No. She couldn’t have caused more hurt to her sister. Maddy swallowed hard. Whitney loved being the one they relied on. She loved being the big sister, taking them under her wing. But what if Havyn was correct?
Tears sprang to her eyes as her stomach plummeted. She sat up a little straighter and inhaled slowly. “I think you’vehit on it. She still wants to be strong for us, to fill the gap from Mama—because that’s her job as the eldest. But she can’t endure all of this alone. She needs us too.”
“Let’s make a pact.” New light shone in Havyn’s eyes. “No matter how much Whit tries to push us away, we won’t let her. We won’t leave her alone. We’ll pray for her throughout the day and do what Mama always did. She loved us but wouldn’t let us step off the narrow path. We’ve got to hold up our sister like Aaron and Hur helped keep Moses’s arms up as Joshua fought Amalek and his people.”
Her heart swelled with love for her family. “Agreed.” Peace filled her along with a sense of hope. They could help their sister. They could.
Then everything would go back to normal.
Judas couldn’t have planned it better if he had arranged the meeting himself.
Chris Powell stood directly in front of the sleigh. He looked at his daughter. “What are you doing in town?”
Whitney’s eyes shifted to his. “I was having dinner. With Mr. Reynolds.”
Powell turned and looked over his shoulder. “I see.”
“I thought you were out at the gold camp.” Whitney shifted her weight and stumbled a bit.
Her father reached out and steadied her.
Oh, to see the man’s face! Tamping down the urge to smile, Judas listened to the exchange.
“One of the miners came back for supplies and brought me back. I thought you might need help bringing more supplies out to help with the sick.”
“How did you know I was back in town?
“We stopped at the village and spoke with Dr. Cameron.”
“Oh, that’s very generous of you.” Whitney looked to Judas ... for help?
He didn’t need to be asked. “I think it’s time I brought your daughter home, Mr. Powell.”
Powell watched his daughter walk to the side of the sleigh. He tilted his head and furrowed his brow when she stumbled again.
Judas scooted over from his perch in the sleigh and reached down to help her up.
“Thank you.” Was that embarrassment he spied in her cheeks?
“Could I impose on you for a ride out to the farm?” Powell stepped close to the side.
Judas watched Whitney’s face. She closed her eyes for a moment and then sighed. He looked past her to the man beside the sleigh. “It might be a bit tight, but I think we can manage.”
“Thank you.”
Whitney slid across the seat closer to him, which didn’t bother him one bit. Judas tucked the warmed bricks around her and positioned the blankets over her. With Powell in the seat as well, they would stay quite cozy since it was built for two. But she tensed beside him. Was it because of his nearness, or because she didn’t want to ride with her father?
Judas knew more than enough about Christopher Powell and his past. He made it his job to know about the people in his town. Powell had been a drunk and run around on his first wife. Even had children with the second woman. Little hussy. Now the man was back in his daughters’ lives, which didn’t seem to please Whitney at all.
In fact, she scooted even closer to Judas once her father was situated.
He smiled inwardly.
As they started off for the farm, Powell asked several questions of Whitney, which she didn’t answer, stating that her head had begun to hurt. Naturally, Judas jumped in to save the day. That was what knights did, after all.
Even as he kept the conversation flowing with that good-for-nothing father of hers, his thoughts went back to the evening. How easy it had been to get Whitney talking once she’d had a little wine. And she hadn’t even noticed that he’d refilled her glass whenever it got below half-filled.
She’d been quite a thirsty lady, too. She must have had five or six glasses. They’d gone through two bottles. A fact that surprised him, but that he could definitely use to his advantage. Perhaps next time, once the wine had loosened her tongue, he could ask about gold on their property.
