“Savannah thought it’d be a good idea if the four of us went to Ruth’s party together.” Again it was Laredo who spelled out Savannah’s intentions.

“Me and Caroline?” Grady burst out. He bent forward and slapped his hands on his knees in exaggerated hilarity. “Me and Caroline with you two?” Even more amusing. The lovebirds and him...with the postmistress. Yeah, good idea, all right. Great idea. He and Caroline could barely manage a civil word to each other. “You’ve got to be kidding. Tell me this is a joke.”

“Apparently not.” The cool voice came from the back door.

Grady’s blood turned cold. Caroline Daniels and Maggie stood just inside the kitchen, and a single glance told him she’d seen his whole performance, heard every derogatory word.

Two

The boxes awaited Ellie as she unlocked her front door and stepped inside the small rented house. Stacked against the far living-room wall, they represented what felt like an insurmountable task. She paused, her eyes drawn to the piled-up cartons. If she was smart, she’d move them out of sight and deal with the emotional nightmare of sorting through her father’s things when she was better able to handle it.

But she wouldn’t put this off. Again she was her father’s daughter, and he’d taught her never to procrastinate. The thought of those boxes would hound her until she’d gone through every last one of them.

A number of delaying tactics occurred to her. There were letters to write, phone calls to make, people to thank; nevertheless, she recognized them for the excuses they were. The remains of her father’s life would still be there, demanding her attention. Occupying her mind.

It would be easy to focus her anger on her mother, but Ellie was mature enough to recognize and accept that Pam Frasier had been pampered all her life. She’d been indulged and shielded from all unpleasantness from the time she was a child. First by her family and then by her husband. John Frasier had treated his wife like a delicate Southern blossom and protected her like the gentle knight he was.

His lengthy illness had taken a toll on Ellie’s mother. To her credit Pam had done the best she could, sitting by his side for long periods at the hospital. But unfortunately she had required almost as much care and attention as her husband; she had trouble dealing with any form of illness and was horrified by the thought of death. And so, comforting John had mostly fallen to Ellie.

Dealing with John’s effects, coping with the memories, was just one more obligation her mother couldn’t manage. Heaving a sigh, Ellie rolled up her sleeves and tackled the first box.

Clothes. Work clothes the movers had packed. Ellie lovingly ran her hand over his favorite sweater, the elbows patched with leather. Pam had wanted him to throw it out—too old and shabby, she’d said. It astonished Ellie that her parents had ever married, as different as they were. They’d met while her father was in the service, and although no one had said as much, Ellie was convinced her mother had fallen in love with the uniform. Their courtship was far too short, and all too soon they were married and John was out of the army. He’d returned to Promise with his bride and joined his father at the family feed store. Ellie had been born two years later, after a difficult pregnancy. John had assured his wife he was perfectly content with one child and there was no need for more. Even as a young girl Ellie had realized her father intended to groom her to take over the store. Not once had she thought of doing anything else. She’d majored in business at the University of Texas at Austin, and although she’d dated several young men, she’d never allowed any relationship to grow serious. She couldn’t, not when it was understood she’d be returning to Promise and the feed store. After graduation, she’d found a small house to rent a few blocks from her parents and started working with her dad.

Ellie kept the sweater, but rather than unpack the rest of the clothes, she set the box aside, along with the next two, all of which contained items from his closet. The local charities were always in need of good clothes, and it would be an easy matter to drop them off.

When she opened the fourth box, Ellie paused. The old family Bible rested on top of a photo album. Carefully, using both hands, she lifted the fragile book from its cardboard shelter. The Bible had been in her father’s family for a hundred-plus years, handed down from one generation to the next. Ellie had known about it; she’d read the names listed in the front for a high-school report years before, but hadn’t opened it since. In fact, she wasn’t sure where her mother had stored it.

Curious, she sat down on the sofa and set the book on the coffee table. Leaning forward, she opened it. Once again she read the names listed, reacquainting herself with each one, recalling what her father had told her about her ancestors.

Her great-great-grandparents, Jeremiah and Esther Frasier—good Biblical names, Ellie mused—together with their three sons, whose births were also noted, had placed all their worldly possessions in a covered wagon. Then with courage and faith they’d ventured west, risking all for the promise of land in Texas.

Ellie ran her index finger down the names of the three children, pausing over the youngest, Edward Abraham. His birthday was recorded and then the date of his death only five years later. No reason was listed, only a tear-smudged Bible reference. Matthew 28:46. Not recognizing it, Ellie flipped the pages until she located the verse. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

The agony of Esther’s loss seemed to vibrate from the page. With her own heart still fragile from the pain of her father’s death, Ellie was keenly aware of this young mother’s anguish over the loss of her son. Unable to read more, she closed the Bible and put it aside.

As she did, a single piece of cloth slipped from between the pages and drifted onto the coffee table. Ellie reached for it and frowned. The muslin square had yellowed with age; each side was no bigger than six inches. In the middle of the block was an embroidered bug that resembled a giant grasshopper. The detail was exquisite, each infinitesimally small stitch perfectly positioned. Nevertheless, it was an odd thing to place inside a Bible. What could possibly have been important enough about an embroidered grasshopper to save it all these years, tucked between the pages of a family Bible? But these were questions for another time, another day.

Her stomach growled and, glancing at her watch, Ellie realized it’d been almost six hours since she’d last eaten. She carried the Bible into her bedroom and placed it on her dresser top, then rummaged around her kitchen until she found the ingredients for a tuna salad.

An hour later a half-eaten salad and an empty milk glass on the carpet beside her, Ellie happened upon the box of John Wayne videos. Her father had loved the Duke. In the worst days of his illness, it was the one thing that was sure to calm him. These movies were as much a part of his heritage as the family Bible. She placed them in the cabinet below her television and on impulse inserted one into the VCR.

McLintock! with Maureen O’Hara was one of Ellie’s favorites. Soon she found herself involved in the movie, the boxes forgotten. She didn’t have to unpack every box that night, she decided.

With the lights dimmed she sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching the television screen. This particular John Wayne classic had been a favorite of her father’s as well. Only a few months earlier, he’d suggested that when Ellie decided to look for a husband, she wouldn’t go wrong if she found a man like the kind John Wayne usually portrayed.