She spun away, pressing her fingers against her skull, willing her brain to find the words to change Joe’s mind. She had no experience arguing this side of it’s-time-to-move-on. “Don’t go.”

  When she and Mia had left Pineville, Ruby had never imagined that their fresh start would be the Devil’s Wind and not Elkhart, Kansas. The ranch had forced her to let her guard down and open herself up in a way she hadn’t done before with any of her relationships, including with Mia. She was confident and strong now. And she knew what she wanted—forever with Joe. But like the blowing dust in the Panhandle, he was slipping through her fingers.

  “You make me want more out of life than to just exist. But I can’t be the man you deserve.”

  “Please don’t go.”

  He shook his head. “Be happy, Ruby.”

  Be happy? When he was giving up on her . . . them? She damned the tears welling in her eyes and poked her finger in his gut. “You’re a coward, Joe Dawson!”

  He clasped her face between his hands and pressed his mouth to hers, his kiss hot, hard, and urgent. Then he drove off, leaving her gasping for breath and knowing what it felt like to be kicked to the curb.

  It didn’t feel so hot.

  “Mom?” Mia walked toward Ruby. “You want to help me groom . . . ?” She stopped. “You’re crying.” She glanced at the road. “Where’s Joe going?”

  “He’s leaving.”

  “Did you guys have a fight?”

  “No.” She wished Joe would have argued with her. Maybe then she’d have stood a chance of changing his mind.

  Hank stepped outside, and Mia called out to him. “Mom’s crying.”

  Ruby’s whole body was numb, her face included, and she didn’t even feel the tears running down her cheeks.

  “What happened?” Hank joined them, his bushy eyebrows fused together.

  “Joe left.” Ruby wiped her runny nose across the back of her hand.

  “He’s coming home, right?” Mia asked.

  “I don’t think so.” But Joe had said that Ruby made him want more out of life than to just exist. She tucked the tiny scrap of hope inside her heart.

  “It wasn’t very nice of him to leave.” Mia put her arm around her mother’s waist.

  “We’ll be okay, honey.” Ruby hugged her daughter. “Hank and I are going into town. You’ll have to come with us.”

  “When?” Mia asked.

  “Right now.”

  “I better use the bathroom first.” Mia called to Friend, and the two went into the house.

  Hank looked as miserable as Ruby felt, and when he opened his arms, she gladly accepted his hug. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She sniffed against his shirt. “Life is funny.”

  “How so?”

  “I came here determined to give you a piece of my mind and then spit at your feet and move on.”

  “I wouldn’t have blamed you for doing that.”

  “We both fell for people who ran away from us.” Her laugh turned into a sob.

  “We’re a pair, all right,” he said.

  No matter that she’d lost her fresh start with Joe, Ruby would always be grateful Hank had called her home.

  • • •

  When they arrived in Unforgiven, Ruby parked the pickup at the diner. “Here’s a few dollars.” She handed Mia the money. “Get yourself a snack. Hank and I will fetch you when we’re ready to leave town.” Ruby waited for her daughter to enter the Airstream, and then she and Hank crossed the street.

  “Don’t let on that we’re thinking of moving,” she said. “I doubt the sheriff and deputy will spend much time investigating if they know we intend to leave the property.”

  Inside the jail, Sheriff Carlyle and the deputy were engaged in a heated debate. Ruby closed the door hard and the argument abruptly ended.

  “I was updating Paul about the fire out at your place, Hank,” the sheriff said.

  “Heard the barn was a total loss.” Randall read the file on his desk as if he couldn’t care less about Hank’s troubles.

  “I’m sending Paul out to talk to the ranchers in the area,” the sheriff said.

  Questioning ranchers must be their standard protocol. “You can cross Sandoval off your list,” Ruby said. “Not that he was ever on your radar.”

  “You seemed pretty confident he was involved,” the sheriff said.

  “I spoke with him after the fire. Based on what he said, I don’t believe he had anything to do with sabotaging the Devil’s Wind.” She waited for an I-told-you-so, but the sheriff let her off the hook. “Whoever torched the barn has to be someone local.”

  “We’re checking every angle,” the sheriff said.

  Randall set aside his paperwork. “What do you plan to do now, Hank?”

  “Build a new barn.”

  “Why not sell? Rumor has it your oil lease is up at the end of September.”

  “My lawyer’s looking into that,” Hank said.

  “I know Ruby believes Kline changed the date.” Randall narrowed his eyes.

  “Maybe he’s in cahoots with the man who wants to buy my ranch.” Hank went to the door. “I’ll be in the mercantile, Ruby.”

  “Who wants to buy the Devil’s Wind?” the sheriff asked Randall.

  “One of those wealthy corporate people looking for a place in the country.”

  The sheriff’s gaze swung to Ruby. “Those responsible for the vandalism and the fire will eventually slip up, and we’ll catch them.”

  “If you don’t crack this case soon, I’ll make a big stink about it to the Guymon police.”


  “They won’t help you investigate a crime that’s not in their jurisdiction,” Randall said.

  Ruby shrugged. “I’ll take my chances.”

  Chapter 37

  Ruby left the sheriff’s office, doubting her threat to contact the Guymon police had done much good. She hurried along the sidewalk and caught up with Hank before he reached the mercantile.

  “Would you rather I wait with Mia in the diner while you speak to Big Dan?” she asked. Cora was a touchy subject between the two men, and Hank might have a few words for the fortune-teller that he’d just as soon Ruby not hear.

  “Doesn’t matter to me.” He opened the door and she followed him inside.

  “Heard about the fire.” Big Dan stepped into view as if he’d been expecting them. “Glad no one got hurt.”

  “We stopped by the sheriff’s office to”—Ruby shook her head—“never mind.” He knew why they were in town.

  Big Dan’s Roman nose twitched. “You found Cora.”

  “In Amarillo,” Hank said.

  “And . . .” The merchant’s bug eyes swung between Ruby and Hank.

  He doesn’t know.

  “She died six days ago.” That was all Hank intended to say on the subject. He looked at Ruby. “I’ll be in the diner.” Then he left the store.

  Big Dan’s eyes watered. “Tell me everything.”

  This time the little man depended on Ruby for information about Cora, rather than the other way around.

  “Cora was living in a rented motel room when she suffered a stroke. She never fully recovered, so she was placed in a nursing home, where she contracted pneumonia. When Hank and I got there, she’d already been moved to the hospice wing.”

  “She deserved better.” He retreated behind the counter, where he sat stooped over on the stool.

  “Cora was offered better, but she snubbed her nose at it.”

  Big Dan nodded, his stare distant and empty.

  “Hank spread her ashes beneath the rosebushes at the ranch.”

  “She’d be proud of you for taking care of Hank.”

  “I’m not doing it for Cora.” That was the God’s honest truth. Ruby would watch over Hank for herself. Their relationship had gotten off to a rocky start, but the old man had claimed a piece of her heart. When the time came for their final goodbye, she’d be at his side. “I better go.”