The Cedar Tree (Love Is Not Enough) by McGriffith Danni

Author:McGriffith, Danni [McGriffith, Danni]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-09-24T05:00:00+00:00

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The next morning, the wind whistled through a crack in the living room window, forcing a thin dusting of snow onto the windowsill. Gil leaned on his crutch staring outside at his grandfather clambering through knee-deep drifts toward the barn, a shadowy shape in driving flurries of snow. The storm had energized old Chief, and he bounded wildly through the drifts like a puppy, biting the snow and barking.

He grinned at the dog's antics then turned to hobble through the gloomy rooms like a caged animal pacing, troubled by something he couldn't identify.

Maybe it was the thing with Lance the night before. He felt kind of bad for the guy, but really…a public meltdown? What a wimp. The guy should suck it up a little. Have some pride. Wearing his feelings on his sleeve like that was just pathetic.

He made his way to the cramped laundry room, once a closet with walls of bright green, now faded by age and layers of grime to the dingy color of bread mold. With an effort, he scooped an armload of dirty jeans from the floor.

He shouldn't have made that promise to Katie's dad. It could be a long time between now and…when? He wanted to marry her. He did. Soon. But there was the church thing, and he had to be able to take care of her. The church thing would solve itself with time. Probably. But the other…

He shut the gold colored lid and turned on the washing machine. Frowning, he hobbled into the kitchen.

And all those bills. That stupid wreck couldn't have come at a worse time. The bill to get his truck fixed wouldn't be cheap. He'd have to sell one of the horses.

None of them were ready, though, and he couldn't work them without both his arms. Maybe he could figure out how to drive Jim Harris' old Peterbilt with one arm. If he could, he'd go back to work as soon as his knee got better.

He opened the refrigerator door and cautiously flipped up the lid on a bowl. A layer of black, bubbly spots coated the stuff inside. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and hastily replaced the lid.

If he could talk Katie into waiting to get married until she graduated from high school in the spring it'd give him some time to get his bills settled, get them a place to live, figure out how…

He replaced the bowl in the refrigerator and shut the door. Standing on one leg at the window over the sink, he looked out into a wall of blowing snow.

He could see himself with Katie in his arms every night. He could see himself trying to bring home enough money to keep them going. After that, all he could see was his father. He rubbed a hand over the suddenly clammy skin of his unshaved face.

What if he couldn't bluff his way through it?

His grandfather returned at noon, stomping snow from his rubber overboots.

Laying aside the newspaper from the day before, he heaved himself out of his chair.

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