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spent with light chatter, tea, scones and a variety of treats. As the clock neared dinner, Margie expressed her desire to see what Jackson had been up to for the day. At best, he would have stayed at the hotel all day sleeping. At worst…well, she didn’t want to consider it. Now that she knew rough men existed in this town, she worried that they would draw Jackson like a magnet.
    “Shall I collect your brother for dinner?” Theo offered. “He might have forgotten the time.”
    Margie regarded Theo carefully. There was nothing wrong in his asking, but she’d sensed a change in him that had started since they’d encountered the rough men outside the saloon. However, she’d been expecting Jackson for the past hour and was worried about him. As much as she hated to inconvenience Theo, she had to know what was going on. Margie bit her lip and thought it might be better if she were to go.
    “Why don’t you go together?” Robert suggested. “Make a walk out of it and burn off all the rich food that we’re likely to consume at dinner.”
    They smiled and agreed. It would also give them more time alone, something they both apparently wanted.
    “I really enjoyed this morning,” Margie relayed as they walked. “Your preacher is not only knowledgeable, but also very personable. He was able to make the words of the Bible seem very applicable in today’s world.”
    She felt, rather than saw, Theo’s look of admiration. Although she was glad that he found her pleasing, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something from her. Possibly more than one thing.
    “I agree completely. He’s been here for a number of years and everyone in town is grateful that he hasn’t moved on to a bigger place.” She saw him hesitate before steering her in a different direction than the path they’d used to come home after church even though the hotel was very near the house of worship. “You haven’t seen this part of town yet,” he stated as they went down a different street. “It’s mostly houses, but we can walk along the river.”
    They walked a bit further before she opened her mouth again. “Theo,” she began. “I know we just met yesterday, but through our letters, I feel I know you. It seemed that you put a lot of yourself into each one and the way you wrote about Ruth and Robert really touched me. You obviously hold them in very high regard. Won’t you tell me about how you came to know them?” She sensed that he was reluctant to talk about his past, but perhaps this would be a stepping stone to understanding a bit more about him.
    He was silent for a moment, but then apparently decided the topic was safe and told her a story about a young man coming to town with nothing and being taken in through Christian charity by a childless couple.
    “I thought of myself as a man, being the age seventeen, but now looking back, I see I was still a child in so many ways. I hadn’t had a lot of good influences in my life. When my parents abandoned me, I stayed with relatives for many years, but they didn’t discipline me. In fact, I think they barely noticed that I was there. My cousin was a shiftless man and his wife worked hard to make ends meet. I was a burden more than anything, so I left.”
    Margie watched as his lips pressed together, refusing to let any more details out. She knew that there must be more to the story, but that was enough for today.
    “Our stories have some similarities. However, my parents died and my relatives were good and kind, but too elderly to be a strong influence on our lives. Their own children had long grown up and moved away, so they didn’t quite know how to handle a wilful child.”
    “I can’t imagine you as being a wilful child,” he remarked with a smile. “I’ll bet you were docile and a joy to them both.”
    She rolled her eyes a bit. “Well, that might be an exaggeration, but I was referring to Jackson. I just wish that we had come here sooner.” A note of defeat