Southern Rapture by Jennifer Blake

Author:Jennifer Blake [Blake, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0-7592-0047-5
Publisher: ereads.com
Published: 2011-12-13T10:55:16+00:00

Lettie tapped on Aunt Em's bedchamber door. She could not think what the ethics might be concerning what she was about to do. She knew very well that Johnny had thought she would respect his confidence, but she had not promised secrecy.

She had also wrestled with her conscience over Johnny's confession. His actions had led to the deaths of innocent people, and they had certainly been made with the knowledge that he was dealing with outlaws. But he had been forced into the role he had played against his will. So far as she could see, he was guilty of stupidity for getting mixed up with such evil men, but little more.

Ranny's friend needed help. She herself could not think where to turn to gain it for him. Aunt Em, with her calm manner and stout good sense, in spite of her habit of exclaiming, was one of the few people Lettie thought might give advice without either condemning Johnny or flying into a panic. That the older woman might feel he would be best served by calling in the sheriff was a chance that must be taken. It was not possible to sit back and do nothing, allowing him to continue on his present course. If he were not caught with some message and hanged for his involvement with the outlaws, he would inevitably be drawn deeper into their crimes. No, she must act.

The older woman was dressed for bed. She invited Lettie in with the utmost cordiality, then shut the door and returned to her seat before her dressing table. Busily braiding the gray strands that hung over her shoulder, she nodded at a slipper chair. "Sit down, child, and tell me what I can do for you."

Lettie did not hesitate but told her the details of Johnny's dealings with the outlaws just as he had given them to her, as well as the suggestions the two of them had considered and discarded between them as a solution. "The thing is," she said when she had finished, "I can't think of anything else that might help."

"Goodness me," Aunt Em said in pain and dismay. "To think of this going on right under my nose. Poor Johnny."

"Do you think he's right about his mother? That seeing him in jail could kill her?"

"I suppose it's possible. She's always been sickly."

"Then what can we do?"

The other woman pursed her lips. "There is one last possibility that comes to mind."

"And that is?" Lettie urged.

"You won't like it."

"How can I not if it might work?"

When Aunt Em only watched her with a shrewd, considering look in her eyes, a virulent doubt struck Lettie. She could not mean—no, it couldn't be.

"The Thorn." Aunt Em raised a hand and went on before Lettie could open her mouth. "Now listen before you start. I know you think he's Satan himself, but he has helped people. He did take old man Hathnell from the soldiers and get him across the line into Texas. What he did for him, he can do for Johnny.

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