ride along? I imagine Mrs. Brooks and the girls can handle things for an hour or so.”
“Oh, I couldn’t. There’s so much to do.”
She glanced around the busy kitchen, at the girls pretending to be engrossed in their work. Little sneaks. Not a peep could be heard out of any of them, they were so engrossed in Jake and Livy’s conversation.
“I’ll not take no for an answer. Right, girls?”
“Yes, sir.” Giggles erupted from their audience.
She couldn’t resist the teasing glint in his eyes or the snickers from the girls. She reached for her cloak. “All right. Mary, tell Mrs. Brooks I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The sun shone bright and cheerful after so many dreary days of snow-laden clouds. Livy smiled, soaking up the warmth.
Jake helped her into a wagon, climbed up, and headed toward town. He motioned to the wagon bed, where two straight-back chairs lay. “Those are for Gus.”
Livy smiled. “He’ll be so happy.”
Jake reached for a burlap sack at his feet. “And these are for the boys. I didn’t want to take them inside. I was afraid Georgie’s curiosity would get the best of him.”
Livy opened the sack and pulled out a wooden horse, the intricate carving revealing how much time and effort Jake had put into this one piece. “Oh, Jake, it’s perfect.”
“It’s a good thing I made so many pieces to begin with. I finished two more this morning, so I think there’s enough to go around.”
“Thank you. You’ll come over on Christmas Eve, won’t you? I want you there when they open their presents.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” His eyes twinkled, making Livy wonder what he had in mind.
As they neared the middle of town, a commotion broke out on the other side of the jail, close to the barbershop. Shopkeepers swarmed out of their businesses heading that way. Jake pulled the wagon up short and set the brake.
“Wait here,” he said, jumping down and hurrying toward the crowd.
Livy didn’t hesitate. She hiked her skirts, jumped out of the wagon, and took off after him, pushing her way through the throng. She came to a screeching halt when she saw the source of the noise. Smitty pulled Jimmy Sharp toward the jail, the lawyer cursing a blue streak and fighting against the handcuffs chaffing his wrists.
“Come on, Sharp. You’ve managed to get out of more than one scrape in Chicago, but not here. Gibbons and his boys are singing like canaries in there, so I don’t think you’re going to worm your way out of this one.”
Sharp jerked against the handcuffs. Smitty yanked him back around, and the lawyer came face-to-face with Livy. His sudden stillness caught Smitty’s attention, and the detective stopped. A sardonic grin split Sharp’s face.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss Livy O’Brien.” He cut his gaze back to Smitty. “Hey, Detective, if you want to make the headlines in the Chicago Tribune, she’s the one you should arrest.”
Smitty turned Sharp toward the jail. “Aw, shut up, Sharp. I’ve heard about all of your jawing I can stand. I’ll let you and Gibbons cuss at each other for a while.”
“You don’t want to hear about Light-Fingered Livy O’Brien? The best lock picker in Chicago?” Sharp leveled a shrewd gaze in her direction. “I wondered where you’d gotten off to. Haven’t seen you around the last couple of years. I’d think a little hole-in-the-wall like Chestnut would be slim pickings for the likes of you.”
Detective Schmidt squinted at Sharp, then turned to Livy, his gaze assessing her. “Miss O’Brien, is that true? Not that I’d expect you to admit it if you are Light-Fingered Livy.”
Mr. McIver and the Huff sisters stared at her, their faces cold and unreadable. Reverend Warren looked shocked—and disappointed.
All Livy’s hopes and dreams came crashing down around her. No matter how far she ran, she couldn’t outrun her past. It nipped at her heels, ready to snare her at any moment. She squared her shoulders. She couldn’t lie about her past, not if her Christian faith meant anything at all.
“Yes, sir. It’s true.”
She dropped her head. She couldn’t offer a defense for her past, only that she’d been forgiven by a higher power than the courts of Chicago. Yes, God, in His infinite mercy forgave her, but now she’d have to go back to the city and face her punishment, whatever it might be.
“Well, aren’t you going to arrest her?” Sharp jeered. “Don’t tell me the mighty Detective Nate Schmidt is going soft.”
Livy looked up and could see