Place Of Her Own (17 page)

“And who made you—”

“God did.” Katherine placed her hands on her hips. “Now, sit down before my temper really starts to rise.” He sat.

Katherine filled a kettle with water. “You do know that Shelton and I are planning on getting married one day.” Hiram mumbled.

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, dear, Shelton made that clear when he came back to Hazel Greene.”

Katherine put the kettle on the stove. “He and I have spoken openly with each other. He loves you both and respects you tremendously. He’s hurting terribly having to make this decision, but he can’t support your gambling habit, Mr. Greene.”

“Who’s asking him to?”

“You are,” Katherine stated.

Hiram Greene blanched.

Katherine wasn’t sure where she’d found such boldness. Perhaps living with Grandma Mac was rubbing off on her.

“We haven’t asked Shelton for any money,” Elizabeth interjected.

“True. But your husband has been charging to your son’s accounts in town.”

Elizabeth stared at him with wide eyes. “Hiram?”

He buried his face in his hands. “I was going to pay it back.”

“With what?” Katherine asked.

He sat up straight and squared his shoulders. “With the money I’d earn.”

“How? From gambling? How much have you won so far?” Katherine stared at his blank face for a moment before continuing. “That’s the problem. You can’t think straight when you’re gambling. It controls you. I’ve lived with enough gamblers to know how it works.”

“Hiram, is this true?”

He turned his face away from his wife.

Katherine felt sorry for them. “Mrs. Greene, I’m sure your husband didn’t set out to become a gambler. It may have started as a gentleman’s wager over a horse race or some such thing. He probably made some money in the beginning. Then it began to control him, forcing him to make unwise choices. Fortunately, or unfortunately, you had enough money that he could hide his gambling from the family for years. Shelton says he only learned about it six months before he came here. But I know he’s been gambling for at least seven years.”

“How do you know that?” Elizabeth asked.

“That’s how I came to work for your family. Mr. Greene won me in a poker game.”

Tears pooled in Elizabeth’s eyes. “Hiram, is this true?”

Hiram pulled at his collar.

Katherine poured the hot water into the teapot and let the tea steep. “Mr. Greene do you really want to throw away your wife, your children, and your grandchildren for a deck of cards?”

He shook his head.

“You have the perfect opportunity to make things right. You can start over. Work with Shelton and help him breed horses. A man with your business sense must know legitimate ways to make a profit.”

Hiram Greene cleared his throat. “He wouldn’t want me.”

Katherine chuckled. “He knows all about my past, and he wants me. You both raised a wonderful son who has become a man with such respect for his parents that he wouldn’t listen to me when I said you should pay for your own mistakes. Instead, he convinced me that the right thing to do was to love and honor you by helping you and by having you move into this house.”

Katherine poured tea into each cup, then added milk the way she knew the Greens liked it. She was serving them now as a free woman, out of love for God and gratitude for what He’d done for her, not out of a debt that Hiram Greene once held over her. Katherine knew beyond a doubt she was totally free from the bondage of the past.
Thank You, Lord.

“Mr. and Mrs. Greene, there’s something else you should know.” She sat across from the couple. “I love Shelton, and I know now that I can truly love him without fear from the past.” She looked Hiram straight in the eye. She could tell from the look on his face that he realized she was recalling the night when he threatened her. “I thank you for all you’ve done to raise my future husband. I will be honored to have him as my partner in life. Even your mistakes have made him strong.”

Katherine pushed the chair away from the table and stood. “Mr. Greene, this is your house, if you choose to let the Lord rebuild you.” Katherine laid a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see myself out.”

Shelton found he owed more than a hundred dollars in town, thanks to his father’s charging. He had money left from the sale of the property in Hazel Greene, so he made arrangements to pay off each debt. But he made it clear that he would not accept any further charges on his father’s behalf.

He didn’t know whether he’d find his parents at the house or not, but he hoped he would. He’d spoken harshly with his father earlier, and he wanted to make peace with the man before he left.

He’d hoped Katherine would agree to marry him since Parson Kincaid had suggested it. But she was right; a new marriage was hard enough. They shouldn’t start with his parents and their problems weighing them down. He couldn’t be his father’s guardian any longer. Until the man’s heart changed and he repented of his sin, nothing would be different.

When he arrived back at the house, he sighed with relief that his parents were home. But the conversation he had with them took an unexpected turn.

“Shelton, I need to apologize to you,” Hiram said. “I’ve made a mess of my life and squandered my family’s fortune. Katherine opened my eyes, with a little help from your mother.” He glanced at his wife, then turned back to Shelton. “She doesn’t let a man off the hook, does she?”

Shelton chuckled. “No, she doesn’t.”

“You’ll have your hands full with that one, son. But she’s right. I do want to change.”

“Katherine told me your father’s been gambling for at least seven years,” Elizabeth said. “He confessed that it’s been nine. Does that sound right with what you saw in the financial books?”

“Yes,” he reluctantly admitted.

“Your father has agreed not to touch the finances. I’m going to pay all the bills and he’ll help me decide how and which ones.”

“Dad, are you aware of the debt you’ve incurred in Creelsboro?”

Hiram hung his head in shame, then lifted it again and faced Shelton. “Yes. About a hundred dollars, give or take a few.”

Elizabeth gasped. “Do we have that kind of money?”

“I do,” Shelton acknowledged. “I’ve made arrangements with the businessmen in town. I should have it all paid off in time for Christmas.”

Hiram’s shoulders slumped. Then he lifted them and looked directly into his son’s eyes. “Shelton, I know it won’t be easy, but I’m willing to work at changing.”

“It’ll only happen by God’s grace, Dad. You can’t do this in your own strength. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Hiram nodded.

Elizabeth took her husband’s hand. “Shelton, your father and I have a lot to talk about. Will you excuse us?”

“Of course. Good night.” He stood. “I’m glad you’re going to stay.”

Shelton was restless all night. Unable to sleep, he took an early-morning stroll through the woods and down to the river. Ice-covered rocks lined the river’s edge.

He turned up the collar on his coat and walked north around the peninsula that stuck out into the Cumberland. It felt good to own property. In spite of all his father had done to waste the family’s wealth, Shelton had the potential to earn it back again. The problem would be keeping that from becoming his primary purpose in life.

As he rounded the peninsula, he found an inlet with calm water and an embankment that climbed up twenty-five to thirty feet. Shelton climbed up the steep terrain. From the top, he could see his house to the left. The breathtaking view was spectacular. “This is where I’ll build, Lord. Katherine deserves a beautiful house with a wonderful view. She’ll love it here.”

With single-minded determination he set about making his plans. He would build a cabin with a loft. Upstairs would be their bedroom. From there they could see water all around them.

Shelton walked to Urias’s house. By the time he arrived the sun was up over the eastern ridge. “Urias?” he called as he entered the barn.

“Over here.”

Shelton stepped into the darkened barn. The smell of freshly spread hay made him realize he needed to do the same in his own barn. Urias sat by the cow, milking her.

“Have your parents moved out?”

Shelton filled Urias in about the latest turn of events. “If Father follows through on his promises, it looks like he and Mother will be living in the house permanently. Of course, if Katherine and I get married, it’ll be tough living under the same roof with them. But we’ll have to … at least until I can build a house for the two of us.”

Urias leaned back and raked his hair with his fingers. “Before you and Katherine started developing a relationship, Mac and I were building a log cabin for her a little to the west of Grandma Mac’s house. She wanted so much to have her own home.”

Shelton knew about that desire.

“We got as far as putting up the sides, but haven’t put a roof on yet. What do you think about you two living there for a couple of years while you build your own home?”

“My parents could use the privacy.”

“And so could you and Katherine.” Urias described the cabin’s location and the work they had accomplished so far. The weather was too cold to put on the roof right away, but come spring, it could be finished within a day or two. Shelton wondered if Katherine would be ready to marry by spring.

As he made his way to Grandma Mac’s house, he wondered if he should take Urias up on the offer of the log cabin or if he should just build his own house on the peninsula overlooking the river. He couldn’t wait to consult Katherine.

“Good morning, Mrs. MacKenneth,” he said when she opened the door to him.

“Morning, Shelton,” she said, escorting him into the living room. “You’re up early.”

I haven’t gone to sleep
, he held back from telling her. “Is Katherine up?”

“Haven’t seen her yet this morning. What happened last night?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why I need to talk with her.”

“I’ll go fetch her. You set for a spell. You look exhausted.”

Shelton paced in the sitting area until Katherine entered, wearing her housecoat. “Is everything all right?”

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“What’s the matter? Why are you here so early?”

“I have to ask you a couple of questions about your conversation with my parents last night.”

Katherine tensed.

“Honey, relax. Whatever you said did wonders. Father is repentant. Mother is in shock. They both want to stay. Is that all right with you? I mean, it’s your house, too, or at least it will be.”

“Shelton, sit down.” Katherine coaxed him to the chair and she sat in the rocking chair. “It’s not my house, Shelton.” Tears formed in her eyes. “It never will be.”

“Why? What’s happened?”

“I can’t really explain this,” Katherine said, “but yesterday, when I was speaking with your parents, I realized the house would never truly be mine. It’s theirs. You probably think I’m missing some mental capacities, and I probably am, but—”

Shelton placed a finger to her lips and smiled. “I know what you mean. I was out this morning exploring my—I mean our—property, and I found what I think will be the ideal place for us to build our home one day. Unfortunately, it will be a couple years before I have the funds to build the kind of house I’d like for us.”