Chapter 9 #2
Edna released her hold on the fork and leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh.
“I never shoulda taken that shotgun in hand. Shoulda left it under the wagon seat where it belonged. All I did was add to the burden my family’s already carrying.
Had to leave my grandsons in the care of strangers while they wait on the deputy to drive ’em to my son’s place.
Shameful is what it is. And Elijah? He’s bound to do something foolish like try to scrape together funds he don’t have to pay my fine.
Well, I won’t have it.” She banged the flat of her hand against the table with enough force to set the plates to rattling.
“You hear me, Deputy?” she shouted through the ceiling.
“You make it clear to my son that paying the fine ain’t an option.
He’s not even to come see me until my release on Saturday. ”
“Yes, ma’am” came the call from the stairwell.
Noreen set her roll back on her plate and reached for her water. “Do you think your son will honor your wishes?” Heaven knew none of the men in Noreen’s life would do so. Not if they disagreed with her choice of action.
A mindful nudge brought a certain deputy to mind.
Perhaps not all the men in her life would disregard her wishes.
That is, if one considered James Paxton to be in her life.
What, precisely, were the qualifications for being in a person’s life?
Quantity of time spent in each other’s company?
Level of familiarity? Frequency of personal encounters?
James’s involvement had certainly been increasing in each of those areas of late.
“Elijah won’t like it,” Edna muttered, harnessing Noreen’s wandering attention, “but he’ll go along.”
“You’re blessed to have a son who respects you.”
A hint of a smile briefly softened Edna’s face.
“That I am. His father saw to that, God rest his soul. And not just because he took the boys to task whenever he caught them sassin’ me.
It was the example he set. Treating me like an equal.
Givin’ me space to be who I wanted to be, supporting my decisions, and never sayin’ a word against me in their hearing.
” Tears suddenly welled in her eyes. “When I think of how disappointed Randal would be to see how I handled things today . . . it cuts me to the quick.”
Noreen set aside her cup and covered Edna’s hand with her own. “It seems to me that a man like you describe would be quick to forgive a mistake made with good intentions.”
It was the mistakes made with bad intentions that were unforgiveable. But Noreen pushed thoughts of her past aside and did her best to offer Mrs. Hanover encouragement through a squeeze of her hand.
“You’re right. Randal wasn’t one to cast blame.” She sat a little straighter. “Your deputy reminds me a little of him.”
Her deputy? James wasn’t her anything. Yet that didn’t stop a little thrill from vibrating through her at Edna’s assumption. And what was she doing thinking of him as James? It wasn’t as if he were an intimate friend. Though their recent interactions had taken a rather personal turn.
“Sensible. Kind. Able to take charge in a way that demands respect.”
Noreen couldn’t argue with Edna’s assessment. James was all those things. Not to mention dutiful, honorable, and quite handy to have around when a woman got into trouble over her head.
“All right, Mrs. Hanover, we can get you moved in now.” James rounded the corner, brushing some dust off his trousers as he came. “You can bring your food with you.”
Edna rose to her feet as he moved past, leaving her plate and fork behind but taking one of the yeast rolls with her. She collected her satchel, then strode toward the stairs with dignity and aplomb. Noreen followed, her curiosity piqued. She’d never seen where the prisoners were kept.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she glanced to her left and found a collection of cramped cells, barely large enough for a man to take more than a step or two.
In contrast, on the right side of the stairwell sat a large cell that extended the entire length of the building and included a chair, small table, and likely a cot, though she couldn’t see past the blanket that the deputy had tied to the top of the bars closest to the stairs to confirm.
This must be where they kept long-term prisoners.
Or women who’d managed to get themselves arrested.
“I’ll announce myself whenever I come upstairs,” James explained to Edna. “But I’ll need you to step into the open area where I can see you before I deliver any food or other amenities.”
“I understand.” Edna stepped across the cell’s threshold as if it were a hotel room with unfortunate steel rod décor. “Thank you, Deputy.” She plopped her bag atop the table, then pivoted to face him. “Please see to my grandchildren now, if you would. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll stay with her until you return,” Noreen volunteered.
James looked at her in surprise. “You don’t need to do that. I can get one of Zeke’s boys to watch things.” He eased the barred door closed, then turned the key in the lock. A chilling click echoed off the ceiling. A shiver skittered down Noreen’s spine.
James ushered her back to the downstairs office and placed the keys in the top drawer of the sheriff’s desk.
“I don’t mind. I have been deputized, after all.”
He smiled but still hesitated to agree.
“Please, James. Let me help.”
It wasn’t until his eyebrows arched that she realized she’d used his given name. She raised her chin. So what if she had? He’d called her Noreen on more than one occasion. Only fair that she be given leave to address him in the same fashion.
“It might be rather late when I get back.”
“Just stop by Parson Cowan’s house on your way out of town and give Jane a message for me.
” Mind spinning, Noreen hurried to the desk and found a sheet of paper in one of the drawers.
She scribbled a few instructions, folded the page, and handed it to the deputy.
“No one will give a second thought to the parson’s daughter and her friend doing some charity work. ”
She might have oversold things just a bit, but where was the harm? Mrs. Hanover needed a friend tonight, and Noreen needed a distraction from her deteriorating relationship with her mother. What possible trouble could two spinsters and a grandmother get into?
“You have nothing to worry about,” she said with a broad smile as James tucked her note into his pocket. “Everything will be fine.”