“I honestly don’t know how long we’ll need to keep him.” Maddie’s words jolted Paxton from his stewing. “But right now Shad is in our care. He was given over to us.” She cast a sidelong gaze toward Paxton. “You don’t believe in coincidence any more than I do.”

“You’re right. I believe he was given over to us so we could call Social Services.”

“Sometimes children fall through cracks in that system and I truly fear Shad will be one of those children.” Maddie remained placid but her gaze was locked with his.

As much as Paxton wanted to argue against her premise, he was also humbled by the fact he was squaring off with a “Leeds Woman.” From practically anybody else he would have regarded such words as crazy talk, but he had known Maddie for most of his life and spent over half of it in holy matrimony with her. Maddie had earned her family’s reputation for being able to hear that quiet whisper most others remained deaf to. Then again, there was another descendant of Margaret Leeds who didn’t share Maddie’s view.

“Jill thinks we should call the department.” Even as he invoked his sister-in-law’s name Paxton realized it didn’t give him additional leverage.

Jill had been at their house today – without her nearly nine-year-old daughter in tow for a change, Paxton noticed – to help her sister finish butchering the meat chickens Maddie raised to supplement her laying hens and Jill’s turkeys. Jill could always be counted upon to give her opinion about any subject.

“Jill isn’t in my situation.” Maddie smiled ever so slightly. “She’s not the one being asked to take care of Shad.”

Her last remark sent a tremor through his stomach. Asked? So he really was trying to defy divine will?

Why? What was it about the two of them that this withdrawn waif, one out of too many needy children, had to intrude upon their lives? What was it about this boy who now slept in their younger daughter’s recently vacated bedroom upstairs that it was necessary for Shad to disrupt their plans? Paxton had enjoyed his role as a father, but his task of rearing children was already fulfilled. Now he was supposed to be able to enjoy the fruits of his labors: Smile for his daughters’ wedding photos whenever that time came, then eventually bounce grandkids on his knee. He and Maddie were supposed to be entering the next phase of their lives together, and now they were supposed to backtrack and take on the care of this distressed boy who was going to hit puberty any second now? There were people who volunteered to do this sort of thing. Why did it have to be thrust upon them?

“None of this makes sense,” Paxton grumbled. “There’s laws about this sort of thing. Laws society made based upon the laws of God. Why should we disregard them now and arbitrarily take Shad ourselves?”

Maddie turned to lean against the railing and also face the front of the house. She didn’t speak immediately, and when her words finally surfaced they proceeded slowly and with consideration.

“Since when have the laws of men attained the perfection of the laws of God?” She turned her head to face Paxton. “You’re a Delaney.” Maddie paused. “You take care of your family.” A gentle smile played on her lips. “And you’re just as determined to uphold the Delaney notoriety as well.”

The uninitiated would wonder why Maddie was speaking so deliberately, but Paxton knew that words inspired from a source greater than any mere person were examined and never rushed.

Maddie continued talking, her words slow and solemn. “Those two aspects of your family reputation are just what you’re gonna need right now.”

Although Paxton was acquainted with revelation on this level himself, he knew darn good and well why he wasn’t experiencing that now. Stiff necks were a dominant trait in the Delaney genealogy. Therefore, yet again Maddie had to intervene.

She proceeded. “It’s what Shad needs right now.”

Paxton refused to look at her. The Bible was full of stories about the prophets who warned Israel to repent or they would be dispersed to the corners of the world. The thanks they usually received from the populace for this act of obedience often meant a thorough stoning. Paxton wasn’t about to throw rocks at Maddie, but he was starting to feel an appreciation for why the people of Israel became upset.

Maddie fell silent. Paxton didn’t know if she had returned to that inner struggle or was simply contemplating the words she’d spoken. Either way, Paxton knew he was licked. As much as he resisted the idea, as much as it didn’t make any sense, he was as trapped as Jonah had been in the belly of the fish. Grandpa had warned him that marrying a Leeds Woman would make Paxton bow to the will of God more than he would otherwise. And to think at the time Paxton actually believed that sounded like a good thing.

But this wasn’t fair. What on Earth could he and Maddie, simple crop farmers, offer to Shad that others couldn’t? Come to think of it, since when had a Delaney credited the Creator with being fair ever since Paxton’s great-great grandfather Quaid Delaney lost his family to famine in Ireland? Even though Quaid made his peace after settling here in central Missouri, in the generations that followed him fathers repeated to their children that they would be tested relentlessly throughout their lives. Even someone as righteous as Job couldn’t escape events that seemed like divine cruelty. And Job, while heartbroken and sitting in ashes, had asked the logical question “Why?” The eloquent answer he received basically boiled down to “Because I’m God.”

A memory surfaced in Paxton’s thoughts as his gaze slid toward Maddie. There were plenty of times when their daughters were little that Paxton would set them to a task that seemed unreasonable to the girls. Often they seemed to challenge him with the question of why they had to do it. Unwilling or unable at the moment to effectively explain how their participation was necessary for their growth and development or the family good, Paxton had been known to fire back “Because I’m Dad.”

Oh. So that’s the way this was going to be. Thanks to his mule-headedness, Paxton was used to being sneaked up on like this, so he immediately recognized that particular memory wasn’t just a random thought. This was the most explanation he was going to get. At least afterwards Paxton had made it a point to explain to their daughters the significance of their cooperation. Maybe, just maybe, when that day came that Paxton stood before God, he’d get the answers to all his whys.

Paxton watched Maddie turn her head slightly toward him, and he could see that well-known glimmer of determination in her eyes. Even though she’d professed her personal opinion was closer to his, Paxton knew what she was going to do. Even though they both knew what lay ahead would most likely be difficult, even though the timing of this event in their lives blew chunks big time, Maddie was going to obey. Paxton could either make their lives more miserable by resisting her charity or he could try to salvage what dignity he had left. Experience had taught him that Maddie was consistently right, and ultimately, eventually, just shutting up and going along with what she told Paxton to do would work out best. One of the many reasons he married her was because Maddie was a virtuous woman, and that made her the sacred vessel through whom God worked to bring out the best in him.

Chapter One

All cruelty springs from weakness.

--Seneca the Younger

That familiar anxiety wrenched Shad’s stomach as he watched the patrol car cruise toward the park. Using a well-practiced deep breath to settle his nerves, Shad stood from the bench where he had been sitting and shifted the strap of the leather carrying case for his laptop computer more comfortably over his left shoulder. With his other hand Shad jostled a firmer grip on a pink and purple day pack. He drew a second deep breath, noticing again faint petroleum fumes on the humid mid-July air in this St. Louis suburb, and began walking toward the white sedan that slowed into a parking space as they approached each other.