Page 33 of If the Boot Fits

“M-Miss Dearing.” He nodded deferentially, but when she made no reply, he sidled around her and made his escape.

Oh, how she wanted to whack him with her new double-soled, extra-sturdy leather shoes as he slid past. A dent in his skull would serve him right, the cad. She restrained the impulse—barely. Justice would have to wait.

Turning her attention to more important matters, Samantha hurried into the alley and wrapped her arm around her whimpering friend.

“Shh,” she soothed. “He’s not worth it.”

Ida Mae spun away from Samantha’s offer of comfort, shaking her head as she pressed her back against the alley wall. “You d-don’t understand.” She clutched her son close to her chest. “In three months, Jimmy will t-turn two.” She sniffed and wiped the back of one hand under her dripping nose. “When that happens, my pa is kickin’ us out of the house.”

“What?” How could a parent do that to his own child? His grandchild? Samantha and her father had had their disagreements over the years, but she knew without a doubt that her daddy would never banish her from his home. No matter what she’d done.

“He wanted to kick me out when he first learned I was carryin’. Said I’d shamed him and tainted the family honor. Mama convinced him to let me stay through my confinement and until the baby was weaned. We both prayed he’d soften. That he’d fall in love with Jimmy the way we had.” She loosened her hold on her son and smoothed his blond hair with her hand, smiling at him through her tears. “He really is the sweetest boy. And smart. He’s already talking. Aren’t you, little man?”

Jimmy’s pudgy hand patted Ida Mae’s cheek. “Mama. Uv Mama.”

“And Mama loves you.” She kissed his head and hugged him tightly again, her smile fading as soon as her face shifted out of Jimmy’s line of sight. “Getting Leroy to marry me is the only way to provide for my boy. Heaven knows that philandering louse would make a horrible husband, but I’d put up with his womanizing ways if it meant restoring my respectability and giving Jimmy a name.”

Outrage hummed through Samantha’s blood. “Jimmy already has a name. Yours. Seeing the way Leroy turned out, it might be better for Jimmy not to have that particular role model as his father.”

Ida Mae stiffened, and her voice grew caustic. “Unlike you, I don’t have the luxury of turning down a houseful of wealthy suitors because they don’t meet my far-too-particular preferences. I have to think of my son instead of myself.”

Samantha fell back a step, tiny needles jabbing her heart. Is that truly what Ida Mae thought of her? A self-absorbed, pretentious rich girl who considered no suitor good enough? Heavens. If Ida Mae thought such a thing of her, chances were good that many others did, too. A sick feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. Were they right?

“I’ve looked for employment,” Ida Mae continued, “but no respectable place in town will hire a woman with a tarnished reputation. And even if someone looked past the stain on my character, I have no one to tend Jimmy while I work. Pa says he’s done providin’ for us, and while Mama will do whatever she can to help, she won’t defy him outright.”

A weight pressed against Samantha’s chest as she realized for the first time how small and petty her problems really were. So she’d never been taught to ride a horse. What did that matter compared to the plight of a young woman being thrown out onto the street with no way to support herself and her child? She’d thought herself so noble and enlightened for valuing relationship over riches in a marriage partner. How utterly frivolous such “nobility” must seem to someone scraping the bottom of the matrimonial barrel in a desperate bid to reclaim respectability.

Tears stung Samantha’s eyes. “Ida Mae, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah? Well, so am I. But sorrow won’t feed my baby.” The defiance drained from Ida Mae’s gaze, leaving only haggard despair. “Oh, Sam, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’ll rip my heart out to give him up, but I might not have a choice.” She bit her lip and pressed her cheek against Jimmy’s head, her eyes closing in defeat.

Every feminine instinct Samantha possessed roared to life in opposition to that outcome. Tears evaporated beneath the flaring heat of ignited passion. “That’s not going to happen.” She clasped her friend’s arm. “We have three months to figure this out. And with God’s help, we will find a solution.”

Ida Mae shook her head. “God quit helpin’ me the minute I let Leroy sweet-talk me into his bed.”

“It might feel that way, but it’s not true. He worked through your mother to keep a roof over your head for the last two years, and he gave you a healthy, intelligent boy with a loving disposition.”

Ida Mae wagged her head. “He abandoned me. Left me alone. Just like Leroy. Like my father.”

Samantha tightened her grip on her friend’s arm and waited for her eyes to lift. “You’re not alone, Ida Mae. You’ve got Jimmy. Your mother. And now you’ve got me, too. And you know how I am when I get a bee in my bonnet.”

A hint of a smile touched Ida Mae’s mouth. “You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“Better believe it.” Samantha grinned, then nodded her head toward the street. “Why don’t you let me give you a ride home? We can start scheming on the way.”

“You sure you want to be seen associating with me? People are bound to talk.”

Samantha waved off the concern. “Let them. I have more important things to focus on.” She stepped around Ida Mae to make a silly face at Jimmy. Her heart flipped when he grinned at her and waved his fist in excitement. “Like getting to know this adorable little man.”

He made some nonsensical happy noise that delighted Samantha more than the most well-penned prose.

“You and I are going to be great friends, Jimmy.” She voiced the vow aloud and echoed it in her heart.

This boy would not go hungry, and he would not be separated from his mother. God had crossed her path with Ida Mae today on purpose. To reveal a need. To invigorate hope in one and instill humility in the other. And to lay a calling on Samantha’s soul that could not be denied. God had already planned an escape from the trap holding Ida Mae captive. They just had to find it.

****

“I’m headed out for an hour or so.” Asher passed through the kitchen, where Mama Bess sat at the table snapping beans into an oversized bowl. He moved behind her and gave her shoulders a quick rub. “Gonna take Bruno out for a ride. I’ll be back before supper.”