The Shopkeeper's Widow Read online

  A thump rattled through Crawley. He groaned.

  Delany saw stars when his head banged into her forehead. His body slumped, squeezing out the last of her air.

  Brown hair tinged with red glowed in the morning sun. Field grabbed Crawley and threw him to the floor with force.

  Delany righted herself on the desk in time to see Simon enter.

  Crawley lay on the floor holding his head.

  “Take over here, will you?”

  Simon grinned. “With pleasure.”

  “Are you all right?” Field placed his hands on either side of her face.

  Delany burrowed into the embrace as his arms encircled her. One hand slid up to caress her neck and scalp. “Just hold me safe.”

  He tightened his hold and kissed the top of her head.

  Dear God, there has to be a way.

  “Don’t touch me.” Crawley whined from the floor as Simon tapped him with a boot to get him up.

  Delany laughed at the irony.

  “I’ve got to get out of here.” She went for the leather case, retrieved the signed document, and strode to the fireplace.

  “You stay out of my things.”

  Delany laughed again. Anger surged her forward toward him while she held up the documents. “This is mine, and I shall do with it what I like.” She threw the papers into the fire. They blackened, and fragments wafted up the chimney. She walked into the spare room across the hall. Crawley’s things littered the room. Had he touched everything in her house?

  Field met her in the dining room.

  ~*~

  Delany was still shaking when Field reluctantly released her from his arms. She still held his hand as Samuel approached.

  “You all right?” Sam asked Delany.

  “I’ve never been so frightened in all my life.”

  “Philips’s men ran off. Freewill is with George. He was beaten pretty badly. Pauline says they were going to hang him.”

  “Where is Pauline?” Delany asked.

  “Outside with George,” Sam answered.

  “The others?” Field asked.

  “Crawley and Philips are tied up in the parlor. Simon has them at gunpoint. They’re not going anywhere until the sheriff gets here.”

  “We better get inside.”

  Delany hesitated.

  Field put his arm around her shoulders and felt her tremble. “I won’t leave you.”

  Together they walked back into the house to await the sheriff.

  The magistrate arrived and took Crawley and Philips away.

  Delany walked out of the house and into the daylight of the lane.

  Field’s shadow mingled with her own.

  “You were right. I shouldn’t have moved here on my own.”

  “No. You don’t have to live in fear. This is your home. It’s your right to live here without being assaulted.”

  “I’m afraid now.”

  “I will stay with you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that until the law changes and we can free the slaves at Archer Hall, I will live here with you.”

  “We can work to change the law,” Delany offered.

  “If it never changes, then I’ll be content to live here with you. I’ll give the hall to my brother.”

  Delany’s heart soared. “Are you sure?”

  “Never more sure of anything in my life. I love you, Delany Button Fleet.” Field smiled and the warmth that he reserved just for her infused his whole being. “Now will you consent to marry me, please?”

  Her spirit answered before she could form the words. It reached for him and entwined. Eyes filled with tears, she choked, “Yes.”

  He opened his arms.

  She stepped into his embrace.

  His lips touched hers, and Delany knew she'd arrived home.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Delany sat on the sofa in the parlor of Button Cove staring at her baby boy while he slept. She’d just changed his nappy, and she was content to watch the little fellow as the sun illuminated the tips of his brown hair to red.

  “You’re staring at him again.” Field sat down next to his wife, who relaxed back into his arms. Contentment such as he’d never experienced filled his heart.

  “I just can’t help it.”

  A Devotional moment

  LIGHT IS SOWN FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, AND GLADNESS FOR THE UPRIGHT IN HEART. ~ PSALM 97:11

  Many of us work for years to get where we want to be. We do jobs we hate to go up the ladder to better things. We struggle to bring to fruition all our goals. Occasionally, we even realize a dream. But those years of toil can take a toll, and when we finally reach the top, we may see that while our material needs have been met, our souls long for more. God beseeches us to keep pure hearts, to do what is right for others, and to worship Him with gladness.

  In The Shopkeeper’s Widow, the protagonist has worked hard for years and has finally reached the place she wants to be. However, war has intervened and may topple everything she’s worked for all her life. When someone comes forward asking for help, she must decide which is the most important…her business or the people who are in great need.

  Have you ever had a sense of uncertainty when you’ve finally reached a goal? It’s almost as if you don’t know where to go or what to do. And then, if anything threatens the possession, job, or status in the community, you scramble around trying to figure out how best to hold on to what you have. But it’s important to remember that material things, money, status are not important. They can be comforting, but the most important thing is your relationship with God. When you are within God’s realm, while human life may not live up to what you expect, when you lean on God you will never be alone. Your soul will rejoice because the Light is always with you. And then, you will own your material belongings, your money and your community status, instead of those things owning you.

  LORD, WHEN I AM GIVEN A CHOICE BETWEEN WHAT I MUST DO FOR MYSELF AND WHAT I MUST DO FOR OTHERS, PLEASE GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO CHOOSE WISELY SO THAT WE ALL MAY PROSPER IN YOU. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY, AMEN.

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