Some History
Deciding to keep the dialogue flowing, Hope asked Caroline, “Do you like it here? You haven’t lived here long, have you?”
Caroline answered the second question first. “We moved down a little over a year and a half ago. Paul couldn’t decide whether he wanted cattle or cotton.” She shook her head but smiled, like she was used to putting up with her husband’s antics. “So he is tryin’ to do both. We liked it a lot at first. But then....” Her voice trailed off, and her countenance changed completely. Shaking her head back and forth, she said, “I know you’ve heard the rumors. You can’t step foot in McKinney and not have someone tellin’ you about the scandalous Judah Lawless and his family of miscreants.”
Hope almost chuckled; it just sounded so ridiculous when she put it like that. “I have heard a few things, though I don’t take to rumors much. I prefer to judge a person by the character they show me, not by what others presume to know about them.”
Caroline turned to look at her and smiled. “I had a feelin’ you must or else you wouldn’t be here.” She turned back to face the road. “At any rate, things changed all of a sudden, and we no longer felt welcome in town. Oh, sure, it’s not so bad that I can’t run by the five-and-dime or the feed store. I’ve never had nobody harass me directly. And Judah acts like no one has ever said a word to him. Maybe they haven’t. But they talk behind his back, behind my back. Paul won’t come to town no more. That’s why you’ve never met ‘im. If he needs somethin’ for the farm, Judah’ll go get it for him. “
That seemed a little strange to Hope. After all, it wasn’t Paul who had been accused of murder. “I’m sure it’s none of my business, but why is it that Paul won’t come to town?”
Caroline pressed her lips together, her eyes moving around a bit as she pondered whether or not to answer the question. “He felt guilty, I guess.” She let out a loud sigh, and Hope wished she hadn’t asked if it made her uncomfortable to talk about it. “I ain’t sure what you know exactly....”
“Very little. As I said, I prefer to avoid rumors when I can.”
“I won’t tell Judah’s story ‘cause it ain’t my place. But I will tell you, Judah was married to Paul’s sister, Sylvia. She passed away—about three years ago. Paul ain’t moved past it. None of us has, but he especially gets upset whenever he drinks.”
The deep breath Hope drew in at the mention that Judah’s most recently deceased wife was actually Paul’s sister was silent, and she was glad for it. “That’s tragic. I’m so sorry. Were the two of you close?”
“Oh, yes. Sylvia was my best friend. Had been for years. And her death was... awful. Anyhow, Paul blames himself for puttin’ us in this position. We’d all agreed not to mention her to anyone. But one night, on the third anniversary of her passin’ he went to town and drank a little too much. He said some things, things he regrets. Though he swears he didn’t say what the town folks decided to hear. At any rate, that was the end of the friendliness between us and the rest of the citizens of McKinney, save for a few who, like yourself, ain’t so judgmental.”
Mr. Canton came to mind. He seemed to believe Judah was innocent. She wondered who else Caroline might be talking about—certainly not the Howards or those ladies in the bank. Even the kind teller had seemed apprehensive when Judah walked in. “It must be difficult living that way,” Hope said, her voice soft. “Do you ever think of going somewhere else?”
“No, I haven’t,” Caroline answered quickly. “Judah built me the house of my dreams when we moved here. I know it was because he felt sorry for my loss. Like I said, Sylvia was a dear friend to me. Obviously, it couldn’t replace her, but it meant a lot to me that he was willing to go to so much trouble to give me such a nice place. So even though folks aren’t too friendly any more, we can handle it. We stay clear as much as we can, and then we have our little community out here that accepts us just fine. I only... worry about the children.” She shifted the reins so that she only had them by one hand and raised her other hand to the brim of her bonnet, as if it wasn’t quite wide enough to block the sun from her eyes. “Judah told me about your concerns yesterday.”
“I am concerned. I don’t think George has any idea that some of the other children are being unkind, but it seems to be wearing on Ginny. The problem is, I never actually hear it. And she doesn’t report it, so it’s hard for me to address. Other than pullin’ the other girls aside and tellin’ them to quit—which I don’t think Ginny would like either—I’m not sure what to do.”
“Children can be so cruel,” Caroline murmured. She turned the wagon down another dirt lane. This one looked more like a well-traveled pair of wagon ruts than an actual road, and in the distance, Hope could hear hammering. She took a deep breath, realizing she’d likely be seeing Judah soon. Her stomach twisted at the idea, which was unsettling. How could someone be both delightful and dangerous at the same time, and why was she even thinking of him when she had been warned by so many to stay away for more reasons than she could count?
“I will do my best to prevent the teasing from happening in the future,” Hope assured the worried mother. “I will also remind Ginny that her armor is thicker than their arrows.”
Caroline turned her head and smiled at Hope. “What a lovely way to put it.”
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