A Gem of Truth by Kimberley Woodhouse

Author:Kimberley Woodhouse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;FIC042110;FIC042030;FIC027360
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2022-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chris stifled a yawn. Working into the wee hours of the night the past few days had helped him to create a lot of new pieces, but he was beginning to feel the lack of sleep. As much as Gramps claimed he could live off strong black coffee and biscuits, Chris knew he couldn’t.

Especially the black coffee part. He’d never been able to drink it straight like that. He always added milk and sugar.

Stumbling into his tiny kitchen, he stretched and then put his percolator to good use by starting a pot of coffee.

A knock sounded at his kitchen door, and he ran a hand through his hair. Who could that be?

He opened the door and found Mr. Holland on the stoop.

“Good morning, Christopher.” He held his cane in front of him. “I know it’s early.”

“Not a problem, I was just fixing some coffee. Come on in and I’ll pour you a cup.”

“Thank you, son.” He hobbled up the step and squared his aging shoulders once he was in the door. “I’ll get right to the point. I came to offer my assistance.”

“Assistance? You’re already doing that.”

“I know, I know. But your grandfather and I were good friends. Now that he’s gone and my sweet Lucille’s gone, well, I’m afraid I don’t have much to fill my days. It’s downright gloomy.” He cleared his throat. “When I heard about Mr. Langford selling all his holdings in Williams and about you wanting to buy the building, I decided it was high time I did something about it.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “Mr. Holland, you’ve already help—”

“Nonsense. Your gramps helped me out of more than one scrape. When we were back in Albuquerque, before you came along, he often paid for Lucille’s treatments at the doctor when we couldn’t afford them. Now, he swore me to secrecy, but with him gone, I think it’s only fair that I tell ya the truth. I owed him. He even helped us move here to Williams when I knew that Lucille didn’t have a lot of time left. She wanted to see the Grand Canyon.” The man choked a bit and pulled out a handkerchief. “Excuse me.”

“That’s why you took the train up there once a week?” It all started to make sense now.

“Yep. And your grandfather paid for those tickets too. Every week. Until Lucille passed.” The words were thick, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

His heart swelled. “I had no idea, Mr. Holland.”

The man wept for a minute and then pulled himself together. “That’s what I thought. Your grandfather was the best friend I ever had other than my wife. So now you are going to listen to me, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

Chris sat in a chair at the small kitchen table and dipped his head. “Yes, sir.”

“Good for you. Respectin’ your elders.” A slight smile lifted the older man’s lips. “I’m going to come work for you every day so you can spend all your time making jewelry. Not just the days you go up to the El Tovar.

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