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

moonshine, and you get back to the business of being a preacher.”
    â€œThis is part of the business of being a preacher.” The preacher sighed. “Look, Doctor, I understand your point of view. Really, I do. But you must understand that it’s not my job to just tell people what they want to hear. Sometimes it’s my job to tell people exactly what they don’t want to hear. No matter the cost.”
    Ruby Mae watched as the preacher tenderly stroked Prince’s withers. She could see the pain in the man’s dark eyes. Could it be he was as upset as she was?
    â€œYou didn’t see anyone, did you, Ruby Mae?” he asked softly.
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œYou’d tell me if you had, wouldn’t you?
    Even if it was someone you knew?”
    â€œI didn’t see my step-pa, if that’s what you’re gettin’ at.” Ruby Mae fought back a sob. “I didn’t see anyone.” She scratched Prince’s right ear. He gave a soft nicker, then lay his head on her shoulder.
    â€œHe was so purty, with that long mane of his a-sweepin’ back in the wind,” Ruby Mae said. “And now he looks plumb unnatural, like a mule—no offense to you, Old Theo. He won’t even have nothin’ to flick off the flies with.” A wave of anger washed over her. “I wish I could knock the livin’ daylights out of them that done this. Even if it were my own step-pa.”
    â€œI can’t believe anyone could be this cruel,” Miz Christy said in a sad, faraway voice. She was crying, too, Ruby Mae suddenly realized.
    â€œIt could have been worse,” said the doctor. “They might have injured him, even killed him.” The doctor leaned against the wall. He looked weak and pale. “Getting even is considered a virtue around here. The mark of a strong character. Truth is, you were lucky this time. They let you off easy.”
    â€œEasy?” Miz Christy cried.
    â€œYou’re sitting on a powder keg, Christy,” the doctor said. “It only takes one match to set it off. David came close to it with his sermon.”
    â€œNo doubt you’re right about that, Doctor,” the preacher said, his voice growing angry again. “There is a powder keg here. But you can’t simply wish evil away. You have to stand up and oppose it. You know as well as I do that this illegal liquor is behind at least half the terrible things that happen in these mountains. And I don’t see you offering any solutions.”
    â€œI don’t have any easy solutions to offer,” the doctor said, rubbing his shoulder gingerly. “I just know that the Cove people don’t see anything criminal about making a little homemade brew. After all, it’s know-how that’s been passed down through their families for centuries. To them, it’s not a moral issue. Especially when they can’t find any other way to make a living here in these mountains.”
    â€œBut it is a moral issue, Doctor,” said Miz Christy. “You’re an educated man. You can see it. Moonshining has horrible results— feuds and terror and even death. How can you ignore all that? How can you ignore that painful wound in your own shoulder?”
    â€œI’m not ignoring any of it,” the doctor said. His voice was suddenly full of rage. “I’ve been taking care of these people a whole lot longer than you and David. The two of you come along and decide you’re going to tell people how to live their lives. What gives you that right?”
    Silence fell. Ruby Mae gulped. She had never heard this kind of grown-up argufying. Sure, her ma and step-pa fought all the time. But those fights were just made of loud words, flying around the cabin. This fight was about loud words and big ideas. Ruby Mae wasn’t sure she understood everything, but one thing was clear—the doctor and Miz Christy and the preacher were nowhere close to