by Jane Shoup
Fiona almost cringed. “Oh?”
“I came to live with the Martins when I was eleven. It was in the late spring. I’d only been here a short time, a few weeks, I guess, when this girl, even younger than me, showed up on horseback in a panic because her little brother had gone missing. He was not even three, and the rain was starting again. I didn’t fully understand the danger at the time, but there had been mudslides. She was pleading for help searching for her brother.”
“I remember that spring,” Fiona interjected. “The flooding and the mudslides.”
Em could still picture the day. “My uncle was out in the fields, but my aunt and cousins were home. Jimmy told the girl to get off their property. I couldn’t believe my ears. I yelled at him and ran inside to get my aunt.”
“Let me guess; she backed him up.”
Em nodded. “By the time I got back outside, the girl was riding off and Patience was tattling on Jimmy, saying he’d been throwing rocks at the little Lindley trash. That’s exactly what she said. It made me feel sick to my stomach that I was even related to them.”
“What’d you do?”
“I ran to the stable. At first, I just wanted to get away from all of them, but . . . I jumped on a horse and rode out. Bareback. It wasn’t planned; I just did it. Jim hollered at me to stop, but that only made me ride faster.”
“One or two of the Lindley kids came into town, too,” Fiona said, “begging for help.” She paused and shook her head. “No one stepped up because there’s just too much bad blood between the Lindleys and everyone else.”
“Well, I didn’t know anything. And I didn’t know where I was going. I tried following the girl, but she was too fast. I ended up getting lost and scared out of my mind. Then the rain started and it poured. I saw a mudslide. It took trees with it.”
Fiona nodded solemnly. “I’ve seen mudslides.”
“I don’t know how long I rode. I remember I was freezing and miserable and then I came into a clearing, right into the middle of this group of people. They all looked up at me and—” Em shook her head and blew out a breath, remembering the impact of that moment. “I’d never seen that kind of hatred before. I felt this . . . rush of cold fear, like I was going to faint. And, of course, I was wet and freezing, anyway.”
Fiona’s eyes were round. “It was the Lindley clan?” she asked breathlessly.
Em nodded.
“I would have fainted dead away,” Fiona swore.
“One of them asked what I wanted and . . . everything seemed to happen at once. I saw the girl who’d been to our house and she was crying. She was looking at me as she said something to an older man. Suddenly, I either fell or maybe I was pulled down because I ended up on the ground, surrounded by all these people.”
“Lord Almighty!”
“Then a man called out, ‘Give the child some room to breathe. She come to help.’ It was the older man the girl had been talking to. Now I know it was Xavier Lindley.”
“Oh, Lord! He is the scariest man alive!”
Em shrugged. She knew what people thought, but he’d never been anything but kind to her. “Then a woman asked me, ‘Did you come to help, girl?’ All I could do was nod. Then it was like something broke in her. Tears spilled down her face and she said, ‘Well, it’s too late. Poor little Bo got swept in a creek and drowned.’ And that’s when I saw him. People had shifted and I saw this little boy in his mother’s arms. The mother was crying. She looked right at me, so torn up with grief, and then I started crying. It was as if everything caught up to me all at once, the fear of being lost, and that mother’s pain, that beautiful little boy lying so still in her arms, the loss of my own father who’d just died. Everything. I started crying and I couldn’t stop.”
“Oh, Lord, Emmy Wright.”
Even now, it made Em want to cry. She swallowed hard and had to wait for the lump in her throat to subside. “They wrapped me in a blanket and took me back to their house.” As clear and sharp as some of her memory was of that day, there were parts where she only remembered disjointed bits and pieces. The main house of the Lindley compound was big and wide open, but the ceiling had seemed low. There were three or four hearths in the main room, and a fire burned in all of them. That was where the light came from—a flickering light that added to the strangeness of the moment. And there were dogs in the room, several of them. Her father had never allowed dogs in the house, so it had seemed bizarre to her.
At one point, Xavier took hold of her hand and remarked how cold it was. Then he’d rubbed both her hands to get the blood flowing. He’d said that amidst their dark sorrow, she’d been a beacon of light. Like an angel, he said. A little, wayward angel.
“Later,” Em continued, “one of the boys took me back down to Ben’s. My legs felt so weak, they put me on the horse in front of him and he led my horse behind.”
“Which one? Do you know?”
Em couldn’t respond for a moment. She tried never to think of Briar Lindley, much less speak of him. “Briar.”
Fiona gasped. “I will tell you what! The Lindleys are dark, dirty criminals, but Briar Lindley is nothing short of one of the handsomest men alive, even with that wild, black hair halfway down his back. So, what happened then? Did he really just drop you off and leave?”
Em nodded.
“Did he say anything?”
Em hesitated. “Not much. Not that I remember.” What she clearly recalled was that, midway down the big hill, he’d pressed a kiss to her temple, and said she really was an angel. That she’d be his angel.
“Was Ben mad?”
Em smiled sadly. “No. Not at all. He said he was proud of me. That it took real courage to follow my heart and do what I thought was the right thing. He was only upset because I could have gotten lost and died in the hills since I didn’t know my way.” Her smile dimmed. “Amy was a different story. I caused a rift between them because she wanted me to be punished and he wouldn’t allow it.”
“I guess you know about your uncle,” Fiona said reluctantly.
Em prickled with alarm. “Know what?”
“He had a fit of apoplexy. It left him so he can’t move or talk real good.”
Em felt her breath vacate her body. “When?”
“Oh, gosh. Seven or eight months ago, I guess? I’m sure he didn’t want to worry you.” She paused. “You really didn’t know?”
Em worked to hold back tears of shame. “No.”
“Emmett looks out for him.”
A surge of anger broke through the guilt. If Ben’s illness had come on seven or eight months ago, that was before her trip and subsequent imprisonment in Richmond. She could have returned home to care for him. She would have returned home. “What about Patience and Jimmy?”
“Patience got married. You know that.”
“Of course, but she’s only across the county.”
Fiona shrugged. “She never comes back to help that I know of. Not that I know everything.”
“And Jimmy?”
“Moved off to Roanoke. He did come back a few months ago, but then he was gone again. For good, I heard.”
Em was filled with a sudden, nervous energy. “I should go.”
“Sure, I understand. Go.”
“What do I owe you for—”
“Now, don’t go and insult me. Be off with yourself. Get to Ben.”
“Thank you for everything,” Em said as she stood.
“Now that you’re back, don’t be a stranger,” Fiona replied with a sheepish smile.
Em held out her hand and Fiona grasped it. “We’re not strangers anymore,” Em replied.
Chapter Five
It took nearly three hours for Em to make her way to the farm on foot, but she knew the way through wooded paths that shielded her from much of the sunlight and heat. The lightweight dress kept her relatively cool and she was grateful for it. She could have perhaps borrowed or leased a horse, but her funds were low and, knowing what she knew now, she and Ben might have need
of them. Besides, she hated asking favors and being obligated to people. How many times had Amy declared that she was too proud? Maybe it was true.
Amy had taken ill during the last year Em was home and died suddenly. The doctor said it was brain fever, although there was no fever to speak of. By the time she passed, Jimmy had left school and was helping on the farm, but he hated it. Something he rarely failed to mention. It didn’t surprise her that he’d moved to Roanoke, and she didn’t count it as a loss. In fact, good riddance, she thought bitterly. Patience, two years younger than Em, had left school and married a young man her mother had stridently disapproved of a short time after Amy’s passing. Good riddance to her, too.
When the house finally came into view, Em felt an onslaught of nerves. She’d written to Ben from college, but never from Richmond. Would he forgive her, especially given what he’d been through? He must have felt abandoned. The closer she got to the house, the more obvious the neglect became. Tall grass needed to be mowed, one of the barn doors was off its hinges and the cattle herd was nowhere in sight. The place looked abandoned. She’d begun to wonder if Ben was still there when the door squeaked open and he stepped out, moving awkwardly, as if he had a stiff leg. His hair had gone completely white and he looked thin and frail. Em stopped, shocked by his appearance. She studied his expression to determine how welcome she was, and her heart dropped when he appeared to grimace, but then she noticed his shoulders shaking and realized he was laughing. But the muscles of half of his face weren’t cooperating.
She ran the rest of the way to him and threw her arms around him. One of his arms returned the hug and he said something that might have been welcome home, but she wasn’t sure. She stepped back. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you know I was coming.”
He shook his head as if to say it didn’t matter, smiled his one-sided smile again and gestured her inside with his good, right hand.
She stepped inside and tried not to gawk at the state of the house. Ben pulled out a chair for her, and she sat. He went to get her a glass of water and she felt bad about acting the part of a guest, but hesitant not to. She accepted the glass and downed the water as he walked around and sat.
“Ha ou air,” Ben commented. Hot out there.
It was as if his mouth were full of something. The words were garbled but they were intelligible if she concentrated. And she would. They would get beyond this. His illness, her absence. She decided to own up to the truth, because she owed him that, no matter what embarrassment it cost her. “I need to tell you what happened to me.”
He nodded, his gaze searching.
“Last winter, I met someone, a man from Richmond who had come to Bridgewater on business.”
Ben nodded. “Ou wo me.” You wrote me.
“Yes. I don’t remember exactly what I told you then, but his name was Sonny Peterson. Is—” she corrected herself. She blushed and looked at the empty glass she held. “He was dashing and rich.” She got up to fetch more water, and not just because it was easier to say what she had to say without looking at him. “He was very charming,” she continued, keeping her back to Ben. “He showed me picture postcards of the most beautiful hotel . . . and then told me he owned it.” She drank and sought the right words. “I was impressed,” she admitted haltingly. “Oh, Ben, I thought I’d fallen in love and that he’d fallen in love with me.” She turned back around because she wasn’t going to hide from the truth. “I was so wrong. I was so wrong and so stupid.” Her chin trembled and her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked and wiped them away.
“Wha hapn?”
“He stayed in Bridgewater for a few weeks,” she replied thickly, “but then he had to go back. He owns The Virginia Palace.”
Ben cocked his head, his expression intense.
“We wrote and he visited twice more and every time, all the time, he talked of my going to visit Richmond. He said he couldn’t wait to show me around the city. And it seemed proper. He said his aunt would chaperone during my visit.” She set her glass aside and walked back to the table. “One day, a train ticket arrived along with a letter saying his aunt had come and would escort me to Richmond whenever I could make it.” She paused. “So I went. On February third.”
He tensed.
“For a day or so, everything was perfect, but then—” She shook her head. “In the blink of an eye, everything was different.” She clutched her hands together, knowing she had to finish. She had to say it. “He installed me in a room in the Palace and he kept me prisoner,” she said in a low voice, blushing hotly. “He and his despicable aunt. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere alone and I was locked in my room when one of them wasn’t with me.”
Ben shook his head slowly.
“I couldn’t write to you because I couldn’t risk his learning where home is,” she rushed on. “Besides, I knew you’d come for me, and I couldn’t let you. He’s so powerful, Ben, and so vicious. And I knew I’d get away eventually.”
“Ow ou ge way?”
“A few nights ago when we learned the President was shot—” She broke off because of the shock on Ben’s face. “You didn’t know?”
He shook his head.
“He’s still alive, or he was, last I heard, but the news provided a distraction. I slipped away and I’ve been running ever since. Straight back here.” Ben slid his good hand over and she met him halfway. “I’m so sorry, Ben,” she said, her eyes filling. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
“Nuh-uh-a.” None of that.
How little his spirit had changed, and her ears were already adjusting to his speech impediment. “I’m so glad to be home.”
He nodded in agreement. “Me, too.”
Chapter Six
A few days later, Em had a clear picture of what had happened during her absence. Because of the discovery of iron ore deposits, dozens of mining operations and a vast variety of other businesses had sprung up around Green Valley, and the county’s population had risen dramatically. She also understood how precarious Ben’s financial situation was.
He was nearly broke, having sold the cattle and some of the land to appease Jimmy. Ben had refused to sell the farm outright, but he had sold what he considered Jim’s inheritance, which he then handed over. Still, there was plenty of good land left, fertile land that could grow crops and support livestock. All they had to do was to figure out how to acquire the livestock and buy the seed and hire the necessary help, not to mention survive until the farm began paying for itself again. It was overwhelming to think about and, at the moment, they needed food and basic supplies, so that was what Em set her mind to. The rest they would figure out as they went along.
She hitched the wagon and started to town, and she hadn’t gone far when she noticed changes in the landscape. There was a split-rail fence that went on for a good mile before she finally passed the entrance to the Triple H Ranch. She’d been told Mr. Howerton’s ranch was close, but she hadn’t expected it to be as close as it was. She couldn’t see the main house from the road but the grounds were impressive. Mr. Howerton was the one who’d purchased land from Ben, and he wanted more. Ben suspected he wanted it all.
Em heard horses approaching. She stiffened as four riders, strangers, passed by, tipping their hats to her as they did. “Ma’am,” one said.
“Mornin’,” another muttered.
“You lost?” one asked in a slightly mocking tone.
She returned a simple, “Good morning,” and kept going. Only after she was sure that they were not following did she relax her posture and her fisted grip on the reins.
Mitchell Medlin licked his lips and blew out a breath. “Who was that?”
“Yeah,” Henry Joe Bluefield, known as Blue, said. “That was one fine filly.”
“I don’t know who she is,” Joe Harris replied. “Never seen her before.”
“Let’s go, gentlemen,” Sam Blake, the foreman, called. “We haven’t got all day.”
Curtis Dugan looked at the list, then narrowed his ey
es at Em. “I cain’t give ya’ll nothin’ else on credit. Your uncle ain’t paid what he owes already. You need to settle up, first.”
Ben had warned her about Dugan. He’d taken over the general store from his father and he didn’t give much credit. She already detested the slight, sharp-featured man because of the way he’d treated Ben. “I’m not asking for credit,” she replied, keeping her voice level and her face expressionless. “I can pay for what we need now and we will get the rest paid.” You skunky little son of a bitch.
He folded his arms. “Like I said, you need to settle your account.”
“I heard you and I understand, but I can’t do that today.”
“Not my problem, sis.”
“Are you saying you won’t sell me what we need today?”
He shrugged. “Saying you need to settle up.”
“Well, since I can’t do that at the moment, I suppose I’ll just have to make a trip into Lexington to get what we need.” Before Dugan could reply, Em turned and looked around at the others in the store. “I’m going into Lexington, so if anyone wants me to get something while I’m there, just let me know.” She turned back to face Dugan. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go ask around before I head out.”
Dugan’s face twitched with dislike. “You didn’t fit in around here before and you don’t now, neither.”
A middle-aged woman tapped Em on the shoulder. “Miss, would you mind getting me some—”
“Fine!” Dugan exclaimed. He glared at Em. “You can get what you need for today, but you pay for it. And you better get that bill paid off soon.”
Em was careful not to let the relief show on her face. They needed the supplies, and she didn’t have time to go into Lexington. “You have my list,” she reminded him.
Dugan was seething as he went to fill the order.
Em turned back to explain herself to the woman, but the conspiratorial wink she received was so unexpected, she almost laughed out loud. Not many people in this town had accepted her before, so the show of support was a delight.
