Whistling and shouting, Grant, Reilly, and Roger strode into the mercantile as Toria monitored their every move. She didn’t trust these men and didn’t want them anywhere near her or her family. Although they were customers, she didn’t care for their business and wished she could refuse them entrance. But she and Mortimer both felt strongly that the mercantile should be available to all of Creede’s residents, even if they didn’t agree with all of the residents or their lifestyle choices.

Toria sighed. Mortimer wasn’t working, but she wished he were there to make sure the young men weren’t up to too much trouble. Fortunately, John was there, and Toria knew the men wouldn’t try anything violent in front of their old friend.

“Hi, John!” Reilly grumbled as the men began poking around each corner of the store.

As Toria watched the men carefully, she found her thoughts drifting back to the previous evening’s events. She was still in a bit of shock herself. In the span of one day, she had gone from planning a wedding to comforting her stepson because his beloved didn’t want to see him again. She was glad Patience had come to speak to him at the mercantile. She thought that was a good sign. But Patience had left rather abruptly, and there had been no signs of reconciliation.

Toria was upset for John and Patience, but she was also a little sad for herself, too. Patience was a wonderful young woman who would have made an excellent addition to Toria’s small family. Although Toria loved Mortimer and John fiercely, she was more than ready for some female companionship.

The one thing she still could not figure out was what had happened to John the night before. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought someone had slipped something into his drink! But that was impossible; John had drunk from the same punch that several other people at the table had enjoyed. Another possible culprit would be if John had eaten something that had made him feel strange, but that was impossible because they hadn’t yet received their food when John began acting strangely.

Toria remembered that when she had first met John, he drank often and couldn’t be trusted or relied upon. If his strange outburst had happened then, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But she knew that John had done a lot of hard work to give up drinking, gambling, and spending time with his friends who were poor influences on him. She believed him when he said he hadn’t had a drink.

So what in the world had happened the night before?

“How much for these, Toria?” Grant sidled up to Toria and pressed a tin of sardines onto the counter.

Toria stepped back. “It’s Mrs. Jackson, and let me check.” Toria looked up the price in her book next to the register.

Before she could read him the price, Toria remembered something. She had seen Grant and his two friends at the restaurant the night before. And they had been sharing a flask. “I’ll tell you the price if you tell me one thing. And you need to be honest with me. Do you agree?”

Grant smirked. “All right, but I don’t see why that’s necessary.”

“Did you have anything to do with John somehow getting drunk last night?” Toria looked right into Grant’s eyes and stared at him, waiting for him to answer her truthfully.

Grant looked away. “I don’t need these sardines. I’m leaving. Roger, Reilly, let’s go!”

Roger and Reilly were still looking at different items in the mercantile, and they didn’t respond quickly.

“You agreed to tell me the truth. I just want to know what happened. You won’t be in any trouble,” Toria explained.

Grant sighed. “I got mad that John was ignoring all of his friends. It didn’t seem right. I just wanted to make him see that he can’t just forget about us. I just wanted to teach him a lesson!” Grant sounded miserable. Toria almost felt sorry for him, but then she remembered his reprehensible actions.

“You’d better explain to me exactly what happened, Grant,” Toria continued.

“What will happen if I don’t?” Grant asked sullenly.

Toria thought for a moment. “You and your family will never be able to purchase anything from this store again.” She knew if she explained the situation to Mortimer, he would agree.

Grant sighed. John came over to Toria and Grant, approaching them cautiously. He had heard his name and wanted to learn more. “What are you talking about?” John asked.

Toria’s eyes blazed as she gestured at Grant. “Grant needs to explain himself, and he owes you an apology.”

John was confused. What had Grant done that he needed to explain himself for?

Grant looked at the ground. “Last night, the three of us were at Graham’s Grub. We had a flask of moonshine with us as we ate our dinner, and we took turns drinking from it. We were all having a good time, and then we saw you all come in.” Grant glared at John. “We started thinking about how you’ve ignored us for the past few months, and how you act like you’re better than us—”

“I don’t think I’m better than anyone,” John interjected. “I’m making choices that are right for me and my family. That shouldn’t be any of your concern.”

Grant exhaled. He looked like he was in pain, but Toria stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. “At the time, it made us angry. So we found one of the Graham’s Grub servers. We convinced him to pour a little moonshine into his pitcher of punch and only use that pitcher to fill your glass, not anyone else’s.”

John’s mind was spinning. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Toria was angry. “Who would agree to such a thing? I think the Grahams need to hear that story, so they can appropriately deal with their employee. Why, John could have been hurt or worse.”

Grant stared at the floor again. “We offered him some money to do it for us. We thought it would be funny.”

“Well, what you thought would be funny has cost my stepson a great deal. The woman he loves—” Toria began, so upset that she barely was able to speak.

“I’m handling that, Toria. But this is helpful. I was wondering how it was that I came to be drunk last evening,” John interrupted. He didn’t see the value in continuing to berate Grant for his bad deed. What Grant and his friends had done was wrong, but it was over now, and from the look on the man’s face, John had a feeling that he wouldn’t pull a stunt like that again. “That being said, I do suggest that the three of you leave. Right now. And that you don’t come back for a very long time.”

“I’m sorry,” Grant said so quietly that John wasn’t sure at first if he had heard correctly. Grant rushed over to Reilly and Roger. In less than a minute, all three men had exited the mercantile.

Toria breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad they left. Something about them makes me very nervous whenever they are in this building.”

“I know what you mean. Sometimes, I get a strange feeling about men like that. A sense of danger or something,” John admitted. He felt foolish saying something like that out loud, but he knew that Toria wouldn’t judge him for it.

“Are you all right? I’m so sorry, John. I owe you an apology, too. I should have believed you when you said you hadn’t had anything to drink. You didn’t realize that someone had slipped something into your drink. You were telling the truth, as far as you knew. Please forgive me.”

John smiled. “You have nothing to apologize for. What you thought was completely reasonable after what happened and after my past. Of course I forgive you, but I don’t think you really did anything that needed forgiveness.”

“You’re taking this so well, John. How are you going to tell Patience?” Toria wondered. It wasn’t right that the actions of a few bad men would completely destroy his plans to marry the love of his life. Patience had to know.

“I’m not sure,” John admitted. “I have a feeling she needs some time to be alone right now with her thoughts. I don’t want to crowd her or pressure her unnecessarily. Does that make sense?”

Toria thought about it. “I think I understand what you’re saying, but I think you should tell her right away what happened. Otherwise, she’s going to continue thinking that you made a poor decision, and that’s not true.”

“Well, I did explain to her everything I remember. I think she trusted me when I said I didn’t remember having anything to drink,” John pointed out.

Toria sighed. “I’m probably getting too involved. I’m sure you know what’s right for you and Patience. I’d just hate to see her slip away because of a few corrupt men’s terrible actions.”

John smiled at his stepmother. “I know you are just looking out for me, Toria. I appreciate it. I’ll think about what you’ve said. Now, I’d better get back to these shelves.”

Toria nodded as John returned to his work. She was still stewing from Grant’s confession about having the server put alcohol in John’s drink. In fact, she had half a mind to go down to Graham’s Grub immediately to tell Robert Graham that one of his servers had accepted a bribe to intentionally hurt a customer. Most of all, she wanted the entire Graham family to know that John had been set up to get drunk. That he wasn’t a drunk or a liar himself.

Toria took a deep breath and reminded herself that she shouldn’t continually meddle in John’s business. He was a grown man and could take care of himself. As much as she loved her small family, sometimes she wished that John had been younger when she’d married Mortimer.

There were certain things that she’d missed out on because her stepson was already fully grown when they’d met. Some days, she longed for the simple pleasures of having a younger child. Reading to a small boy, dressing a little girl in ribbons, or a simple stroll down Main Street with an infant seemed like such a sweet activity. But Toria put that thought out of her mind. Soon her child would be there, and she could do all that with him or her. She would just have a different kind of relationship with John.

Toria and John worked for the rest of the day in a companionable silence. John finished the shelves he was building, and Toria admired his handiwork. Although it was closing time, she couldn’t wait to put the china on the new shelves. She knew exactly how she wanted to arrange it.

“I’m going upstairs. Do you want me to lock up?” John asked.

“No, I can do that. Thank you, John. I’ll see you later,” Toria replied.

John shrugged. He loved his stepmother, but she truly loved to work. He and his father worried that she might wear herself out one day. In the meantime, though, she was a wonderful employee at the mercantile, keeping everything running smoothly and efficiently. Mortimer and John only had to focus on their own jobs without worrying about anything else. It was a wonderful change after several years of worrying about the accounting and inventory.

John went upstairs and tried to decide what to do for the evening. Whatever he ended up doing, it would be a far cry from what he had planned to do. He thought wistfully of his dream for a simple wedding in front of Reverend Bing, with Patience staring lovingly into his eyes and his father and Toria looking on. Just thinking about it made his heart ache.

He wondered what his former bride-to-be was doing at that exact moment. He pictured her soft, silky hair and delicate lips. Oh, how he wished that he could run a hand through her hair or press his lips up against her own. Heck, he’d settle for simply holding her hand.

It was strange; in the past, if John had found out that someone had put something in his drink, he would have wanted to hit the man or commit some other type of violent act against him. But when Grant had admitted that he had arranged for moonshine to be poured in John’s drink, all John had felt was relief. He had known he hadn’t broken his promise to himself, his family, and Patience, but it was a major comfort to have it confirmed by another person.

Instead of anger or retaliation, all John felt was pity for Grant and his friends. He was sad for anyone who thought it was okay to do that to another person. If that was how they had chosen to spend their time, they had a lot more problems than John did.

As he considered what to do that evening, he couldn’t stop thinking about Patience. He grew sadder and sadder when he thought about her marrying another man one day. He didn’t think he could stand it if he saw them arriving at church together or pushing a baby carriage down Main Street. He knew in his heart that Patience belonged to him, but how could he make her see that?

John decided he needed to take a walk and get some fresh air. There was no use in stewing silently in his bedroom all evening. He walked without a particular destination in mind, stretching his legs and trying to clear his mind. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotions, and he just wanted to relax.

John was surprised when he found himself outside of Graham’s Grub. The restaurant was open for dinner, and a steady number of people were entering and exiting. John debated whether or not he should try to explain to Patience or her family what had happened. He paced back and forth on the street, wondering if he should go in to the restaurant.

Finally, John decided he had to try. He opened the front door of the restaurant and walked in. He planned to explain to the staff at the front of the house that he needed to speak with Patience privately, but before he could say a word, Robert Graham was barreling toward him.

“Out!” Robert thrust a finger at the door, his face red and furious. “And don’t come back! You’re not welcome here!” He had seen how upset John had made his daughter the evening before and that very morning. He couldn’t believe the man had the nerve to show up yet again. Well, Robert was ready this time. He wasn’t going to let this man hurt his little girl any more than he already had.

John stumbled backward, then turned around and raced out the door. He felt even more embarrassed and ashamed now. He knew he had made a fool of himself the night before, but the fact that Robert hadn’t even allowed him to speak a single word was far worse than he had expected.

John walked through Creede, staring down at the ground, humiliated and hoping no one else knew about what had happened. Word did tend to travel quickly in Creede, though, so there was no telling who knew about his antics the night before or Robert’s fury that evening.

Robert had said John wasn’t welcome there. He wondered if the Grahams would still allow him to make deliveries or if they would insist that Willie be the only one who delivered packages to the restaurant. He considered the possibility of never being able to see Patience again, and his heart throbbed with pain. A life without Patience was not a life he wanted to have.

John paused outside of one of the taverns he used to frequent. The pain and humiliation he was feeling were unbearable. One drink would take the edge off. Two to change the feelings, make them less hurtful. Three to forget about his troubles completely.

“Watch it!” a man in grimy work clothes called as he shoved John aside and headed into the tavern. John followed the man inside the pub. Dozens of men crowded around tables and a long bar, drinking from mugs, talking loudly, and laughing. John missed the easy camaraderie the men had. He felt like not drinking made him an outsider in this crowd.

A little voice in the back of John’s head pointed out that being an outsider in this crowd of derelicts and corrupt men was actually a good thing. I don’t want to be like them, John thought. But another voice in his head was whispering how nice it might feel to take just one sip of a drink. John craved the burn of whiskey against the back of his throat. Just one drink couldn’t hurt, could it? After all, anyone who had been in the restaurant the night before already thought he was a drunk. He would only be doing what they already believed to be true. Plus, he could stop whenever he wanted. One drink wouldn’t make a difference.

As John prepared to order, a sudden realization came over him.

He hadn’t given up drinking for Patience. He had done that on his own, for himself and his health. Sure, Patience had been a motivating factor, but she wasn’t the end-all, be-all that convinced him to stop.

John decided to leave the bar without ordering. As he left, Grant waved to him and rushed over.

“John, what are you doing here? I’m sorry, that’s none of my business. I wanted to really apologize to you. I understand that you’ve made your decision and you don’t want to drink. Friends?” Grant offered his hand to John.

“Friends,” John agreed, shaking his hand. “I was actually just leaving.”

Meanwhile, at Graham’s Grub, Patience was struggling. Sarah had told her to give John a chance to explain himself, and she had, but she still had no answers. She went back and forth on whether or not she should listen to Sarah and marry John despite his behavior the night before. She wished Sarah would appear to her to help her make her decision, but Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

Patience didn’t have to work that evening because her parents gave her a few evenings off per month, and tonight was one of them. That was why it had been a perfect occasion for the secret wedding she and John had planned. When she thought of it, it made her want to cry. She had been so happy and excited to become Mrs. John Jackson in a few short hours. Now she didn’t know if that would ever happen.

Patience walked through the restaurant, checking in on customers and making sure they had everything they needed. Even though she didn’t technically need to work, she enjoyed helping out, and her parents didn’t mind since the restaurant was crowded and busy.

All of the customers seemed to be content, so Patience decided to pay a visit to the kitchen. As she entered the room, she overheard a man calling for her father.

“Mr. Graham! Mr. Graham! I need to speak to you,” Jonah Briggs called urgently.

Robert sighed. “Come in, Jonah.” Robert was in the middle of making notations in his accounting ledger, and everyone knew that he hated to be interrupted.

Patience was curious, so she moved to a dark corner of the kitchen where she could hear what the two men were saying.

Jonah looked down at the floor. “I have something to tell you. I’m very sorry,” he began, muttering his words.

“Speak up, son! I can’t hear you,” Robert complained.

Jonah looked Robert in the eye. “I did something very wrong, sir. I know it was wrong now. I would understand if you have to dismiss me.”

Robert frowned. “What are you talking about, Briggs? Out with it.”

“Last night, these men, they offered to pay me money to pour from a flask into one man’s punch,” Jonah began. “They wanted to make him drunk. He drank it, and it made him sick. He behaved badly to you and to your daughter. I’m so sorry.”

Robert’s mouth fell open, and so did Patience’s mouth as she watched this unfold.

“Why am I just hearing about this now?” Robert asked.

Jonah looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. “I’m sorry, sir. I was ashamed of what I did. I’ll return the money. I made a mistake.”

“That’s right, you did. You also did the right thing by coming forward and telling me. But I still have to dismiss you. I can’t have people in my employ who would do such a terrible thing to one of our customers. You’re dismissed,” Robert said sadly. Jonah was a good employee, and he was sure he’d had reasons for what he had done, but there were some lines you just did not cross.

Patience held her breath in the corner. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her heart wanted to sing and dance. John had been telling the truth all along! Patience slipped out of the kitchen and into the corridor. She walked toward the storeroom, hoping she could get away from the crowds and sit and think for a while. Before she got there, Sarah appeared right in front of her.

“Oh, now you’re here!” Patience grumbled. “Before, when I needed you, you were nowhere to be found.”

Sarah smiled calmly. “You didn’t actually need me then, Patience. I knew you’d figure it out on your own.” Her tone turned serious. “But now, you do need to listen to me. John is at the Corner Tavern. You need to go to him and let him know that you found out the truth.”

“Wait a minute. He’s in a tavern? I thought he was telling me the truth, that he had given up drinking!” Patience wailed, more confused than ever.

“He was telling the truth. A few of his old friends were upset that he didn’t drink with them anymore. They arranged for Jonah to put alcohol in his punch but no one else’s. That’s why he got drunk yesterday and made a fool of himself and embarrassed you. But now . . .” Again, Sarah’s expression was serious. “Now he’s experiencing a crisis of conscience. He doesn’t want to drink, but he also thinks he has nothing left to fight for. It’s a dangerous predicament. You must go to him.”

With that, Sarah disappeared, leaving Patience all alone to ponder her message.

In less than a minute, Patience had made her decision. If John truly was deciding whether or not to drink, Patience owed it to him as a friend to stop him. She continued down the corridor and pushed through the side door.

Patience practically ran the entire way to the Corner Tavern. When she got there, she realized that it would be strange for her to go in all alone, an unmarried woman. She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a solution.

Before she could think of one, John came rushing out of the bar. He tripped and blinked, not expecting to find Patience before him.

“John! Are you all right? Have you been drinking?” Patience asked, her beautiful eyes filling with concern.

John smiled. “No, I haven’t. I realized that I don’t need to drink. I never have needed it. I just thought that I did. That was a wrong assumption. Just like you all had a wrong assumption about my behavior last night.”

“Oh, John, I know! I’m so sorry I doubted you! Can you forgive me?” Patience asked.

John frowned. “Wait a minute. How did you know I was telling the truth?”

“One of my father’s employees, Jonah, admitted that some men paid him to put alcohol in your drink. My father dismissed him, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Patience explained in a rush. She hoped John would be able to see past her angry behavior over the past day.

John grinned. “Patience, I’m not happy to hear that someone has lost his job, but aside from that, you telling me that makes me the happiest man in Creede. Or all of Colorado. Or all of the world!” John picked Patience up and spun her around.

Patience giggled and looked around, worried of what other people might think of them, carrying on like that in the streets.

John bent down on one knee. “Patience Graham, I’ve asked before, and I’ll ask again until you give me the answer I’m looking for. Will you marry me?”

“Yes, John! Yes!” Patience exclaimed happily. She looked down at her future husband. She knew she was the luckiest woman in the world.