her, leaving
her alone to face a ghost from her past.
"Hello, Lane," the man said.
"Hello, Johnny Mack."
Chapter 6
' 'Who was that at the front door?''
Lillie Mae asked.
"I don't know. Some tall guy
wearing a Stetson," Will replied. "Mama said he was here to
see her and for me to come tell you to put on a fresh pot of coffee. Wonder
who he is?"
"Tall man? Wearing a Stetson?"
Lillie Mae's heart beat in an erratic rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. Had her prayers
been answered?' 'Black hair, dark complexion? About thirty-six?"
"Yeah, I guess that describes
him. I didn't get that good a look at him before Mama ran me off."
With his message delivered,
Will turned to exit the kitchen. As his hand reached the doorknob, Lillie
Mae rushed across the room and grabbed his arm. A startled gasp rounded
his mouth as his gaze questioned her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Don't go in there and disturb
your mama. Her business with that man is private."
"You know who he is, don't you?"
She tightened her hold on the
boy's arm-the boy who meant more to her than life itself. He was all she
had in this old world. Lane's son. Oh, she knew that Miss Lane hadn't nurtured
him in her body, that she hadn't given birth to him, but he was her child all
the same. Will belonged to Lane as surely as if he had grown inside her.
Together she and Lane had loved Will, sacrificed for him and protected
him at all costs. But in the end, they hadn't been able to protect him from
the truth. Or from Kent's vindictive rage.
"I think I know who he
is," Lillie Mae admitted, as she released her tenacious hold on
Will's arm. "I sent for him, to help your mama."
' 'Is he a lawyer? Somebody you
think can do a better job for Mama than James can?"
"We'd best wait and let your
mama answer your questions."
Will narrowed his eyes, squinting
them so that the expression on his face was identical to the look she
had seen on Johnny Mack's face a hundred times in the years she'd known
him as a boy and a young man. Such an angry, embittered young man. But
then he'd had a right to be all that and more. Life had dealt him a pretty
sorry hand, and he had played it the best way he'd known how.
"I hate this!" Will gritted
the words through clenched teeth. "More secrets! That's all my life
has been-ugly, dirty secrets."
"Now, you stop that!" Lillie
Mae shook her bony index finger in Will's face. "There's nothing
ugly or dirty about your life. You're a good boy. Not one thing that has
happened is your fault. Do you hear me? Just like your mama has told
you, you're the only innocent one in all of this mess."
Will's face flushed crimson.
"Maybe I'm not so innocent. Maybe I'm the one who… who-"
She grabbed his shoulders and shook
him. "I don't want to ever hear you talking such nonsense. Let your
mama and me and… and that man out there"- she inclined her head in
the direction of the foyer- "handle everything. We're not going
to let anything bad happen to you. Not ever again."
"That man out there-"
Will mimicked her head nod. "What's he got to do with us? Why would he
help you and Mama handle things?"
"Because he owes your mama
his life." Lillie Mae released her tight grip on Will, then lifted
her chin and squared her shoulders. "He's come back to Noble's Crossing
to pay a long overdue debt."
"How'd Mama save his life?"
Lillie Mae saw the curiosity in
Will's eyes. What would it hurt if she told him about Johnny Mack, about
what happened that long-ago September night, without revealing the
man's relationship to Will? Sooner or later, Will would have to be
told, but it would be up to Lane to decide when to tell Will who the stranger
was and to introduce father and son.
"Come on back in here and sit
down while I put on that fresh pot of coffee." Lillie Mae motioned for
him to sit at
her alone to face a ghost from her past.
"Hello, Lane," the man said.
"Hello, Johnny Mack."
Chapter 6
' 'Who was that at the front door?''
Lillie Mae asked.
"I don't know. Some tall guy
wearing a Stetson," Will replied. "Mama said he was here to
see her and for me to come tell you to put on a fresh pot of coffee. Wonder
who he is?"
"Tall man? Wearing a Stetson?"
Lillie Mae's heart beat in an erratic rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. Had her prayers
been answered?' 'Black hair, dark complexion? About thirty-six?"
"Yeah, I guess that describes
him. I didn't get that good a look at him before Mama ran me off."
With his message delivered,
Will turned to exit the kitchen. As his hand reached the doorknob, Lillie
Mae rushed across the room and grabbed his arm. A startled gasp rounded
his mouth as his gaze questioned her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Don't go in there and disturb
your mama. Her business with that man is private."
"You know who he is, don't you?"
She tightened her hold on the
boy's arm-the boy who meant more to her than life itself. He was all she
had in this old world. Lane's son. Oh, she knew that Miss Lane hadn't nurtured
him in her body, that she hadn't given birth to him, but he was her child all
the same. Will belonged to Lane as surely as if he had grown inside her.
Together she and Lane had loved Will, sacrificed for him and protected
him at all costs. But in the end, they hadn't been able to protect him from
the truth. Or from Kent's vindictive rage.
"I think I know who he
is," Lillie Mae admitted, as she released her tenacious hold on
Will's arm. "I sent for him, to help your mama."
' 'Is he a lawyer? Somebody you
think can do a better job for Mama than James can?"
"We'd best wait and let your
mama answer your questions."
Will narrowed his eyes, squinting
them so that the expression on his face was identical to the look she
had seen on Johnny Mack's face a hundred times in the years she'd known
him as a boy and a young man. Such an angry, embittered young man. But
then he'd had a right to be all that and more. Life had dealt him a pretty
sorry hand, and he had played it the best way he'd known how.
"I hate this!" Will gritted
the words through clenched teeth. "More secrets! That's all my life
has been-ugly, dirty secrets."
"Now, you stop that!" Lillie
Mae shook her bony index finger in Will's face. "There's nothing
ugly or dirty about your life. You're a good boy. Not one thing that has
happened is your fault. Do you hear me? Just like your mama has told
you, you're the only innocent one in all of this mess."
Will's face flushed crimson.
"Maybe I'm not so innocent. Maybe I'm the one who… who-"
She grabbed his shoulders and shook
him. "I don't want to ever hear you talking such nonsense. Let your
mama and me and… and that man out there"- she inclined her head in
the direction of the foyer- "handle everything. We're not going
to let anything bad happen to you. Not ever again."
"That man out there-"
Will mimicked her head nod. "What's he got to do with us? Why would he
help you and Mama handle things?"
"Because he owes your mama
his life." Lillie Mae released her tight grip on Will, then lifted
her chin and squared her shoulders. "He's come back to Noble's Crossing
to pay a long overdue debt."
"How'd Mama save his life?"
Lillie Mae saw the curiosity in
Will's eyes. What would it hurt if she told him about Johnny Mack, about
what happened that long-ago September night, without revealing the
man's relationship to Will? Sooner or later, Will would have to be
told, but it would be up to Lane to decide when to tell Will who the stranger
was and to introduce father and son.
"Come on back in here and sit
down while I put on that fresh pot of coffee." Lillie Mae motioned for
him to sit at
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