by Amy Field
“I would love to see it. I think right now though I need to clean this up and get Missy dressed,” she looked down at her own soiled clothes. “Maybe change myself too,” she laughed.
“Ok. I will leave you two to it then,” he was chuckling as he turned and shut the door behind him, making his way back to the work he was in the middle of doing.
Missy’s hands would stop touching her hair later on as the braids hung to the middle of her back. After her Pa had told her how pretty it was, Faith agreed that she would teach her how to do it herself. Missy seemed to get closer to her then and even wanted to learn how to cook. It was that way for the next few days. Faith would help Missy with the animals and then Missy would help her with the cooking. The following week Sam and Rosie came back and told them that her family would be coming in that following week for the wedding. Everything needed to be planned. It was that day after pulling out the fabric that she saw Missy eyeing the blue material Rosie had bought her. Her hand lovingly caressed it when she thought nobody was looking.
“Missy, why don’t you go out and play. I need to talk to Rosie about something.”
“Ok. I thought I saw some new tadpoles at the river I wanted to catch,” she rushed out of the room to go catch the baby frogs.
As she left Faith turned to Rosie, “I want to make Missy a dress. She keeps looking at that blue material. I know you bought the material to make me a dress I just thought…” her voice trailed off. She looked up when she felt Rosie’s hand on hers.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. If you can get that little girl to wear a dress I will kiss you,” she laughed. Faith decided then that it was a challenge she would win.
7
The Fire
Faith laid in bed when she heard the loud neigh from the horse. Thinking nothing of it, she turned over onto her other side and faced the opposite wall. After a few more times she decided to find out what was going on. She pulled on a robe and came out of the room and almost ran into Elijah. He stood there in only his trousers.
“Did you hear it too?” At her nod, he began to make his way to the door just as Sam and Rosie came from the room down the hall. Missy ran out of her room and made her way to the window.
“A fire, Pa. The barn!” the little voice was full of fear as she turned back to look at all of them. Just like that they all started working. The women ran to the pump to get water as the men tried to make their way inside to grab the horses. Missy opened the fences and let the other animals out and into the corral. They all worked together, and when the animals were secure, the men started taking over hauling the water. Faith wanted to cry when she felt the first rain drop. In a matter of minutes, the rain started, and she felt herself slump down in the grass next to Rosie and Missy. After a few minutes, she stood and let the rain wash away the soot and ashes from the fire.
“Come on. Let’s get inside and get some rest. The animals are taken care of for the time being, and we can’t see the damage tonight anyway. We will have to wait until daylight,” Sam said quietly as he patted his nephew's back.
“What a terrible accident,” Rosie sad with sadness in her voice.
“I’m afraid this was no accident, aunt Rosie,” Elijah’s voice was angry as he spoke.
“You saw him too,” Sam’s words were more of a statement and not a question.
Elijah nodded, “I think I will be taking the couch until we can go see the sheriff tomorrow.”
The next morning Sam decided to stay back at the ranch with Missy and Rosie. He said he didn’t’ feel right leaving it abandoned after what had happened. Agreeing Elijah asked Faith to join him into going into town. She readily agreed knowing there were some things she needed to get for the wedding anyway. She wanted some lace and such for the gown she had decided to make for Missy. She also wanted to make her a little bonnet to match and would need the thread for it.
Elijah dropped her off at the general store and then walked on to the sheriff’s office.
“Hello sheriff,” he said as he made his way to the porch where the sheriff sat.
“Why, hello Elijah. What can I do for you?”
“Well there was a fire last night at my place,” Elijah could tell by the look on the sheriff’s face that he was not surprised by the news.
“I am sorry to hear that Elijah. We knew it had to be either you or Sutherland by the way the smoke rolled up. It was still smoking a little early this morning. Unfortunately, we have had to keep an eye out for them here late. Come inside with me for a minute. I want to show you something,” he waved his hand forward as he rose from the chair.
The sheriff was a pleasant man who was nice to everyone. Even the common drunk in town he would feed and after a night’s rest in jail, he would release them. He was a little shorter than Elijah was and hid the little bit of hair he had left with a big cowboy hat. Elijah didn’t remember ever seeing him without it on. His belly was rounded from the free meals from Ms. Bakers restaurant in town. Elijah followed behind him into the small office he had there. The room was only big enough for a small desk and two holding cells. There was a small hallway on one side that led to a heavily locked cell. It was for the more dangerous criminals, not the occasional drunk. It was a cell that the sheriff was glad he never had to use.
Sheriff Barker stood in front of the wall and pointed. There was a huge map of the area and surrounding states. On it were numerous red dots. He looked on and shook his head as he turned to the sheriff. “What’s this,” his voice held his confusion.
“This is all the fires. It seems that our culprit sets these fires so that he can go inside the houses and raid them. The fires are to keep folks busy so he won’t be disturbed. He always seems to do it at night too. Do you know of anything missing in your house?”
“I don’t think we really looked,” his eyes were wide as he answered the sheriff.
“Alright. We have men staked out everywhere watching. I also have some detectives coming to help out too. We need to stop this man,” He pulled a toothpick out of the little cup on his desk and started to chew on it slowly and thoughtfully as he looked at the map. “No pattern either. That’s what makes it hard. Don’t know where he will be going next,” he lifted the red dabber and put another mark on the map, where Elijah’s ranch stood on the map. “I’ll let you know when I hear something. Until then you keep that youngin’ of yours close to the house and that new woman you’ll be marrying,” he gave him a stare that said he didn’t want any arguing. Elijah agreed as he nodded and made his way from the sheriff’s office.
When they got home, he told everyone what the sheriff had said, and they all agreed to stay close. Now they could only wait and hope that the sheriff found the man.
8
The Surprise
Faith stood next to Elijah and the others and felt her heart drop at the sight in front of them. The barn was completely gone. There was nothing left but ashes on the ground. They were lucky however that they were able to get all the animals out, and nothing had perished.
“I think I want to rebuild out away from the house more,” Elijah’s voice sunk in through her musings. She looked up at him then.
“I think that would be a good boy. We mine as well start clearing this out, though,” Sam looked over at his nephew who nodded at him.
“You know with the grass burned up, if we could clear away all the rubble, then we could plant there. No weeds. Pa used to burn the fields sometimes at the end of the year so no weeds would grow back,” Faith looked from one man to the other.
“You know, you are right Faith. You are smart I have to say,” Sam laughed and then the five of them began to clear out the leftover pieces of the burnt barn. It was sometime later when they all sat down inside for supper that Faith stated her fears.
“The barn was where the wedding was to be. I think it may be a while before we can marry now,” she looked up at the man across from her with saddened eyes.
“We will marry, Faith. Don’t worry,” he gave her a
reassuring smile which she returned.
The next morning, she woke to see that Sam and Rosie left. It was a few hours later while she was helping Missy with her pie crust that she heard the noise. Walking through the front door, she saw multiple different buggies pulling up to their home. She saw Rosie smile at her then as she made her way from the house.
“We decided that ya’ll shouldn’t have to wait to get married,” Rosie smiled at her.
“Yep and these folks agreed with us,” Sam jumped down from the buggy and then helped Rosie down. Suddenly there at least twenty men and sons standing around and starting to pull supplies from the wagons. They made their way over to a startled Elijah, who had begun the frame for the barn. He looked up at her and returned her smile.
That day was spent with friends as the barn was rebuilt. She looked around at the 8 women in her kitchen.
“Now Faith Rosie here tells us about your pie. You will just have to show us how you do it,” one woman looked at her with a smile.
“I don’t think I can. You see Jonesy shared that recipe with me and me alone. Said he would have taken it to the grave if I hadn’t come along. He will be here in a couple days’ ladies and that one he will have to show you because if I did I don’t think he would ever forgive me,” she laughed.
“How about those things that Rosie said you make that are flat, and you put honey on them?” another asked.
“Ah, my flapjacks. Now that I can show you. I have to say that my family all love them, but I think Missy loves them more than anyone,” she looked over at the little girl whose eyes were wide as she nodded with a smile.
“They are beyond good,” everyone laughed at the little girl’s enthusiasm.
Faith made more friends that day then she ever had, and she was even more excited when they started making plans of seeing each other again. She made notes of all the baking events in town and agreed that she would supply the pies at the events from then on. She sat outside some time later in the grass on blanket with the other women and men of the town. Some she learned drove for a couple of hours to help. Apparently, Sam and Rosie had gone into town, and the people there had sent out riders to gather folks to help rebuild the barn. What Faith had expected to be a little ceremony looked now to be a huge wedding after everyone agreed to come. By the end of the day, she was surprised to see the new barn up and ready to use. The men had worked hard and they had even decided to paint it a bright red in color. The animals were soon in their new stalls and Missy was excited to see that the younger men had built a brand new chicken house too. This one was much bigger that she could walk in and didn’t have to stoop low at the door. The day was a success and Faith was sad to see everyone tart to head home. She knew, however, that she would see them soon for her wedding.
9
Caught Red Handed
Faith looked over at the pie on the counter. She saw Missy watching it and knew that the little girl was dying for a piece.
“Can’t I just have a tiny little bit from the crust? That’s the best part,” she cried with a frown. She knew what the answer was going to be already. Faith didn’t have to say a word. She just looked over at the little girl and almost laughed at the desolate look on her face. Just then there was a noise outside which she knew must be a rider. She made her way to the door and looked out. She smiled when she saw the sheriff making his way towards them.
“Hello Sheriff,” she said with a smile as he came to the house and dismounted. Missy dutifully came to get the reins and escorted the horse to the barn where Elijah was coming out of. “Would you like some coffee?”
“That would be great ma’am. Thank you,” she was surprised to see him remove his hat when he walked through the door. She knew it was a sign of respect but she had heard he never removed it. She smiled at the startled look on Elijah’s face when he saw that the sheriff actually had a full head of hair that he hid under his hat. He must trim it himself because nobody had ever seen him at the barbers. One of the reasons they although he was bald.
“How can we help you, sheriff?” Elijah asked as he accepted the cup of coffee from Faith.
When all three were sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee the sheriff started talking.
“I came to give you the good news. We caught the man responsible for the fires. At least one of the boys did,” he said with pride in his eyes.
“That’s great. Do you know him?” Elijah asked.
“Nope. Outsider. Seems that he was already working on his next victim. He confirmed he wasn’t able to get into your house quick enough cause of the rain. So there shouldn’t be nothin’ missing. Seems that since I warned everyone and put up guards that some of the folks out on the ranches set up their own defences. They started putting up guards to watch between the homes and on the home fronts. Joshua, one of Christopher’s boys caught the man trying to set a fire to their barn. He was caught red-handed,” he said in a huff.
“I’m glad he was caught, sheriff. Thank you. I know we will feel better tonight about going to sleep now,” Faith smiled at him kindly.
He nodded as he continued, “Well I better finish making my rounds. I’m trying to get together everyone that was a victim to his crime two days from now in town. The detectives will be here then, and they want to have statements from all of ya’ll,” he looked from Faith to Elijah.
“We’ll be there sheriff,” Elijah acknowledged.
“Alright then. You folks have a good evening,” he said as he placed the big hat back on his head.
“You too sheriff. Thank you for coming by,” Elijah said with a smile.
They stood on the porch together and watched the sheriff ride off again. Missy hadn’t even got the horse brushed down when they were done. Shrugging her shoulders, she had gotten the horse ready without a word then.
Elijah turned and looked at Faith with a smile, “It seems that everything is coming together for the wedding. Your folks will be here tomorrow,” he said softly.
“Yes, I am so excited. I know Missy and Grace will get into much mischief together. Although Grace is but 16, she can be a small child sometimes and she will have Missy doing all sorts of things. My sister Ruby will be thrilled to see the number of animals we have here too. And my sister just had the baby. I can’t wait to see him. He is the first boy born into our family. It seems from the letter I received that y father hasn’t let him out of his sight yet. Except for bed,” she laughed.
“I am glad to see you happy,” he said.
“I am very happy,” she smiled back at him before he nodded then made his way back to the barn. She saw Missy watching them then and saw the mixed emotions on her face. She wished that she could make it easier on the little girl. It must be crazy the way that things were going. For the first time, there was a woman in the home, and she didn’t want Missy to feel pushed out. She wanted her to feel loved and cherished like she was.
10
The Wedding
Faith looked at Elijah with wide eyes, “This is for me?”
“Of course. I thought that with Missy taking the other one, that you needed to have one as well. So I used some of the wood the men brought and made it for you. It is my wedding present to you,” he said with a smile.
“Oh Elijah it is beautiful. Thank you,” tears welled into her eyes as she looked at the wooden vanity. It was a little larger than the other one and had four drawers instead of two. The mirror on it was a huge square instead of a round oval and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. “I have to show Missy,” she looked around then but didn’t see the little girl anymore.
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. I am sure she will be back soon,” he said and made his way from the bedroom. Missy had helped to get her from the house so that him and Sam could move the vanity into the bedroom. Now she was gone. Looking out the window, she saw the little girl walking away from the house. Her head was hung down and her shoulders slumped. Something wasn’t right. Placing the towel down on the
counter Faith made her way outside to follow the little girl.
Missy sat on the hill looking up at the sky. Faith didn’t mean to intrude, but she couldn’t leave as she heard the little girl’s words. Her heart filled with love and pride as her eyes filled with tears.
“Momma I know we didn’t get to know each other. I’m sorry bout’ that. I wish we could have. Pa says you were a real nice lady and that I look like you. I know that is not gonna happen now, me meeting you. I came to talk to you about Ms. Faith. She’s really nice Ma and she done my hair and everything. Pa says that she is gonna be my Ma now. I hope that doesn’t make you sad but Pa says that you would be happy that I have a Ma to look after me now. He says that you would have liked Faith. He says that you would want me to be happy. I am happy Ma. I hope he’s right,” she turned then to see Faith standing there. “What’s gonna happen when you have a baby?”
Faith made her way over to sit next to the little girl and cocked her head to the side, “What do you mean? You will have a brother or sister then,” she said softly, as she sniffed to get rid of the tears.
“So you won’t send me away?” the fear was apparent in her eyes.
“Oh lordy no, Missy. I would miss you too much,” she said with a frown.
“You would?”
“Of course I would,” she nodded.
“Can I call you Ma?”
“I think I would like that very much,” she smiled. “Actually, I have something for you at the house. You want to see what it is?”
The little girl’s face brightened then as she stood a with a smile. Looking upwards she blew a kiss to the heavens, “Bye Ma. I gotta go with Ma to… that sounds a little funny,” she said with a laugh as she looked at Faith. “Oh well,” she grabbed Faith’s hand and started to pull her towards the house.
