Breaking Matthew (15 page)

Mrs. Paschal shot a glance at Mr. Paschal. “I hadn’t thought of that, honestly. Of course, there are some beautiful locations around Montgomery for a wedding reception. And it would make a lovely trip for you and your family.”

The two women shared polite smiles, but I could see Mother’s disappointment. I didn’t want to think how upset she was going to be when she found out there wasn’t even going to be a wedding. My head pounded, and I couldn’t swallow another morsel.

I pushed away from the table and stood. “I, uh…think I’m coming down with a headache. I’m going to head up to my room and rest for a bit.”

“Oh honey, are you not feeling well?” Mother said.

“Sit down,” Father commanded. “You’ll stay until we finish our meal. Then you’ll accompany me to the library for a smoke. That should set your head straight.”

I didn’t miss the pointed look he gave me with that last sentence. I sat back down, resigned to endure uncomfortable conversation about a wedding that wasn’t going to happen, followed by an argument that would most likely resolve nothing. Thankfully, everyone finished eating soon afterward, and Mother and Mrs. Paschal departed for the sitting room to continue their grand plans.

I took Vanessa by the elbow before she could leave with them. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

She looked up at me with weary eyes that seemed a bit puffy. She’d been crying. “I, I don’t know. I didn’t know what to say. She’s so happy.” She looked like she might start crying again, so despite the awkwardness of the situation, I pulled her into my chest.

“Don’t worry about it tonight,” I said. “Why don’t you go lie down? We can deal with all this in the morning. There’s no rush.”

She relaxed against me and mumbled into my chest. “Thank you.”

Then she turned for the door and headed into the sitting room. I took a moment to steel myself for what waited for me in the library. But when I arrived, I was surprised to find Mr. Paschal smoking with Father. Apparently he meant to torture me further with anticipation. I should have seen that coming.

“Come in,” Father said, handing me a cigar. “It’s about time you joined the real men in a smoke.”

“I prefer not to,” I said. “You know what the doctors say about my lungs.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression you had superhuman lungs that were miraculously healed.”

My face flushed hot. “I think that was meant as a joke, not as permission to smoke.”

He took the cigar and placed it back in the humidor on his desk. “Very well then. We can still attend to important matters. Take a seat.”

He gestured to the large wingback chair next to Mr. Paschal, who puffed gently on his cigar like he had not a care in the world. I got the impression that I was the only one in the room who didn’t know exactly what was going on.

Father took the leather armchair across from mine, sucked on his cigar, and then leaned back and crossed his legs. “Now, let’s clear the air about your latest business transaction.”

“Certainly,” I said, though I was surprised we were going to do this in company. “Why don’t you explain to me why there was land purchased in my name without my knowledge?”

“Son, you are still very inexperienced in life and in business. There are rules about taxes and property that are frankly, beyond your understanding.”

“So educate me.”

He sucked on his cigar again and blew the smoke toward the window. “That would take quite some time, and I don’t want to bore Mr. Paschal with our family business. But here’s what you need to understand. Mr. Paschal has been kind enough over the last couple of years to do business with me. He and I support each other in many ways—financially and personally. The land you’re so interested in, wasn’t exactly yours.”

“The name on the deed said otherwise,” I said.

“If you want to play ball with the big boys, son, you have a lot to learn.” He paused and considered me. “I admit, I was angry when I realized what you’d done. But I must commend your decisive action, uninformed as it was. It’s precisely what I would’ve done at your age.”

I glanced at Mr. Paschal, who still appeared only mildly interested in all this. “Look, I understand you’re upset with me, but I did what I had to. You had no right to take the money out of my savings account. Seems to me things are pretty even.”

He leaned forward and shook his head. “Oh no, son. That’s where you’re very wrong. You see, Mr. Paschal and I had plans for that land in the future. Plans that had the potential to make a good deal of money. So you didn’t just cost me what I paid for the land, you cost me
and
Mr. Paschal every penny we would’ve earned in the future.”

“Then go down to the Building and Loan and buy it back. I’m sure it will still be worth about the same.”

“Don’t worry, Matthew,” Mr. Paschal said, his voice deep and gravely from the smoke. “Your father and I are several steps ahead of you…on many things.”

What was that supposed to mean? The whole conversation was beginning to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I didn’t want to have anything to do with whatever the two of them were concocting. I suspected it was less than ethical, if not outright illegal. I stood to leave.

“Well, I suppose with that being cleared up, I’ll head off to my bedroom.”

“Sit down,” Father said. “We have another matter to clear up as well.”

“Look, I’m not a child anymore. I’m done talking with you. All you want is control over every aspect of my life.” I turned and took a few steps for the door.

“You know your little farm girl is going to be convicted for murder, don’t you?”

I turned back around. “I’m not going to be baited into another argument about Ruby.”

Father gestured toward his guest. “Don’t you think Mr. Paschal deserves to know what you’ve been up to? How you’re running around town making his daughter look like a fool?”

Heat shot up my neck and face as I tried to think of any reasonable explanation. Mr. Paschal scowled at me, his dark brow protruding as if he could rip me to shreds. Maybe Mrs. Paschal was still in the dark, but Mr. Paschal was
completely
informed.

“I’ve spoken with Vanessa, sir,” I said to Mr. Paschal. “I haven’t hidden anything from her, and I’ve tried to treat her with the utmost respect.”

Mr. Paschal blew out a puff of smoke and turned his icy glare to Father. “I’m tired, Patrick. I’m going to leave you to handle this situation properly. It may require methods best kept between you and your son.” He buried his cigar in the ashtray beside him. Then he stood and walked past me without another glance.

“What methods is he referring to?” I asked once the door had closed.

Father glared up at me, his contempt no longer masked by manners. “You are a stupid, arrogant boy. You have no idea what you’re doing.”

I threw my hands out. “Once again, why don’t you enlighten me?”

He stood and made his way around the large cherry desk, dropping his cigar into the ashtray and leaning onto his fingers, his usual pose for scolding me. “I’ve done everything I could to provide a secure future for you, but you’ve made it clear you have no desire to be a part of this family. I’m going to explain this to you in terms even you will grasp. If you abandon your responsibilities to Vanessa and your promises to the Paschal family, and you continue to publicly embarrass both of our families, I will have no choice but to completely cut you off.”

“What makes you think I want anything of yours?”

“Not only will you be cut off, but I will do everything in my power, which you know to be substantial, to ensure that Ruby is put away for life, if not sent to the electric chair.”

I took a step back, unable to believe what I was hearing. “You’d condemn an innocent person just to spite me? Are you
insane
? Do you have no integrity at all?”

“You can judge me all you want, but the facts are what they are. And I will follow through with my promise.”

“So now you have the power to convict people of crimes?” I yelled. “You’re a monster!”

“From what I understand, the girl is far from innocent. And the fact that you would associate our good family name with someone who carries on with Negroes is appalling. And this isn’t the first time. Now, I tolerated your behavior several years back because your mother assured me it was simply a period in your life you’d outgrow. But this is far more serious. And I will not tolerate it this time.”

I stepped forward and made sure to meet his gaze with all the force I had. “Ruby didn’t kill anyone, and I intend to stick by her side every step of the way until she’s proved innocent. You may have some sway in this community and Cullman, but you cannot thwart God. If anyone has ever had God on their side, it’s Ruby Graves.”

I turned and strode toward the door, refusing to engage in his game any longer. As I pulled the door open he called across the room. “You will regret this decision, Matthew. It will cost you more than you can bear.”

“The only one demanding a price here is you. But I reckon a son is pretty cheap to you.” I slammed the door and headed straight out to my car. I hadn’t even unpacked my things. I reckoned even the Graves’s porch in a freezing hailstorm would be warmer than this godforsaken place.

Chapter Fourteen

Ruby

When Matthew’s car arrived back in our driveway the very same night, I had to admit I was glad. Having him nearby for the past few days had been like a dream, and I hadn’t wanted to wake from it. Oh, I knew it was pointless. My affection for Matthew had always been more rooted in my dreams than reality. But it was a nice distraction from the quicksand that surrounded me. His steady presence kept me from going under the weight of the bleak future I faced.

In fact, things between us had been so easy lately, I didn’t think twice about going to him with my request the next morning. After breakfast, I followed him out the back of the house under the pretense of getting the broom for sweeping. He and Asa had planned to head off into the trees for the morning to find more wood for the coming winter. I put my hand on his arm before he went down the stairs.

“Can I ask you for something?” I said.

“Sure.” His easy smile warmed my heart. “What can I do for you?”

“I’d really like to know how Samuel’s doing, and see Hannah and Isaac.” His face dropped to a frown, making me pause. “I, uh, I was hoping you might drive me out—”

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Matthew looked around like someone might be spying on us. Then he grabbed my elbow and pulled me down the stairs toward the clothes line and lowered his voice. “Absolutely not. What if someone sees you? Have you even thought about that?”

“Of course, but who would see me? No one cares about where I go, especially in Colony.”

“Ruby, you can’t be that naive. There are people in this town that want to see you put away for life. Why do you think your mother went after her brothers? For entertainment? You can’t give the Klan anything!”

“I understand that, but it’s killing me not knowing if Samuel’s all right. I think about him every day, and I pray for him every night. I just want to make sure—”

“Ruby, if someone sees you and connects Samuel to Chester’s death, then you’ve as good as sealed his hanging. Not to mention your own. You can’t be that foolish.”

My pride flared, even as I knew he was right. “Fine! If you don’t want to take me, then I’ll just find my own way. I’m sure I can borrow Asa’s truck or Uncle Roy’s.”

“You’ll do no such thing.”

“I’m not one of your servants you can order around, Matthew Doyle.”

He walked several paces away from me before turning back. “Look, I ain’t trying to start a fight with you, and I ain’t ordering you around. Lord knows you’re going to do whatever you set your mind to. But I’ve never known you to put Samuel and Hannah’s safety in jeopardy. I’m just asking you to consider this idea carefully before you run headlong into the fire.”

He was right. I knew it in my head. But it drove me mad to have to face it. “All right,” I said, my voice cracking. “I won’t go. I just can’t stop worrying about them.”

He came back to me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Aren’t you the one with all the faith?” he said. “Don’t you know your scriptures?” His head tilted slightly, a grin spreading across his face. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in the peace God had sent through Matthew’s words. God was Hannah’s provider, just as much as He was mine. I had to trust Him to take care of them, and do what I knew had to be done in the meantime.

I opened my eyes to find Matthew still smiling at me. “Thank you,” I said. His hand was still on my shoulder, and I reached up to take it in mine. “Once again, you’re the voice of reason when I seem to forget all my common sense.”

He let out a quiet chuckle and rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand. “Who would’ve ever suspected such a crazy thing as Ruby Graves listening to me? What’s gotten into you?”

I couldn’t name what had gotten into me, but I sure could feel it coursing through me.
Lord, please set my head right. Take my thoughts off Matthew and set them back on You.

I dropped his hand and took a step back. “I have a lot of work to get done today, and I reckon you do too. I’ll see you for dinner.”

I could tell my sudden distance confused him. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked.

“No. I just have a lot on my mind. I need to keep busy.” I’d nearly reached the back porch steps.

“Ruby, if it’ll make you feel better, I could drive out and check on Hannah and Samuel.”

Everything in me wanted to fly into his arms. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course. I know it’s got to be hard on you. Maybe you could write a note or something, and I could give it to Hannah.”

I was pretty sure my delight was plain to see. “I’d be so grateful. Really, I would. But…” My enthusiasm died with the realization that Matthew could be in as much danger as I was. How selfish it would be to ask this of him. “I can’t let you risk your safety for me like that. If something happened to you…”

We gazed at each other for a long moment, long enough to stoke my hope once again. But there was something else. I was beginning to see that he didn’t look on me like he used to, like I was a little girl needing protection. There was something more behind his eyes, a yearning that looked much like mine. Could he possibly feel the same as I did?

He cleared his throat and broke the spell, looking toward the trees where Asa had disappeared several minutes ago. “I reckon I ought to get to work. But I mean it; if you want me to, I’ll head out there this evening and find out if they’re all right.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re probably right. Best to keep them both as far away from this mess as possible. No sense in risking their safety just to appease my mind.”

“All right, then,” he said. “I’ll see you for dinner.”

He took the ax from the wood block and slung it onto his shoulder, walking toward the tree line. I couldn’t keep myself from watching him for a while. Seemed like every step he took, my heart thundered. What if he did love me in return? I could wind up spending the rest of my life in prison, without him. Then what?

There was nothing else for it. I’d have to continue keeping my emotions in check until the trial concluded and I knew exactly what I’d be facing. There just wasn’t any room for What Ifs.

As I hung the wet laundry on the line later that afternoon, I did my best to keep my mind off my worries for Samuel, but it just wasn’t any use. One terrible scene after another played out in my thoughts, and I asked God over and over to give me peace. But peace didn’t come.

I went over every detail of what I remembered of the day Chester died. The only thing I could think of that pointed to Samuel was the knife. And no one else knew it even existed except Matthew. I felt certain I could deny ever having seen it before. But what if someone else figured it out? What if the solicitor had found someone who’d seen Samuel come out of the barn? Surely the sheriff would’ve questioned me about it if that were the case.

While my mind spun round and round the possible outcomes, I heard the motor of a truck coming down the dirt road. It was coming pretty fast, so I figured it was my uncles. They’d taken off just after breakfast. No one asked them where they were going, and they didn’t offer any explanations.

I secured the last sheet to the line and walked around the corner of the house. Sure enough, Uncle Roy’s truck slid to a stop in front of the barn amid a cloud of dust. A few seconds later, Franklin came stomping out of the barn, pointing his finger at them and yelling things I couldn’t make out. But I could tell it was something to do with them leaving him behind. I still hadn’t seen him up close, but I could tell he was quite a bit younger than the others. He might not have even been in his thirties yet.

From what I could tell, Roy stopped to listen for a moment before he dismissed Franklin with a wave of his hand. Then Eddie must have teased him, ’cause Franklin flew into a fit of swearing. Eddie laughed and disappeared into the barn. Roy yelled at both of them to shut up. That part I could hear clear as day.

Franklin huffed around in the dust, making his way toward the back of Asa’s house. When he reached the fence that encircled the pasture, he kicked the bottom rail right hard. It shuddered, vibrating for several feet in both directions. He turned around and leaned against the fence, finally noticing me.

“Sorry about the ruckus,” he said. “I’m just a little restless.”

I walked over to the fence with a little apprehension. There was a wildness in his blue eyes that set my nerves to attention. He had a cut over his left eyebrow, and a busted lip that was on the mend, but still swollen. I reckon I was staring, ’cause he grinned a little and pointed to his lip.

“Got this from Roy when he heard the law was after me. I got a little careless.”

I held up my hand. “I don’t…I mean, Mother would be upset—”

“Oh, of course. I mean, I didn’t do nothing bad. It’s not like I killed someone or something.” His mouth clamped shut, and heat spread up my face. Franklin’s eyes widened. “Oh no! I didn’t mean nothing by that. I mean…what you done…now that was something. I’m right proud we’re related, to tell the honest truth.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him, which seemed to ease his discomfort. “You’re Franklin, right? The baby of the family?”

He smiled and tipped his hat. “The one and only.”

“So how come you don’t come up to the house?”

“Oh that,” he said in a flat voice. “Roy dragged me out here under the notion we needed to help keep the family safe—which I’m all for—but then he goes and tells me I got to stay in the barn out of sight the whole time. I might as well have stayed in our place down in the caverns. At least there, I could’ve had something to drink now and then.”

He turned around and leaned his elbows onto the top rail and looked out over the fields. “I don’t mean nothing against you or Lizzy,” he continued. “Just feel like I’m trapped here waiting on something to happen. Makes me feel crazy inside. Like I got ants all over me or something.”

“I feel that way too,” I said. “Like I’m just waiting for something to happen. I’m trapped here until the trial starts, and then what? I might be heading off to prison for the rest of my life.”

“Naw, that ain’t gonna happen. Roy and Eddie know how to deal with things like this. They can get you somewhere safe, where the law won’t find ya.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that. Just take off running. That just doesn’t seem right. Besides, if it’s God’s will for me to go to prison, then that’s where I’ll go. Many of the saints in the Bible went to prison for periods of time. If it was bearable for them, it’ll be bearable for me.”

Franklin was looking at me like I’d gone bat crazy. “You really believe all that nonsense?”

“Of course. Don’t you believe in God?”

“Well, of course I believe in God,” he said. “I just don’t think He’s interested in my life is all. And I can’t imagine He’d send a nice young girl like yourself off to prison. What’s more, I can’t believe you’d be so calm about it.”

I leaned onto the rail next to him and took in the faint orange and pink streaks forming above us as the sun dipped low. How many more sunsets would I get to see? “I wouldn’t exactly say I’m calm.”

He turned to me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Say, you wanna get out of here for a bit? Maybe go for a ride?”

My first thought was to jump at the chance to get away, even for just a little while. But I could hear Matthew in my head blessing me out for even thinking about it. Still, if Franklin was with me, I’d be all right. He knew how to protect himself.

“Won’t Roy be upset with you?” I asked.

“I don’t care one little bit if he’s upset with me.”

“Where would we go?”

He grinned. “Where do you want to go?”

Franklin drove fast, making my stomach lurch a few times around curves. It wasn’t as bad once we hit 69 going south. The road was a bit smoother then. But my stomach still wouldn’t settle, especially once we made it through Bremen. The closer we got to Colony, the faster my heart raced.

“What’re you after in Arkadelphia?” Franklin asked. “I happen to know there ain’t nothing interesting to do there.”

I gripped my hands together in my lap and prayed he wouldn’t turn the truck around. “I only meant we needed to head
toward
Arkadelphia. I don’t want to actually go there. We’ll need to make a few turns before we get that far.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at me like I was amusing. “Whoo, Ruby got a secret boyfriend or something? And here I thought you were sweet on that boy staying at the house!”

“No, it’s not that. I just have a friend I need to check on, that’s all.”

“A friend, huh? All right. If you say so.”

“Take this turn up ahead,” I said.

“Nah, you don’t mean that one. That’s the road that goes to Colony.”

I rubbed my palm with my thumb. “That’s the road I mean to take.”

He took his foot off the gas, and we started slowing down. Then he pushed on the brake and brought us to a halt on the side of the road. “You want to say that again? I think I misunderstood.”