More Warnings
“I got the impression Mr. Stewart may have been withholding information about my cabin next to the school from me.” Hope didn’t know how to mention what she’d overheard, so she kept it to herself.
“We were just sayin’ we think this whole thing is a little suspicious, Hope, and you need to be careful.” Doc looked more concerned than Hope could’ve ever imagined was necessary, and she felt her stomach tighten with worry.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we don’t know anythin’ for sure,” Nita said, seeming to try to calm her son. “But... Mr. Canton and Mr. Jones said they come into a donation to get the house built and they’d be willin’ to let Mr. Stewart take the credit so long as the school board approved the structure,” Nita explained.
“All right....” Hope wasn’t sure where this was going.
“Bein’ as I’m the secretary, I got a look at the plans. They’s complicated, Hope. It ain’t yer run of the mill little cabin doodled on a sheet a’paper fer just anyone to build. This here sketch come from a real architect.”
Hope suddenly realized where the conversation was going. “And why is that a problem?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“So long as Mr. Canton and Mr. Stewart stand as intermediaries, I don’t suppose it is. And we don’t know where the money come from fer sure. But....”
“You need to be careful, Hope,” Nicholas said again, stepping forward, the look in his eyes saying even more than his words. “If he’s got his sights set on you....”
“Nicholas, don’t scare her,” Nita reprimanded.
“Well, Mama, you know what Brady said, about that barn raisin’.”
Hope’s neck was starting to ache a little from swiveling back and forth. “What are you talking about?” she asked, not that she didn’t already have an idea.
Nita sighed loudly. “We think maybe this money come from Judah Lawless. Maybe he’s tryin’ to get his hooks in ya, make you think he’s a good feller because he’s designed yer house. Maybe he’ll even have a hand in the buildin’. He ain’t what he appears, Hope. We know Brady’s warned you. I’ve warned ya myself.”
“We just want you to be careful, Hope. Brady said he saw the two of you speaking to each other at the barn raisin’, and he didn’t like—what it looked like.”
Hope scoffed, unable to believe her ears. “What it looked like was someone helping me carry two heavy buckets of water to the men working on the barn—and that’s all. If Brady imagines he saw something else, then he is sorely mistaken. I can’t even think of the last time I spoke to Judah Lawless!” That last part was certainly a lie, and maybe all of it was. She knew exactly when she’d last spoken to Judah. But then, there really hadn’t been anything between them in the conversation Doc had mentioned. Implying that there had been would mean Judah might have feelings for her, and he’d made his position clear that night in the woods. Hopefully, no one knew about that conversation. That one would be more difficult to dismiss.
“All we’s sayin’ is to be careful,” Nita said dismissively. “Could be Mr. Lawless has put Mr. Canton up to runnin’ for school board so he can change your contract. Maybe he’s got eyes fer ya.”
“Or maybe he is just looking out for the best interest of his niece and nephew.”
“Like he was with the playground equipment?” Doc asked, rubbing the toe of his boot into the floor.
Hope stared at him for a moment, her forehead crinkling. How did he know that? She wasn’t sure if she should deny knowing where the playground equipment had come from or just let it be. Seeing the look on his face, she decided it was useless to argue anymore about something that didn’t matter. Whether or not she was interested in Judah made no difference since she knew full well he didn’t care about her like that. “I appreciate the warning,” Hope said, taking a deep breath, “and I’ll bear it in mind.”
“Don’t trust him, Hope,” Nicholas said, not for the first time.
Hope nodded, managed a smile, and said, “If y’all will excuse me, I’m tired from bein’ outside in the hot sun.” She headed for the stairs, thinking it really didn’t matter how much trust she put in Mr. Lawless. He’d made his position clear, and chasing after him wasn’t going to do either one of them any good. The Howards were wasting their time being afraid of a romance that would never even have the chance to bloom.
Her comment about being tired was an understatement. Hope sank down on her bed, wishing there were some sort of breeze in her room, but even with the window open, the white curtains hardly stirred. She could’ve fallen asleep if it weren’t so unbearably warm.
Instead she lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering how long it might take for her house to be done. Would Judah build it himself? Would his friends from church help? Or had Mr. Stewart found someone else to do the work and just let Judah foot the bill? Surely, he hadn’t paid for it all himself. She rolled over onto her side and tucked her hand beneath her cheek. He sure must love Ginny and George a lot to go to so much trouble, she thought. It was hard to imagine someone capable of that kind of love could ever be accused of the kind of hate Nicholas and Nita thought he must’ve felt for his previous wives. Maybe Hope didn’t know him as well as she would’ve liked to, but there was no way in the world someone who would build a schoolteacher he had only spoken to a handful of times her own little cottage could possibly be a cold blooded killer. It was just too bad everyone else in the town was too blind to see the truth.
Hope rolled over again so she was facing the wall. There had to be some way to make the rest of the town see they were villainizing a good person. She had no idea what it might be, but if she could do anything at all to make it tolerable for Judah and his family to live in McKinney, she wanted to help. Maybe, if she looked hard enough, she’d find a way. For now, she decided it was best to keep Mr. Stewart’s secret, at least until the house was built and maybe until the election was over. Mr. Canton had to have something in mind for keeping it a secret, and she wasn’t about to do anything to interfere. In the meantime, she’d do anything she could to help Mr. Canton win the election not because she secretly hoped he’d change her contract but because he was the best man for the job, and Hope was tired of seeing good men lose.
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