An Excerpt From “The Broken & The Foolish”

I rolled up my sleeves and strode over to the fence to greet my horse. I caressed his soft muzzle before giving him the apple in my pocket.

“Hi, Trouble.”

He seemed to like his new name, for he nudged me enthusiastically every time I said it.

It had been a week already since I last went riding. Managing a farm along with all the housework was hard, but it made the quiet moments alone with Gabriel feel like a wonderful spell. Still, I had not been hunting or fishing in weeks and I felt a great need to go play for a little while.

I lifted my skirts to my knees and climbed up onto the fence.

Trouble allowed me to mount him from my perch. I directed him over to the gate, reached over, and opened the latch.

My horse broke into a gallop and we flew over the long grass like freed birds. I escaped deep into my own imaginative world, losing track of time as I created adventures in my mind that Gabriel and I could act out later. I ended up on the edge of town at sundown.

I slowed Trouble to a walk, beaming from the rush of the ride.

“Now that was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Mrs. Thomas?” someone called.

Startled at the unexpected, but familiar voice, I sat straight up and met the faces of the pastor and his wife. Their looks of disapproval brought a blush to my cheeks.

“Good evening, Pastor and Mrs. Scottson,” I said with a polite nod.

“Thought you would go out for a ride, did you?” asked Mrs. Scottson with the slightest hint of a smirk on her face.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Where is your husband? It is rather late for you to be off riding alone, is it not?” asked Pastor Scottson.

“And bareback nonetheless,” said his wife, shaking her head.

“He’s out hunting and I thought it would be nice to go for a ride and stretch my horse’s legs.”

I forced a smile, but the words that I longed to fire at them burned on the tip of my tongue. What unfortunate timing.

“I am not sure what wives in your hometown acted like, but our new young pastor in training needs a wife who is willing to stay at home and support him no matter what time of the day it is,” said Mrs. Scottson. “My husband would agree with this counsel.”

“You ought to study the characteristics of a Godly wife in your free time, young lady,” said the pastor.

I bit my tongue for Gabriel’s sake, simply nodding. He was working very hard to be the assistant pastor at White Oaks Baptist Church while managing a farm to boot. One snarky remark from me could hurt his chances at obtaining a full-time position there one day. It was an unspoken rule in Puritan societies that a pastor was only as reputable as his wife.

The pastor stepped in front of his wife with beady blue eyes fixed on me. They widened with passion as memorized Bible verses must have been racing through his mind.

“I expect you to let Gabriel know that you were out riding on the edge of town alone this evening. Doing things in secrecy – no matter how seemingly innocent – can break a marriage.”

“Yes, of course, Pastor. I will let him know. Good night to you both.”

“Ride safe!” called Mrs. Scottson.

I turned my mount around to ride for home. How foolish of me to ride so close to town knowing how strict the people were.

Sometimes, I wished that we settled closer to Gabriel’s aunt and uncle, but an opportunity to preach at an established church was too good for him to deny.

Darkness covered the countryside by the time I reached the farm. There was no sign of Gabriel’s horse in the field and the house was dark. I swallowed back my worry as I brought Trouble into the stable for the evening.

Gabriel often hunted until sunset, but he never stayed out past dark. There was no reason to unless something went wrong. A strange uneasiness settled over me as I walked back to the empty house. I brewed a pot of tea and sat at the table waiting for the kettle to scream and for him to walk through the door with a silly grin on his face.

“Where are you, Gabriel?” I called out to the still darkness.

***

“Blame all your life on me.”

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