Kid wasn't picking up Ruth as she'd already finished her job at the store a couple of days ago, but he walked the familiar path to the boardinghouse and though he told himself he was just letting his feet walk any which way they pleased, his heart told him he hoped he'd catch a glimpse of her as he missed their walks together. He caught her about halfway there.
"I thought you were finished with your job," he said accusingly, wondering if she had pretended to stop working there to put an end to seeing him.
"I am," she said, not slowing her steps. "I'm going to Miss Leon's. I heard she might need a hand at her place."
"Oh. She's…uh…well she…" Kid attempted to explain not sure how to phrase the matter delicately.
"She had a child out of wedlock. I know. I heard that too."
"You know, and you're still going to help her?"
"Of course." she answered without batting an eyelash. "She's a 15-year-old about the age of my little sister. Kids that age hardly ever have any sense anyway, but some fellow sweet talks a girl whose parents had just died and then leaves her with a baby and she's supposed to get all the blame? And besides that, the Lord tells us to forgive whatever the sin and wherever the fault lies. We're not called to condemn."
Respect for this woman grew tenfold. She actually practiced what she preached. "You ain't like any church lady I've met."
"Then you ain't met enough church ladies."
"Maybe not," he conceded. "I'll go with you. I know the way there."
"She doesn't live so far outside of town. I'm sure I can find it."
"It's no bother. I've nothing else planned."
"Suit yourself then," she told him.
The small house Miss Leon's parents had left her was in an obvious state of disrepair. Ruth wasted no time in going up to the door to knock. The young woman that answered looked weary. Her dress obviously hadn't been laundered in some time and her dark hair fell in a tangled mess from the haphazard bun she had tried to pin at some point during the morning. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ruth McKenzie."
"I've heard of you. There is almost as much gossip going around about you as there is about me."
"I don't doubt it," said an unperturbed Ruth. "This here is Kid."
"How do you do, ma'am," Kid said with a tip of his hat.
"Fine, gracias."
The baby swung his dirty, chubby fists toward Ruth and gurgled an introduction of his own. She smiled and took the baby from the young mother's arms after she received a nod of permission. The sight of Ruth with a baby gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling that made him very uncomfortable, but she looked so natural with a baby on her hip. It was easy to see that she was the type that kids instantly adored.
"What can I do to help you?" Ruth asked the girl.
Miss Leon appeared on the verge of tears. "You want to help me?"
"I hope you don't mind, but I know I'd want somebody to help me if I were in your shoes, and it's how we should show the love of God to each other. So can I do anything to help?"
"Well, I take in laundry and mending to help make ends meet. That's the fortunate thing about having all the single men around town, but it leaves me no time to tend to my garden."
"Say no more," she said, giving the baby back to his mother. "I'll take care of it."
Ruth went around to the back of the house to take a look at the garden. It was just a kitchen garden no more than an acre big with rows of beans, rhubarbs, lettuce, potatoes, but it was overrun with weeds, and the weeds threatened to choke the tender, young plants. She got to her knees and started pulling.
Rather than leaving, he got down on his knees with her. She smiled a smile of gratefulness. She set a furious pace for him to keep up with. She was obviously an old hat at this, and the way her hands sank into the dirt it was obviously something she enjoyed. It was apparently one more thing in the world she could set right. He'd never been much good with farming to his father's ire being more prone to daydreaming than the physical labor involved, but he strived to keep up with her so he could be near her.
The heat got hotter with each passing hour. She wiped her sweaty brow making a dirt streak across her nose and forehead. She couldn't have looked more beautiful to him if she had covered her face with rouge instead. He took a deep breath to steady his pounding pulse. He had to fight the urge he had to take her into his arms and taste her. A woman who could get as fired up and passionate about her God as she did was bound to be an amazing lover. A thought he knew was wicked but one that crossed his mind anyway.
She caught him staring at her this time and her face flushed. "I know I must look a sight."
"You do," he said with a grin. He looked down at her work dress: thread bare, patched, and a size or two too small, causing her form to be wonderfully highlighted. It was a sight he was enjoying very much.
"Well, I ain't going to get any prettier, so you can quit your staring," she said, sounding disgruntled.
"I'll do my best," he answered still grinning.
They took a short break for lunch. Rosa had packed enough lunch for two as if she'd anticipated somebody eating with Ruth. Miss Leon checked on them and invited them to lunch, but they told her they'd already ate, and she made them promise to stay for supper, so she could repay some of their work. They both gave their agreement and then went back to working.
They reached for the same weed at one point and his hand touched hers. They stared at each other for a couple moments and then she suddenly recoiled as if she had been burned by his touch.
"I'm leaving Santa Fe tomorrow," she announced as abruptly as she had taken her hand away.
Kid wondered why he felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest. He had known this day was coming. Neither one of them had ever planned on staying in Santa Fe. "And what about Miss Leon? You show up to help her for one day and then you're gone. Some help you are."
"Rosa's promised to check in on her and help her when she can." A look of interest passed over her face. "Why? Do you like her?"
It bothered him that she was trying to play matchmaker, especially when he was sure she had felt the charge between them as much as he had. "I like women just fine, and Miss Leon's no exception, but I ain't the marrying kind."
"No, I didn't think you were," she said with certainty as she went back to weed-pulling.
There she went again. So sure she knew him. It annoyed him to no end. He threw his anger into the work until he exhausted it and by then evening had come at last. Between the two of them they'd got the garden done.
"You haven't saved any souls today, but you sure saved these plants," he teased, hoping to loosen a little of the tension that had been created between them.
"We did at that."
There was a bucket of water and a bar of soap sitting outside the house, and they took turns dipping their hands and scrubbing the dirt off.
"I've kind of missed having dirt under my nails. The clean nails were making me look like a layabout."
"I don't think anyone could accuse you of being lazy. In fact, I think someone needs to find a way to shut you off every now and then."
She laughed, and he followed her inside.
Miss Leon was scrambling to start supper while the baby sat on the floor crying for his mother.
"You sit and play with your sweet baby," Ruth said, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'll take care of supper."
She shook her head. "You've done too much already."
"Nonsense. You'll be doing me a favor. Cooking's one of my favorite things to do, and I don't get to do it enough at the boardinghouse."
The woman rather reluctantly agreed, but she looked relieved too as she sat down on the floor with her baby.
Ruth must have been tired after gardening all day. He knew he was. It had been a couple years since he'd had to do farm work. Yet, she bustled around the kitchen as if she had the strength of 10 men, throwing a stew and biscuits together like it was nothing.
The smell soon filled the kitchen, and Ruth set the dishes on the table. Kid felt a little embarrassed that he didn't think of it. He could have helped her with that.
"I'm not much hungry what with that big lunch we had," he said when she set the bowl and a cup in front of him.
She grabbed the pitcher and poured him a glass of water, allowing her to bend down next to his ear. "You'll offend her if you don't eat," she whispered. The warm air from her breath tickled his ear, making it hard for him to concentrate on her words, but the message sunk in when she stood back up straight.
"On second thought, it sure does smell good. I'll force myself to eat some."
Miss Leon smiled as she and the baby joined them at the table.
He picked up his spoon and started to eat.
"We haven't said the blessing yet," Ruth told him. He had a feeling her tone would have been a lot sharper without Miss Leon and the baby to serve as a buffer.
She'd said grace at lunch, but she hadn't doled out the food until afterwards. He didn't mean to disregard her religion; it was simply a habit he had grown out of. He bowed his head and shut his eyes out of respect to her, but he felt like a hypocrite.
"We come to You, Father, not worthy to even speak Your name, but You promise that if we call to You with a right spirit, You will hear and forgive our sins. We ask You now to bless this food before us with grateful hearts. May it nourish our bodies, giving us the strength for our work. Bless the provider of this meal. May her garden this year flourish and yield an abundant crop to see them through winter. In your Son's precious name we pray. Amen."
"Amen," Kid echoed, glad the prayer was over. If it had been any longer, they would have starved to death, not daring to voice the amusing thought out loud.
He grabbed up a biscuit and dipped it into the stew. Ruth could cook. The simple biscuits were as light and fluffy as any he'd ever tasted. That boy she had back home was probably crying the blues that she'd escaped him.
Miss Leon walked them to the door after supper.
"I thought God couldn't love me anymore," she said as tears gathered in her eyes. "Thank you both for showing me that He hasn't forgotten me. I was at my wit's end before you showed up."
"Just remember the people of the community don't always speak for God even when they attend His house. God removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. He is able to forget our sins when the blood of Jesus Christ covers them."
"I'll remember," she promised.
Ruth hugged both the girl and baby. Ruth told her that Rosa had promised to visit as time allowed and then they left for the boardinghouse.
"I guess this is goodbye," she said to Kid when they reached their destination with a smile that he though might have been tinged with a little regret.
"I suppose so." To a casual observer his outward appearance showed no signs of having any feelings on the matter.
"Don't waste your life, Kid. Live for God. Give Him the strength and fire of your youth."
He snorted. "What would He want with me?"
"Everything. You're His dear child, and He loves you. His heart aches because He misses you. Don't you want to make things right with Him?"
"No, I don't," he said. He turned abruptly on his heels, leaving her standing there as she watched him run from her and God.
