[Desert Roses 03] - Beneath A Harvest Sky (31 page)

“All right,” Duncan replied, finally feeling able to speak.

Rainy pushed back her hair and drew a deep breath. “Were you hired to keep track of me—to spy on me and get close to me—so that you could learn whether or not I was stealing Indian art pieces?”

Duncan felt his breath catch. His mouth went dry.

“I . . . well . . . I was hired to investigate the thefts . . . yes.”

Rainy narrowed her icy blue eyes. “That’s not what I asked. Were you hired specifically to watch me?”

Duncan knew that he had to be honest, but at the same time he knew without a doubt it would forever change their relationship. “I . . . uh . . .”

Tears came to Rainy’s eyes. “So it is true. I can’t believe it. You led me to believe . . . Oh, I won’t even say it. I can’t believe this is happening. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt as my mother said I should do, but now . . .”

“Wait,” he said, taking hold of her arms. “It’s not as it seems.”

“Of course not,” she said snidely. “It never is. You were just doing a job.”

“I was trying to get to the truth. They wanted me to watch you and Sonny and to prove you were the ones stealing the artifacts. I wanted to prove you were innocent. I was trying to figure out what was going on.”

“Oh, really? And just what was it you were trying to figure out when you kissed me?” She lifted her chin defiantly, tears coursing down her cheeks. “I don’t want to hear any more. Whether you believe me or not, I did not take those artifacts. I would never do that. I didn’t steal the pieces at the university and I’m not responsible for the thefts of the last few months. I really don’t care what you think or believe, but it’s the truth!” She jerked away from him and ran back across the park.

Duncan sighed and sat down on a nearby bench.

Betrayal was the only word for what he knew she must feel. He had no idea how she’d found out about his involvement, but her reaction definitely didn’t bode well for their future—unless he could get her to listen to his explanation.

Duncan sighed again. How could things have gotten so out of hand? All he wanted to do was support her, to clear her name. Hadn’t he fought for her over and over? Hadn’t he worked hard to convince Rich-land that he couldn’t just storm in and arrest the Gor-dons?

It didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t listen to him. He knew she cared about him—she would never have kissed him the way she did if she didn’t have feelings for him.
So what can I do about it now? How do I
make her listen to me when she clearly isn’t willing to hear
anything I have to say? If I went after her, she’d only think I
was making things up to excuse my actions
.

Duncan wished fervently he’d never been asked to look into the Indian thefts. He thought of Jennetta’s promise to look him up when she got back to town, but the tour had returned yesterday by train and still there had been no word from Jennetta. He’d thought to ask Chester Driscoll if he had seen her when he’d run into him at La Fonda, but the opportunity never arose and Duncan let it go for the time.

The entire matter was much messier than he’d ever believed it would be. Maybe the only way to prove to Rainy that he believed in her innocence, however, was to prove Jennetta guilty.

He leaned back against the bench and tried to reason out his next step. He thought of his father’s counsel to trust God to make the truth known. He also understood Rainy’s frustration, however, when she’d mentioned the length of time she’d waited to clear her name.

“God’s timing is never too early or too late,”
his father had often said.

As a child, Duncan had tried to disprove this with logic and reasoning. He could still hear his conversations with his dad. “But if God is never too late or too early, then why didn’t God keep Jesus from having to die on the cross? If Jesus was willing to be a sacrifice for our sins, why wasn’t that enough? Why would God make Him go through all that pain and suffering?

Why not just say, ‘Poof—it’s done. You have taken on the sins of the world and now everyone who comes to me through you will be forgiven’?”

Duncan’s father had been patient with his tenderhearted son. “Suffering has always been with man since the fall in the Garden of Eden. When people stepped out of God’s will for them and decided to take matters in their own hands, there had to be consequences. The consequence of sin was pain and suffering.”

“But Jesus didn’t sin. He only took the sin on in order to see that we could have forgiveness,” Duncan had argued with all his fifteen-year-old authority.

“Jesus had to become the sacrifice for our sins. It wasn’t enough that He took on the guilt of the world—there had to be a consequence for it. If there was no sacrifice, it would make God unjust. Jesus couldn’t just take on the sins and not suffer the punishment. It wasn’t a matter of God’s timing being off, Duncan, it was a matter of God remaining sovereign and just.”

Duncan had considered his father’s words for a long time. He could see the truth of them, but the timing issue still bothered him, and it didn’t seem fair.

In the events of human lives, God’s timing often seemed skewed.

His father then said, “Duncan, we can’t know the mind of God. We can’t always understand the result or reason of the things that take place in our lives. The fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah says, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ Sometimes God allows things that make no sense to you or me. We may never know why, but we have to trust that He does and that it’s the right way for things to be.”

Duncan knew he would have to do the same now.

He would have to trust that God had the matter under control. He’d done nothing wrong. His motives were pure. He had set out on a mission to do nothing more than find out who was stealing from the Indians. Rainy just happened to get in the middle of it.

————

297 In Albuquerque, Rainy tried to help her mother with a glad heart. She forced herself to get enthusiastic about plans for her father’s party, but no matter what she did, Duncan was always in her thoughts. Even as she planned to help Gunther with his project, Rainy thought of Duncan and wondered if he’d just see her as doing whatever she could in order to steal more artifacts.

By Thursday evening Rainy had spent a great deal of time in prayer and felt almost ready to let go of the past, when Sonny surprised them with a visit. The look on his face told Rainy it wasn’t good news.

“What’s happened?” she asked, hanging her colorful apron to one side.

“It’s Jennetta Blythe,” Sonny said, pulling out a dining room chair to sit down.

Their parents came into the room, both wearing broad smiles. “Sonny, it’s so good to see you again so soon,” their mother said and kissed him atop his head.

Rainy saw his frustration. “Sonny has come with news of one of our tourists, who disappeared while traveling in Arizona with us. Remember I told you how Mrs. Blythe couldn’t be found and then we had to leave without her?”

Their parents nodded in unison, and Sonny picked up the conversation. “Well, it seems the reason she disappeared was to visit some old Indian medicine woman. She wanted to . . . end her pregnancy.”

“I didn’t even know she
was
pregnant,” Rainy said in surprise.

“No one did. Not even Phillip,” Sonny admitted.

Rainy thought of the situation and shook her head.

“Why would she want to kill her baby? I mean, I know

Jennetta was divorcing her husband, but they might have worked things out for the sake of the child.”

“I don’t know about that, but Jennetta’s in the hospital. She nearly died from whatever medicines that old woman gave her. She lost the baby, but she could still lose her life as well. Phillip is beside himself. I asked him if he wanted me to bring you to talk to Jen-netta, but he said no. He said he couldn’t bear to see you just now, but I thought maybe you should go anyway.”

Rainy felt torn. She had plans to travel with Gun-ther in the morning. She hadn’t told anyone because she didn’t want to be lectured about it. No doubt her father wouldn’t like her going off across the desert with only an old man for protection and help in case their automobile broke down. Her mother would no doubt worry about it as well.

“I don’t know that it would be such a wise idea for Rainy to go,” her father said thoughtfully. “If Phillip has asked that she not come, then we should honor his wishes.”

Sonny shrugged. “I just thought she could share Jesus with Jennetta and Phillip.”

“Phillip needs a man to guide him in these spiritual matters,” Rainy finally said. “I tried to talk to him about God, but I don’t think he heard much of what I had to say.” She ached for Phillip. It was her fervent wish that he might find salvation—not so that he might be eligible husband material, but rather so that he might find the peace that he desired.

“Why don’t you go to Phillip and share the Gospel, son?” their father questioned.

Rainy quickly agreed. “I think he might very well listen to another man. Phillip’s life was seemingly perfect when I tried to talk to him. Maybe hearing God’s truth would mean much more now.”

“But I don’t really know him like you do. Maybe we could go together.”

Rainy felt a twinge of guilt. “I really feel I would do more harm than good, given our past. I might just end up hurting him even more. Please do this for me, Sonny. It’s God he needs, not me.”

Their father put his hand on Sonny’s shoulder.

“Your sister is right. He doesn’t need to be clouding his thoughts right now. Seeing Rainy again might make matters all the more difficult. The important thing is to support him while he awaits word on his sister.”

“Well, when you put it that way it does make sense.

Sure, I’ll go back and stay with him at the hospital,” Sonny offered.

Rainy reached out and squeezed his hand. “Tell him that I’m praying for Jennetta and for him as well.

If he wants me to visit, I will.”

Sonny started to get up, but his mother said, “Stay where you are. You can’t go back until you have some supper. I still have some tamales on the back of the stove.”

Rainy moved away as her father began talking with Sonny about how to handle the situation with Phillip.

The evening air felt refreshing as she moved into the courtyard, yet guilt became her companion. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to go back to Santa Fe and comfort Phillip, but at the same time she wanted to run as far away as possible. She was actually glad Phillip had asked that she not come.

Lord, I need you to help me through this,
she prayed.
I
need to be strong in my resolve and I need to trust that you
are in control. Please be with Jennetta and heal her body. Heal
her on the inside as well
.

The thought of Jennetta taking the life of her own baby angered Rainy. Slipping into a chair, she tried to reason it all out. She knew Jennetta’s way of living was self-centered and spoiled, but she couldn’t imagine how anyone could reach such a decision.

“Rainy, are you all right?” her mother asked softly.

Rainy turned and nodded. “I was just trying to pray for Jennetta and Phillip, but . . .”

“But what?”

“But why would she kill her baby? Just imagine it.”

“I can’t because I’ve always loved being a mother.

From the first moment I knew I was expecting you two, I rejoiced.” She came and sat beside Rainy in the garden. “Don’t be angry with Jennetta. She must have been very scared.”

“I know that in my heart and I do feel bad for her.

But I can’t help but be convinced that she also did this because the baby was an inconvenience to her. Jen-netta is an arrogant, self-absorbed woman. A baby wouldn’t fit into her lifestyle.”

Her mother reached over and patted Rainy’s hand.

“She needs God. The things of God make no sense to her. She can’t understand the value of her child’s life because she doesn’t understand the value of her own life. You’ve said yourself that she seems to be miserable most of the time.”

Rainy realized her mother was right. “Yes, she is.

She’s always writing the most depressing stuff—at least to hear Phillip tell it.”

“Well, when your soul is lost in sorrow, it’s hard to write anything uplifting. My guess is that Jennetta’s life is in shambles. There is a great deal of ugliness involved in any divorce. She very well may be overwhelmed with her emotions over that. The baby was probably too much for her to even consider. Be compassionate, Rainy. We cannot approve of what she’s done, but we can pray for her and show her love.

That’s what being a woman of God is all about.”

Rainy nodded. “I’ll keep praying about it. I know I have so much to do in my own life that I have no right to look at another’s person’s life with expectations of perfection.”

“Sometimes the hardest thing is to deal with the log in our own eye,” her mother said sympathetically.

“If you look to God, He’ll help you to put your own heart in order, Rainy. Then you’ll be better equipped to pray and understand the lives of those around you.”