Midnight Rescue / The Proposal / Christy's Choice by Catherine Marshall Read Free Book Online

others in the room, it scared them, too. Some people even looked a little angry.
    â€œThe liquor being brewed hereabouts is the devil’s own brew,” the preacher said. “You know and I know that it leads to fights and killings. Christ meant for our actions on Sunday and every other day to be alike. Don’t make the mistake, men and women, of underestimating Him. Our God cannot lose. He will not lose the fight against evil in this Cove, or anywhere in our world!” preacher’s face was flushed, his eyes glowing as he watched Jubal depart. “How many of you want to be on the Lord’s side?” he demanded. “Do you?” He pointed his finger out into the crowd. “And you? How about you?”
    No one moved. His voice echoed in the silent room. A baby sobbed softly. Ruby Mae felt someone move beside her. She looked up to see Miz Christy, standing proud and tall.
    â€œI do,” she said.
    On the other side of her, Ruby Mae felt Miz Ida stand.
    â€œAnd so do I,” she called out.
    Ruby Mae hesitated. No one else was standing. The whole room seemed to be holding its breath.
    Her knees trembling, Ruby Mae slowly stood. Miz Christy smiled down at her. “I do,” Ruby Mae called out in a voice that seemed thin and puny in the huge room.
    She glanced back. Her ma was staring at her with a face that showed no emotion.
    Just then, her step-pa climbed to his feet. He sent a cold look toward the preacher. Ruby Mae knew that angry stare far too well.
    â€œBest stay out of other folks’ affairs, Preacher,” Mr. Morrison warned. “Next time I fire off my rifle, it may not be no accident.”
    One by one, several other men stood and followed Ruby Mae’s stepfather out the door.

Five
    T hat evening, Christy retrieved her diary before crawling into bed. It was late and she was tired, but she wanted to sort out her complicated feelings about the past day.
    And it had been a very long day. The doctor, feverish and grumpy, was proving to be a difficult patient. Nothing was ever right. His sheets were tangled. His tea was cold. His dinner was bland. He was bored. He wanted to go home to his own cabin. He had work to do.
    But that was just a minor concern. Ida and Miss Alice could handle Doctor MacNeill.
    It was David’s sermon that had Christy so worried. She was afraid that his stern words had just served to drive away the people he’d hoped to win over. After the service, she’d sensed them staying far away, just as the doctor had warned. Even among those who had stayed through the service, the usual happy chatter had been replaced with terse goodbyes and sullen stares. Obviously, feelings ran very deep on the subject of illegal liquor.
    Christy uncapped her pen and began to write:
    April 7, 1912
    I’m so worried. Miss Alice and David have often warned me that these beautiful mountains are full of danger, and that these wonderful people are capable of dark and dangerous acts. But these past couple of days, I’ve begun to see it for myself.
    During David’s sermon today about the evils of moonshine, several men stormed out. And afterward there was a tension in the air I’ve never felt before. The doctor says David and I are too new to Cutter Gap to understand these people. He says we shouldn’t interfere.
    But yesterday I was the one who had to remove a bullet from that man’s shoulder—a bullet that wouldn’t have been there without the help of liquor. Doesn’t that give me a right to an opinion? How can it be wrong to try to change a hurtful thing?
    And the illegal liquor that is everywhere here is a hurtful thing. I have only to remember the sound of that gunfire, or the sight of Doctor MacNeill’s blood-stained shirt, to know that much.
    Still, I feel uneasy. I can’t say why, exactly. But something about the look in the faces of those mountain people, even more than Duggin Morrison’s outright threat, makes