perspective. As terrible as it had been, she had learned from the experience. She was a better person. Stronger and more tolerant of others’ mistakes. So why not Gabe’s?
No doubt about it, she thought, giving her head a shake. She was a terrible, terrible person! Not forgiving wasn’t an option to a Christian, but like Caleb’s, her forgiveness of Gabe would come hard.
She prayed he would heal and move on soon. If he chose to stay, she wasn’t sure how she would deal with seeing him on a regular basis. Stop borrowing trouble, Rachel Stone. No one had any idea what he would do once his injuries healed. Still, there was the remote possibility that he would stay in the area, which meant her father had a point. She had to tell Danny and pray he understood.
But not today.
* * *
To her dismay, she and Danny found Edward and Gabe sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of chess. Gabe sat ramrod straight in the chair. He looked awful. He was far too pale, and there was no masking the pain shadowing his sapphire-hued eyes or the challenge in them as he looked at her. He expected her to rail at him for being out of bed, but she was too weary for another battle and kept silent.
“Can I play, Pops?” Danny wheedled, shoving his small body beneath Edward’s arm so he could get a better look at the board.
Intent on the game pieces, Edward gave the boy a distracted hug. “Not this game, Danny.”
“No one ever wants to play with me,” he said, his shoulders slumping.
“That isn’t true,” Rachel told him, hanging her coat by the door. She turned and took two plates out of the basket she’d carried in. “Pops plays with you all the time.”
“Supper?” Edward asked, spying the plates.
“Turkey and all the trimmings,” she replied. “I’ll stick them in the oven for a bit,” she said, doing just that. “They’ll be hot in no time.”
Finally reaching a decision, Edward moved a piece and then gave his attention to his daughter. “Makes my mouth water just thinking about Mary’s dressing.”
“I wasn’t sure if you liked turkey or not, so I brought ham, too,” she said to Gabe. Even as she spoke the words, she regretted showing any concern for his likes or dislikes.
“Either is fine, thank you. And I’ll play a game with you sometime, Danny, but I think I’d best get back to bed after I eat.”
The unexpected thanks and offer to Danny took Rachel by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. Gabe Gentry epitomized charm and grace and friendliness.
What he lacked was integrity and common decency.
Chapter Three
By the time a new year rolled around, the snow was nothing but a pleasant memory, leaving behind a dingy mush that froze at night and thawed during the day. The old year had ended with a rash of croup that kept Rachel running all over town. She had treated no less than seven people on New Year’s Eve.
Gabe was still in considerable pain if he moved the wrong way, but his injuries and his strength were improving in slow increments. Despite the sometimes excruciating agony, he was determined to leave the Stone house—and the intolerable tension between him and Rachel—as soon as humanly possible. For both their sakes, he had no desire to prolong the misery.
When he finished shaving shortly after breakfast on New Year’s Day, he saw that the gash on his face was healing nicely, though it would leave an ugly scar. He thought about that for a moment and shrugged. There wasn’t much he could do about it. Thanks to Simon and Rachel, he was alive.
His once dislocated shoulder was not so tender and his hand was much steadier; he’d only nicked himself in two places. He was congratulating himself on the progress when a knock sounded on his door.
“Come in,” he called, glancing up and seeing Danny’s reflection in the mirror. He stood in the doorway, staring at Gabe with unconcealed curiosity. “Not too pretty to look at, is it?” Gabe said.
“Must hurt.”
“Not much, but the ribs...that’s another thing.”
When the boy continued to watch him and made no move to say anything, Gabe prompted, “What can I do for you, Danny?”
“Pops said to tell you that Mr. Gentry—Caleb—is here to see you.”
Gabe smiled, the action pulling at the stitches closing the wound on his cheek. “Thanks, son.”
Danny’s eyes widened. He smiled, a smile so bright and wide that Gabe resisted the urge to chuckle.
“Do you need anything?” Danny asked, a look of hope in his eyes. “I can get whatever you want. I’m not doing anything.”
“I’m fine, thanks. You can send Caleb in.”
“Would you like to play a game of Chinese checkers after he goes?”
The past week, they’d fallen into a habit of playing a game or two in the afternoons. Though Gabe would have preferred to play chess with Edward, he got a lot of satisfaction at how much Danny seemed to enjoy the time they spent together. He also recalled how he’d wished his father was the kind of man who wanted to play with his boys.
“We’ll see. I’ll probably be ready for a good rest by the time Caleb leaves. Why don’t you go get him?”
“Oh. Okay.”
Gabe wondered if Danny was as disappointed as he looked. He’d be sure to try to play a game or two with him sometime during the afternoon.
When Caleb came into the bedroom, it was the first time the two brothers had faced each other on a more or less equal footing since Gabe left. Caleb had stopped by on other occasions, but knowing Gabe was still in a lot of pain, they’d postponed any serious discussions.
Though Gabe had wanted this chance to try to make things right and had mentally rehearsed their meeting dozens of times, now that the opportunity was here, he had no idea where to begin.
“How are you feeling?” Caleb asked, taking a chair next to the fireplace. The question was his usual conversational opening. Gabe wiped the shaving soap from his face and eased down into the chair’s mate.
“Far from well, but better.”
“That’s good.”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. “Rachel mentioned that you got married again last year,” Gabe said, hoping to fill the growing silence left by his habitually reticent brother. That hadn’t changed.
Caleb nodded. “My first wife, Emily, died during childbirth. I married Abby Carter, a newly widowed woman Rachel suggested I hire for my daughter’s wet nurse.”
Gabe raised his eyebrows. “That’s a bit unconventional, isn’t it? Not to mention extreme.”
“More than a bit,” Caleb agreed. “But we didn’t have much choice when Sarah VanSickle started spreading rumors about us,
