the town hired Justice as their sheriff.
Justice was honored by the town’s trust and prayed he’d never do anything to let them down. His goal in life was to develop the reputation of being a no-nonsense lawman whom outlaws feared so much they’d never come near Esperanza. So far, so good. A few suspicious-looking sorts sometimes drifted through town on their travels to the silver and gold mines up near Creede, but he always encouraged them not to linger. While one or two offered resistance, a quick display of his two handiest weapons, his lariat and his Colt .45 Peacemaker, soon sent them on their way.
People seemed to appreciate his approach and supported his methods, and in turn he respected them. Among other sensible laws, the town charter stated anyone setting up a business or even buying property for a home must sign a temperance pledge. No alcohol was permitted in the town limits other than Doc’s medicinal alcohol—a law that kept out the drunks and the troubles they brought.
The only trouble in town, if one could call it that, was a few unruly schoolboys, most of whom straightened up after he gave them a good talking to. He still had his eye on a few of those lads.
Lord, please don’t let Evangeline’s boy get involved with Deely Pine and Cart Fendel. Those two would steer Gerard onto a worse path than he was already headed for with his sullen, rebellious attitude. Justice would try not to think too harshly of the boy. He’d lost his father, a bitter situation Justice understood all too well. And if his mother sought a home with relatives, she probably didn’t have much money, if any. Justice might have to—
Whoa! No use riding down that trail. Unless Gerard did something destructive to someone’s property, Justice wasn’t about to involve himself with Evangeline’s son. Closely resembling his father, he reminded Justice too much of his own past griefs. Let Nate handle the boy out at Four Stones Ranch. Justice needed to stay as far as possible from anything to do with Evangeline and her youngsters.
The plan wouldn’t be easy to follow, thanks to Susanna Northam. Justice was more than content to work on the Christmas village by himself. While on his Grand Tour of Europe, he’d seen many such displays in Germany, had seen how they delighted the children of the towns he visited. Now building one himself, he found the project filled a hunger in him, a longing to do something for Esperanza’s children, since he had none of his own and probably never would have. As she’d said, the back room of the library was the only place in town where he could keep his work hidden from prying eyes. True, he did sometimes wonder if he’d finish in time for the Christmas Eve pageant and party, so a little help would be appreciated. But with the town so quiet, he had little else to do. He couldn’t have known Susanna would hire Evangeline to work in the library and then suggest he needed her help. What a nightmare. He liked Susanna, but sometimes she could be meddlesome when she got a bee in her bonnet. Thanks to her, he’d have to see Evangeline every day whether he wanted to or not.
Irritated with his own thoughts, not at all pleased at being reminded of the most painful events of his life, Justice snatched up a pile of wanted posters from his desk and started thumbing through them for about the fifth time.
“Howdy, boss.” Sean O’Shea, Justice’s deputy, entered the office and whipped off his hat, hung it on a peg by the door, then ruffled a hand through his fiery red hair. “Say, I thought you said you’d never take up old Sheriff Lawson’s habit.” He nodded toward the posters. “You said reading those more than once was a waste of time. Haven’t you read ’em at least three times already?”
“Mind your own business.” Justice’s tone came out much harsher than he intended.
Sean held up his hands in surrender. “Yes, boss.”
“And don’t call me boss.”
Sean snorted out a laugh and sat at his smaller desk across the room. “Must be a woman,” he muttered.
Which almost earned him getting lassoed and dragged across the room.
Except he was absolutely right.
After supper at Susanna’s house, Evangeline and her cousin settled the children into bed in the rooms they’d share with the three Northam children. At nine years old, Lizzie displayed her mother’s gift for hospitality, welcoming Isabelle as the younger sister she’d always wanted. Gerard actually behaved himself with six-year-old Natty, otherwise known as Nathaniel Junior, and two-year-old Frankie. Gerard probably behaved because the smaller boys looked up to him. Once they all fell asleep, Evangeline and Susanna joined Nate in their lovely parlor.
The moment she sat in the pink-flowered brocade chair Susanna indicated, emotion overtook her, and she burst into tears, as much to her own surprise as to her hosts’. Susanna rushed to her, knelt and pulled her into a comforting embrace.
“There, there, Evie, don’t cry. You’re here now, and everything’s going to be all right.”
Evangeline shook her head. “N-no it won’t be.”
“Nonsense. You’re just tired—”
“Sweetheart,” Nate said patiently, “let her speak. I’d imagine she has a lot to tell us.”
“Oh. Oh, yes, of course.” Susanna stood and drew Evangeline over to the settee where they could link arms. Her warm contact brought much-welcomed comfort. “All right, honey, you talk. I promise not to interrupt.” She sent Nate a sweet smile.
Envying their beautiful marriage, Evangeline shed a few more tears before dabbing her cheeks with the handkerchief her cousin offered. “Where to begin?”
“Well, I’ve been wanting to know...” Susanna sent Nate a sheepish grin. “I promised not to interrupt, but this is important. You could have knocked me over with a feather when you and our Justice Gareau recognized each other, so now I have to know. Is he the secret beau you used to talk about when we were girls? Wouldn’t that be romantic? And here you’ll be working with him on the Christmas village.”
“That was a long time ago and a world away.” Evangeline dried a few more tears. Dear Susanna. She was not only her cousin but the dearest, truest friend she’d ever had. Kindness personified. Would she still love Evangeline once she knew the truth about her flight from New Orleans?
With many pauses to control her emotions, she managed to tell her story, or at least as much as she could bring herself to say. Above all, she didn’t want to sound as though she were begging for pity or help.
“I’m sure you remember our last summer together,” she told Susanna. “The year we both turned seventeen.” She added the detail for Nate’s benefit. “Mama died shortly after we went home to New Orleans.” She wouldn’t add that Mama had discovered Papa’s shady business dealings and had become sick with shame, dying soon afterward.
“Papa arranged my marriage to Lucius Benoit, an older man who’d recently become his business partner.” Papa hadn’t given her any choice in the matter. Still, she wouldn’t recount how much she’d loved Justice and how her father’s cruel intervention had nearly destroyed her.
“Gerard was born the first year, and Isabelle three years later. After that, Lucius became involved in his work, as men do, so we rarely saw him.” She wouldn’t speak of Lucius’s brutality. Near the end, before he was shot, he admitted he’d married her for Papa’s money. But Papa had no money. He’d arranged the marriage thinking
