by Jan Watson
She’d made up her mind, though. The next time Mr. Still opened that door, she was leaving. If she had to push him off the ladder, she would. Enough was enough. Then, while he was lying flat out on the ground trying to figure out what had happened, she’d climb down with Steady and the pup at the same time. She figured she would hang the valise around her neck and carry Steady under her arm.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. That’s another of Aunt Remy’s sayings,” she told the dog, who looked at her with worshipful eyes. “My throat feels better. I know you were worried. I wish I had a cup of sassafras tea with honey, though.”
She might as well see what the Stills were doing. If she could tell when Mr. Still was coming her way, she could be better prepared to knock him off the ladder.
Mr. Still was walking past the hideout. Tern followed, rolling a wagon wheel. “You go on ahead to where we broke down, Tern. You can start fixing the buckboard. We’ll catch up.”
Tern stood there with the wheel. As soon as his father walked away, he looked up at Lilly. He mouthed something, but Lilly couldn’t understand. She shook her head. He mouthed it again. She scrunched up her face.
He turned his back on her. “Daddy, will you need me to come back for anything?”
“No. Now get on, boy. It’s a right smart piece to where we’re going.”
Tern glanced over his shoulder. Lilly nodded. Tern had sent her a message. She watched while he rolled the wheel away.
Mr. Still went into the house for maybe half an hour. Lilly got a charley horse in her leg from sitting doubled up for so long. Finally they all came out. Mr. Still led the horse to the front of the house. Lilly rubbed the crick from her calf as she watched the old lady climb into the saddle from the mounting block. Mr. Still handed her the baby and put the next smallest boy on the horse behind her.
“You took your sweet time a-coming back,” the old lady said.
“I had to walk all the way to Dimmert Whitt’s place. He wasn’t home or I’d’ve had to wait until nightfall. It was easy pickings. He makes wheels himself, you recollect.”
“Let’s get on out,” the grandma said. “It’s a-fixing to storm again.”
“Yeah, we need to shake a leg. While Tern was out scouting, he saw a posse of men searching all around the church—even in the cemetery. They’re bound to come this way sooner than later.”
“Did ye leave plenty of water?”
“Sure. The gal will be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Put the ladder back up. Give her a fighting chance at least.”
34
Manda’s hysteria seemed spent. It took both Copper and Remy to get her up off the floor. She was still crying but no longer hysterical.
Someone knocked on the screen door. Copper turned to see who it was. She could see Ma Hawkins and some other ladies from church standing back from the door respectfully. “Take Manda to the sickroom, Remy, before they notice her,” she said.
Copper opened the door to a gaggle of women holding pots and pans of food as well as cakes and pies. It looked like they’d been cooking for hours.
“We don’t aim to put you to no trouble,” Ma Hawkins said. “But the men will need to eat. Where’s a good place to set up a table?”
Copper was touched. She had not even thought of dinner, though it was almost noon. “Thank you,” she said, stepping out. “You all have been so good.”
“Any news?”
“They found her hat.” Copper choked on the words.
The women sighed and clucked like hens settling on nests. Copper saw real concern on their faces. Many of them had also suffered great heartache.
Ma Hawkins patted her shoulder. “Now that’s a good sign. That means she’s somewhere hereabouts.”
“I’ll just go find the sawhorses,” Copper said.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Ma Hawkins said. “My boys came along. I took the liberty of sending them to the barn. I knowed John would have something in there to set up a table with.”
As she spoke, two lanky boys came out of the barn carrying the sawhorses and lengths of wood.
“Someone will need to find John and tell the men,” Copper said, suddenly anxious to tell John what Manda said.
“My old man’s headed over to the church. He’s going to ring the bell, so they’ll be here soon enough. You’ve only got to do one thing for us.”
“Whatever you need,” Copper said.
“You’ve got to eat the plate we fix you.” All the women nodded. Copper could see that was truly all they wanted.
It was against her nature, but Copper sat in a rocking chair waiting for John while her friends and neighbors set a veritable feast on the sawhorse tables. It was such a thoughtful gesture and so helpful. The men needed a good meal.
If these women hadn’t come, she would have saddled Chessie and gone off to find John. Manda was telling the truth now, she was sure of that, but what might her story mean to Lilly’s disappearance? John would have a clear head about this. He would stay strong, and she so badly needed that strength right now.
The men—some on horseback and others on foot—started coming in a few at a time until there were at least sixteen of them gathering around the table. The ladies poured milk and tea and heaped plates full of food. The men sat on the ground under shade trees to eat.
John and Dimmert were last to come in. Copper had to keep herself from running across the yard to John.
John stopped first at the table. “Man, this looks good enough to eat,” Copper heard him say.
Ma Hawkins began to ladle food onto a plate. “Do you want chicken or ham? or both?”
“You hold on to that for me,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Anything?” Copper asked as soon as John stepped on the porch, although she could tell by his face the answer was no. It hurt her to see him so defeated.
“No, but we’re getting close. I can feel it in my bones.” He dipped the long-handled dipper into the water bucket on the shelf and drank it down. “If this storm will just hold off.”
Copper hadn’t even noticed the dark clouds forming over the mountains. “Not again.”
“I know,” he said. “We’ll need to eat quick.”
“Come inside. I have to tell you something for your ears alone.”
“Have you eaten anything?” he asked, closing the door behind them.
“I’m okay. Please don’t go on about me.” She could see a flash of hurt in his eyes. Why was she lashing out at him? “I’m sorry.”
He brushed her cheek with a dry kiss. “It’s okay.”
“Listen.” She told him everything Manda said, from the lies to the truth. She saw the same horror and revulsion she herself had felt as she recounted the story.
“I’ll have to talk to her,” he said.
“I don’t know. She’s very upset.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but it has to be done. I’ll get Dimmert. Having her brother will make it easier for her. And he should hear this, as well as the sheriff.”
“The sheriff?”
“Didn’t you see him there at the table? He’s been with us all morning. He’s laid out a grid according to where we found the hat.”
Copper blanched. She would never get used to hearing Lilly spoken about this way. “I don’t know the best way for you to handle this, but Manda wasn’t violated. The sheriff mustn’t ask about that.”
“You go prepare Manda. I’ll be right back.”
Copper brought Manda into the sitting room.
The girl was trembling. “Do I have to do this?”
“I’m afraid you do.”
The men came in. The sheriff took over. He led Manda through the events of Wednesday. He was thorough but kind. John thought to ask about Lilly’s hat. Manda remembered Lilly was wearing it when she was sitting on the porch.
Dimmert stayed with his sister when the other men left the room. He sat on the settee and put his arm around her shoulder. “It will be all right,
Sis. You done the right thing by coming back.”
“I was so stupid. How could I believe in that man?”
“You ain’t stupid—just young. He’s the one that’s stupid. I’ll tell you one thing—he won’t be playing any music if I catch hold of him.”
Copper was saddened to hear the threat of violence coming from such a sweet man. It seemed ironic how quickly one person’s evil action led even good men to hostility.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Manda said. “I took care of it myself.”
Copper left them alone. Dimmert would help Manda more than anyone. John was waiting for her in the kitchen. She walked outside with him. They saw a few of the men gathered around the sheriff out by the barn.
“I want to see what they’re saying.”
He didn’t try to stop her, but when they got to the barn, he slipped his arm around her waist. “We want to be in on anything you’re planning, Sheriff,” John said.
“I know the man Miss Whitt’s referring to,” the sheriff said. “He’s been run out of every town hereabouts. He’s a drifter and a petty thief. A ne’er-do-well. I expect he’s skipped town, but we’ll track him down—given time.”
“Say,” the dispatcher from the train station cut in, “I can put his description and that he’s wanted out over the wire and tell you where to find him by sundown.”
“Well, there you go,” the sheriff replied. “You get on back to town. Get this thing sent out, and we’ll see what happens. Meanwhile the rest of us need to return to the job at hand. If we don’t find her this afternoon, we’ll start on this side of the creek tomorrow.”
“Sheriff, do you think this scoundrel had anything to do with Lilly’s disappearance?” John asked.
“My best guess is no, but stranger things have happened. We’ll find out when we bring him in. I can assure you of that.”
Copper clung to the sheriff’s words the rest of the day. “My best guess is no,” he’d said. She chose to believe him. It was either that or . . . what? Live as a shell for the rest of her life while trying to be a mother to her other children? How did anyone deal with this? She didn’t have any answers, but she could pray.
Dark clouds as big as boulders rolled across the sky, but the rain held off. Cara brought the children back before supper. There were plenty of leftovers to feed them. Someone had thoughtfully set aside half a dozen chicken legs. Jack was in heaven.
“Take some of this home for Dimmert,” Copper said as Cara prepared to leave. “It’ll just spoil sitting here.”
It was way past dark when John came home. Copper hadn’t noticed the night steal in until he lit a lamp.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked.
“I’m just waiting for Lilly.”
Standing at the stove, John ate the plate of food Copper had left for him. “I’m beat. We need to go to bed.”
“You go on. I have to watch.”
John left the room and returned with a pile of blankets from their bed and a bolster pillow. He arranged them right in front of the screen door. “We can rest here.”
“If I lie down, I’m afraid I’ll go to sleep. I don’t want to sleep. What if I miss her?”
“You’re not making sense,” he said. “When Lilly comes home, she’ll see the lamp in the window and she’ll wake you up.”
“Let me be.”
“Well, no,” he said. “I won’t let you be. You’ll lie down here, and I’ll sit on the porch. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
Copper let him guide her to the makeshift bed. Her whole body cried out with grief and weariness. “Promise? You promise you won’t close your eyes?”
“I’ll do my best, sweetheart.” He plumped the pillow behind her head and covered her with a light cotton quilt.
“John,” she said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around his neck, “I’m sorry I’m being so cross with you. I’m so sorry.”
Leaning over her, he kissed her gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She lay back down and closed her eyes. A few minutes later she roused. She could see him sitting on the porch steps through the blurred screen of the door. “John?”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to have another baby.”
“I suspected as much.”
She was not really surprised to hear that. She couldn’t keep anything from him. “Are you glad? I need for you to be glad.”
“Thoughts of a new baby are a welcome gift right now. We’ll be all right, you know.”
Copper laid her head back down. Her husband was watching. She could rest.
* * *
Lilly was afraid Tern wouldn’t come back. Maybe he was lost or maybe his mean father had caught him sneaking away. Before it got dark, she had tried her lever against the barricaded door. It wouldn’t budge. The wooden bar was stuck, probably swollen from yesterday’s storm. She wasn’t strong enough to lift it.
It was awful here now that the Stills were gone. A bat had swooped in through one of the narrow windows and scared her silly. It was good to be afraid of some things. Bats were definitely in that category.
She had been dozing for a while when she heard a pounding on the door. Steady roused and started barking.
“Lilly,” she heard, “it’s me, Tern. I’ve come to get you out.”
Lilly was never so glad to hear anyone in her whole life.
He pounded again. “This thing’s stuck. Hold on.”
Finally the door was open.
“All right,” he said. “Come out backward and I’ll help you.”
Steady poked her head around Lilly. Tern rubbed the dog’s ears. “I’m glad to see my dog.”
“She’s my dog now.”
“What I meant is, I’m glad she’s with you,” he said.
Obviously, it wasn’t easy to carry a beagle down a wobbly ladder, but Tern did it and started back up for her.
“I can climb down without any help,” Lilly said. “You stay down there.”
He ignored her. “It’s dark. You might lose your footing.”
Lilly’s legs were shaking. She was afraid and she was glad for his presence. She wrapped the puppy in a piece from her nightgown and put it in the valise. “Will you take the puppy down next?”
“Puppy?”
“He’s in here,” she said, handing him the bag. “Be careful. He’s awful squirmy.”
She was glad it was dark and that she couldn’t see the room behind her very well. It was hard to believe she was finally getting out. When Tern was ready for her, she stepped out into the night and went down the ladder. The ground was solid under her feet, but she felt weak as a new kitten and disoriented. The moon played peekaboo with heavy clouds. She didn’t know the way home.
“Come on,” Tern said. “I’ll walk you home.”
Steady’s tail whipped against the back of her legs, nearly knocking her off-balance. Tern went ahead, carrying the valise. Lilly followed him. Steady followed her. It was obvious who Steady wanted to be with. Maybe she should feel bad about that but she didn’t.
An owl hooted. From far away his mate answered.
“I love that sound,” Tern said. “I like being out in the night when it’s peaceful.”
A canopy of tall pine trees whispered secrets over their heads. A night creature hunting in the dark scrambled out of the way.
Lilly stumbled over a root. She grabbed Tern’s arm and held on. “I don’t know where we are.”
“I’m taking you the short way home. I didn’t think you’d want to go past the pond.”
She shuddered. She didn’t want to think about that. They walked on. Tern held back brambles and kindly helped her over rocks. After a while they came upon the back of a cabin.
“Know where you are now?” Tern asked in a low voice.
“It’s the little house,” Lilly whispered.
“I’m going to leave you here.” He set the valise down and patted Steady’s head. “You’ll be okay now.”
Lilly was suddenly shy. “I’m really sorry about your mama.”
“Yeah, me too.” Tern kicked at the ground with the toe of his boot. “I reckon I won’t see you again. We’ll be moving farther on come morning. We won’t stop traveling for two or three days.”
Surprising herself, Lilly kissed his cheek. It felt smooth and warm. Tears trembled in her eyes. “Thank you, Tern Still. I can tell you have a kind heart.”
“Take care of yourself, Lilly Gray Corbett.”
Lilly bent to unfasten the carryall. She pulled the puppy out and held him closely to her chest. When she looked up, Tern was walking away. She watched until he disappeared. The path was still dark, but now she knew where she was. She carried the pup around the little cabin, through the side yard, and up to the porch. She saw her daddy John sitting on the top step. He was leaning against the rail, snoring.
“Daddy,” she said, touching his knee. “Daddy.”
He startled awake. “Lilly?”
“I found us some dogs.”
“Oh, praise the Lord.” Daddy pulled her onto his lap.
“John?” Mama said from behind the screen door.
“Copper, come out here! Lilly’s home!”
Mama let the screen door slam loud enough to wake the house. She sat down on the step beside them and started crying. “Thank You, Lord,” she praised over and over, kissing Lilly’s cheeks for punctuation. “Oh, my baby girl, where have you been?”
Lilly sighed. “It’s a long story. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“You’re tired, aren’t you? The story can wait until morning. Your daddy made us a bed right inside the door. We’ll lie down there.”
Lilly was already nodding off with her head on Daddy’s shoulder. She felt so safe and happy. Mama held the door as he carried her in and put her down on the pallet. Mama lay down beside her and pulled her close. The bolster pillow felt like heaven beneath her head. Steady whined and scratched at the screen door.
“Can they come in, Daddy? They’ve gotten used to sleeping with me.”
He cracked the door, and Steady carried the puppy over the threshold. She dropped him right by Lilly, then sat there watching. Lilly knew she was wondering what was going to happen to her. She patted the floor beside the pallet. “Lie down.”
