Page 16 of Steadfast

The Callaways were true to their word.

What Maeve thought was simply a roof over her head soon became a place she could call home. Over time, her body recovered, and through the care of her newfound family, her heart began to mend.

Ruth took Maeve under her wing and started her immediately in the coffee shop. She taught her how to make a great cup of coffee and the importance of making people feel seen and heard. In the tight knit community where strangers were often feared, Ruth was intentional to introduce Maeve to everyone who stepped through her door. For the first time in a long time, Maeve felt like she mattered.

Ruth’s Coffee Shop was the town gathering place. Ruth had the gift of making any topic of conversation interesting, from politics to weather and even the mundane, like the price of cattle feed. Long chats with the witty, charming Ruth Callaway over decadent cups of coffee felt like a privilege to most.

One particular afternoon, after all the cinnamon rolls had been baked and the coffee brewed, Maeve leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. She took a moment for herself and observed those in the coffee shop around her. Ruth was in her element as she and her best friend June cackled loudly together at their usual corner table.

When Jake Stratton waltzed through the door, as he always did, the ladies joined him at the counter. He propped his heavyelbows on the smooth laminate, leaning forward with his big belly that stretched the waist of his Wrangler jeans to their breaking point. While he sipped his coffee, he raised the brim of his cowboy hat to ensure they were taking in his full, worried expression.

“You know, with the price of cattle these days, people have been leavin’ town in droves,” Jake drawled. “Howard and Edna just put their ranch up for sale, say they’re packin’ up and moving to Florida before the bank takes it all.”

Ruth threw a dish towel down on the counter in exasperation. “If we don’t fight to keep our way of life, Jake, we’ll lose it. No offense to Howard and Edna, but some of us are doing everything possible to stay afloat.” She ran her fingers across her furrowed brow, “even if it kills us.”

“She’s right,” June chimed as she straightened the wrinkles from her long floral dress.

Maeve noted that it was the first time she had seen Ruth so concerned about anything.

“We called Abel,” Ruth revealed in a low voice, meant only for Jake and June. “Trust me, it’s on our doorstep too. I’m afraid Roy’s got us into some mess.”

The stress was more than just figuratively on the Callaway’s doorstep, as Sam Jenkins picked the wrong time to barge through the door of Ruth’s Coffee Shop that afternoon. Even before Sam spoke a single word, he had an unpleasant way about him that made Maeve bristle.

“Ruth Callaway, I know Roy’s been dodging me the last few weeks,” his gravelly voice bellowed as though he were trying to embarrass Ruth in her own shop. “We have some business to attend to.”

Jake stepped between them, raising his hands in what appeared to be futile hopes of de-escalating what was bound to be a heated conversation.

“Sam, now’s not the time.”

Ruth took the dish towel and whipped it at him to get his attention. “Jake, this has nothing to do with you.” She came around the counter, but as she passed him by, she gave his arm a squeeze and offered him a sincere look of gratitude. “Take a seat, enjoy your coffee,” she whispered. “This isn’t your battle.”

“We had a deal, Ruth, and I’m calling in the loan.” Sam slammed his hand on the counter. “If that means I get the ranch and the shop, then so be it. It’s high time for me to get paid, one way or another.”

“You knew Roy wasn’t going to be able to pay.” She lowered her gaze as she collected her thoughts. When she raised her eyes to meet his, her eyebrows were drawn together with resentment. “You’ve wanted our properties for decades. Now you’ve found a way to take them from us—well, congratulations.”

Sam’s mouth pinched closed as he folded his arms tightly across his chest. “Now, you know better than anyone this isn’t personal, Ruth. It’s business.”

“You can say that all you want, Sam, but anything that threatens our land is personal,” Ruth replied, as she attempted to mask the shaking in her voice. She turned on her heels and took her leave to the kitchen.

Sam wagged his finger in her direction. “Tell Roy I’ll be by today with the paperwork. He better be there, pen at the ready,” he hollered with venom in his tone, always adamant about getting the final word.

Not knowing quite what to do with herself in the heated moment, Maeve followed her into the kitchen.

She found Ruth standing at the large farmhouse style sink. Her tears were running twin streams down her cheeks, and her hand was placed over her mouth as though she were holding back all the things she wanted to say but knew she shouldn’t.

Maeve saw red as a fury within her ignited. She boiled over with righteous justice for the woman who had become her only family in the world. Even though she hadn’t realized it yet, her anger wasn’t just toward Sam, but was a culmination of all the emotions she had pushed down and buried deep. It was toward her father and mother who had rejected her, for her sister Harper, who had cut her so deeply with her words and actions, and from the gray haired elders who told her she was refuse, only worthy of being tossed away.

Whipping off her apron, she threw it on the counter.

“I’m not going to lethimdo this to you.”

“Maeve, you stop right now.” Ruth’s voice trailed after her. “Stop her June,” she beckoned desperately to her best friend, who stood idly by.

“I can’t stop her,” June shrugged.

Maeve’s ears felt hot, and her vision blurred. The bell jingled aggressively as she barrelled through the door.

She approached Sam on the sidewalk of Main Street. He was already deep in conversation with another man in a tan cowboy hat. Whatever important discussion they were having paled in comparison to the verbal lashing Sam was about to receive.

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