Paradise Falls by Ruth Ryan Langan

Gray’s.
    “So this is how you thank me for my hospitality.” She looked Fiona up and down with a hiss of disgust. “I am shocked at your lack of proper demeanor. No decent young lady would allow herself to be seen by a man in this state of undress.”
    “Mrs. Haydn, it isn’t what you think—”
    “Not a word. I’m too offended by the sight of you to listen to anything you have to say. Go to your room. I’ll decide later whether or not you can be trusted to remain in my home.”
    “You have to permit me to explain. It wasn’t Gray. He was the one who came to my rescue when...” Fiona turned to Gray, who was staring at his mother with a look so dark, it frightened her.
    Instead of adding to Fiona’s explanation he merely nodded toward the door. “Go now.” When she looked as though she might argue he said more firmly, “Go.”
    Reluctantly Fiona turned away. As she hurried toward her room she could hear Rose’s clipped words, uttered with venom. “I am not surprised, Grayson. This is exactly the behavior I would expect from you.”
    Fiona closed the door, shutting off whatever Gray might have said in reply. For a moment she was forced to slump against her bed, fearing her legs might fail her. Her breath was coming in short, painful gasps as she replayed that ugly scene in the kitchen.
    Had she overreacted? After all, Flem always seemed harmless enough, with that quick wit and boyish charm. Hadn’t he said he was drunk? Why then had she felt as though she’d been fighting for her very life?
    Da had often called her his dramatic little actress. Perhaps, in the light of day, this would all seem like a harmless prank.
    Still, her heart ached for Gray. Why did Rose constantly berate him, while glossing over Flem’s glaring faults? Why was she so quick to believe the worst about one son, while refusing to see any flaws whatever in the other?
    Hearing silence settle once more over the house, Fiona got unsteadily to her feet and crossed to the door. Whether Flem’s little scene had been harmless or not, she intended to take no chances. She placed a small table holding a basin and pitcher against the door, reasoning that if the door should be forced open in the night, it would cause the pitcher to topple, waking her and everyone else in the household.
    Even as she crawled into bed, Fiona was again questioning her sanity. Surely here in this simple farmhouse, living with the family, which stationmaster Gerhardt Shultz had called one of the finest families in Paradise Falls, she was safe from any sort of harm. Of course she was, she reminded herself, over and over again like a litany, as sleep gradually overtook her.
    But it was a troubled sleep, filled with dark, disturbing dreams that left her with a vague sense of foreboding.

SIX
    F iona awoke to the sound of frantic activity. Rose stood in the parlor shouting up the stairs. The heavy tramping of feet down the stairs was followed by the rumble of a wagon rolling up to the backdoor.
    Minutes later, when Fiona stepped from her room, Rose was in the kitchen, busily wrapping food in linen towels. This day she wore a simple gray gown with a white collar and cuffs. Her hair was pinned in its usual knot at her nape, but over this was a black hat.
    Fiona waited for the scolding she anticipated, to be followed by an order for her immediate departure from this house. Instead Rose seemed distracted by her chores. She looked up only long enough to say, “We leave for church as soon as Grayson has Broderick ready.”
    “You... want me to accompany your family to church, Mrs. Haydn?” Fiona struggled to breathe.
    “You’re the town’s teacher, aren’t you? You’ll be expected to attend services whenever the weather permits.”
    Rose picked up another towel and carefully wrapped a steaming cake. “Once a month, in fair weather, there is a meal in the churchyard after the service.”
    Minutes later Flem stepped into the kitchen, whistling a little tune. When he caught