Bone Deep (23 page)

When he was out of earshot, Grace
raised her eyebrows at Sarah. “Wow
, s
weet smile
and
amazing eyes
. I can understand the attraction
.” She reached in her purse and handed Sarah a small box. “Directions are inside if you’ve never used them before.” Her
normally
pink cheeks were bright red.

“Thank you.” Sarah accepted the condoms, her own face flushing
,
and put the box in her apron pocket.

After Grace drove away, Tom set the ladder against the eaves at the side of the house
where he was going to clean out the gutter and
came over to Sarah. “It sounds like there’s going to be trouble. I didn’t mean to make things so hard for you. I should leave now before it gets worse.”

Sarah shook her head. “So people know the truth now. We’ll simply have to face up to it and wait for the gossips to get bored talking about it and turn their attention to something new.”

She
forced confidence into her voice b
ut inside she knew it would not be so easy. The villagers m
ay
not come marching in with pitchforks to drive Tom off
,
or
brand her with a scarlet A, but it could be very unpleasant being stared at and ridiculed. Tom had suffered enough of both in his life. She wished she could spare him that.

A
fter a
supper
of corned beef, new potatoes and cabbage
that evening
,
Sarah served
chocolate cake for dessert. Tom’s eyes closed in pleasure as he ate a mouthful of dark cake and rich butter frosting.

“I’ve never
had
anything like this.”

“Never? Then have a second piece.” Sarah thought of all the things she
could
cook or bake for him. In her mind she prepared meals for him for the next fifty years.

When dinner was over, they retired to
the living room
where
Tom worked on his lesson. In addition to slowly reading lines from one of John’s childhood books, he could
now
print all the letters of the alphabet and string some together into simple words. He practiced reading and writing for over an hour then listened to Sarah read aloud from Tom Sawyer.

She was at the pivotal
scene
where Injun Joe chase
d
the children through the caves when a loud crash came from the front of the house. Sarah
bolted from her seat and her heart pounded.

On the floor i
n the front hall was a brick in
the midst
of broken glass.
Air
blew through a jagged hole in the window beside the door.
Outside a
car engine roared
and
tires sprayed gravel, but when Sarah
pulled
the door open, the
red taillights were halfway down the road
.

She turned on the porch light and stepped outside
with
Tom right behind her. There was nothing to see in the yard
except the deep grooves the tires had cut in her lawn
. The damage was done. The message delivered.

Then she
noticed
a white
gleam
on the side of the barn. The porch light didn’t extend far enough for her to see what it was so she got a flashlight
and
played the light over the barn
. Another
message
besides the brick
had been left for her.

“Freaks Hoar” proclaimed
the
straggling white letters about the height of a man.

Her
jaw tightened
as she reined in pure white-hot rage
.

“What? What does it say?” Tom was at her side, eyes scanning the letters
as he tried
to sound them out.

“Nothing. Just stupid, small-minded nonsense. It’s nothing.”
She grasped his hand.

His
gaze
darted back and forth between her face and the barn. “No. Tell me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to say it. It’s a stupid insult, that’s all.
And
it’s spelled wrong.” She tugged on his
hand
. “Come on. Let’s cover the window and clean up the glass.”

Sarah crunched across broken shards to get a broom and dustpan. Tom cut a piece of cardboard from a box to temporarily seal the window. They worked silently
as they cleaned
up.

When Tom was finished, he hefted the brick in his hand, turning it over and over, feeling the texture. “I’m going to check on the animals.”

“I’m sure they’re fine.
Don’t go out there.
Stay inside.”
Even though she didn’t believe there were any other hooligans lurking around, she didn’t want to watch Tom disappear into the dark night.

“I’ll be right back.” He picked up the flashlight and
left
without another word.

Sarah stood on the front porch
and watched anxiously as he crossed the yard
. He
opened the door next to those awful, dripping letters and disappeared
inside the barn
.
After a few moments,
light c
a
me pouring out of the barn door
casting
in a yellow rectangle on the ground. Sarah wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cool air and waited for
Tom
to reappear.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the light
went
off and his dark shape
emerged from the barn
.

“Is everything okay?”
she called as he approached.

He
stopped
on the bottom step and look
ed
up
at her. The dark, somber look she knew so well was back in his eyes
. “
Th
is happened because of me. I’m sorry. I should never have come here.”

She reached for his hand, pulling him up the steps and into her arms. She hugged him tight and spoke against his chest. “Don’t say that! I told you how I feel. I’m glad you came to me and I’m not afraid of facing these people. We just have to be strong and
stand firm against their insults
.”

His whispered against her hair
, “I don’t belong here and t
hey know it.”

“Yes you do. You do belong here.” She took his face in her hands and looked in
his
eyes. “You belong with me.”

S
he led him inside an
d up the stairs to her bedroom then
took him into her arms
and
inside her body
. She
held him until he shook with ecstasy and spent inside her.

Chapter Twelve

The next morning Sarah announced they were going to town. “I’m not going to wait for people to whip themselves into a frenzy gossiping about us. We’re going to do the regular shopping errands and we’re going to do them together. Let people know we’re
a couple and that we’re
not hiding out here.”

Tom poked listlessly at his eggs. His plate had been in front of him for five minutes and was still full
. Nothing could indicate
the level of his distress
more
. “I don’t
think
that’s a good idea.”

Sarah tapped her finger against her coffee cup and considered.
Perhaps
she was being impulsive. Forcing people to acknowledge them might only stir the pot
even
more. But she thought of th
os
e white letters on the side of her red barn
made her
angry all over again. “We need
to buy
glass for the window from the hardware store anyway.”

Two hours later they pulled up in front of McNulty’s and got out. Only a few people were on the sidewalk, but more were behind each shop window. Sarah was aware of eyes watching as she opened the trunk. Tom lifted out the window frame from which he
’
d removed the broken glass and carried
the frame
into the hardware store.

Andrew was working. Sarah steeled herself for a disapproving look
when he noticed their arrival
, but his
expression
remained neutral. He put down the package of lures he was hanging on a display rack and came
over to them
.

Sarah f
ak
ed a smile.
“Hi, Andrew.
Can you replace the glass in this frame?”

“Sure thing.” Andrew took the wood frame from Tom. For a second their
gazes
met and held, then they both looked away.

“If I do some grocery shopping and a couple of other errands, could I pick it up after?”

“Mm. That’s pushing it. I won’t be able to
get to it
before late this afternoon.”

“All right. I’ll probably check back tomorrow then.”

The three of them stood awkwardly silent for a moment. Sarah’s arms were folded. Tom stared at the floor with his hands in his pockets. Andrew clutched the frame.

“Have you heard how Aileen is doing?” Sarah asked, although
Rev. Brighton
had already filled her in.

“All right now. Leg’s in a cast, but she’s okay.” Andrew’s eyes slid to Tom. “You saved the kid’s life, you know.”

Tom’s hunched
his shoulders,
glanced up and mumbled, “You dug her out.”

“Well, everybody played a part. I’m just glad she’s safe,” Sarah said briskly, ready to leave. “Thanks for taking care of that glass. I appreciate it.” She moved toward the door and Tom followed.

“Sarah, wait,” Andrew said. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”

“Um, sure. I guess so.” She nodded at Tom.

He flicked a glance at Andrew before walking outside.

After the door had closed behind him, Andrew said, “I just thought you should know, some kids have spread a pretty nasty rumor about
seeing
you and this guy
at the swimming hole
.” He looked at her searchingly, begging her to deny it.

Her throat constricted as she knew she would hurt him with her words. “
I’m afraid i
t’s not a rumor. I’m sorry, Andrew.”

“I ... I see.” He
stared at a shelving unit
then back at her. “I thought you said you weren’t ready to
be
... Never mind.” He turned away, clutching her empty window frame
like a lifeline
. “I’ll take care of this window. It’ll be ready for you to pick up tomorrow.” H
is tone was ice cold as h
e walked away from her.

Sarah opened her mouth then closed it. There was nothing she could say or do to make him feel better. It would probably be best if she
simply
left him alone.
Not
until she was outside the store
did she remember the
red paint
she’d meant to buy
o cover the hate message on the barn, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back inside.

Tom
waited for her
in the
Plymouth
. A few people lingered on the sidewalk at a discreet distance, pretending to look in store windows, but actually trying to catch a glimpse of him through the windshield.

Sarah strode to the driver’s side and got in
, glancing
at Tom to gauge his level of tension. His hands were clenched in
to fists in
his lap, but his
expression
was calm.

“Groceries next,” she announced
cheerfully
before he could ask her what Andrew had wanted.

Entering the grocery store, Sarah picked up a shopping basket and headed
for
the house
wares aisle
with
Tom right beside her. She selected a few necessary items, laundry detergent, sponges, scouring pads, and tried to ignore the silence that had fallen the moment she and Tom entered the store.

Mrs. Davidson’s
conversation with Esther Blanch
halted
and the two ladies, as well as several other customers in the store, stared at Tom. Then Mrs. Davidson whispered someth
ing to Mrs. Blanch, set down her c
offee
mug
with a thump and came out from behind the counter.