The Prodigal Texan. Lynnette Kent

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СКАЧАТЬ SLEPT LATE the next morning and had to break the speed limit driving into town in order to reach the church steps as the steeple bell rang the beginning of the Sunday service. Once inside, he leaned back against the door for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dimness of dark wood and stained glass. He felt too dressed up when he saw the open-collared shirts and slacks worn by most of the men—an interesting change from the days when every little boy put a noose around his neck for church on Sunday.

      His suit and tie were not, he was quite sure, the reason several people gawked at him over their shoulders, then leaned toward their neighbors to pass the news. Before the whispering could drown out the music of the organ, he planted himself in the first empty seat he saw, as near to the back of the church as possible.

      When he looked to his right, he found Miss Frances Haase, the town librarian, on the other end of the pew, staring down her nose at him as if he were a fifth grader who’d forgotten to return his library book. Jud sent her a smile and got a sniff and a frown for his effort. Facing forward again, he immediately recognized the slope of the shoulders, the set of the ears and the wave in the hair of the man in front of him. Ethan and his family were sitting in the very next row.

      Jud didn’t doubt Ethan knew he was there. The tension across the two feet between them felt like an electric field, sure to scorch skin if he tried to reach through. Ethan’s wife, Kayla, glanced over her shoulder several times, once with an almost-smile. Three kids on her other side stole peeks at him throughout the service. The one little girl looked enough like Kayla to be her daughter, but Ethan hadn’t been married even a year, so Jud didn’t know where the other girl and the boy had sprung from. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get a chance to ask Ethan about them…or anything else.

      Yet here he sat—on a hard wooden pew that provoked his leg and chest to throb in protest— betting his brother wouldn’t blow him off with the congregation watching.

      The service did bring back memories from child-hood—those endless hours spent squirming between his mom’s disappointed frown and the vise of his dad’s grip on his shoulder. Holden Kelley, Noah’s dad, had led the church back then, preaching hellfire and brimstone sermons which had fallen on hard ground as far as Jud was concerned. But then, Father Kelley had always predicted a bad end for that oldest Ritter boy.

      Noah, on the other hand, delivered an accessible, generous message on forgiveness and old-fashioned charity. Though surprised to see the groom in the pulpit on the morning after his wedding, Jud found himself chuckling at the young minister’s words.

      Ethan sat stiff as a board through the entire message.

      Standing for the final hymn, Jud knew he would get only seconds, at most, to connect with Ethan. What could he say that might compel his brother to listen?

      Noah pronounced the final grace in everyday language, and the organ came to life. Jud reached out to tap Ethan’s shoulder, but a crisp voice from his right deflected his attention.

      “Well, Jud Ritter, I heard you’d returned.”

      He stifled a groan and turned to meet his fate. “Yes, ma’am. How are you, Miss Haase?”

      “As well as could be expected. What have you been up to all this time?”

      “I’m with the police department. Down inAustin.”

      Lips pursed together, she nodded. “Yes, I’d heard you crossed over to the side of the angels. I clipped the article about your citation a few months ago. You appear to be good at your job.”

      “I do my best.” He gave his most charming smile, aware that Ethan and his family had slipped out of their pew and were headed toward the chapel doors.

      Miss Haase proved immune to his charm. “Nowadays, perhaps. But for twenty years, I’ve been expecting you to return the copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover you borrowed in the seventh grade.”

      Jud swallowed hard. “I—”

      “If you don’t know where it is, I want a new copy on my desk by the end of the week. Now, excuse me.”

      He stumbled out of the pew, but Miss Haase still stepped on his toes on her way out. Turning toward the back of the church, Jud saw that Ethan had reached the doorway where Noah and Greer stood to greet their flock. A double line of parishioners stood between Jud and his brother. By the time he got to the door, Ethan would be on his way home.

      Fortunately, Jud had spent enough time playing hide-and-seek in the church hallways when he was supposed to be in Sunday school that he knew exactly the locations of the exits near the front of the building.

      He rounded the outside corner of the church in time to see Ethan shaking hands with Noah at the door. Kayla gave Greer a hug, and kissed Noah on the cheek. Then, finally, they made their way down the steps to the sidewalk.

      Jud came at them from the opposite direction. Unlike yesterday, Ethan didn’t see him in time to keep him at a distance.

      “Good morning,” Jud said, with a smile at Kayla and the kids. “Amazing weather for December, isn’t it? I’m Jud—Ethan’s big brother.”

      Kayla glanced at her husband’s stony expression. “More like May than December,” she agreed. “Um…I’m Kayla. This is Megan, my daughter.” She eased the little girl forward. “And Brad and Heather. Ethan and I…” She looked at her husband. “Ethan and I are adopting them.”

      “I’m glad to meet you.” Jud nodded at the children. He was determined to keep his temper, but he could feel his face heating up as Ethan continued to stand there without saying a word. “I’m gonna guess y’all share Ethan’s love of horses.”

      “I do,” Megan piped up. “I ride Birdsong all the time.”

      A huge pit opened up in Jud’s belly. He looked at Ethan and found that his brother’s expression had changed from indifference to outright defiance.

      Jud cleared his throat. “That’s…nice.” Inside him, the voice in the pit screamed, “You can’t have Angela’s horse!” But he didn’t let the noise escape. “Birdsong has always been a terrific pony.”

      “We canter and trot over crossbars and everything.”

      In the next instant, Brad and Heather chimed in to tell him about their horses. Jud tried to look interested, while Kayla wore a nervous frown and Ethan resumed the stone-faced stare.

      “Let’s get into the truck,” Kayla said finally, putting her hands on the backs of the two girls. “Ethan will be along in just a minute. Good to meet you, Jud.” She nodded, cast a final glance at her husband and scurried off with the children.

      Ethan watched them until they reached the vehicle, then turned back to Jud. “Okay, you engineered this encounter. Say what you came to say and then go back where you belong.”

      “What I have to say will take a long time. I thought we could get together—”

      “No. We don’t have anything to talk about that can’t be settled in a sentence or two.” Ethan turned away and took a step in the direction of his truck.

      Jud clamped a hand on his brother’s shoulder and pulled him back around. “You’re wrong. We’ve got years of talking to do. Not just the last four, but a decade before that. СКАЧАТЬ