By Starlight Read Online Free

Seybold stood on the other side of the counter, his hat clutched so tightly in his hands that his knuckles were bone white. Maddy had known him for years. A joke teller, he lived with his family just outside of town, a short distance from the lumber mill he worked at, a business now closed. The effect of that closure on Pete was obvious. His face was gaunt, his cheekbones prominent, his cheeks peppered with a growth of silvery whiskers. His eyes were pleading, wet, brimming with tears.
    “Times are a bit tough is all,” he kept on, afraid that if he left too long a break in their conversation Maddy might fill it with something he didn’t want to hear. “I’ve been hearin’ ’bout some work down in Smulders. Talk is they’re lookin’ for experienced lumber men. Soon as I’m hired, I’ll pay you what I owe.”
    Maddy pursed her lips. If rumors like this one about jobs looking to be filled were food, there wouldn’t be a hungry family a hundred miles in every direction. Even if what he said was true, the competition would be tremendous. The odds of Pete getting work were one in a hundred, at best.
    “I know times are hard,” Maddy began, holding Pete’s gaze, determined to show him that she meant every word, “but they’re hard for everyone, me included. The mercantile has bills of its own that need to be paid. If I don’t have the money for them, I’ll eventually have to shut that door for good. I just can’t afford to extend credit.”
    “I’m not asking for much,” he pleaded, growing more desperate. “Just a bag of flour. Enough to feed my family, is all.”
    “I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”
    Outside, a peal of distant thunder rumbled over the low hills before washing against Colton. The glass in the tall windows of the mercantile shook slightly. It wouldn’t be long before the summer squall broke, swelling the rivers and muddying the earth.
    Pete’s features were creased by an angry frown. “Your father wouldn’t have turned me away in my time of need.”
    “My father isn’t here!” Maddy snapped, her voice faltering a bit more than she liked. “But if he were, he’d make the same decision I am!”
    Maddy was thankful there were no other customers in the store to hear her outburst; she thought that it was inappropriate, even unbecoming, especially for a woman. Regardless, she also knew she was in the right.
    However, it appeared that her sister disagreed. Helen had been placing an order of buttons into the chest of drawers from which they were sold, her head turned slightly to help make certain she heard every word; a long time had passed since she’d put a button away. Maddy could see that Helen was frowning; for a moment, she wondered if her sister might get involved, but she held her tongue.
    Maddy took a deep breath to help regain her composure. “I wish there was something I could do for you, Pete, but I can’t give you anything on credit. When you get working again, come back and I’d be happy to sell it to you.”
    “That’s…that’s the way it’s gonna be then?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    Pete nodded slowly. A lone tear streaked down his cheek before he angrily wiped it away, looking ashamed that it had fallen. Maddy wondered if she’d have to listen to him scream at her, ranting and raving at how unfair everything was, how she should be ashamed of herself, and worse. Instead, Pete quietly made his way to the door like a beaten man. Just as he opened it, the dark clouds above began to let loose, a teasing rain blowing against the glass.
    “I suppose it was too much to hope for,” he said without turning. “But what else is a man to do when he’s at the end of his damn rope?”
    Without waiting for an answer, he stepped out into the growing storm.
     
    For the last two years, nearly every one of Maddy’s days had been spent in the Aldridge Mercantile, struggling not to make too big a mistake as she tried to eke out a living for herself, Helen, and their