Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“’Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me…”

Judges 16:13

Rain was pouring down from the sky as Clark sneaked out into the night towards the barn where his horse was kept. Things had been going so well, and he’d known the danger of his true identity being revealed, but now that Isaac had revealed that he knew who Clay Rangerguide really was, he found himself in a panic, a criminal caught in a lie, an imposter with his mask ripped off. Isaac had been kind and gentle when he’d revealed to Clark that he knew who he really was, but Clark couldn’t help but be overweighed by guilt and shame. With Isaac knowing, how much more time would it be before Agatha figured it out. As the heroine of a Christian romance novel, she had been equipped with everything but a fully functioning brain, but with Isaac knowing, the chances of her putting the pieces together or finding out had increased. After Isaac had first delivered the words and then excused himself to go to bed, Clark had gone straight to his cot, lying down in his ice cream social best, paralyzed by the weight of the news he had just received. He played out all kinds of scenarios in his head: how he might continue as Clay Rangerguide and hope that Agatha would always be too naïve to know or how he could just tell the truth to Agatha and beg for her forgiveness. However, all the scenarios fell short of what he wanted. How could she ever forgive the lies he had told her? They had been well intentioned at the time, but now, they just seemed like cold, evil lies that weighed like lead burdens on his back. Oh Aggie, his Aggie, Aggie, Aggie, Aggie! Why Aggie? Why?

At that moment, he knew what he had to do. There was only one option. It was the same option that had presented itself to him over seven years ago, and now it sat in front of him again, like the last piece of food in a starving hiker’s backpack. Clark gathered his things into the leather satchel he had brought with him. He left any of the belongings that the Freegrace’s had bought for him—he didn’t feel right taking things from the family he had conned and lied to. As he was packing up, he noticed a pile of Agatha’s hair ribbons out on one of the shelves. He took a short moment, and drank in the smell of the ribbons, realizing it may be the last time he ever inhaled the scent of the woman he loved. He folded his social clothes, neatly placing them on the bed next to the other belongings he was giving back to the Freegraces. He put back on his cowherd clothes, the ones he had come in. Just then, he heard a rustle; someone was coming in the kitchen. He dove into his cot, covering himself and his packed satchel with the blankets. It was Aggie! He glanced at her one last time before pretending to be asleep. She was just getting a drink of water—Clark could hear her pouring herself a glass. Then he felt her eyes on him. She let out a sigh, “Clay Rangerguide…sleep tight and sweet dreams, my love.” She whispered these words, not knowing that he was awake to hear them, not knowing that he was about to leave her behind, just as her childhood friend Clark had done (they also happened to be the same person). She quietly left the kitchen, and Clark continued readying himself for the journey ahead. Finally, he was all ready to go.

He found a small piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. He penned a note to leave for Agatha. He left it on the table, pulling one of the flowers from the vase and setting it on the note. He quietly opened the door, sneaking to the barn to get his horse, as he had been at the beginning of this chapter before he took some time to participate in a flashback and some emotional contemplation. He put his saddle on his horse, and got her ready to ride. He led her out of the barn, and then jumped up on the saddle, kicking the horse’s sides immediately. He faded into the distance as quickly as he’d come, the rain, thunder, and lightning mirroring the storm of emotions and sadness that raged in his aching heart. A solitary tear fell down Clark’s face, but it was barely distinguishable from the torrents of rain pouring from the sky. Heck, he may have gotten away with two tears on day like today. “Goodbye Aggie, my love,” he said looking back one more time at the place that had once again become his home. Then he set his face towards the range and never looked back… at least in this chapter.

Meanwhile in the house, a hastily penned note lay waiting on the table for Agatha to find in the morning, a note that would crush her heart and potentially push her further away from the God she had already rejected. The note waited for the orange sunrise to creep over the prairie to reveal its heartbreaking contents:

Aggie,

I had to go, because I’ve done a terrible thing.

C