Ashes and Memories (10 page)

Ralphy turned and jumped to his feet, one shoe on and the other off. “Heard you went and printed another paper. I thought I was gonna be the delivery boy.”

“Well it was a last minute decision,” she told him a bit defensively, searching his face for signs of deceit, “and I didn’t know where to find you. Why are you changing shoes?”

Turning to sit on the sidewalk again, Ralphy replied, “Dang new shoes hurt my feet.”

“Ralphy, you have to wear them to break them in.”

“Nothing wrong with the old ones,” he grumbled, pulling on his other old, worn out shoe.

“How can you say that? The soles are worn clean through.”

“Maybe I like them that way,” he said.

Emma shook her head in exasperation. “Then why’d you buy new shoes?”

“I didn’t. Mr. MacBride bought them and made me wear them.”

Emma felt her righteous anger slip away like sand through a child’s fingers. Reece MacBride had bought Ralphy new shoes? How could he do such a thing when she was getting used to hating him?

He still defied her attempts to categorize him or even understand him. On the one hand, he was a cold, ruthless dictator who exercised absolute control over this town, a man with a volatile personality and a quick, deadly temper that could drive him to brutality.

What he had done to that man in the bar had been excessive and unnecessary. Would he have stopped before he killed him if she hadn’t intervened?

She shivered as she recalled the murderous glint in his eyes when he’d turned to face her. At that moment, he had been utterly out of control, only vaguely aware of anything but the towering fury that engulfed him.

No one else had made a move to stop him, and no one else had protested when he’d pronounced sentence on the man without benefit of a trial.

And yet, he was also a man who bought shoes for and gave a job to a homeless boy, a man who could not encounter a stranded woman on the road without stopping to help.

Which was the real Reece MacBride? She wondered if even he knew the answer to that question.

He was a man out of control, struggling desperately for control, a man who walked the boundary between restraint and violence every moment of his life. The facade he presented to the world concealed a dark soul tormented by demons he could not always constrain.

She’d seen those demons, the same demons that had stalked her father, in Reece MacBride’s eyes last night when he’d told her about his experiences in the war. But she sensed that where her father had turned his pain inward and been destroyed by it, Reece had turned his outward, and God only knew what the consequences would be. What else might he have revealed if they hadn’t been interrupted?

Emma forced the memories from her mind. She would not feel compassion for Reece MacBride or anything else but loathing. And she would not contemplate his demons.

Ralphy rushed to catch up with her. “You want some help? A penny a copy, remember?”

Emma stopped and turned around to face the boy. “Ralphy, how did you know I had printed another paper?”

“Well, see. “He glanced down at his feet while he kicked at something invisible on the sidewalk. “I was walking home from Mr. MacBride’s and I seen the light in the office. When I got there, you was gone, but I seen the stacks of papers everywhere, so I knew you’d printed another paper.”

Was he lying? Emma thought so, but she couldn’t be sure. His story was convincing, and Reece had said last night that the boy couldn’t keep a secret. Was Ralphy’s loyalty to Reece strong enough that he would spy for him? And was she enough of a threat to Reece MacBride that he would bother?

Blatantly defying Reece MacBride was like tempting the devil himself. But she really didn’t have a choice, not if she were going to stay in Providence and remain true to herself.

“I’m sorry, Ralphy, but I can’t afford to pay you this time. I’m giving this issue away. “She started walking up the street again, and Ralphy fell in step beside her.

“Give it away?” he asked incredulously. “But you’ll never be sol... soli... solv....”

“Solvent?" She stopped abruptly, turning to face him. That was a word Ralphy hadn’t come up with on his own.

“Yeah, solvent. “At least the boy had the grace to look a bit sheepish. “If you give the papers away, how can you make enough money to pay rent and all?”

“You let me worry about that,” she said.

Pushing the door to the general mercantile open, she stepped inside. A cozy warmth, tinged with the scent of cinnamon, greeted her. She smiled inwardly, distracted from her dark doubts as she gazed around the room at shelf upon shelf of neatly stacked and attractively displayed merchandise. There was no clutter in this store, though she imagined a person could find just about anything she needed here.

“May I help you?” the man behind the counter asked.

Emma smiled at the tall, bespectacled man whose winning smile made her feel more welcome than she had since she’d arrived in Providence.

“My name is Emma Parker,” she said, crossing the room to stand before the counter.

The store’s coziness encircled her and tugged at her heart. It was very much like the Beatty’s store in Savannah, a place where she had spent many happy afternoons as a child, scanning the shelves, eating penny candy and imagining the things she would buy someday when she was grown and had a home of her own.

“I’m renting the newspaper office next door,” she went on, not allowing her mind to be distracted by old dreams. Someday she might have a home of her own, but right now she was a woman alone trying to make a way from herself in a man’s world. There was no place in her life for fantasies. “I was wondering if I could put a few newspapers on your counter --”

“I’d be glad to sell a few, Miss Parker,” he told her. “My name is Elias Edwards.”

“Mr. Edwards,” she acknowledged. “Actually, I’m giving them away -- as a way of introducing myself to the community.”

“Well, that’ll sure make you a lot of friends,” he told her with a smile. “Leave as many as you like. Business should be brisk today with the miners getting paid and all.”

“Thank you. “Emma unbound the papers and placed a stack of a dozen on the counter.

Mr. Edwards picked up the top one and scanned the front page, his friendly expression turning to one of surprise when he read the headline: Reward Money Missing: Sheriff Declares Innocence.

“Well,” Emma said, trying to ignore the unease that settled in her chest at the look of horror that transformed Mr. Edwards’s face as his eyes skimmed the page, “I wish I could stay and chat, but --”

Mr. Edwards dropped the paper onto the counter and spoke without looking her directly in the eye. “You know, on second thought, I don’t believe I will be able to help you. The counter is already so crowded.”

Emma’s shoulders slumped. As she’d feared, everyone in this town was intimidated by Reece MacBride. Mr. Martin at the telegraph office had reluctantly taken a stack of papers, but she suspected he’d thrown them in the trash the minute she’d left. The same was true of Mr. White at the hardware store.

She tried to formulate some kind of argument that would make an impression on Mr. Edwards, but she knew exactly why he’d suddenly changed his mind. By reporting possible impropriety in the sheriff’s office, she was openly challenging Reece MacBride, and anyone who distributed her newspaper might very well feel the sting of his disapproval. And there was nothing she could say to allay his fears when those same fears plagued her.

“May I see that?”

Emma turned at the familiar voice and smiled at Doctor Stevens who had come to stand behind her.

Doctor Stevens smiled in return. “Is this your first issue?” he asked, taking the paper Mr. Edwards had dropped.

“Yes,” she replied. “I was on my way to bring you one.

Doctor Stevens looked at her over the top of the paper, a slow smile spreading over his round face. “Well, I can certainly see why Mr. Edwards’s counter top suddenly shrunk.”

“That’s not fair, Doc,” Mr. Edwards insisted.

“Have a little backbone, Elias,” the doctor chided. “If you’d gone to the bank for a loan instead of MacBride, maybe that counter and your self-respect would be a little bigger.”

Doctor Stevens scanned the paper again, then peered at Emma. “This paper is dated yesterday.”

“I had a little trouble getting it out on time,” Emma admitted.

“I should think so if Reece got a look at this!" he retorted. “Are you naturally reckless, Miss Parker?”

Emma bristled. “I am the voice of the people, and I take my job very seriously.”

“I’m sorry,” the doctor said chagrined. “I admire your commitment, believe me. But perhaps someone should have explained to you how things work around here.”

“You mean that Mr. MacBride owns the mine that employs nearly everyone in town?”

“Yes, but that’s only part of it.”

“And he controls the sheriff.”

“He owns the sheriff,” the doctor corrected. “And he is methodically taking over the entire town.”

“Why doesn’t anyone stop him?”

“Well for one thing, for all his faults, Reece provides a service. You got a taste yesterday of what this town would be like without leadership. Hanging that man in the middle of town was barbaric.”

“He was famous. “Mr. Edwards spoke nervously, watching in his peripheral vision as Doctor Stevens rearranged the items on his counter. “Folks just wanted to have their picture taken with him.”

“Will you look at that?” the doctor said. “An empty space on the counter, and it’s just the right size for a stack of newspapers.”

“Please, Doc....”

Doctor Stevens took several papers from Emma and placed them in the empty space on the counter, then turned to look at her with a smile. “Where are you off to next, Miss Parker?”

“The bank. I thought they might let me put some there for customers to read while they wait in line.”

“Excellent idea. I’ll walk with you. Good day, Mr. Edwards,” the doctor said to the storekeeper before accompanying Emma from the store.

“I appreciate what you did just now,” Emma told him as the door closed behind them.

“It’s the least I could do.”

“But why did you do it? That man seemed terrified. Aren’t you --”

“Elias is in debt to MacBride. And that is not a position you want to be in.”

Emma drew a ragged breath. She wasn’t exactly indebted to Mr. MacBride, but her business, her very life, depended on his benevolence as her landlord. If she pushed him too far, he could just raise her rent so high she couldn’t possibly pay it.

“I’d be careful where Reece is concerned,” the doctor warned. “He doesn’t much like being challenged.”

“I’ve noticed,” she said with a humorless laugh. “Why doesn’t anyone stand up to him? You said he provides a service to the town, but if he’s so disagreeable.... I mean, he’s just one man.”

The doctor laughed. “A very ruthless, determined man, Miss Parker. He controls the law, not to mention the largest source of employment in these parts.”

“The mine.”

“That’s right. Most everyone in this town owes their living to Reece MacBride in one way or another, even you unfortunately.”

“Believe me, I know,” Emma replied. “What was Providence like before he came here?”

“I don’t really know. We arrived at the same time.”

Emma laughed, turning to face him as they stopped in front of the bank. “On the very same day?”

“Yes. “Doctor Stevens smiled sheepishly. “We came here together.”

Shock rendered Emma speechless for several seconds. “You... you mean you knew Reece MacBride before?”

“It’s a very long story,” he assured her.

Emma curbed her curiosity. She didn’t want the doctor to know just how interested she was in Reece MacBride. In fact, she didn’t even want to admit it to herself. But last night she had seen a side of him that intrigued her as much as it frightened her. Something dark and terrifying lived inside Reece, something she knew she should avoid at all cost. But the things he’d revealed, the way he spoke of his past, gave her the impression of a fallen angel, a man who had once been very different from the tyrant who ruled this town today. And though she should dislike him and avoid him, she couldn’t shake the sadness that gripped her heart at the pain she’d glimpsed in those cold, calculating eyes.

She was a fool, a fool who wanted to believe there was something worth saving inside his black heart. He stirred her blood with his charm and his magnetism and his devastating good looks, but that didn’t mean there was anything beneath that handsome exterior but wickedness and hate.

“Of course,” she said with a wan smile. “Thank you, Doctor Stevens, for what you did -- the newspapers.”

“Please call me Thaddeus.”

Emma nodded. “Thaddeus. “She turned to enter the bank, but the doctor’s halting words stopped her.

“Miss Parker.”

“Emma,” she corrected with a smile.

The doctor smiled shyly. “Maybe we could discuss it over dinner this evening at the hotel.”

“That would be very nice,” Emma said. “But I’m sure we can think of something to talk about other than Reece MacBride.”

Doctor Stevens smiled in surprise, as if he’d expected her to refuse. “Well then, shall we say seven o’clock?”

“Seven o’clock,” Emma replied absently. She glanced across the street in time to see Ralphy disappear through the front door of the hotel.

The doctor spoke, but her eyes remained riveted on the hotel. Reece MacBride was more than likely eating breakfast there right now.

“Just be careful, Emma,” Thaddeus said. “You have no idea what Reece MacBride is capable of.”

Emma trembled, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. If only she could live here and do her work without having to deal with Reece MacBride, if only that work hadn’t put her on a collision course with the man. If she were a dressmaker or a school teacher, she would never have to defy or stand up to Mr. MacBride. She could live peacefully in this town and never even have to see him except in passing on the street.

But if she were honest with herself, that prospect wasn’t as appealing as perhaps it should be. Despite everything she was learning about him from their few encounters, she was drawn to him, to the deep sadness she sensed whenever she was around him, a sadness he carried like an improperly healed wound. It appeared well on the outside, but the infection grew beneath a hard, bitter surface, poisoning the soul.