Love Inspired December 2014 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Rancher for Christmas\Her Montana Christmas\An Amish Christmas Journey\Yuletide Baby (13 page)

She slung her coat over her shoulders, locked her handbag in the car and hurried up the walk, stowing the keys in a pocket. The door opened easily at her touch. She found Ethan laying out a length of artificial evergreen garland, which he obviously meant to drape from the belfry, as the trap was open and the ladder was down.

“Should've locked that,” he said with a smiling sort of grimace. “Wouldn't want anyone to see the ropes on the bells, but I just couldn't resist the urge to slip over here and enjoy the view for a while. Thought I'd do a bit of decorating while I was at it.”

She started to sob, still clasping her coat together. He opened his arms, and she threw herself across the room, straight into them.

“I should have gone with you,” he said against her hair.

She shook her head again. “No. I had to do this on my own. But just as I knew they would, they
hate
me.”

“Give it a little time, sweetheart. You've had, what? A year and a half to get used to the idea? They've only just learned that the family history they've known all their lives is a fiction.”

“Jackson was livid.”

“Yes, I imagine he was,” Ethan said. “Wouldn't you be if you were in his shoes, er, boots?”

She honestly hadn't thought of it that way. Wiping her eyes with her hands, she pulled back to consider. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“What did he say exactly?”

“Oh, he said the whole idea of Lucy surviving the accident on the bridge was preposterous and that I'd used my position here to dig up details to make my story believable.”

Frowning, Ethan said, “I suppose we should've foreseen that. Did he fire you?”

Shocked, she realized that he hadn't. “No, actually, he didn't. Not yet anyway.”

“Well, that's something. What else did he say?”

“He accused me of planting memories in Rusty's mind.”

“Now,
that's
preposterous,” Ethan retorted.

“And he called me scheming, conniving, lying and vicious.”

Ethan's face hardened, and he said, “That was uncalled for. I really should have gone with you.”

She shook her head. “It wouldn't have made any difference. Might even have been worse.”

“What about the others?” Ethan asked, his brow furrowed. “Did no one believe you?”

Shrugging, she admitted, “I'm not sure. They had questions, certainly, but Jackson is the one I have to convince. You know that.”

“He'll think it through,” Ethan assured her, “and he'll come around.”

“You say that now, but you don't know what Jackson may do. Maybe I should just leave town before he has a chance to act.”

“You will not,” Ethan insisted, “I need you here. How would I get through Christmas without you?”

Of course, Christmas. Even in her anger, she'd made it clear to the Shaws that she planned to remain in Jasper Gulch until after the holiday. She managed a nod.

“I'll stay then, my Christmas gift to you.”

“That's all I want for Christmas,” he told her, kissing her in the center of her forehead.

That might be all he wanted, but he deserved so much more! He, too, had family who refused to acknowledge him, family who should be here with him, supporting him, celebrating this holy holiday with him, loving and appreciating him. Robin had let herself be distracted from contacting his sister before, but that wouldn't happen again.

“Come on,” she said, sniffing. “I'll help you hang the garland before I go.” Perhaps her time here was short, but she meant to enjoy every moment of it.

“Great,” he said, catching one end of the greenery.

He headed to the wrought iron ladder, climbing it up through the trapdoor in the ceiling. She slipped on her coat, draped the other end of the garland around her shoulders and followed him up. Hammer in hand, he tacked up a nail on the outside of the belfry and looped the greenery around it before moving carefully to the next corner to repeat the process. Robin fed him the garland in measured lengths, making sure that he got the drape right and that the greenery was hung securely at each juncture. When they came to the end of the garland, they were left with only two short, very narrow wires with which to attach it.

“You hold it in place while I tie the wires together,” Ethan said, going down on his knees on the narrow ledge around the inside of the belfry.

Robin mimicked his pose, going down on her knees beside him. He reached around her with one arm so he could use both hands to get the tiny wires fastened.

“There,” he said. “I think that's got it.”

As she fluffed and straightened the garland, he kept his arm about her. She looked up to find that he was gazing off across the housetops and the valley floor to the mountains beyond as if transfixed. She couldn't blame him. Even from this perspective, the view stunned the eye. It somehow seemed fitting that they should take it in on their knees.

Robin could not resist the urge to lay her head on Ethan's shoulder. He put his cheek against her crown. They said not a word for a long while, but eventually the cold became too much to bear.

“We should go below,” Ethan urged softly.

Nodding, she let him help her to her feet, then followed him down the ladder. He closed the trapdoor and stowed the pole.

“I have to leave,” she said. “I need to make some phone calls. I have to speak to Rusty, for one, warn him that I told Jackson what he knows.”

Nodding, Ethan agreed. “He won't mind. He was prepared to tell the story himself, if you recall.”

“Still, I can't let him be blindsided by Jackson in a fury, if it's not already too late.”

“You're right. You're right.”

Wrinkling her nose, she muttered, “I lost my temper and mouthed off about the gold.”

Ethan let out a long, low whistle. “And how did that go over?”

“Nadine couldn't have been more horrified. The others were clearly mystified, and that's more or less when Jackson threw me out.”

“Hmm, well, I suspect we won't have long to wait before we know what happens next. Will I see you tonight at the evening service?” he asked.

She made a face. “I don't want to run into any of the Shaws just yet. Will you let me know if you hear anything?”

“Sure. How about lunch tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I don't know if I'll even get a chance to grab a sandwich while working. There's so much to do. Dinner tomorrow night?”

“Wedding practice and rehearsal dinner.”

“Oh, right.”

“I could meet you about six-thirty at Great Gulch Grub for breakfast the next morning,” he offered tentatively.

She shook her head. “I don't think you ought to be seen in public with me.”

He threw up his hands. “I'll bring it to the inn, then.”

She smiled and gave him two thumbs-up. “Deal.”

“You are one stubborn woman.”

“Just concerned,” she refuted, heading for the door.

She hurried out, already reaching into her pocket for her keys and cell phone. Rusty would be her first call, but at some point she intended to speak to someone in California.

She'd do whatever it took to reunite Ethan and his sister. She might never be part of Ethan's family, but she would do everything in her power to give him back what family he already had.

Maybe that was the point of it all. Maybe that had been God's plan all along. Maybe, just maybe, He had brought her here, not to claim her own family, but to help Ethan reunite with his.

If so, she would count the cost worth it and go home glad, even if she had to leave a big chunk of her heart behind here in Jasper Gulch, Montana.

Chapter Thirteen

E
than had expected Jackson to be skeptical, even angry, but to accuse Robin of using her position at the museum to dig up material with which to essentially blackmail the family went far beyond acceptable to Ethan's way of thinking. And to call sweet Robin scheming, conniving, lying and vicious! Well, Ethan hadn't been prepared for the white-hot rage he'd felt when she'd reported Jackson's words to him.

Only the need to soothe her emotionally distraught state had kept his anger in check until she'd left. Still, not immediately confronting Jackson Shaw about his treatment of Robin was probably a good thing. Cooler heads would surely prevail by the time of the evening service.

As expected, Robin did not put in an appearance, and the only Shaws to show up at the service were Cord, Austin and Faith. Katie, Cord's wife, left as soon as the service ended. Austin, Cord, Faith and Dale stayed behind, lingering until everyone else had gone. Ethan girded himself for a showdown, for if they didn't bring up the meeting with Robin, he would. Austin broached the subject without fanfare.

“You know about Robin's claim?”

“I believe it's more than a claim. I believe it's fact.”

“The story's just so crazy,” Faith said. “Our whole lives we've believed that Lucy died when Ezra's Model T went off the bridge.”

“That's what you were
supposed
to believe,” Ethan pointed out.

“If Robin just hadn't waited so long to come forward,” Dale said, “I think it would be easier for everyone to accept.”

“I understand that,” Ethan told him, feeling some relief that they weren't rejecting Robin's assertions out of hand, “but her own parents cast doubt on the story, and you have to understand how much Robin loved her great-grandmother. She didn't want that dear lady branded a liar or a lunatic. Robin felt that she needed proof before she came forward. Then she got caught up in the centennial celebrations, and there was the disappearance of the time capsule and its contents. No sooner did she find the proof she needed—”

“That photo of Great-Great-Grandmother Elaine,” Cord put in.

“Exactly. She hadn't even decided what to do with that when Dale showed up, then with everything she and Olivia had uncovered about Silas Massey looting the bank, well, she didn't know what to do. When Dale and Faith became engaged, Robin began to fear that if she came forward, you'd all think she was opportunistic.”

Dale and Faith exchanged glances, but Cord said, “Because of the Massey money, you mean, but that doesn't quite track. Not if she's a granddaughter of the Templetons.”

“Which you must know by now she is,” Ethan said, folding his arms. “But you're conveniently omitting any mention of the gold.”

“There's no proof this Shaw-Massey gold even exists!” Cord exclaimed.

“Are you sure about that?” Ethan asked. “Maybe you'd better talk to Rusty Zidek before you make up your minds.”

“That's exactly what we're going to do,” Austin said.

“Meanwhile,” Ethan warned, “you tell your father to behave himself where Robin Frazier is concerned. He's skeptical. I understand that. But she does not deserve name-calling—”

“We're sorry about that,” Faith put in quickly. “I'm sure it was just the shock of the whole thing.”

“Or threats,” Ethan went on.

“No threats were made,” Dale assured him.

“But it would help if we could keep a lid on this,” Cord added, “for the time being, at least. Just until we figure out what's what.”

Ethan nodded, satisfied. “I think Robin feels the same way.”

“I, for one, just don't understand what she hopes to gain,” Austin said. “I wasn't there when all this went down, so I only know what the others have told me, but if she's not after money, then what's the point?”

“All she's ever wanted is family,” Ethan told them. “Don't you get it? All she's after is the connection, just to be part of something bigger than herself. You all have that. You're Shaws. You have brothers and sisters and now sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. There will be nieces and nephews soon, cousins, grandchildren to fill your parents' home. For Robin, there's just Robin. As it stands now, her children will have just each other, and who's to say they won't fall out? Who will they have then?

“Robin's great-grandmother was her anchor,” Ethan went on. “She was family going back three generations, but that's all gone now. Lucy must have seen it on her deathbed. She must have realized that she had cheated Robin of the extended family that she so desperately needs, and she tried to give it back to her. She tried to give
you
to Robin, and I have to say that Robin deserves better than you've given her so far.”

Faith, for one, looked abashed and sorrowful, and Dale, at least, seemed to understand.

“I can identify with that,” he said. “We Masseys have family all over the place, but we don't have what the Shaws have, and I didn't even realize it until I came to Jasper Gulch.” He kneaded Faith's shoulders and kissed the auburn crown of her head, saying, “It's part of why I fell in love with you.”

“Poor Robin,” she whispered.

“I don't think she's entirely alone,” Cord said, giving Ethan a half smile.

“She's not,” Ethan stated forthrightly, “and don't think I'll let anyone drive her away.”

“Dad said you had bottom and wouldn't be easily moved,” Austin told Ethan with an approving nod, “and from him that's high praise.”

“Well, I appreciate that, Austin,” Ethan said, “but can you guarantee that he won't go after her? We all know he could drive her out of town if that's what he's determined to do.”

Austin traded looks with his sister, who said, “Dad can be a hard man when it comes to family, and for Dad it always comes down to family. But he's not by nature vicious or unfair.”

Ethan bowed his head. That wasn't quite the reassurance for which he'd hoped.

“Look,” Ethan said, “I respect Jackson, but I
believe
Robin.”

“But then,” Dale ventured softly, “you're in love with her. Right?”

Ethan didn't deny it. He couldn't. So he said nothing at all.

“We'll see you tomorrow as planned,” Faith said, sounding apologetic.

“Wedding rehearsal,” Ethan acknowledged stiffly. “I, uh, believe you have a recording for me.”

“Oh, yes. I almost forgot.” She took the tiny thumb drive from her pocket and passed it to him. “Just so you know about how long each selection will be.”

After clearing his throat, he asked, “No vocals?”

Because Faith played the violin for the symphony orchestra in Bozeman, the Shaws had arranged for a string quartet from there to provide music for the wedding, but they wouldn't arrive until Christmas afternoon.

“Sadly, no,” Faith replied. “It's difficult to arrange these things for Christmas Day. Fortunately, my friends in the orchestra were willing to oblige me. Otherwise, we'd have to make do with recorded music only.”

“I'm sure it will be lovely,” Ethan told her.

The Shaw brothers had gone, and Faith and Dale were almost out the door when Dale suddenly turned back, calling out, “Oh, Pastor!” He came hurrying back to Ethan, extracting an envelope from his coat pocket as he did so. “Faith's not the only one to almost forget something important. I wanted to pass this along to you tonight, for services
about to be
rendered.”

He handed over the envelope, which was quite surprisingly thick. “Dale, I have the feeling this is too much,” Ethan said, but Massey shook his head.

“No, I sat down and tried to figure out what it's worth to me to be married to Faith by a man whom I both like and respect here in this town and church that my family helped found, and the price is, quite frankly, incalculable. Besides, I can afford it. Plus, I have the feeling you could use some extra cash right now.” He leaned close, adding, “And FYI, I did a little research, and I have it on good authority that there's an excellent jeweler in Bozeman.” He gave Ethan the name before hurrying back to Faith.

Ethan slid the envelope into his pocket with a grateful nod. He tried to take comfort in this unexpected largesse and Dale's even more unexpected information, but he couldn't help wondering what it meant. Was this God telling him that he had reason to hope? But how could he when he was still hiding secrets? Ugly secrets that no woman could be expected to forgive.

* * *

Rusty could not have been less concerned about Jackson Shaw or more pleased that Robin had finally revealed Lucy's secret. He cackled with glee over the whole thing, but Robin could not feel so sanguine about it all. The confrontation with the Shaws had gone pretty much as she'd expected, and yet she felt bone-deep disappointment that left her with a fragility she hated. That being the case, she took the coward's way and decided not to call her parents. That didn't keep Robin's parents from calling her, however.

After she talked to Rusty, she returned to her room at the inn and succumbed to the luxury of a hot soak in the tub to try to calm her frayed nerves before phoning California. When the bedside phone first rang, she groaned and considered not answering, certain whom she would find on the other end of the line. Ultimately, though, she yielded to the dictates of honoring one's parents.

Her mother made a very good argument that Robin needed to “put some mental distance” between herself and Jasper Gulch by visiting her Templeton grandparents' Santa Fe home for a while. Afterward, her father took the phone to say that they would miss her if she stayed away for the holiday.

“I really have obligations here that I can't get out of.” Robin refused apologetically, praying they wouldn't ask her about the Shaws.

“One of them wouldn't be named Ethan Johnson, would it?” her father wanted to know.

Robin pressed the mole beneath her eyebrow, sure they'd finally come to the point of this parental double-teaming. “He's the pastor here.”

“And the nephew of Molly Johnson and the brother of Colleen Connaught.”

Oh, she should have seen that coming.

“That's true,” she conceded, a sense of inevitability settling over her. “What about it?”

“Do you know that his father is in prison for manslaughter?”

“I do, yes, but that doesn't have anything to do with Ethan.”

“Well, the gang shooting that killed one Theresa Valens certainly has to do with him.”

“Gang shooting,” Robin parroted, her head spinning. “Ethan wouldn't be involved in any gang.”

“Are you sure about that?” Gary asked.

“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Did you miss the part where I said he is a pastor here?”

“Doesn't sound like pastor material to me.”

“Well, I assure you he is,” Robin stated briskly, her mind awhirl. “Now, I have to go.”

She didn't remember hanging up the phone or toweling off and changing into her pajamas. She just kept hearing Ethan say that he'd made mistakes about which she knew nothing, that he had his own secrets. She remembered his sermon about Herod killing the Jewish boys in an attempt to murder the predicted Jewish king and how Ethan had drawn a correlation between that and the gang killings in his old neighborhood in L.A. So much that he'd said and she had dismissed suddenly took on new meaning.

We all have secrets... I intend to reveal all of mine, just gradually.

What do you propose to do? Live with the lie? I can tell you from experience that it isn't easy to do.

I myself have suffered great failures of which you know nothing.

Some might disapprove...

He'd been especially concerned that her parents would disapprove of him, and now she had to wonder exactly why. Because of his father? Or because he, Ethan, had been in a gang?

She'd heard that it was impossible to leave a gang once you were part of one. Could Ethan be hiding out in Jasper Gulch?

No, no, that made no sense. He wouldn't be hiding under his own name. Besides, Ethan was a true pastor; anyone could tell that.

Still, it hurt to think that Ethan hadn't told her about this, hadn't explained. All the while he'd been pressing her to tell him
her
secrets, he'd been holding back his own.

That frightened her. The truth must be ugly, indeed, for Ethan to behave like this, and she couldn't help feeling that she was owed the truth.

Perhaps it would make leaving him and Jasper Gulch easier, but it didn't feel that way. Instead, she felt robbed, cheated. And not by Jackson Shaw.

* * *

Robin did not greet Ethan with a smile the next morning. He assumed that it had to do with her confrontation with the Shaws the afternoon before, so he wasted no time telling her about his conversation with Cord, Faith, Austin and Dale after the evening service. To his surprise, she seemed barely to listen, watching in silence as he laid out the foil-lined cardboard containers with their breakfast inside as he spoke. Afterward, she mentioned that her parents had called to try to convince her to come home to New Mexico for Christmas. His heart pounding, he asked if her plans had changed.

“That depends,” she said, staring at the scrambled eggs and ham he'd just uncovered.

“On what?” he asked carefully.

She looked up, spearing him with her round, blue gaze. “On what happened to Theresa Valens.”

Theresa. The bottom dropped out of Ethan's stomach. So his past had finally come to call. He didn't know why he was surprised. Strange, he hadn't expected it to play out quite this way.

“Your parents had me investigated, I guess.”

“Does that matter?”

“I suppose not.”

“I need to know what happened to her, Ethan.”

“Of course you do. I've meant to tell you all along.”