Nathan exclaimed.
“You and Kate should take the boy. He could work in the fields and sleep in the barn with you. You two would only have to feed him and steer him in the right direction.”
Nathan stared at the sheriff in disbelief. “We can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Nathan glanced at the boy, who tried not to appear to be listening to the conversation. “It just isn’t right. The boy should have a home if he doesn’t already. Surely someone will want to take him in.”
“Yes, but not everyone would be a good influence on the boy. He’s been a thief and a drifter. All I’m asking is that you let him work as payment for the things he tried to steal. It will be a good lesson for him.”
Nathan leaned across the desk to speak in a low tone. “If he’s a thief, wouldn’t he be a bad influence on Sean and Ellie?”
“No, those kids are strong. Their ma raised them right. Look at it this way, the O’Briens will be three good influences. Wouldn’t three good influences cancel out one bad one?”
Nathan sat back in his chair, wincing just a tad when his back made contact with the wood. If the boy and I harvested half of the field, Kate wouldn’t have to pay fifteen percent off that. That would be a fair amount of money saved. The boy needs someone to turn his life around. Who knows why he’s on his own?
Nathan glanced at the boy, who’d dropped all pretenses and was eagerly listening to the conversation about his future. He couldn’t be more than a year or two older than Sean. But by God’s grace, life could have dealt him such a blow.
Nathan looked at the sheriff, who waited tensely for an answer. Two months, Nathan reminded himself. All I can offer is two months, and no more. Nathan’s voice was low, hopefully too low for the boy to hear, as he said, “If Kate and I take him in, it can’t be forever, understand?”
“Of course,” the sheriff complied. “I’m just asking you to show him how to do good, honest work. Give him some sort of skill so he’ll have something to fall back on other than stealing.”
“And you’ll look for a real family for the boy?”
“Yes.”
Nathan blew air past his lips then shook his head before he stood. “I’ll try to convince Kate but if she says no …” He shook his head again.
“I understand,” Sheriff Hawkins said, rising quickly to shake his hand. “Thank you.”
Nathan strode toward the door then turned to look at the boy still watching from his seat. “What’s your name?”
“Lawson,” he responded clearly.
“Lawson what?”
The boy’s hazel eyes watched him carefully. “It’s just Lawson.”
Nathan looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter Five
Kate carefully took inventory of the small pile of goods Mr. Johansen deposited on the counter. Something was missing. She checked her copy of the list. “Were you out of corn meal, Mr. Johansen?”
“No, I gave it—” The tall Norwegian lowered his thick blond eyebrows as he surveyed the counter. A grin bursted across his face. “I lost it. I will find it. When I come back, I will count the eggs you brought for me. I will be back in half a minute. Do not leave.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be right here,” she said then smiled when the man was quickly distracted by another customer. It looked like this was going to take a while. She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hand as she watched Mr. Johansen conclude his business with the other customer and turn toward his storage room.
She wished the smell of those lemon drops behind the counter wasn’t so strong and tempting. Her stomach let out a small rumble, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Suddenly a tanned arm came to rest next to hers on the wooden counter. She tensed as a too-familiar voice called, “Johansen, grab me a few packs of that tobacco while you’re back there.”
Mr. Johansen glanced over and paused. His gaze bounced warily between Kate and the man beside her before he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Kate straightened and slid farther away from the man, hoping he’d take the hint. He didn’t. “Kate O’Brien, why do you have to go around looking so pretty?”
She kept her gaze trained on her egg basket. “Andrew Stolvins, why don’t you find some nice girl to settle down with and leave me alone?”
“How can I think about another girl when you’re around?” He leaned sideways onto the counter to get a better look at her.
She dodged the hand that reached toward her, then turned to pin him with a cold gaze. “Don’t.”
He stared at her with predatory green eyes. “You’re going to have to start being nice to me again.”
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s amazing what you can find out in a small town if you ask the right questions,” he said nonchalantly. “For instance, I heard your financial problems are so bad that you’re going to lose the farm if this harvest isn’t enough to stop the foreclosure.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I made it my business.” He smiled smugly. “You see, I just bought the wheat combine and thresher from Mr. Fulsome. If you want your wheat harvested, you’ll have to go through me now. I’m raising the rate three percent on each farm. I know you can’t afford that so I’m willing to negotiate. What are you willing to bargain?”
Her fingers clenched the handle of the basket tightly. “I’m not bargaining with you. I’ll pay the same rate as everyone else.”
“How do you plan to pay me? You don’t expect me to accept these, do you?” He chuckled, then snatched one of her precious eggs from the basket. He held one in the air to inspect it. “They look like they’re worth a pretty penny but appearances are deceiving, aren’t they?”
“Put it back.”
He tossed it back and forth between his hands but his gaze never left Kate’s eyes. “What’s it going to be, Kate?”
The egg slipped from his clumsy grasp. Kate gasped and reached out for it but Nathan appeared from behind her to beat her to it. The egg landed safely in his cupped palm. He stepped between them to carefully deposit the egg in the basket, then turned to face Andrew Stolvins. “Is there a problem here?”
Andrew glared up at Nathan. “This doesn’t involve you.”
“If it involves Kate, it involves me.”
Andrew shifted to stare over Nathan’s shoulder at Kate. “Is that how it is now?”
Nathan
