Gabe roared with laughter when she finished talking. Olivia blushed as the banker continued laughing for a while. Tears rolled down his eyes as he laughed. He retrieved a handkerchief from his jacket and dabbed at his eyes.
“I haven’t had a merry laugh like that in a long while,” Gabe remarked after he controlled his humor.
“I’m serious, Gabe.” Olivia drew forward in her chair. “It’s not too late to change your ways. Jesus will welcome you with open arms. There’s much rejoicing in heaven at the repentance of a sinner.” Placing both her hands together, she continued, “I know there will be consequences for your actions over the years, but Jesus will see you through it all.”
Shaking his head, Gabe pushed himself to his feet. “You Christians think you know it all, don’t you? You think all you have to do is talk, mention some bible passages and the so-called sinner instantly repents.”
“Jesus gave us the instruction to go into the world, preach the good news, and make disciples of all nations. I’m doing what He wants me to do. Jesus loves you.”
Gabe rounded on her. “Then where was He when I needed Him?”
Olivia jerked on her seat at the fury in his eyes.
“I grew up in a very poor home. My parents could barely afford to feed five of us. My mother fell sick and died because there was no money to have her treated. Every day I begged God for help but He never answered. My father was a poor farmer, but he worked very hard. His land was taken away from him by a wealthy man who wanted to build the biggest ranch in Kansas. We were left without a home, and I swore that would never happen to me again.”
Olivia was sorry he and his family went through that, but she didn’t think it was enough for him to have gone into a life of crime. He was a banker. Surely he earned enough to keep him and his family comfortable.
“I understand what you went through. I have gone through a dark period myself, but God saw me through it all. If you put your hope and trust in Him, you will see the difference in your life.”
He waved a hand in disgust. “Please don’t tell me that. My parents did. Where did that get them?”
“Gabe, you don’t have any idea how difficult it was for me to come here knowing what you did to my parents. I’m here because God gave me peace to do so. Being human, I would prefer for you to suffer for what you did to them and others, but with God, I can forgive you and wish you the best. And the best thing you can do for yourself is to accept Jesus and give everything back. Accept Jesus and do restitution. Give the people back their lands and everything you took from them. You can’t bring back the lives lost, but genuine repentance will make up for it.”
Gabe roared in laughter again. “You must be very naïve if you think I’ll do any of that.” H snickered. “After doing that, then what? I go to jail, get out after many years, and return to nothing?”
“You get to start life anew with Jesus by your side.”
He scoffed. “Miss Olivia, you have no idea how the world works because you have lived in a cocoon all your life. I would rather be a wealthy and influential sinner than a poor Christian.”
Olivia’s jaw dropped.
“It’s amazing you still go about talking about God. What has He done for you? You’re a little better than a beggar and you want me to be like you?”
Before Olivia could open her mouth to defend her faith, Gabe walked to the door and opened it.
“Tell that marshal to give up on the case. And have nothing more to do with him because you will go down with him if you don’t. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”
Disappointed and sad, Olivia rose and walked out of the office. Her heart was heavy as she walked back to the Stanfords’. She hadn’t expected an instant change in Gabe, but she had expected him to be remorseful. And what was most painful was that all the people he had killed and tormented wouldn’t get justice. Gabe Winters would continue in his evil ways as he seemed too powerful to be brought to justice. More people would get hurt. Her chest clenched with despair. But she held on to her faith that God would intervene.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief when she saw Cora was still asleep. She wouldn’t tell anyone she went to see the banker. Sad that she hadn’t been able to help Adam, she quietly went to her room to pray.
Chapter 32
Feeling as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, Adam rode his horse into the ranch. A deep sigh escaped from his lips. He had never felt more useless in his life than at that moment. He hadn’t been able to make any arrests as he desperately wanted because the U.S. Marshal had asked him to stand down. Reports had reached them that he was allegedly taking the law into his hands. Investigations were underway to find out if the accusations were true. Adam knew it would be done secretly so he wouldn’t influence the people carrying out the inquiry. And that worried Adam because he felt the people were too afraid of Gabe Winters to tell the men coming the truth.
Adam dismounted from his horse in front of the stables. He led Dark Knight in and absentmindedly rubbed the horse down. Olivia filled his thoughts and guilt stole up to his chest. He had avoided her after apologizing for the way he treated her the other day. She deserved better than a troubled marshal. Nevertheless, he missed her terribly and he wished his bosses would get done with their investigations swiftly so he could know where he stood. Everything in him wanted him to go to Olivia and tell her how much he loved her. he couldn’t do that, not with so much going on at the moment.
A smile curled his lips at the memory of her smiling face crossed his mind. He loved the way her eyes crinkled whenever she laughed. The image of her glorious hair blowing in the wind deepened his smile.
I miss her!
He would see her after having his lunch. Annie had made him promise he would return to the ranch for lunch. His sister-in-law was doing everything she could to bridge the gap between him and Stephen. After their argument, things had become worse between him and his brother. Adam didn’t know if Stephen did it intentionally, but his brother was out of the house even before Adam woke up. Adam had ridden to the range the previous day so he could talk to Stephen. He was told his brother had gone into town. By the time Adam got to the town, Stephen was back at the range.
Adam hoped Stephen would be present during lunch. He missed talking to Stephen, and he didn’t like the animosity between them.
Adam crossed the courtyard to the house, hoping the talk with his brother would help them put away their malice and come to a compromise.
His face creased into a frown when the aroma of burned food hit his nostrils. His feet propelled him forward as he wondered if anything had happened to Annie. It was unlike her to burn food. His heart quickened, thinking she might have fallen into labor.
