Just Above a Whisper (32 page)

“Here, Mrs. Somer,” Reese offered. “I made some tea.”

“Thank you, Reese,” she said, still shaking a little. Reese held the chair for her to sit down.

“How does Doc think he’s doing?”

“He’s not sure right now. His breathing is strong, but he’s not waking up.” The tired and worried woman suddenly reached for Reese’s hand. “You were there, Reese! What happened?”

“He was talking to me about his back hurting, and then he slowly collapsed. Doyle caught him and put him on the floor.”

Mrs. Somer bit her lip. “He always says he’s sick, but he never is. He’s never been sick a day that I’ve known him. His mother was like this, and I think he thought it was his place to carry on the tradition.”

Reese smiled at the description just as someone knocked at the door.

“I’ll go,” Reese offered and was surprised to find Conner Kingsley on the front porch.

“Mr. Kingsley.” Reese looked as surprised as she was. “What brings you to the Somer home?”

“You,” he stated calmly, and Reese slipped outside to speak with him. She then realized the time.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get your dinner.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m making sure you’re all right.”

Reese blinked. She didn’t know why this was a surprise, but it was.

“So … are you all right?” Conner checked with her.

“Yes, I’m fine, but Mr. Somer collapsed at Doyle’s, and I came to help.”

“Of course you did,” Conner said.

“What did that mean?”

“Just that helping is what you do best. It wouldn’t occur to you to do otherwise.”

Reese didn’t know if she was being mocked or not. She studied the tall man in front of her, trying to weigh the issue.

“What did I say that’s causing that look?”

“What look?”

Conner smiled. “Have you ever noticed that we tend to talk in circles?”

Reese nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.

“How did you know where I was?” she asked.

“One of the few advantages of being this size is that your questions are all answered very quickly.”

“And you asked in town?”

“Certainly. We’ve never gone without dinner, so I knew something had to have come up. I just hoped you weren’t injured or ill. How is the man doing?”

“We’re not sure yet, but thank you for asking” was all Reese could think to say, still surprised that he’d come across town to check on her.

“I’ll let you go,” Conner said, putting his hat back on his head.

“All right. I’ll be back to the house as soon as I can.”

Conner nodded, and Reese began to turn away.

“Reese?” he said her name.

That woman turned back.

“Vanessa?” Conner asked.

“No,” Reese said yet again, but this time her eyes were brimming with suppressed laughter. She was still smiling when she slipped back inside the Somer home.

Fourteen

“It was like seeing myself,” Doyle said to Cathy that night as they readied for bed. “I remembered how sick I was.”

“But you’re not sick anymore,” Cathy reasoned.

“But I could be. Any of us could all go at any time.”

“That’s true, Doyle, but you’ve nothing to worry about,” Cathy argued.

“How do you know?” Doyle asked his wife, thinking back on a conversation he’d had with Jace just two weeks past. How could anyone know? Jace seemed to think that he could. Doyle had to ask himself, as the older man, why he didn’t seem to know.

“What has put these thoughts in your head?” Cathy asked, sounding and feeling a bit impatient.

“Just seeing Mr. Somer lying there. We all only half listen to him when he tells us how he’s doing, and then he’s on the floor. It could have been me.”

Cathy had no answer. She wanted to argue with her husband and tell him he was just tired, but in her mind, without even being there, she could see Mr. Somer on the floor too. It was a scary thought.

And the image of an unconscious Mr. Somer was not one she wanted to sleep on! Cathy Shephard finished brushing her hair and climbed into bed. Doyle would have to trouble this one through on his own. Cathy didn’t want to think about it. She planned to fall asleep as fast as she could.

“How was Mr. Somer when you left the house yesterday?” Troy asked of Reese while she worked on breakfast.

“Actually I stopped in this morning, and he was awake and resting comfortably.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get dinner,” Reese added.

“I filled up on pie.”

“Pie?” Reese confirmed, having wondered about its disappearance. “Was that all you had?”

“Pretty much,” Troy admitted almost proudly, causing Reese to smile.

While these two spoke downstairs and Reese worked, Conner finished dressing in his bedroom. Yesterday’s schedule had been an odd one; so odd, in fact, that Conner had just found a letter from his brother. He’d put it in his coat pocket, and never gotten around to reading it.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he opened it to see what Dalton had to say.

It’s tough not having you around
was how the letter opened.
I’m used to having you to pick on and tease and confide in, but I know your work there is important
.

I was reminded as I sat down to write this that just a few months ago Mother was alive. Do you think of her often? Is it a burden to you, or are you too busy with the bank business there?

Conner stopped reading. He did think of his mother—he thought of her at some point every day—but a sense of unreality had come over him since coming to Tucker Mills. At times it felt as though she was still waiting for him in Linden Heights. His heart would think of her welcoming him home and know instantly that it wasn’t true, but each time the image caught him short.

For just a moment he went back. Back to a time when her mind was still lucid. Her body had become weak and frail, but the fear had not set in yet, and she still looked at him with tenderness, remembering that she was the mother and he the child.

I never saw you marry
, she said on one occasion.
I always thought I would
.

You sound like you’re going somewhere
, Conner had teased her gently.

Thankfully, I am
, she teased back.
So tell me, why have you never married, Conner? Please don’t say it’s because of me
.

It’s not. I just never found someone who would have me
.

I still say you should have married Ruth or Eliza Thaden
.

They’re like sisters and you know it
.

She had taken his hand then.
It would be wonderful for me to see you give your heart away
.

Conner folded Dalton’s letter, knowing that finishing it right now was not a good idea. The memory of his mother’s death was too fresh. Mabelle Kingsley had dealt with fear off and on for most of Conner’s life. At times it had been very hard, but until the very end of her life she’d been more than a mother; she’d been his friend, the person who had been with him during the hardest days of his life.

Conner put the letter on the dresser, grabbed his coat, and headed for the stairs. He wanted to hear all that Dalton had to say and planned to write back, but for now it would have to wait.

Reese was headed back to Doyle’s to finish yesterday’s list when Alison called to her.

“Can you stop in?” the pastor’s wife asked when Reese met her in the yard.

“Not this morning. I’ve got to fill this list that didn’t get taken care of yesterday.”

“Douglas and I stopped by the house last night. Mr. Somer was sleeping, but we had a nice visit with Mrs. Somer.”

“I’m sure she appreciated it. It’s been pretty upsetting.”

“Before I forget, can you join us for dinner after services on Sunday? Would Mrs. Greenlowe mind?”

“I don’t think so. Can I bring something?”

“One of your pies if you have time to bake.”

“All right. I’ll plan on it.”

Reese didn’t linger but moved on to Doyle’s, her mind on the list.

“Back to finish your list, Reese?” Doyle asked when he saw her come in.

“Yes. It seemed more important yesterday than today, but I still need things.”

Doyle nodded, and Reese watched his face.

“Are you all right, Doyle?”

“Just thinking,” he responded as though he were in a world of his own. Shaking his head a little, he asked, “What’s first?”

Reese began reading her list, assuming he didn’t want to speak of his thoughts, but she was wrong. When her basket was full and all seemed to be in order, Doyle said a bit more.

“You just never know, do you?”

“That’s true,” Reese agreed, understanding what he meant; you couldn’t be in the store and not think of it. “It certainly compels us to know our eternity is in order.”

“If we can know,” Doyle said, his voice low.

“I guess that’s determined by whether we believe the Bible or not.”

“I believe the Bible.”

“The Bible says we can know, Doyle,” Reese told him, shifting items in her basket to make it easier to carry.

“Where does it say that?”

“Lots of places, but I don’t have those verses memorized. Do you want me to ask Douglas about it?”

Doyle hesitated. “Would Jace know?”

“Probably, or he could find out.”

“I’ll check with Jace,” Doyle confirmed, not growing embarrassed with Reese’s matter-of-fact way.

“Thanks for everything, Doyle.”

“Thank you, Reese.”

Reese went on her way. The basket was heavy, but that was a good reminder of how heavy sin was. She asked God to keep Doyle’s hunger alive and to give Jace the answers.