by Lynn Wolfe
James could only nod. He wasn’t able to speak at the moment. He knew if he did, he’d surely break down. Susannah didn’t need to see him weak. He walked to the window to compose himself.
He knew her time on earth was ending. He also knew Susannah was aware time was running out. Why tonight? They’d planned this day so carefully. She was supposed to be able to see the children show off their new pets. His gut told him they’d waited one day too long. Life again wasn’t being fair. James turned to see Susannah wiping away her tears
“I’ll have the children come to you after supper to share the names they’ve chosen. We won’t be long. I’ll send your mother up with a tray to sit with you, until the children have eaten. I think this is the best way, don’t you?”
“Yes, I’m not very hungry, maybe just a small bowl of soup. Thank you, James. Please don’t be long.”
“I won’t be. I promise.”
*****
When James and the children entered the room after they’d eaten, he was relieved to see Susannah smiling and appearing to feel better. “I’m sorry I’m feeling poorly. Tell me, what have you two decided on names for your colt and pony? I watched you earlier from the window, when you first saw them.”
“Thank you for my colt! I named him Lightning. He’s beautiful. Tomorrow, I shall show him to you. He’ll like you very much. I know it! He’s smart, too.”
Susannah tried to laugh but instead had a short coughing spell. She could see the look of concern on the children’s faces. “I’m fine, really. Now, Matilda, what about your pony? Is she smart, too?”
“Oh yes, and I named her Star. Don’t you like her name?”
“I do. That sounds like the perfect name for her.”
“I can’t wait until tomorrow so you can pet her!”
Susannah could only nod. She looked at James and nodded toward the door. The children needed to leave. She could feel a coughing spell was about to begin. The last thing she wanted was to go through one of those horrible episodes and have the children see her gasping for her next breath.
“All right, children, time for your bedtime story from Grandma Parker. Scat, both of you!”
“Goodnight, Mother, was the last thing Susannah heard before James closed the door and she went into her worst coughing spell yet.
James sat next to her and held her as he gently rubbed her arms. “I fear I’m losing you,”
Susannah could only nod the affirmative. There were no words left to say. She tried to close her eyes and take in James’s scent. She felt his love. The time was close to leave this world that had given her so much. Soon she could rest. No more coughing spells, no more restless nights, no more gasping for air.
*****
The children came in to see their mother after their bedtime story but she was asleep against James chest. They kissed her lightly on the cheek. James knew he’d have plenty of time in the morning to explain how their mother had left during the night to be with the angels.
His parents stopped by briefly and only acknowledged they understood the situation at hand. When James saw Constance Webb softly crying and saw John Webb with the tears he shed openly, James allowed his own tears to silently fall.
Susannah was in a deep and heavy labored sleep. After several minutes Constance and John Webb kissed their daughter farewell. James thought the worst was over until he saw Anna and Thomas stepping into the bedroom.
James was amazed that Anna appeared fairly calm. He could tell she’d been crying, but he realized Anna had come to terms with Susannah’s passing being eminent. Anna held her sister’s hand as she kissed her cheek.
“Let go, Susannah. Your time has come to find rest and peace. You shall be missed but never forgotten. You shall live through Andrew and Matilda and I shall make sure they remember what a wonderful and strong person their mother was. I’ll miss you every day till we meet in the great beyond.” Anna squeezed James’s hand and waited as Thomas, who remained silent, only nodded to James, and said nothing but his tears spoke for him.
James wasn’t sure when he’d fallen asleep. When he stirred he realized it was close to morning. Susannah had left him sometime while he slept. It was the silence he noticed first. Then he realized how cold her body was. He eased himself from the bed. “Goodbye, my love.” He carefully smoothed her hair and covered her with the bedspread. She looked like an angel.
He fell to his knees and openly sobbed. Now, he didn’t have to pretend to be strong. He worried how he’d get through this day. Even though everyone knew what this day would bring, it was still going to be difficult to verbally say Susannah had died.
Constance Webb stood in the doorway and watched her son-in-law finally break down. Even though she’d miss Susannah, she was glad her ordeal was over. No one should have to endure such a painful and tragic death. She was so proud of how Susannah had handled her illness. Never complaining, and hiding her pain from everyone, except James.
Even then, James had told her Susannah rarely complained. Constance carefully and quietly pulled the door closed so James could have some privacy. She smiled thinking how thoughtful James was to have left the door open, in case someone wanted to stop back and check on Susannah.
But she knew James needed time alone to grieve. Constance decided the best thing she could do now was to start making breakfast. She was fairly sure she’d have plenty of company very shortly. She didn’t think anyone had gotten much sleep last night except for the children.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Parker Plantation
James was washing his face and trying to calm himself when the door burst open and Andrew and Matilda came rushing in. He quickly stopped them when he realized they were headed right where their mother lay.
“Andrew, Matilda, come sit with me here by the window.” He saw their questioning look and he smiled trying to reassure them everything would be alright.
“Is Mother sleeping?” Andrew asked puzzled.
James pulled the children onto his lap and kissed their cheeks. “There’s something I must tell you, and you must be very brave. Last night, your mother left to be with the angels.”
Matilda started to weep. “No, not now! She hasn’t seen my pony. She couldn’t have left us now.”
“She didn’t want to leave us, did she, Papa. Tell Matilda she’d have stayed if she could. I know she wanted to see the colt and pony. But she was tired. Don’t cry, Matilda. Now, she can watch us all the time, from heaven.”
Andrew’s wisdom was almost more than James’s could take. “She did see Lightning and Star from the window, remember? Andrew’s right, Matilda, your mother can rest now. She was very tired. But she’ll always watch over you. Now, we must be strong to help, Anna, Thomas and Grandma and Grandpa Webb, get through their loss, too. Why don’t we have some breakfast? Then, you can feed your animals and exercise them once I’ve finished the work needed to be done in the stables.”
I’m not hungry,” Andrew said, trying to stop crying.
“Me neither, but I might be able to eat a little something,” Matilda added, realizing she was hungry.
“I’m not very hungry either, but we must eat to stay strong. Then, tonight, you can bring the colt and pony to show Anna and Thomas. I know your mother will be able to see them from heaven. I’m sure she would like that very much.”
*****
Susannah’s funeral arrangements had been made some time ago, so there wasn’t much to do other than make the food for the dinner to be served afterward. She’d requested a small funeral with only family and close friends to be present. For Susannah had known the sooner they had the funeral, the easier it would be for the children to get on with their lives.
She’d requested to be buried in the family cemetery where her grandparent’s and other family members had already been laid. The cemetery, where she knew her parents would be buried sometime in the future. She’d made her wishes clear to James not to bury her on their own plantation, where the children might be tempted to v
isit her grave.
James had reluctantly agreed. He wanted to have a large funeral to honor her and allow everyone to have a chance to say their farewells. But Susannah would not agree. Deep down, James knew she was right, if she’d been buried on their plantation, he and the children would visit her grave much too often and that wouldn’t be good for any of them.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Two months had passed since Susannah’s funeral and everything seemed to appear once again normal in the Parker household, at least, as normal as things were going to be without Susannah.
James had spent a lot of his time with Andrew and Matilda and they seemed to be adjusting to their new routine. The Webb’s had left for home shortly after the funeral. They’d promised Anna and Thomas to spend more time at their house. James knew this was to make sure Anna was doing fine learning to cope without her sister, and it would also benefit them to spend time with Jane.
Clayton and James took to riding out every afternoon checking the fences and watching for signs of Ball. Throughout this entire time, James had never stopped wondering when and where Ball would show his face. So far, there’d been no indication he had been anywhere around the Plantation. But James wasn’t about to be caught off-guard, again.
Chapter Sixty
“Henry, you ain’t gonna believe it! I overhead people talking in town that Parker’s wife passed. This might fit well into your plans. They won’t be expecting trouble while handling all that grief.”
“I guess we missed the funeral, Chester. This does my heart good to know there’s one less Parker to worry about. Let’s ride over and see what the layout of the plantation looks like. We need to know if they’ve anyone keeping watch and how we’ll be able to get to the stables undetected.”
Henry and Chester were ready to set things in motion. Henry decided he’d first ruin James Parker and this was the perfect time to strike. He’d be hurting already with the loss of his wife.
Henry and Chester waited patiently as they timed how long it took between Parker’s riders to check the perimeter of his property. Every two hours, no variation.
“Fools! Anyone with brains knows you should vary the times you check on things so you don’t become an easy target! Chester, we’ll come back after dark. If their men do their rounds at nine and eleven, as I think they will, we’ll make our way to the barn, close to the house, and set the first fire. Everyone should be asleep except for the two on guard. Once the alarm is raised, we’ll then set the fire in the stables. By the time they realize there are two fires, it’ll be too late. We’ll be gone and the stable fire will be too advanced to save the stable or the horses in it!”
“There ain’t nothing better than a big blaze lighting up the sky at night.” Chester said, grinning from ear to ear. He loved a good fire. If Henry would have allowed him, he’d have set several more. But Henry always said you could have too much of a good thing. This was one of the few things where Chester disagreed.
*****
Just like Henry thought, the Parker men were right on time with their rounds, exactly at nine and eleven. Henry and Chester skirted the back of the barn and slipped in. They’d brought rags and a lantern with them. Once they’d thoroughly soaked their rags in oil, they lit them along with the lantern, and threw them on a pile of hay as they left to head for the stable. They had almost reached the stable door when they heard the first shouts of alarm.
They’d left more rags and two lanterns by the stable door. They each took a lantern and some rags and agreed that Henry would take the south end of the stable and Chester the north.
By the time the stable was engulfed in flames, Henry and Chester had ridden a good half mile away from the plantation. They sat on their mounts up, high upon a hill, as the sky lit up in an array of yellow and orange colors.
“Sure’s a pretty fire, don’t you think so Henry?”
Henry sat on his horse smirking as he thought of how much damage he’d done to Parker. “No one can out smart me, Chester. Parker should have stayed away from my family. This will put a huge dent in his pocket. We better ride out and watch we don’t leave any signs for them to track. Parker won’t be so easy the next time we come to see him. He knows I’ll be back.”
Chapter Sixty-One
James stirred in bed and grabbed his blanket to cover him when he first heard someone yell fire. Did he smell smoke? What was going on?
“Fire, fire!” James heard someone scream out.
He now had his pants on and was pulling on his second boot as he hopped out of his bedroom doorway. He saw his father open his door to peer out.
“Father, get your gun and guard the house. Keep an eye on mother and the children. Hurry!”
By now, James had gotten on the other boot and was running out of the house. He reached the barn just as his men were bringing out Lightning and Star. James was relieved no harm had come to them. They almost had the fire contained when James heard more shouts of fire. His heart sank as he realized there was more than one fire to deal with. His worst fear came true for the new fire was in the stable holding his prize horses, along with others he was boarding.
He’d been relieved to see the corral by the barn had held the working horses and Lightning and Star. It appeared all had been safely rescued. The horses were skittish but under control. If they hadn’t got to the fire when they did, they’d have lost their working mounts and all their tack. But it now appeared this fire was just a distraction for the main event.
James raced to the stables praying they’d be in time to save the horses. No one had to tell James who was responsible. Ball had managed to make his way onto his plantation without being seen. James could hear the awful cries of the horses, as they tried in vain to escape the raging fire.
The men pulled James back several times to prevent him from trying to enter the blazing stable. They had to accept it was too late. The fire was out of control before they reached it. Their efforts now were to contain the fire so it couldn’t spread to any of the other outbuildings and make sure no one got hurt.
It seemed to take forever for the last cries to end as the horses succumbed to the smoke and the flames. How could anyone be so cruel as to kill thirty-seven horses? James knew he’d not only lost his prizes stallions and mares along with four fouls, but he also lost a couple of stallions and eight mares that belonged to those he was breeding for. He knew there was no way for him to financially recover from such a loss.
“Did anyone see anything or anyone?” James called out anxiously.
“No, didn’t see anything or hear anything until too late. Sorry boss,” was all James heard, over and over again. James saw the look of sadness and anger on the faces of his men. They felt as bad as he did. The blaze burned until early the next morning. All the men worked quietly and kept their thoughts to themselves. James knew the men were aware what a toll this was going to take on him emotionally and financially.
Clayton stood by James shaking his head in disbelief. “James, you and the men need to come inside and eat. Your mother has fixed plenty of coffee and a big breakfast. I’ll stay out here with a couple of men just to keep watch over things. I’m sorry, James. I thought we had things covered from something like this. I’m sure that bastard Ball caused these fires. Do you think he might have hit Thomas’s place, too?”
James hadn’t even had the time to think about Thomas or his horses. Without saying a word, he immediately saddled a work horse to see if Thomas and his family were safe. He was sick knowing his beautiful mount had been among those horses taken. As he rode out, he stopped to whisper three words to his father. “I’m ruined.”
“Let’s wait until we can determine what’s left. I came out as soon as I knew the house was safe. I had to see how bad the fire was. I’m in shock knowing the stable and horses are lost. It was then; one of your men told me that before they locked both ends of the stable doors, they had set fires several places inside.
“I fear, Henry’s crazy and is capable of doing any
thing, he’d have to be to do something as evil as this. I’ll help you in any way I can. You know that, son.”
“Have someone send for the law. The sooner we report this, the sooner we might catch the bastard.” James then rode out. Once he knew he was all alone, he allowed his tears to come. Thank goodness Susannah hadn’t lived to see this. This would have broken her heart.
James was afraid of what Ball might try next. James knew he’d never forget the sound of those horses screaming until the day he died. Never! He prayed Thomas and his family was safe.
Chapter Sixty-Two
William McKee wasted no time fetching Thomas the minute he saw James Parker ride onto the Ball property and noticed the condition he was in.
“James, you look like hell. What’s happened?” Thomas asked, as he greeted James. He saw his filthy shirt and pants and it then registered James also had the distinct smell of smoke covering him.
“Your father paid me a visit last night. He first set the barn on fire and as we battled that blaze and had it quickly under control, he reached his main objective. He set the stable on fire, too. By the time we reacted, I’ve lost everything in the stable, my prize horses and the fouls, too. We did salvage the barn, the work horses, and Lightning and Star.”
“No, James, that bastard wouldn’t dare!” But Thomas knew the truth; his father would do anything to destroy James. “You didn’t catch him?”
“No, I haven’t even gone to look for him. I shall do that later today once the authorities arrive. But I know it was him.”
“So now he’s committed arson!” Thomas said shaking his head. “I wish I could say something, like maybe it was some type of freak accident, but I know as well as you, my father is responsible.”
“Yes, that pot licker is behind it! That’s why I came here, Thomas, to warn you. I fear he’s not through with his treachery. You, Anna and Jane might also be in danger, along with your men and stock. Stay alert, Thomas. He has to be insane to cause so much destruction to perfectly good animals. He’s very cunning. It was smart of him to start the fire in the barn first. I only wish I’d been thinking clearer to realize what he’d been up to. He locked the stable doors at both ends, Thomas; the horses didn’t have a chance. It was awful.
