She stood in the hallway for a moment. Then she went to find Nathaniel. He was waiting by the front door, which was not a coincidence. He talked to you, Nathaniel said. He did.
Was it terrible? No, she said, and she meant it entirely. Something moved through his expression. Relief maybe or something larger than relief that was trying to be modest about it. He's coming around, Nathaniel said.
I know it doesn't look like it from the outside. But that's as close as he gets. I know, she said. I understand him better than you think. He looked at her.
What did he say? He told me you're a good man, she said. In the most complicated way possible. Nathaniel was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "That's probably the most direct compliment he's given me in 15 years." "I thought it might be," she said.
"You should treasure it accordingly." He laughed. It was a real one, the kind that arrived without warning, and she felt the familiar dangerous warmth of it somewhere in the center of her chest and did not look away from it this time. The founder's celebration was announced the first week of October. It was the largest event of the year in Red Willow Creek. Larger than the Harrington summer gathering, larger than the harvest dinner, larger than any single family celebration.
It was organized by the town council and hosted at the fairgrounds for 2 days with music and food and the kind of communal gathering that a frontier town used to remind itself it was a community rather than just a collection of people in proximity. And it was Amelia knew the moment she heard about it. Where everything was going to come to a head. She knew it because Victoria Harrington had come to see her. Not at Caldwells, not with Margaret present.
She had found Amelia at the general store on a Wednesday morning, standing in line at the counter, and she had come up beside her with the deliberateness of a woman who had planned the encounter and had a specific objective. "I know you've been going out to the Carter Ranch," Victoria said without greeting. "Good morning, Mrs. Harrington. Amelia said, "Don't." Victoria's voice was quiet and sharp.
We're past that. You and I warned you. You didn't listen. And now I'm going to tell you what's going to happen at the founders celebration. Amelia looked at her.