As they followed the crowd through the doors after church, Micah noticed Ellie growing uncomfortable with the hoard of people crowding her. As inconspicuously as he could, Micah took hold of her shoulders and shifted himself to the inside of the folks where she could walk beside the pews on one side and him on the other. The grateful glance she shot at him made him feel ten feet tall. Her blonde hair and fair features took his breath away every time he looked into her honeycomb colored eyes.
There was no doubt about it. He wanted to find everyone who’d ever had a part in wronging her and make them feel some of the hurt she’d felt, but would it really give him or her any satisfaction? The two main perpetrators were dead, and what would it really accomplish anyway? “After you, ma’am,” Micah said as he held the door for her to step through. “What did you think of today’s sermon?”
“I think it’s exactly what I needed to hear today,” Ellie admitted. They reached the bottom of the steps and slowly made their way towards the two wagons the Sutton family had brought to church out of necessity. “I’m learning so many things about the Lord, but the way Pastor Jim talked about allowing hate toblind you from what the Lord wants to do in your life really convicted me. I don’t think I’m at a point yet where I can forgive my grandfather.” She went silent, and Micah knew she was thinking of the suspicion she’d once shared that it had been her grandfather who’d had a hand in her mother’s death. “I can see a future where I might get there. That’s a first for me.”
Ellie moved ahead of him, and as he climbed up into the driver's seat of the new rig Isaac had purchased, Micah couldn’t help but think about Ellie’s strength. She’d been the one wronged, and yet she was the one pointing out her need to forgive. It felt off balance to him, as though she’d have every right to hold anger in her heart for everything she’d been through. Maybe Pastor Jim was right. Maybe anger did blind a body from the work God wanted to do in his life. If they could pursue earthly justice for Ellie as much as possible, could there be a future for the two of them beyond simple friendship? Could she ever learn to trust him as more than one of the few men who’d never hurt her? Could he ever find the courage to lay all his cards on the table once she was ready and see if she’d give him a chance?
Chapter Six
Micah studied her, as though trying to find some hint of hesitance in her decision. “Are you sure about this?” It had been a few weeks since Pastor Jim’s sermon on justice, but the whole time the idea of how unfair the terms around her trust felt had been her constant companion. Christmas had passed, and she’d witnessed the sweetest engagement between Isaac and Louisa, but the short lived distraction of Louisa’s family’s visit and their relationship taking the next step was now behind her.
It had already been five months since her grandfather’s passing, and if she didn’t marry and become pregnant within the year, she forfeited her inheritance to Percival. “I know you want your own money,” Micah continued. “You deserve it, but you don’t need it to survive here. We’re happy to help you.”
He would. The whole Sutton clan had been nothing but kind and generous to her, but the money was rightfully hers. If she wanted to keep it or give it away, the thing to do would be to pursue it. “I know you are. I don’t know where any of this will go, but I have to try.”
The law office they stood outside in Cloverdale had a fading sign on the window telling them it was open. The sign painted Goddard Law had also faded, though not quite as much as the OPEN sign. She was ready, if for nothing else than to simply see what her options were.
Micah nodded, placing his hand on the doorknob and opening the heavy wooden door. “Then I’m with you, no matter what. Tom Goddard is a good attorney, and his wife works for him at the desk. You’ll like her.” He followed her through the door where a kind looking woman with thick glasses smiled up at them. The woman’s gray hair became her, as did the lines around her mouth and eyes. “Mrs. Goddard, how are you today?”
Rather than being decorated like Ellie might imagine a law office, the place looked more like someone's home. There were throw pillows on the sofa, a fireplace and rug in front of it in the waiting area. The whole room was decorated in warm earth tones, dark reds, rusty oranges, the occasional goldenrod yellow to accent the dark wood doors and desk Mrs. Goddard sat behind. Even her dress blended with the backdrop, a deep red accenting her gray hair and kind looking face.
Mrs. Goddard smiled even wider. “Oh, Micah Sutton, I’ve told you to call me Truly, and I’m so happy to finally meet this beautiful young woman I’ve been seeing at church.” She stood and hurried around the desk to pull Ellie into a surprisingly strong hug. “I’m Truly Goddard, dear. Welcome to Cloverdale.”
Of course, word had spread of what had happened with Brent and her subsequent stay at the clinic, but Mrs. Goddard didn’t even mention it. For that alone, Ellie liked her. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Ellie Cartwright.”
The woman pulled back and knocked on the door behind her. “How can we help you today, Ellie?”
The door opened, and the man who must be Tom Goddard opened the door. He wore a suit, though his tie was loose, and he looked as friendly as his wife. His hair was slightly amiss, as though he'd run his hands through it, and the slight paunch of his belly told her Mrs. Goddard must be a good cook. “Aah, Micah. Ellie, is it? It’s so nice to finally meet you. I know my Truly’s been making you both feel welcome.”
“She has,” Ellie answered before Micah had a chance. He was so kind to come with her, but she had to stand on her own two feet if she had any hope of making a life for herself. “I’m here to speak to you about the terms of a trust I’m to inherit. I’m not sure they’re all legal, but I’d like to know for sure.”
The man’s face changed into compassionate understanding. “Oh, I’d hoped those parts of the rumors weren’t true, though I’m sure they were embellished. Do you have the papers with you?”
Ellie held up the envelope her grandfather had tossed on the floor in the study all those months ago. “I do.”
“Excellent. Then you two come on inside, and we’ll take a look. Truly, would you mind getting our clients some tea, please?”
“It’d be my pleasure.”
Tom led the two of them through the simple pine doorway into an equally simple office. It was clean and welcoming, but there was nothing pretentious about the decor or the way Tom Goddard handled himself. All of Grandfather’s lawyers had all seemed a little too big for their britches, and Ellie had wondered on more than once occasion if the profession made them that way. Apparently not, if Tom Goddard was any indication.
“Have a seat, please.” Tom gestured to two wingback chairs in front of his desk, their leather upholstery dark brown in contrast with the lighter pine woods. There was a dark burgundy rug on the floor and a few paintings hung, one of which was a painting of Mr. and Mrs. Goddard, as well as two children whichappeared to have been done decades ago. The children were small, so they’d have to be adults by now. “May I take a look?”
Ellie handed him the papers and took a deep breath. “From what my grandfather said, and what I’ve been able to surmise from these, I have to marry and be on my way to having a child within one year after his death in order to inherit any of the money. This is why Brent took me in the first place. He assumed marrying me and forcing me to adopt the children he already had would speed along the process. I don’t know if Grandfather’s lawyers would’ve been satisfied, but that was his plan.”
Mr. Goddard studied the documents, his glasses down his nose for clarity. “You were kidnapped, correct? How did you happen to have these papers with you when you were taken?”
“That, sir, has to be a miracle from the Lord.” It was the only explanation. “I’d been invited to tea, or so I thought, by a young woman from town. My grandfather’s business partner watched my comings and goings quite carefully, so I thought I might slip into a law office after tea and see if they could find any loopholes for me. Unfortunately, I never made it to tea or to the law office, but the letter inviting me turned out to be a ruse from Brent anyway.”
Whether she'd have been able to find a single lawyer in Cartwright, California, who wouldn't have simply gone along with Grandfather and Pervical’s wishes, she didn't know. When the town was named after a man, folks tended to do his bidding regardless of anyone else who might share the name - particularly if that person was a woman.
Mr. Goddard shook his head as Micah reached over and took her hand. The lawyer clearly noticed, but he didn’t comment on the movement. “I’m sorry for all you’ve been through, Ellie. At first glance, and knowing what I do about the precedent here in Texas, I predict the requirement to marry is probably enforceable. It wouldn’t be the first case I’ve seen in whichparents, particularly those possessing as much money as your family had, would require a husband to be in the picture for a daughter to inherit. Now, typically there is no timeline, but how was your relationship with your grandfather?”
He was clearly careful with his words, but he needn’t be. “My grandfather was a snake. He was mean and hateful, and I believe he did this out of pure spite.”
Mr. Goddard’s eyes flicked to Micah’s before going back to her. “Then, if you’ll permit me, I’ll speak freely.” When Ellie gestured for him to go ahead, the lawyer placed the papers on the desk. “These terms, past the marriage requirement, are absolutely ridiculous. I do not believe a judge will require you to be expecting a child, and the timeline is simply cruel. That said, it appears the money goes to his business partner in the event you forfeit the trust, which makes sense. Would I be correct in assuming this Percival James isn’t a man who can be reasoned with?”
“Not a bit,” Ellie responded as Mrs. Goddard knocked on the door once more.
