Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2
Leather & Lark
by Brynne Weaver
Contents
Chapter Sixteen: Hymns
Overview
Lachlan meets Abe Midus, an unsettling new client who brings a family saddle and requests the hymn line “Nearer, my God, to thee.” Lark arrives, sings the hymn, and pushes back on Abe’s faith talk. The encounter heightens unease and foreshadows danger as Lachlan and Lark proceed to scout Club Pacifico.
Summary
Lachlan closes his workday at Kane Atelier, preoccupied with anxiety about investigating Club Pacifico with Lark later that night. An unfamiliar customer, Abe Midus, arrives early with an heirloom Western saddle and a polite, guarded demeanor that immediately pricks Lachlan’s instincts.
Abe recounts the saddle’s family history and hints at a troubled father, displaying a craftsman’s familiarity with tools that reads as faintly menacing to Lachlan. When Lark enters, she and Abe exchange brief pleasantries about riding. Abe requests an inscription—“Nearer, my God, to thee”—prompting Lark to instinctively sing the hymn.
A brief, tense exchange about faith follows: Abe quotes scripture about belief, while Lark counters that perseverance yields its own proof, signaling her distance from the faith of her upbringing. Sensing the moment turning intrusive, Lachlan ends the appointment and moves to leave with Lark.
Abe departs, whistling Lark’s hymn, leaving behind an unsettling impression. Lachlan and Lark continue with their plan to recon Club Pacifico, the encounter with Abe deepening the chapter’s unease and foreshadowing potential threat.
Who Appears
- Lachlan (the diver)Leather artisan and enforcer; senses danger in Abe, ends the meeting, and readies to recon Club Pacifico with Lark.
- Abe MidusNew, unsettling client with a family saddle; requests a hymn inscription, probes Lark’s faith, leaves whistling.
- LarkArrives at the shop, sings the hymn instinctively, rejects Abe’s faith framing, and departs with Lachlan.