Chapter 33
“It’s so good to have you back, Olivia.” The matron beamed from ear to ear.
“It feels good to be back, Mrs. Harrison.” Olivia returned her smile and shifted her gaze to the children who were playing in the courtyard.
Olivia and the matron sat under a tree beside the building, watching the children run around the compound. Olivia closed her eyes to enjoy the cool breeze under the shade the tree provided. She had returned to the orphanage that morning amidst the joyous screams of both the children and the staff. It had felt wonderful seeing the children again. She had hugged them with joy in her eyes.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t return,” the older woman confessed, and Olivia frowned.
“Why did you think that?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t know how long the case would take to get solved. And I also thought that you might enjoy staying at Boone and Cora’s place so much, helping with the farm and keeping them company, you might not want to come back. And then there was the marshal to consider as well. If he had asked for your hand in marriage, then there was no way you would return here.”
Olivia’s face turned a fiery red, and she looked away when the matron’s keen gaze fell on her face.
“That wouldn’t have happened. I love it here.”
“Even if you and the marshal get married?”
Olivia realized the matron was fishing for information about her relationship with Adam. What she didn’t know was that there was nothing to say. She hadn’t seen Adam in two days. After he hurt her feelings by mocking her and her faith, she hadn’t caught a glimpse of him.
Her heart still ached at the way he treated her that day, but she couldn’t help loving him still. It took plenty of tears and prayers, but she had finally understood that he had lashed at her out of frustration. It wasn’t as if he meant what he said. She had triggered something inside him when she spoke about God, and that had sent him off the deep end. She had questioned why she made excuses for him and then realized it was because she loved him unconditionally.
“That’s unlikely to happen, Mrs. Harrison. So, don’t be afraid. I’ll always be here for you and the children.”
The older woman appeared crestfallen as her face fell and her eyes became dull.
“I had hoped that with your time away, you and the marshal would develop something. You two make a perfect couple and I could have sworn that Adam had an interest in you.”
Olivia shifted her face from the woman’s pale face. She, too, had erroneously thought she meant more than just a friend or someone to protect or help with his case to Adam. But her time away had made her know Adam was only interested in the law. He might care genuinely about her, but not in the way she presumed. Despite his sweet words that she meant a lot to him, she reckoned it only had something to do with the case. After all, she was the only witness who had been willing to testify against Gabe Winters.
And they have taken it away from him!
The one thing he so much believed in and spent so many years pursuing had been unfairly taken from him. When the news reached Boone that his foster son had been fired, none of them had believed it. Stephen, filled with worry for his brother, had come over to talk to his foster parents about it. The rancher had felt terrible because of the strong words he had exchanged with Adam.
“I was against what he was doing, but I would never wish him ill-luck. I never knew they sent men to question the townsfolk about his dealings. I would have spoken to them about Adam’s love and passion for justice,” Stephen had lamented helplessly.
No one they knew was questioned about Adam’s performance in the short while they transferred him to Ruby Rock. It appeared Gabe Winters and the sheriff had bribed or threatened people to give false reports about Adam. And the investigators had concluded on those claims.
When they searched for Adam to express their concern and offer him comfort, support, and encouragement, they hadn’t found him which had caused them to panic. It was late in the evening of that day he sent word to them that he had to go somewhere to think and plan his next line of action.
Olivia had worried herself to sleep that night with prayers on her lips. She had wished she could see him and talk to him and offer him the comfort he needed. The pain of her parents and her Indian family and others killed without justice also kept her awake that night. She had wondered with bitterness if that was it––if Gabe Winters would never be brought to book. If someone as fervent in his job as Adam couldn’t take the man down, then who would? The former marshal had also failed.
The following day, Adam had sent her a note apologizing for what he did to her and asked her to return to the orphanage as there was no longer a threat to her life or that of the children. Heartbroken, she had agreed to spend one more day with Cora before she came back. In a bid to at least do something after praying as faith without works was dead, she went to the bank but Gabe refused to see her. She went to some of the townsfolk and pleaded with them to come forward with evidence against the banker but no one listened to her. She even went as far as trying to see the sheriff but he asked her to leave. Crestfallen, she had returned to the orphanage.
But she didn’t think it was over. Surely God would rise and show His supremacy and awesomeness. If only she could see Adam and tell him that. God wouldn’t do anything while Gabe Winters continued in his evil way. Oh, no, she didn’t think so.
Olivia let out a sigh. He would of course rebuff it as usual, particularly now that he would be angry with the world.
“Are you all right, Olivia? I can’t help but notice you aren’t happy.”
How can I be happy when I don’t know where the man I love is to comfort him?
She presented the older woman with a small smile. “I’m fine, Mrs. Harrison. I’m just unhappy at the turn of events.”
The matron also sighed. “It’s a shame how things turned out. It’s unfair the way the marshal was treated. He’s a good man. I don’t know why anyone would tell lies about him.”
Olivia wanted to explain everything to her, but she didn’t see the need anymore. The case was over. Gabe Winters still walked free. What was the point?
