"You are a horrible man!" Kathy told him, her face flushed with both anger and fear.
"Maybe," Gallagher said, wearing a sadistic grin, "but you'll get used to me, once you've no other choice. Once it's just us two."
Kathy had taken hold of the rope and was wrapping it around her waist, when the back door opened, and Miranda peered out. She seemed groggy and unsteady. Immediately, the young girl called out a warning, "Get inside, Miranda! Get inside and bolt the door!"
Gallagher raised his shotgun, and pointed it in the general direction of the door, saying, "She shouldn't have done that... call out to you. Still, you should probably do as she says."
But when Miranda still stood in the partially opened doorway, looking confused, he shouldered the gun, and warned her again, "Get inside, now! And no one will get hurt."
Miranda turned, as if to do as he said. But when she turned, her left side was exposed. So, when she appeared to have stopped moving, Gallagher cried out, "Go on. I'd hate to have to hurt you."
"Please, Miranda," Kathy shrieked, "Do as he says. He won't hurt either Jacob or me if you just do as he says."
"All... all right," the older woman called from the kitchen door.
Gallagher believed she was doing as he said. Until she lunged into the house, reappearing in the doorway with a weapon of her own—a rifle, cocked and ready.
Without waiting to take aim, Gallagher fired the shotgun, splattering her exposed, left side with bird shot.
And, even as she flinched, she raised the rifle and took her own shot. Gallagher collapsed to the ground, blood spreading across his chest.
*****
Kathy yanked off the rope, grabbed Jacob, still in the laundry basket, and hurried to Miranda, where she now stood, leaning on a post, near the edge of the porch.
"Miss," Kathy called to her, "are you all right?"
"Yes," Miranda answered, "I think so." She looked down at her side where tiny burns and holes speckled her dress. She looked around, and then asked, "Where's Jake?"
"He's lying just outside the barn, on the other side of the wagon. Gallagher knocked him out, somehow."
"We need to get him into the wagon and then to town."
"Well," she finished with, "the horse is already harnessed to our wagon. But I don't see how we can get him into the back. You're hurt."
"I'm all right. Now, where's Jacob?"
"He's here, in the laundry basket."
"Is he all right?"
"Yes. Yes, Miranda, he's fine."
"Take him and the basket and place it in our wagon," Miranda instructed the girl, as she stepped from the porch, wincing and holding her side.
"Miranda, please, you're hurt. Let me drive into town and bring help."
"No! I'm all right. Just get the basket into the back of our wagon."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Kathy, please, don't ma'am me. I'm your friend. I'd be more, if I thought you and Lynn would let me."
The girl did as she'd been asked, shoving the laundry basket still holding Jacob and diapers, into the back of their wagon.
"Kathy, grab several of those diapers for me, please.” Once that was done, Miranda made her way across the yard to the back of their wagon.
She accepted the diapers from Kathy, and as she stuffed them inside the bodice of her dress and down her left sleeve, she said, "We need to get Jake into the wagon bed. You jump up into the wagon, and when I get Jake to the back, I need you to pull him up and in. Understand?"
"Yes, of course, I do," Kathy acknowledged. "But, you're hurt. I don't think it's a good idea for you to try to lift him up."
"We have no choice, Kathy. Now, please. Just do as I ask. I'm pretty sure if we get him into the wagon and on our way, I'll be able to drive into town. Please, dear. We need to hurry. I've no idea whether I've killed Gallagher. If he comes to, he'll be in pain and madder than a wet hen. And, he still has another barrel to shoot at us."
*****
Kathy did as she was bid. She tried to take most of Jake's weight, as she dragged him up into the back of the wagon, as gently as possible. She could see that Miranda was more injured than she was admitting. So, she did as much as she could, as quickly as she could, to keep Miranda's anxiety, pain, and frustration at bay.
Because, as much as she wished Miranda would go back into the house and stay there, she realized that both Jake and Miranda needed medical attention as quickly as possible.
Working together, she and Miranda lifted Jake's still body up and balanced against the back of the wagon. Then she climbed up into the wagon bed and dragged Jake up trying to let Miranda do as little as possible.
Meanwhile, the injured woman scrambled up and readied herself to drive them. A moment later, Kathy was beside her and after a brief look at Jake, still lying motionless, they were off.
However, Kathy did her best to keep a hold of Miranda, just in case she started to fall off the bench.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Miranda struggled down from the wagon seat and fought her way up the church steps. She was reaching for the door handle when the door flew open, nearly causing her to topple back. Gus, who had burst through the door, lunged forward to catch her before she landed in the street.
He pulled her into the church as she slumped against him. The old, faded, calico housedress she wore was covered in dust, and splattered with blood.
Miranda drew in several deep breaths, before she blurted out, "Victoria, Jake is outside, in the back of my wagon, unconscious. The side of his head is crushed in. I'm not sure what happened, but it looks as if he was struck by the butt of Gallagher's shotgun."
Neil and the doctor jumped up in unison and rushed outside, passing three people standing in the doorway. Kathy stood just inside the door, on Miranda's other side, clutching baby Jacob to her breast. She, too, was gritty and splattered in blood.
The scene compelled the rest of the congregation to remain frozen where they were, looking stunned. And, the absolute silence was eerie.
Miranda was about to scan the church pews for the sheriff, but, he'd already gotten up and was headed toward them. She said, "Frank, Sean Gallagher is lying in my yard."
"What? What happened?" the sheriff asked, as he jumped up and headed towards the doorway.
"I shot him," she stated flatly. Then she added, "And, while I wouldn't swear to it, I think he's dead.
"But, Jake was alive, so I decided he needed attention more than checking on that worm Gallagher."
Suddenly, Reverend Wright, rousing himself from his stupor, spoke up. "How dare you? You burst in here, covered in filth, with that... that... hussy and her brat in tow. And, if that wasn't enough to disturb our worship service, you callously announce you've shot a man and left him dead or dying. Have you no sense of decency?"
Miranda sucked in a deep breath, turned to face him directly, her face almost purple with rage, and cried out, "Decency? Decency! What do you know of decency?"
"How dare you question me at all? And you dare to question me, here, in my own church?"
"Your church? This church is not your personal property. You make it sound as if you are the king and we are all your serfs."
Wright looked as if he was about to protest, but Miranda didn't give him a chance. "As for decency, you have none. You have no decency and no conscious. You are completely unaware of anything beyond what you and your wife wish. The two of you are both without principles or ethics!"
Wright screamed out, "You question my ethics?"
"Ethics! You have no ethics," she repeated. She took a deep breath and winced, before she continued, "unless you are under the delusion that your vicious gossip and slander is ethical."
At this, Mrs. Wright rose from her seat of honor in the front pew and fuming, she cried out, "How dare you speak to my husband that way. You... you Jezebel. You whoremonger... you... whorehouse madam!"
Now Meg jumped up, and in protest, said, "Really? Whoremonger? Indeed! Who are you to cast stones?
; "Allow me to remind you Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, by choice, I might add. And, our Lord forgave her. Yet, you and your husband forgive no one! Not even kidnapped and drugged children!"
Mrs. Wright looked as if she wanted to respond, but nothing understandable came from her mouth. In fact, the only sounds emerging from her were a series of rude sounding splutters reminding Miranda of the sound a fish made when tossed on the ground.
Meg didn't wait for her to regain her voice. She headed for the door, tugging at Miranda's arm gently, and saying, "I think you need to come with me."
"No, I'm staying here," Miranda proclaimed. "I still have some things I want to say. Quite a number of things, in fact."
"But, you're bleeding," Meg said, in a soft voice, as she stared at her friend's hand, now sticky with blood.
Wearing a look of confusion, Miranda stared down at a myriad of bright red spots blossoming across the left side of her skirt at her hip, as well as on the left side of her bodice and sleeve. It also trickled from her cuff and dripped out onto the floor. But she didn't move.
"Please, Miranda," Meg pleaded.
"No! Not until I've finished saying what I need to."
"But—"
"I need to get this off my chest, in case I die."
"Victoria isn't going to let you die!" Meg insisted. But when it was evident Miranda wasn't giving up, she and Kit gathered Lynn and Margaret Rose and left, taking Kathy and Jacob along with them.
Miranda took another deep gulp of air and tried to focus on what she needed to say. She could see Meg moving and knew she'd better get finished before they were able to return with reinforcements, who would physically drag her away.
She stood very still, thinking for a moment, as if her encounter with Meg had caused her to lose her train of thought. But after a minute, she started on her tirade again, right where she'd left off. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes... you," glaring at Wright, "have no ethics. And, to prove it to all of these people, I'm going to tell them just exactly what you did."
"What did I do?" Wright growled.
"You decided, without knowing anything about the man, to turn little Jacob over to Sean Gallagher. Did you speak to Gallagher's wife? Did you ask anyone in town about him? Did you find out if he was even able to support another child, assuming he was intending to support them?"
When he remained mute, Miranda tried again. "Did you?"
"Well... ah... no. Not exactly. Actually, it was he who approached us about adopting the child."
"But, you told me that day you came to take Jacob that you'd worked so hard to find a family willing to take him."
"Well... I... might have misspoken. But the gist is that he was willing to take the child in. And, of course, Mrs. Wright and I decided that that would be the best thing for the boy."
Miranda scanned the congregation before asking them, "Did you all hear that? He and that shre—" She paused to regroup, then softening her voice and modifying her words began again, "That woman he's married to decided what the best thing was for someone else's child."
She caught the eyes of several of the mothers in the congregation and asked, "How would you feel if they decided to take any of your children from you? How would you feel if they made any arbitrary decisions about your children? Especially, about who should raise them and how?"
A low murmur rumbled throughout the sanctuary. Miranda clutched the back of the last pew until the knuckles of her hand went white. But she smiled, as she continued, "Then, please, Reverend Wright, tell us what you based this decision of yours on."
"I told you, the man told us of his infant son, of how the child had died and how much the mother grieved. He, himself, was clearly heartbroken. We were doing a charitable act."
"Charitable act! A charitable act? A man like that just tells you a fairytale and you lap it all up."
"What are you talking about? Are you saying he didn't lose a son earlier in the year?"
"No, his infant son died."
"Ah hah!" Wright said, gleefully. "So, what are you saying? That his wife isn't grieving?"
"No. Of course, she grieved over her baby's death. She's still grieving over the child's death. However, Gallagher has never taken good care of any of his nine surviving children. In fact, he's never made the slightest attempt to take care of them. You see, they're girls. And, he's never seen the good of having girls.
"Although, he does seem to enjoy making children, whether girls or boys."
Mrs. Wright huffed, but Miranda ignored her, squinted at the man and ended with, "Apparently, he's very fond of doing that!"
"This is the house of the Lord!" Mrs. Wright screamed, evidentially having remembered how to form actual words again. "How dare you say such blasphemous things in here!"
"Oh hush!" Miranda told the woman. Then, after another moment, she asked, "Did either of you ever ask yourselves why he was so fixed on obtaining Kathy's child? Hmm?"
After an eerie silence, she went on. "No answer? I didn't think so. If you had, it might have made even you two cringe. It was because Sean Gallagher has never done anything in the way of supporting his wife and girls. And, that means working his farm, or providing money for food and clothing for them.
"No. Sean Gallagher was a drinker, a gambler, and a carouser. When Harding opened his establishment, he added professional philanderer to his list of vices."
At this, even Mrs. Wright had the decency to gasp. But, she didn't stop Miranda, who continued, "Yes, and from Mr. Lee's ledger, we know that Gallagher was one of his most constant patrons. And, the girl of his choice was Kathy.
"A girl of seventeen. A girl the same age or younger than his oldest three girls. What do you think about a man like that?
"Come, Mrs. Wright. You must have an opinion about such a man. After all, you have opinions about everything and everyone else."
When the minister's wife remained silent, Miranda cried out, "Well? What do you think of it? Don't tell me you've finally learned to keep your mouth closed, and your very pointed nose out of things that don't concern you." She shook her head in disgust at them and then turned to the congregation.
"As I said several weeks ago, I've known most of you for as long as I can remember. I love this town, as well as, all of you. In fact, even after your actions of late, I still love the town and you all. And, in the last few months, it's been very difficult. Because I don't know who you all are anymore. I don't recognize the people of this town.
"A man arrives in town, wearing a rusty black suit and a string tie, saying he's a man of God, and you just accept it. Not that I would have expected any of you to question such a man.
"And, once he arrived... even after he spoke so harshly of this town and its people—which are you all—by the way, did any of you ask to see his credentials? Or marriage certificate? Or references from his last congregation? Of course not.
"But, then you didn't ask when he and his wife talked about others. Spreading rumors about people you, too, have known most of your lives. I watched, as you did nothing.
"You knew the truth of what happened here last winter. You knew how those girls were lured here with lies, snatched from the train station, kept drugged, and made to service unscrupulous men. You knew that none of them asked for anything that happened to them.
"Do you know I heard he told someone, although I can't think who, that the girls should have died, as their sisters had?"
When the group remained both silent and stunned, she continued, "No, I thought not.
"You ignored the facts, choosing instead to not only listen to, but believe the slanders and accusations made by them." She said this with such contempt, she was sure no one could miss her anger.
"Why? Was it because they spoke the truth? Or, because you believed them? Even I don't think that.
"No, it was because you were afraid. Afraid you might be the subject of the next accusation. Afraid of what they might say about you. Afraid that whatever mud they flung at you might stick."
She hea
rd the doors open behind her, so she held on to the back of the pew even tighter and went on. "You truly were his flock, weren't you? You all were his flock of mindless sheep."
Gus and Neil were trying to pry her from her place. She turned and glared at them until they stepped back. Then she scanned the entire congregation over again and said, "As I've said, I've known most of you all my life. But, I swear in front of you all, and God as well, if you ever do anything to wound my girls, you'll live to regret it!
"Kathy and Lynn, and their babies, will be just as much valued members of this town as any of you are, or ever hope to be. And, you will not only accept them, but you will welcome them into the bosom of this community with open arms.
"Did you all hear that last? You will welcome them with open arms! And that includes attending church, being involved with community projects, attending school, and working, should they choose, wherever they choose.
"It even includes your unquestioning acceptance of them, should they become friends, or involved romantically with any of your children."
She felt herself becoming weaker. She knew she was losing her grip on the pew, so she hurriedly finished, asking, "Are we all clear on what I've said?"
"Are we?" she screamed, right before she slipped to the floor in a crumpled heap.
She felt Gus pick her up. Saw Neil hold the door open for them. But, as they left, and she felt herself slip closer to unconsciousness, she heard the congregation come to life.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Victoria had already looked at Jake. And, while she'd been examining him, Neil brought the bedstead and mattress from upstairs for Jake so that she could keep an eye on him.
With Jake taken care of, Victoria was prepared to deal with Miranda's injuries as soon as Gus laid her on the table in the main room of the surgery. Kit began cutting her clothes off, starting with the left sleeve of her dress, which was where the most bleeding appeared to be, while Victoria checked on Jake.
After Kit cut away Miranda's clothing, to reveal her arm, Victoria dipped a clean cloth in hot water and wrung it out. She was ready to clean off the blood, so she could assess the damage. She turned around when Kit groaned. Miranda's upper arm was peppered with shotgun pellets reminding the doctor of chopped meat.
Miranda Takes a Stand Page 24
