Miss Lizzy's Legacy (18 page)

Callie's heart crawled up her throat as she watched him walk to the edge of the stage and stop in front of her. He held out his hand, palm up. She looked at Molly, not sure what Judd was asking of her. Molly just smiled and gave her a gentle shove. “Go on,” she whispered.

Slowly, Callie rose and crossed to him, her knees knocking uncontrollably. With her gaze fixed on his, she laid her hand in his. He guided her up the two steps that separated them until she stood at his side.

He kept her hand in his as he looked out at the audience. “A year ago, the chances of Callie and I ever meeting were probably a million to one, what with her living in Dallas and me traveling all over the country, singing. If I hadn't been accused of a crime, I'd probably still be out there singing and partying and carrying on. I wouldn't have moved home to Guthrie and been here when Callie's great-grandfather sent her here to trace some of his family. You can call it fate, you can call it the work of God's mysterious hand, but whatever the reason, going through what I did was worth all the pain and suffering,” he said, turning to look down at her. “For the opportunity to meet this special lady.”

Tears burning her eyes, Callie stepped into the curve of his arm and laid a hand against his chest. The pounding of his heart beneath her palm matched the thunderous beating of her own.

He squeezed her against him, his gaze on her. “Callie convinced me that the only way to break out of this prison I created around myself is to go public, to set the story straight. She said we could face this together and I'm taking her at her word.”

He shifted nervously, not wanting to broach the subject he'd avoided for over a year. He lifted his head, his chin held high as he stared out over the audience. “I'm not guilty of the crime I was charged with,” he said. “And I didn't pay off anybody to reach that verdict.”

The applause started immediately and built to a deafening roar as one by one the audience rose to their feet, showing their belief and trust in him. That they would accept him so readily with nothing but his own word as proof freed Judd as no judge's verdict ever could. He heaved a long sigh as the burden he'd carried for over a year slipped from his shoulders.

“To put a few rumors to rest,” he said, beginning to relax, “I'm not on leave from some mental institution and I didn't skip the country. And I'm sure as hell not dead.”

The crowd hooted with laughter at that last one.

“I'm alive and well and living in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and if this lady'll say yes,” he said, looking down at Callie, “I plan to increase the population of Guthrie by one just as soon as I can find a justice of the peace who'll marry us.”

A cheer went up as the crowd shouted their approval. Tears blinded Callie as she gazed up at Judd and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. Her heart filled with her love for him, she slipped into his arms and wound her arms around his neck. “I love you, Judd Barker.”

“And I love you.” Closing his eyes, he hugged her to him. “No more prisons, Callie,” he promised in a whisper. “Never again.”

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ISBN: 978-1-4592-8659-7

Miss Lizzy's Legacy

Copyright © 1995 by Peggy Bozeman Morse

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