Blessing

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“Uley Kirkland. Will you approach the bench, please?”

She hadn’t figured on being this nervous. She felt like a marionette as she went to stand beside Seth Wood, a marionette with someone waiting to drop the strings.

Judge Murphy held out the biggest, blackest Bible Uley had ever seen. “Repeat after me,” he said somberly. “I, your name...”

“I, Uley Kirkland...”

“Do solemnly swear...”

“Do solemnly swear...”

“To tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth...”

Uley figured everyone in the room saw her swallow. This was one time in her life when being a gal stood her in good stead. She didn’t have a protruding Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. To get her out of this mess, she uttered a silent prayer. I promise I’ll do my best to get it right, God.

Out loud she said, “To tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth...”

“So help me God.”

“So help me God.”

From the front of the room, she could see everyone in town. She could see her father on the third row, sitting with his hands clenched between his knees. She could see Elizabeth Calderwood with her hair all done up in a bun and her neck as long and graceful as a trumpeter swan’s. She could see Harris Olney just below her, his marshal’s star gleaming. And she could see Aaron Brown.

Aaron Brown. Today, when it seemed the whole world was against him, she felt some regret that she hadn’t been kinder to him last night. Then again, she found she was afraid to meet his eyes. Just suppose he winked at her again—here in the courtroom! It would totally unnerve her. Here. Where she needed to be quick-thinking and smart.