Dorothy Garlock (25 page)

“What did she do when she saw you?”

“Well, that was the best part of my evening.” Carolyn smiled cruelly. “She took one look at me and I would have sworn that
her eyes were about to fall out of her pretty little head. I was just about to march over and give her more of a tongue-lashing
than I did at the goddamn paper, but then Augustus decided that he’d had enough gabbing for one night and we headed out the
door. Either way, she was definitely frightened.”

Ellis nodded. “Good.”

“Sure looked as if they were on a date. I wonder how it all ended.”

“Who cares? Ain’t nothin’ but a Nazi and a gimp.”

“Ever the romantic, aren’t you, Ellis?” she teased him. “No wonder it was so easy for you to get me into your bed.”

Ellis held his tongue, refusing to be baited into arguing with her, knowing all along that that was exactly what she wanted.
Carolyn Glass thrived on conflict, whether real or imagined. Men like her husband spent all of their time trying to soothe
her moods, which only made her contempt for them greater. Ellis was usually more than willing to give as good as he got; some
of their best sex had come after nearly hysterical arguments. But tonight he wasn’t in the mood. Tonight, his mind was elsewhere.

He could have easily answered her question; Ellis knew exactly what had happened to the lovebirds after they left the theater.
He’d gotten the story from Riley, about how he and Graham had stood in the shadows across the street and watched as Cole Ambrose
had kissed the German as if they had been Hollywood stars on the set of their latest picture. He hadn’t been surprised by
this turn of events, only slightly disappointed; obviously, the young teacher had paid no mind to Ellis’s warning in the bar.

“You aren’t going to have trouble with a cripple, now are you, Ellis?”

“You can’t know me very well if you’re worried.”

Carolyn shrugged. “He seemed quite strong to me.”

“What do you know?” he spat, his temper rising from her needling.

“It just seems to me that getting rid of the Germans is proving to be a more difficult task than you’d thought, that’s all,”
she kept on, her singsong voice jabbing him with every word. “Here you are with your big plans and it’s all being done in
by a crippled teacher and his Kraut lover.”

“Why don’t you just shut your mouth!” he barked.

“What kind of a man would you look like if you were done in by a teacher with a bum leg!” she cackled, the humor in her words
overpowering any restraint she might have. “Here you are, trying to protect your beloved town from the threat of a handful
of Germans, and you’re going to find yourself bested by a man who didn’t even put on the uniform of a United States soldier!”

Ellis flicked his still smoldering cigarette butt into the far corner of the room; at that moment he didn’t give a damn if
the whole shack burned to the ground, even if he were still inside. He was up from the bed in a flash, his nakedness kissed
by the cooling breeze of the storm’s aftermath, but inside he raged like a furnace. Carolyn had no more than risen from the
bed before his hand clamped down around her throat and drove her back onto the mattress in a tangle of blonde curls and bedclothes.
She gasped once but her hands never flew to his, never tried to scratch him or pry his flesh from her own. Instead, her eyes
bounced wildly and a yearning smile spread across her features.

“That’s it,” she cooed, licking her lips. “That’s my Ellis.”

“You’re out of your head,” he answered, his revulsion growing with every passing second. He began to let go of her, to back
away, only to find that she had entwined her legs around his torso.

“Where are you going, lover?” She smiled. “Don’t you want me anymore?”

It sickened Ellis to know that he had been played for a fool. Letting his anger get the best of him had been just what she
had wanted, just what she had needed him to do, and he had been more than happy to oblige. It was in this way that she wrapped
men around her little finger, lonely, tortured souls like Augustus Glass; in the end, Ellis was proving little different.

Carolyn sighed. “If you want, you can burn my house to the ground.”

Just as he had several times before, Ellis wished that he had never spoken to her of what he, Riley, and Graham had done to
the Hellers. But he’d wanted to share his glories, he supposed that he’d wanted to impress Carolyn, and had told her of his
plans. She’d listened intently, absorbing every word. Since that day, whenever she had needed them, she’d wielded his secrets
as deftly and as painfully as daggers.

“That ain’t somethin’ to joke about,” he warned.

“Who’s joking? Augustus would just build another anyway.”

“Everythin’ is just a game to you.”

“And I aim to win,” she agreed as she ran her fingers up his forearm.

Forcefully, Ellis pulled himself free of her grasp and retreated to the open window, staring out into the night beyond. The
wind had risen again, swaying branches and rustling leaves, carrying with it the distant smell of rain. He peered intently
into the darkness, as if he was searching for something, but nothing looked back.

“What are you so afraid of?” she asked, rising to stand behind him.

“I ain’t afraid of anythin’,” he answered, though his voice sounded small to his own ears.

“You’re frightened of going too far,” she suggested as she slid one hand up the length of his bare back and onto his shoulder.
“You’re still thinking about what it means to play by the rules when you should be making your own. Followers wait until everything
is just right before they act, but leaders wait for no one. You’re a leader, Ellis. It’s time to start acting like it.”

“It ain’t as easy as all that.”

“Yes, it is,” she disagreed as she turned him back from the window to face her. “My whole life, I’ve had only one goal, and
that was to get everything that I felt was coming to me. By hook or by crook, that’s what I have done. If anyone gets in my
way, I don’t so much as bat an eye as I run them down and I eliminate them. That’s just the way you need to live. If you don’t
want those Germans living in this town, it’s up to you to drive them out, no matter the means.”

Looking down into Carolyn’s face, Ellis couldn’t help but believe some of what she was telling him.
Why shouldn’t I get what I want? How far is too far to go in ridding this town of such trash?
Her words were intoxicating to him and he found himself nodding his head.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said.

Carolyn’s hands reached between his legs and caressed beneath his manhood with a touch that sent his knees to quivering. “You
were born with these,” she murmured, “so it’s to be expected that you would use them.”

“I’m thinkin’ about usin’ ’em right now.”

“Augustus will be waiting for me.”

“Then let him wait,” Ellis growled, his throat thick with desire.

Pushing Carolyn back down on the bed, he reached for her blouse, only to find her fingers already unbuttoning it. If Riley
were pacing around outside, he’d just have to be impatient a bit longer.

It was time for Ellis Watts to take what he wanted.

S
OPHIE MOVED QUICKLY
along Main Street, her short heels clicking against the pavement of the sidewalk, her purse clutched tightly against her
side. On this particular Saturday morning, the shops and streets were filled with people eager to be out on such a gloriously
beautiful day, the summer heat having retreated in the wake of the previous night’s storm. Sophie paid no attention to the
activity. She’d come to town with her father and brother, leaving them at the grocery store to tend to her own plans.

Today I have a lunch date with Cole!

Like her family’s barn, Sophie felt her life was slowly being rebuilt, bit by bit and day by day. Though she wasn’t so completely
devoid of worry that she didn’t look around for an unwanted face, she marveled at how much of her fear had simply fallen away.
Only weeks earlier, she’d been too petrified even to leave the newspaper office for lunch, fearful that she would encounter
Ellis, Riley, or Graham. Now she marched on with a smile every bit as bright as the sun.

Meeting Cole Ambrose had changed her life. Now she rose to greet each day with a confidence that she hadn’t previously known.
Once she had wondered where her life was headed as she lay in her secret place and dreamed about a future that seemed impossible.
Now she had begun to believe that a life at Cole’s side was one not only worth living, but cherishing. At his side, nothing
seemed out of reach.

Rounding the corner, Sophie hurried up the steps of Ambrose Hardware and went inside. Even in the midst of such a gorgeous
day, the inside of the store was gloomy; scant light penetrated through the front windows, leaving the interior masked in
shadows. Still, her eyes immediately found Cole. While Robert Ambrose was busy tending to a pair of middle-aged women who
were eyeing the latest-model iceboxes, Cole was helping a young couple decide between a pair of washtubs. His back was to
her, but she would have recognized his sandy blond hair and broad shoulders anywhere.

Since the day of their first picnic, Cole had slowly opened up to Sophie about his strained relationship with his father.
He had spoken to her of a difficult childhood spent painfully missing his mother and of the divide that loss had created between
himself and Robert. She’d said little during their talks, content to simply listen, but it had become clear to her that the
barrier between the two men still existed. With Jason shipped off to the war, Cole had begun to work more at the hardware
store; the closeness of their contact only made the tension between them more obvious.

“Thank you, Mr. Gordon,” she heard Cole say.

Returning her attention back to the man who had taken full hold of her heart and dreams, Sophie watched as Cole slowly turned
toward her, but instead of brightening at the first sight of his face, Sophie found herself spiraling down into the depths
of despair.

The side of Cole’s face was a ravaged mess of bruises and bumps all stained a motley kaleidoscope of colors; the corner of
his mouth heavily marked with an upsetting brown, his cheekbone soiled an ugly purple, and his temple dirtied with two raspberries
of crimson red. Sophie couldn’t help but let out an audible gasp at the sight.

Instantly, she knew what had happened: Cole had been true to his own word, but in attempting to defend her honor, had instead
paid the price of a savage beating. Furious anger rose in her heart at Ellis Watts, Riley Mason, and even Graham. Seeing Cole
in such a state was every bit as painful as when she had watched her father being struck with Ellis’s rifle butt. Just as
at that moment, her first instinct was to act.

“What happened to you?” Sophie asked as she hurried toward him.

“It’s nothing,” Cole answered, his eyes avoiding hers.

Gently yet insistently, her trembling fingers touched his chin and forced his gaze back to her own, her eyes sweeping over
the damage. “You must think me some kind of fool if you expect me to believe that this is nothing,” she said forcefully, her
voice rising. “Tell me who did this to you, Cole. Tell me the truth and tell me right now!”

“Not here,” he said, locking his gaze upon hers.

“But—” she started, but he hushed her with a raised hand.

Sophie suddenly became aware of the other people in the hardware store; the two women’s attention had wandered from their
prospective iceboxes to the scene unfolding beside them. Though she couldn’t see him, she was certain that Cole’s father was
also watching them closely.

Shame colored Sophie’s face at making a scene, but she pushed her embarrassment down, choosing instead to focus upon the anger
rising in her breast. Just as she told herself when walking to meet Cole only moments earlier, she was rebuilding her life
as surely as the once destroyed barn; no longer would she retreat from the life she wanted.

“Don’t hush me,” she demanded of him. “Tell me!”

Instead of giving her an answer, Cole grabbed Sophie by the arm and pulled her toward the rear of the store. She stumbled
along behind him, struggling to maintain her balance, her arm hurting from the rough way his fingers dug into her flesh as
they passed through the short hallway that led to the rear door and out onto the landing.

Closing the door behind them, Cole turned to face her, his eyes full of as many emotions as she could imagine: anger mixed
with worry and even a touch of sadness.

“What happened to your face?” Sophie asked again, the worry seeping into her voice.

“Tell me who the other man was,” Cole said in answer.

“What other man?”

“The third man at the diner,” he pressed. “Not Ellis Watts and not the one that grabbed your wrist, but the man who sat with
his back to the front of the diner, the man who didn’t move or say a word. I want to know who he is.”

Sophie’s heart pounded, skipping beat after beat as the realization struck her as to what Cole was asking.

It was Graham… it was Graham who had attacked Cole!

Cole stared solemnly at Sophie’s face, reading the way in which she avoided his eyes, her gaze sweeping down to the wooden
planks beneath their feet. He’d seen the glimmer of recognition that had crossed her face at the mention of the third man
and was convinced that she knew exactly who he was talking about. That she was reluctant to give his name pained him.

“Who is he, Sophie?” he kept on.

“I don’t know… don’t know who…” she unconvincingly muttered.

“Don’t know or don’t want to tell me?”

“Cole, I just can’t…”

“Yes, you can, Sophie,” Cole argued. “You just choose not to.”

“It’s not that easy,” she pleaded, tears rising in her eyes.

“Just a few moments ago you were the one insisting that I tell you about what happened to my face,” he said, his growing anger
and frustration beginning to get the better of him. “But now, when I’m the one asking you to tell me the truth, you’re the
one holding your tongue!”