Livvie's Song by Sharlene MacLaren

Author:Sharlene MacLaren [MacLaren, Sharlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General Fiction
ISBN: 9781603742122
Amazon: 1603742123
Publisher: Whitaker House
Published: 2010-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” —Jeremiah 29:11–13

Will was amazed at the recent turn of events. First, Clem and his thugs had shown up at the restaurant with their loud talk and empty threats, and then, after overhearing their crass blabber outside her window, Livvie had come marching across the hall to confront him about it. He’d long known that the day would come when she’d discover his shocking past; he just hadn’t pictured it happening quite this way, with Clem, Hank, and Rudy spilling the beans. Oh, but he’d seen lightning in those blue-green eyes when he’d opened the door, broom at the ready to clobber whoever had forced his way inside. And then, after she’d divulged what she’d heard, he’d fully expected her to give him the ax. Instead, here she was, insisting he stay on as cook, even though she knew about his past, as well as the potential for trouble in his future. Granted, she had a point about needing a cook, but, surely, another Joe Stewart would come forward if she advertised her immediate crisis.

“Livvie, I could jump on the morning train tomorrow and remain an enigma for the rest of Wabash’s days—no doubt to everyone’s benefit,” he heard himself saying.

She stood, so he followed suit, watching her brush the wrinkles out of her cotton skirt. In the sticky air, her coppery hair had coiled into tiny ringlets around her temples and fell in soft swirls over her proud shoulders. What he wouldn’t give to reach up and test its texture! To stay on the safe side, he clasped his hands behind his back.

“It would not be to everyone’s benefit, Will,” she said. “In the short time you’ve been here, you’ve already impressed a good number of folks with your excellent cooking skills. If you suddenly disappear, you’ll be more than an enigma; you’ll be a source of suspicion and mistrust. Would you really want to leave the fine folks of Wabash in that kind of quandary, especially in light of your Christian testimony?”

He could now add “smart” and “sensitive” to the long list of Olivia Beckman’s attributes. “You’re right; I don’t want people thinking I had to run to save my skin or protect my reputation. Maybe I should just come clean with folks, tell them about my sordid past.”

“And what would be the point in that? Why deliberately give people a reason to doubt you or find fault, not to mention spread senseless gossip? If and when they discover the truth, you can let them make up their own minds about you. By then, most of them will have gotten to know the real Will Taylor, so your past won’t matter.

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