Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sophie sat in the living room, not exactly contrite, but not defiant either. She had expected a lot of things – anger, punishment, questions for which feigned remorse was the only correct response. Even the silent treatment wouldn’t have surprised her. But instead her father had been firm, but gentle and thoughtful as he brought them back to town, and he had successfully calmed down Mateo’s father and the other townspeople who had met them along the way. Now she sat on the sofa waiting, not at all sure what her father wanted to say to her, but feeling pretty certain that it wasn’t going to be good.

Robert came into the room and sat at the other end of the couch. He was silent for a long time, looking at his hands. “I haven’t been completely honest with you,” he finally said.

This was not at all what she had expected. Sophie held her breath and waited.

“Yes, we came here because of the inheritance. And because I needed…a change of scenery after your mother died. I thought a new place, new memories, might be good for you, too.”

The girl nodded. This wasn’t anything she didn’t already know.

“But you’ve probably wondered why we’ve stayed here instead of going someplace else, someplace a little less isolated and close-minded.”

She had wondered this often, especially after finding the money. But instead of nodding, she merely shrugged.

“It’s because there’s a man who wants to kill me.”

Sophie sat back. “What? Why?”

Robert shook his head slightly. “It’s something that happened a long time ago. Something many men would have gotten over by now, but he hasn’t.”

“Can’t we do something about it? Aren’t there police or a government that can stop him?”

“He hasn’t done anything illegal,” her father pointed out. “He hasn't threatened me directly and there’s no law against wishing someone was dead.”

“Could you maybe talk to him?” Sophie asked, hearing her own words and knowing how foolish they sounded.

Robert moved a little closer and took her hand. “Honey, he’s an outlaw. Well, sort of. He’s more like what’s called a mercenary. He does things, sometimes legal, sometimes not, for money. Sometimes it’s the government that hires him, which is why he gets away with it.”

“And that’s why the government won’t protect you.”

“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. If I ask and I guess wrong, where does that leave you?”

Sophie considered. “Isn’t there someone who can talk to him for you? Maybe they can tell him you’re sorry for what you did long ago.”

Robert smiled. “For one thing, I’m not at all sorry. But yes, I’ve thought of that. I have someone trying to talk some reason into him. It might still work, but I’m not optimistic.”

“Does this mean we have to stay here forever?” Sophie thought of the safe full of gold. “We have money. We can go anywhere.”

“That’s one of the ideas that I’ve had,” Robert admitted. “I had hoped that we might end up liking it here, and I’m still not ready to give up, but if we’re not both happy by the end of the school year in May, we’ll leave. I promise.”

“Will we go back to Kentucky?”

Robert hesitated. “Probably not. The only reason I ever wanted to be there was because that was where your mother was. But you and I will agree on a place that’s not too unbearable for either of us, and when you’ve completed your education, if you want to go to Kentucky, I won’t stop you.”

Sophie sighed. “That’s a long time.”

“It will go faster than you think.” He squeezed her hand. “Not a helpful answer, I know. But wherever we go next, we’ll decide on it together. Okay?”

“Okay. Finish the school year, then we leave.”

“That’s right.” Robert stood up. “How about some chamomile tea before bed?”

Sophie trailed after him to the kitchen, one final thing on her mind. “Dad?”

He was reaching into a cabinet but turned around, a red china mug in his hand.

“I stole some of your money. For my trip. I’ll give it back, I swear, but there’s some I can’t give back because I gave it to Mateo to pay his dad for Baltazar.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry.”

Robert set the mug on the counter, walked over and drew her close. “I knew you took it. And it’s okay.”