Chapter Twenty
“She definitely said Levine?” Ruth asked.
Adam nodded, pulling back on Chestnut’s reins to keep him side by side with Water Lily so that he and Ruth could talk.
They were riding the perimeter of the ranch this evening, making sure that nothing was out of place.
It was a weekly habit, one that rarely yielded any results of concern, and Adam’s attention was not fully on the task.
His mind was still stuck on everything that had happened this morning.
His heart had lightened the moment Mason had walked in the door—the moment it had become clear to Adam that he hadn’t ruined everything with his temper.
And that feeling still lingered with him.
The lightness, the freedom, of knowing that Mason was all right, was the most powerful thing in the world right now.
Nothing could bring him down from that feeling.
Not the dark clouds that were gathering overhead, threatening a storm he could already smell in the air.
Not the chill of the breeze on his skin. Not even Ted Levine.
But the thought of Ted Levine did trouble him. To think that Rachel had met that man…why hadn’t she said anything until now?
“That’s what she said,” he told Ruth, bringing Chestnut to a stop.
She halted Water Lily too and turned to face him.
They were on the far side of the pasture now, as far as their loop was going to take them from the house.
To Adam’s right, horses plodded through the grass, bending occasionally to crop.
To his left was the sparse pine forest that wasn’t a part of Adam’s property, though the aroma of the pines drifted in often.
Adam loved that smell and loved pausing back here on his rides to enjoy it, but today he couldn’t seem to reach the feeling of reassurance it so often gave him.
“And you think it was the same Levine?” Ruth asked.
Adam cocked his head. “Of course it was the same Levine,” he said sharply. “You think there’s some other Mr. Levine in this town.”
“I suppose not,” Ruth said. She kicked her leg over Water Lily’s flank so that she was sitting sidesaddle and braced her elbows on her knees.
It was what she always did when they were going to be in one place for a few minutes.
Recognizing the signal, Adam slid down from Chestnut’s back and leaned against his shoulder with a sigh.
“I just don’t know what either of those women would be doing with Ted Levine,” Ruth mused.
“Well, he is a prominent member of the community,” Adam pointed out. “It’s not out of left field to think that he would check in with our schoolteacher.”
“But you don’t seem to think it’s all right that he did so,” Ruth pointed out. “And don’t try to deny it. You’ve been tense all throughout this ride, from the moment you mentioned his name to me.”
“He isn’t a good man,” Adam said tightly. “You know he isn’t as well as I do.”
“Of course I know,” Ruth murmured. “I know how awful he is.”
“You know he was the one who was pushing for Mason’s expulsion, don’t you?” Adam asked.
“You’d mentioned it, yes.” With a sigh, she dismounted from her horse as well to stand next to him. “Frankly, that sickens me. That he would take his trouble with you out on that child…”
“And that’s exactly what he was doing,” Adam grumbled.
“He never got over the fact that we didn’t remain partners—but he isn’t someone I want to do business with.
He’s unethical. Even if I could look past it, which I can’t, he would eventually have gotten us into trouble with the law.
I can’t have that. The way he handles money—cheating people for his own advantage—and the way he treats people who work for him. He’s a brutal man.”
“Do you think he’s involved with Jennifer Foster?” Ruth asked. “Is that what it sounded like they were getting at?”
“I think that’s possible.” Adam frowned. “I want to believe he was just doing his due diligence, but…when has Ted Levine ever been diligent?”
“Yes, it’s much more likely that he would be pursuing women than taking an interest in anyone’s education,” Ruth agreed.
“Well, if that’s what was going on, I must say, I think the two of them are well suited.
Based on everything I’ve heard about Jennifer Foster, she’s just like him—more interested in advancing herself than in doing right by anyone in her community. ”
“I don’t know,” Adam said, biting his lip.
“That’s what I would have thought too, even a few days ago…
” He turned to look out over the pasture.
One of the horses had come close to the fence, and he was able to reach out and scratch the animal’s nose.
The horse allowed it, then turned and cantered off to join some of the others.
“I didn’t care for her either,” he continued, turning back to Ruth.
“You know I thought she wasn’t a good pick to be our schoolteacher.
But I don’t think I was right about that now.
The way she was with Mason, bringing him back, taking the morning away from the school to make sure he got back to us safely…
she does care about him, and I’m sure she cares that much about all of her students.
Whereas it’s difficult to imagine Ted Levine caring about anyone other than himself. ”
“There’s very little you can do about this,” Ruth pointed out. “Either the two of them are involved or they aren’t. You have no influence over it.” She turned back to Water Lily and swung herself back up into the saddle. “We should move on,” she called down to him. “It’s getting dark.”
Adam decided not to point out to her that it had been her decision to stop in the first place.
He remounted his own horse and grabbed the reins, spurring Chestnut into an easy trot.
Ruth did have a point. It was going to be dark soon, and for the sake of safety, it would be best to have the horses put up by then.
Besides, there was no point in an inspection of the property once the sun had gone down.
Everything was as it should be back here anyway. They could go home.
But thoughts of Ted Levine remained on his mind as they completed their loop. And by the time he had made it back and was putting Chestnut away for the night, he had made his decision. There might not be much he could do about this situation, but there was one thing—and he was determined to do it.
***
He waited until dinner was over, until Mason had disappeared to his room for a few hours of play before he would have to go to bed.
Rachel had gathered the plates from the table and taken them to the sink to begin the washing up.
She was humming to herself, and he wished it wasn’t necessary to have the conversation he was about to initiate.
He wanted to let her linger in her happiness after the night of fear and uncertainty the two of them had just been through.
But there was nothing to be gained by keeping this secret, and quite a lot to be lost.
He came up beside her, grabbing the towel from the counter, and held out a hand. “Let me dry.”
She nodded and handed him the plate she was washing. “Thank you,” she said, smiling warmly at him.
That warmth penetrated right to Adam’s heart and melted something inside him. Such a short time ago, she would have pushed him away. It would have been kindness, they both would have known it. But this—closeness—was better than kindness. This was something he had rarely experienced in his life.
He stood beside her, drying the dishes, unable to break the silence. She continued humming, and after a moment, he recognized the tune.
“Amazing Grace,” he commented.
She nodded. “You know that one?”
“Sure,” he said. He hesitated for a moment. “My father used to sing it.”
“Oh.” She stilled, suds dripping from her hands. “I’m sorry. I won’t…”
“No, I didn’t mean to stop you,” he said quickly. “It’s a pretty song. It isn’t painful for me to hear it.”
“It’s always been my favorite hymn,” she said softly. “And not even because of the message—though that is beautiful. I just like the tune. My mother used to sing it too. It’s one of the clearest and best memories I have of her from before everything…turned.”
She bit her lip and looked down at the suds in the sink, then went back to washing the dishes.
He cleared his throat. “Rachel…there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
This time, her hands only stilled for a moment before she returned to washing, but he noticed it. “About what?” she asked in a bright voice—too bright.
“When your stepsister was here, you mentioned a Mr. Levine,” he said. “You said that he’d come to the school to see her.”
Rachel stiffened. “I do not like that man,” she said, her voice quiet but intense.
“There’s something not right about him. He was too forward with me, and if he’s courting Jennifer, or taking a personal interest in her in any way, that makes that forwardness even worse.
I can’t tolerate him. He shouldn’t be visiting her. ”
“No,” Adam agreed fervently. “He shouldn’t.”
She stopped washing and looked at him head-on. “You don’t like him either.”
“Ted Levine…has a lot of people fooled.” Adam ran the towel in his hand over the glass he held, even though it was already dry.
“He’s the kind of man who can look you in the eye and lie to you, and you’ll believe him.
He did it to me for many years.” He looked down at the glass and then set it down on the counter. “He used to work for me.”
“Mr. Levine worked here?” Rachel’s eyebrows lifted. She straightened from the sink and shook her hands dry, then dried them further on her apron. “So you know him very well, actually.”
“Yes,” Adam said. “And I think you ought to keep your sister away from him, Rachel. He isn’t a good man.
” He set the glass down slowly and turned to face her head-on.
“There’s a reason he doesn’t work here anymore.
He does illegal, unethical things. He swindles people out of their money.
More than once, I caught him trying to lie about the age of our livestock when we went to market, to get a better price for the heads we were selling.
I reprimanded him, and he always said he would never do it again—but I just couldn’t trust him. I could never trust him.”
“Do you think he would do something dishonest to Jennifer?” She moved away from the sink, to the table, and sat down in one of the chairs.
“I did get that impression when I met him. If it was up to me, she wouldn’t go anywhere near that man.
But I think Jennifer is just so flattered to have someone paying attention to her…
” There was a note of deep sadness in her voice.
“She was always my stepfather’s favorite, but that didn’t mean he was kind to her.
He favored her, but I’m not sure he ever cared who she was as a person. ”
“You think that’s why she’s entertaining conversation with Levine,” Adam said.
“I think she would be happy to have the attention of any man,” Rachel said softly, looking down at her hands in her lap. “When I pointed out to her that he didn’t seem genuine, she didn’t want to hear it. And I think the reason is that she simply couldn’t bear for it to be true.”
“But I think you and she each need to know that he isn’t to be trusted,” Adam said. “He isn’t a good person. He will break any rule, defy any moral code, to get what he wants for himself. If you can protect your stepsister from that, I’m sure you want to do it.”
She nodded. “Of course I do,” she said. “Thank you for telling me this, Adam. I’ll speak to Jennifer about it.” She let out a sigh and rose to her feet. “Not that it will be easy. I have no idea whether she’ll be willing to believe me or not. But I know that I have to try.”
Her brow was creased with worry. Adam hated to see that, and he moved to her side.
“I’m sure it’s going to be all right,” he said.
Hesitating only a moment, he reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Levine is a liar and a charlatan, but he isn’t the kind of man who would strike a woman.
And while he does take advantage of people financially, it’s hard to picture him doing that to a schoolteacher—I don’t think he’s made her a target for that reason.
The worst that will happen is that he will break her heart. ”
“But I don’t want that to happen to Jennifer,” Rachel whispered.
“I never thought I cared this much for her, but…she is my sister, Adam, in spite of everything that’s happened.
In spite of how awful a time I had living with her.
She’s my sister, and I have to look out for her.
I want only the best for her, and this man is far from that. ”
“Yes,” Adam said heavily. “You should keep her away from him.”
“I just don’t know that she’ll listen to me when I tell her.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help…” The words were ineffectual and he knew it. Saying that you wanted to help was nothing at all. And there was nothing more than words that he could offer her. She was on her own with this.
“You’ve done enough,” she assured him. “You’ve done more than enough.
I doubted my judgment of this man, but you warning me about him confirms to me that I was right all along.
Now I know that I’m doing the right thing when I speak to Jennifer about it.
I won’t have to question myself, and maybe…
maybe that will allow me to get through to her.
Maybe having that certainty will make the difference.
Maybe it will give me the confidence I need to speak to her, and to really convince her that what I’m saying is the truth, so that I can get her away from that man. ”
He hoped so. To see the worry and grief on her face, the crease between her eyebrows and the sadness in her eyes, affected him in a way he had not anticipated.
He wanted to stand in between her and whatever was making her look so sad.
He wanted to protect her from whatever it was.
And the knowledge that it had been his own words that had put that expression on her face made him ache inside in a way he had never experienced before.