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A town divided.
Apt words for Shepherd’s Crossing.
And he was as bad as any, taking care of his son, Sean’s ranch, the sheep, and having little to do with the town or the people except as needed. He’d never seen that as a bad thing, but no church? No school? Not even a general store to grab a sandwich and a conversation on a rainy afternoon.
“You’re a town leader now,” the pastor continued. “Folks might want a meeting about what to do with the church. It’s old and needs work, but the volunteer fire department is always looking for practice fires to hone their skills.”
Burn the church? His gut clenched. “You can’t be serious.”
“This falling-down wreck isn’t the church.” The reverend pointed to Heath and Zeke, then to the thinning cloud of dust the other cars had left behind. “The people are the church. Without them, four square walls aren’t much use. The church isn’t in there, son. It’s here in you. And them. In us.”
The pastor leaving. Sean’s death. Grazing rights revoked. Heath was surrounded by change. Too much, too fast, too soon. He wouldn’t have thought of himself as an introvert, but right now he’d like to hole up at the ranch, take care of his own and let the world pass them by. But that attitude was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place. So maybe there was a message in the multiple blows.
“Do you need help getting ready, Reverend?”
“June’ll see to it,” he replied. “That’s my daughter. She’ll be here shortly after Memorial Day. I’ll say my goodbyes to those that come the next few weeks. And then lock the door.” He sighed, glanced at the church, then the town, and walked away on quiet feet.
A locked church.
An empty town.
A dusty street that saw little traffic.
“Surrounded by the rich, ignoring the poor.” Lizzie’s quiet observation interrupted his thoughts. He wasn’t sure where she’d come from, but her words hit their mark. “This is a very Robin Hood–style place you’ve got here.”
“Lizzie—”
She lifted her phone up. “My barn app’s alerting me. I wanted to catch you in case your phone was turned off for service. Gotta run.” She hurried to her SUV, got in and headed back toward Pine Ridge with Corrie by her side.
“Is Lizzie mad at us, Dad? At you and me?” Zeke peered up at him, eyes wide.
“No, son.” He could say this honestly as he opened Zeke’s door and helped the boy in. “She’s not one bit mad at you. For anything.”
“Well, then it might be you in big trouble,” Zeke offered seriously, “’cause I think she was mad at somebody, Dad. And we’re the only people here.”
“We’ll fix it when we get home. And I’m going to leave you with Cookie this afternoon because Lizzie and I have to take care of a horse having a baby.”
“And then I can peek at the baby when it’s done?” Eagerness lifted the worry from his tone.
“You make it sound like we’re cooking a turkey, not delivering a foal, but yes, you can come look. As long as you’re quiet.”
“I will be!”
Jace was exiting the first barn as Zeke scrambled out of the rear seat. He moved Heath’s way and paused. “Two things, and you’re not going to like either one of them so let me apologize first.”
Jace’s troubled look underscored the words.
“Justine isn’t available to watch the little guy like we planned. She got an offer of a paid internship in Seattle and can’t turn it down so she’s staying in Seattle for at least six weeks. She tried calling you but your cell went straight to voice mail and your mailbox is full. She feels terrible because she knows this leaves you in a lurch, but the offer just came through.”
He’d turned his phone off before church, and hadn’t noticed the missed call when he turned it back on. “She’s sure, Jace? Because this puts us in a spot we can’t afford to be in.” He’d managed to insult Lizzie’s child care abilities, Cookie wouldn’t take kindly to nonstop child duty and Corrie hadn’t come north to play nanny. Although she’d be a great one.
“I know. But wait, Heath. It gets worse.”
He watched his friend struggle for words, and Heath was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear whatever Jace was going to say next.
“I’m leaving.”
Heath swallowed hard. Jace was great on the ranch, but ranching wasn’t his primary job. He was a skilled carpenter: he’d overseen the building of the last two barns and he’d honed his reputation on Pine Ridge properties, but with the area’s diminishing population, there weren’t enough jobs to keep him busy. And he was Heath’s closest friend.
