The Rancher’s Dog Laid Flowers in Her Lap… He Said, “I Think God Is Trying to Tell Me Something”
Chapter 3
After the first flower, Gideon began appearing everywhere Margaret went.
At first she thought it was coincidence.
Then she noticed a pattern.
When she gathered eggs, Gideon waited near the henhouse.
When she carried bread from the kitchen, he followed her to the barn.
When she walked toward the creek, he walked ahead of her.
When she sat beneath the oak tree, he lay at her feet.
Thomas noticed.
He said nothing.
One evening Margaret was kneading bread when Thomas entered the kitchen.
“Gideon stayed outside your door last night.”
Margaret looked up.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“He didn’t bother me.”
“I know.”
Thomas removed his hat.
“That’s the strange part.”
Margaret wiped flour from her hands.
“You think the dog dislikes me?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I’ve never seen him choose someone like this.”
Margaret smiled faintly.
“He may simply like the bread.”
Thomas looked at the loaf cooling beside her.
“Gideon has never been interested in bread.”
“Then perhaps he has better judgment than you.”
For the first time, Thomas almost smiled.
Almost.
Margaret saw it.
Then it disappeared.
Thomas looked toward the window.
“Your uncle.”
Her hands stopped.
“What about him?”
“He came through the southern road yesterday.”
Her face lost its warmth.
“Why?”
“He asked about you.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That you weren’t here.”
Margaret stared.
“Why?”
Thomas leaned against the table.
“Because he wasn’t asking like a man looking for family.”
The kitchen became quiet.
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“My uncle wants the land.”
“I know.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I’ve read the papers.”
She looked up sharply.
“You read them?”
“I did.”
“And?”
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“Something is wrong.”
Margaret felt her heartbeat quicken.
“What?”
“I don’t know yet.”
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
Near midnight, she heard scratching beneath the floorboards.
She sat up.
The sound stopped.
Then came three slow scratches.
Margaret lit a candle.
She opened the door.
Gideon stood in the hallway.
He looked at her.
Then he turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Margaret followed.
He stopped beside the old pantry.
And stared at the floor.
