Chapter 32

 

The old porch boards creaked as Hallie leaned the rocker back and stared up at the moon. Her finger caught the tear that escaped from her eyes and brushed it from her face. She buried her nose in her handkerchief and blew. All the crying had done nothing but make her feel worse. She blinked hard and sighed. There was no use wailing. The mistake was all her own. I guess I really put the wagon before the horse, this time, Lord. It’s pretty plain that Charles Westbury is not the man you have in mind for me. If there is anyone. I know I’m better off alone than with someone I’m not meant to be with. Forgive me for trying to make up my future on my own. Whatever it is, I know Your plan is better.

She was always taking matters into her own hands, when they were better left to the Lord. Maybe someday she would learn. Her eyes wandered to the row of butchered roses, bright in the moonlight.

She would have to do something about that disaster, soon. At least wild roses were tough enough to stand up to whatever mistakes she might make with them. If only for her mother’s memory, she would do her best to take better care of them.

The clock in the front room chimed eight. Ethan would be home by now. Was he sitting up on his porch, looking at the sky? If so, he was probably reviewing how foolish she had been in her letter writing. At least he hadn’t laughed at her when he discovered the truth about Charles Westbury. No ‘I told you so’ or any other sort of reprimand. It was surprising, really, in his dedicated role as her older brother.

After all the excitement was past, she would tell him how much she appreciated his kind attitude toward the entire incident. Not that he didn’t owe her after the fiasco with Dr. Meadows. A small laugh erupted from throat as she remembered Ethan’s face when he realized his blunder. And poor Dr. Matthews. She was certain that whenever he saw her coming, he had crossed to the other side of the street those weeks following the picnic. Not that it mattered. He had rushed back to St. Louis early this month, when news came that his fiancé was ill. Whether or not he would return to Chance was still a mystery.

Maybe tomorrow Mr. Westbury would be on the stage on his way out of town. Then, the humiliating gossip about her disaster would soon die away. There were a lot of new people moving in to the area. Surely there would be plenty to talk about and folks would forget about her own wrong step.

She yawned and stretched in the chair. It was time she was off to bed. Tomorrow was another day. A day for better things to happen. The best being Mr. Westbury leaving town. No. The best would be if Ethan told her he loved her. But that was only a school-girl wish. Someday, God would send the right man for her and she would forget about Ethan Kane.