She carried the satchel downstairs and hid it in the back of a closet near the front door. Then she prepared to wait out the day and see what it brought. She ate very little, unable to swallow very much. She felt like vomiting and couldn’t make the sensation ease. What was she doing? She was getting ready to run for her life, and she didn’t know if she was up to the challenge.
The evening hours were drawing closer, and still, no help had come. She would have to figure this out for herself. There was an outbuilding on the property that no one used—it had a hayloft, and she could climb up there and bury herself in the hay until morning. Then she could decide where to go next. Again, the idea of a hotel occurred, but again, she dismissed it. Alex would probably look for her there first.
She gathered up her satchel and crept toward the back door. The outbuilding it was, then, and the cellar was still an option.
Just then, she heard the crunching of shoes on the walk outside, and she nearly collapsed. She edged toward the back door, then pushed herself behind a curtain just as the housemaid opened the front door.
“My name is Sidney Atwell. I demand to see my daughter.”
“Father,” Meredith whispered, taking two shaking steps from behind the curtain before she collapsed on the floor. Before she knew it, she was gathered up in his strong arms, and Jesse was there too, and some strange man she’d never seen in her life, but it was all right because her father was there and he was going to make everything all right.
“What are you doing here?”
But then everything wasn’t all right because Alex was home, and he was holding an ax, just like he’d promised.
“I’ve come to take Meredith home,” Sidney said, his voice level as he turned to face Alex. Meredith was sitting upright now, but she was still on the floor, unable to stand.
“You have no right to take her,” Alex said. “She’s my wife now.”
“And she’s my daughter, and that’s something you can never change.” Sidney took one step forward. “We’ll be going now, Mr. Bingham, and wish you a good day.”
“What’s going on?”
Meredith heard Grandmother Bingham’s voice from upstairs and realized that the commotion must have woken her from her afternoon nap. Oh, she wished the woman had stayed in her room.
“These men seem to think they’re taking Meredith, Grandmother,” Alex replied, bringing his ax in front of him and holding it in a ready position. “I don’t intend to let them do that.”
“Oh, Alex. Why don’t you let her go home with her family?” Grandmother said, her voice pleading. “At least I assume that’s who they are from the way they’re protecting her.”
Alex shook his head as though trying to remain very calm. “They can’t do that because she’s no longer an Atwell. She’s a Bingham, and she belongs here.”
“Well, I’m a Bingham, and I certainly would never have treated her this way. I think it’s time you understood just exactly what our family name means.”
Meredith couldn’t believe that her gentle, kind grandmother-in-law was standing up for her so fiercely. She was proud of her for it, but scared for her too.
“Grandmother, this is between me and Meredith. I suggest you leave it be.”
“No, it’s between you and me.” Sidney took another step and planted his feet. Jesse remained by Meredith’s side, but he didn’t look one bit less menacing than his father. “My daughter asked me to come, and I came. Simple as that.”
“She sent for you?” Alex’s eyes flicked over to Meredith. “You went whining to your papa? Couldn’t handle married life anymore and decided it was time to go running back to hide behind your mother’s skirts?”
“That’s enough,” Jesse said. “It’s time to step aside. We’re leaving now.”
“No, I don’t think you are.” Alex lifted the ax. “If you try . . .”
Jesse bent down and slid his arm under Meredith’s. “Can you stand?”
“I’ll try. Just watch the ribs.”
He froze. “Your ribs? What’s the matter with your ribs?”
“Um . . .”
Jesse’s face went red. “He’d better not have done any such thing.”
“Well . . .”
Jesse turned and charged toward the door.
“Jesse! No!” Meredith screamed.
Just as Jesse reached Alex, Alex brought his ax forward with a swing of his arms. Meredith closed her eyes and ducked away, unable to look, unable to stomach even the idea.
But a shot rang out, and then she heard a thud.
She looked up.
Alex lay on the floor, bleeding.
The stranger who had come with her father stood there holding a pistol.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Sidney said, turning toward the staircase where Grandmother Bingham clutched the railing. “This is Deputy Sheriff Smith. We thought it best if we brought the law with us.”
The deputy touched the brim of his hat. “I believe this young man is dead,” he said. “I wish it hadn’t been necessary.”
“No, no,” Grandmother Bingham said, her voice faint. “I . . . understand.”
Meredith sagged against the wall, all her strength gone.
Chapter Seventeen
Meredith stared out the window of the train as the scenery rolled past, not speaking, not even blinking except for when it was necessary. The last day had been a blur. The deputy had reprimanded Jesse for going after Alex, but then recanted what he said and praised him. The sheriff had listened to statements from everyone involved, including Grandmother Bingham, who corroborated Meredith’s story even though it must have cost her dearly. Then she was sent to rest under the care of Dr. Wayment, who had also looked at Meredith’s ribs and said one was broken.
Grandmother had insisted that Meredith take every single thing Alex had given her down to the jewelry, but Meredith had resisted until Grandmother pointed out that she could sell it and use the money to create a new life for herself. Only then did Meredith agree, and so six trunks were sent off to the train station with her name on them.
Grandfather Bingham had met her at the door as she left the house for the last time. He didn’t say a single word to her, but he took her hand, squeezed it, and sobbed. She couldn’t imagine the pain he and his wife were enduring. It must be the most aching, devastating thing in the world, tearing them apart just as surely as the deaths of Alex’s parents.
Now Meredith was on her way back to Salina with absolutely no idea what her future held for her.
Sidney moved from his seat across the aisle and sat next to her. He’d been good to give her space for the first hour of the journey, but now it was time to talk, she supposed.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t arrive until we did, daughter,” he said, his voice gruff. “Jesse and I headed to the train station as soon as I got your telegram, but we had to wait for the next train, and I also think there might have been a delay in the telegram delivery. Whatever it was, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you sent for me. The thought of one of my children suffering . . .”
“You came right on time,” Meredith said, turning to face him. She almost couldn’t see him for all the tears welling up in her eyes. “I’d decided that if you didn’t come, I’d run away, and I was about to just as you knocked on the door.”
Sidney passed a hand across his face. “My little girl,” he said. “My little girl. I wish I could have protected you from everything. That’s always been my job, you know—protecting you until the day when I could turn that task over to someone who could do it better, and then he turns out to be the very thing you need protecting from.”
“None of us knew,” Meredith replied. “And now it’s over.” More definitely over than she’d ever imagined it would be. She had planned to leave, but she’d never planned for Alex to die, and she trembled inside every time she thought about it. She was so glad he hadn’t hurt Jesse with his ax, but if only he were in jail instead of dead . . . jail would have been so much better than
death.
Sidney reached out and took her hand. She was surprised—she couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that, but she smiled. His large palm nearly wrapped around her entire hand. Her daddy.
Jesse strode back down the aisle from where he’d been playing cards with some of the other passengers. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Meredith replied. “Just crying and feeling regretful and wishing we could do it all over again and make different choices. I’m just . . . well, I’m ashamed, really.”
A stern look passed over Jesse’s face. “Now you listen to me,” he said, standing over her from his spot in the aisle. “You don’t have one thing to be ashamed about. You did everything you could to try to make it work, and then you did the right thing by wiring Pa. Don’t you let me hear you talking about being ashamed.”
Tears filled her eyes again. Jesse was so stubborn, so infuriating . . . such a man . . . but he was her brother, and she knew he’d do whatever he could for her. He’d just proven it by being foolish and charging a man holding an ax. Only someone who really loved her would do something that stupid.
She nodded. “All right.”
***
When they arrived at the train station in Salina, Kizzie was waiting there with the family wagon. Meredith winced when she saw her sister, wondering what sharp words Kizzie would have for her, but nothing was said. Instead, Kizzie gave her a long, silent hug while the men gathered up Meredith’s trunks and piled them in the back of the wagon, then flicked the reins and carried them off toward home.
Home. Meredith’s eyes filled with tears again just thinking the word. Gracious, would she spend the rest of her life crying? But these tears were entirely justified. She’d longed to come home for two years, and now she was finally getting her wish.
Jemima was waiting for them on the front porch, and as soon as the wagon turned onto the property, she was running toward it. The horses had barely come to a stop when she was there, holding her arms out for Meredith, sobbing as though her heart was breaking clean through under her muslin apron.
“Oh, my baby,” she murmured into Meredith’s hair. “My baby.”
“I’m home, Mama,” Meredith said. “I’m home.”
“Let’s get you inside, feed you, and then send you off to bed,” Jemima said, wiping her cheeks dry with her palms. “I’ve got some hot soup on the stove for you, and some fresh bread, and some pies, and . . .”
“She’s been cooking and baking ever since she got Father’s telegram that you were on your way,” Kizzie interjected. “I think she’s glad you’re here. We all are.”
“And you’re not having any visitors until the day after tomorrow,” Jemima went on as she led the way into the kitchen. “You’re going to sleep clean through the night and most of tomorrow, and then we’ll see how you’re feeling. I know Cissie will be anxious to see you, but I’ll keep sending her away as often as she comes. You need your rest.”
As much as Meredith wanted to see her friend, she knew she needed time to recover, so she didn’t argue.
Jemima brought over plate after plate of food along with a bowl of soup, placing it all in front of Meredith until she couldn’t see the table anymore. “Eat, daughter, and then off to bed with you. There’s time for talking later.” She reached out and cupped Meredith’s chin in her hand, looking deeply into her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Part Three
Chapter Eighteen
Salina, Kansas
1875
Small towns are wonderful because everyone knows everyone else, and they all share in each other’s joys and triumphs. But in a small town, it’s harder to hide when calamity strikes, and news of what had happened to Meredith buzzed around Salina like a swarm of mosquitos.
She stayed close to home for the first month after she came back. Her ribs were tender for a while yet, and she found it difficult to be around loud noises and large groups of people because she felt anxious. But then she began venturing out, often with Cissie and her little boy, Charles, with his pudgy little dimpled hands. Mrs. Crosby offered to give her back her old position and she took it gratefully, and enjoyed amazing the shopkeeper by bringing in her gowns and inviting her to make them over for her clients. Meredith never wanted to wear them again.
After six months or so, people stopped buzzing with gossip every time Meredith passed by them on the street or at the general store. She thought six months was rather excessive, really—how many times could one really tell the same story and keep it fresh?—but now the gossipmongers were on to something else, and after two full years of being back, she felt as though her past was truly in her past.
The memories, however, didn’t want to cooperate, and sometimes she had nightmares about everything that had happened.
Cissie, Kizzie, and Cora did everything they could to keep her entertained and make her feel as though she had friends to rely on, but the one aching hole that remained was Luke. Jesse had the good fortune of purchasing a small ranch in Colorado and he’d asked Luke to take it over for him. This happened right before Meredith had returned, so she’d had no chance to see Luke before he left. Apparently, Luke didn’t feel he had any reason to come back to Salina, and so she pushed through each day without him, missing his friendship, but happy in the knowledge that he was doing well and was respected by his peers. She knew how important that was to him, how important it was to any man.
And so she created herself a new life, a different version of the one she’d had before, and she kept herself busy sewing for Mrs. Crosby and helping her mother with the cooking and cleaning. She wrote to the Binghams once a month regularly, and visited with Grandma Mary as often as she could, and attended church each Sunday, and did everything she could to find joy in her routines. And so she was perfectly happy, and she planned on being happy for the rest of her life.
This was the story she told herself every night as she fell asleep.
***
Meredith was outside getting water from the pump when she heard her name. She set the bucket on the ground and walked toward the noise. She saw Cissie running down the lane, her skirts flapping. Cissie hated to run, so something had to be horribly wrong.
She stepped around the fence and took a few half-running steps toward her friend, reaching her just as Cissie reached out to grab onto the fence for support as she gasped for breath.
“Have to tell you,” she said, panting. “Have to tell you . . .”
“What? What’s the matter?” Had something happened to Charles? What about Edward? Or Cissie’s parents? “Tell me!”
“It’s Luke. Luke’s back in town.”
Relief flooded Meredith’s chest as she realized that nothing bad had happened. But then she was filled with both excitement and embarrassment at knowing the real source of the emergency. She wanted to see Luke more than almost anything, but at the same time, how could she face him? She’d chosen someone else over him, and look what that had gotten her.
“Come over to the pump and let me get you some water,” she said to Cissie. “You look horribly overheated.”
“I am, and it’s all because of you!” Cissie took the cup Meredith handed her from the stack she’d brought out to rinse. Once she was somewhat cooled off, she said, “I ran all the way so you’d know.”
“And I appreciate that. I really do.” Meredith gave her friend a smile so she’d know she wasn’t teasing. “So, what brings him here?”
“I overheard him telling Mr. Barnaby that he’s here to get some horses from Jesse to take back to the farm in Colorado,” Cissie said, plunking down on the porch steps.
“Oh, so Jesse knew he was coming, and didn’t say anything about it to me?” The scoundrel. Meredith returned to the pump and filled her bucket, putting her agitation into the pump handle. It was a good way to work off negative emotions.
“He’s a man. Men don’t often think to give advance notice and things like that,” Cissie said. “Even Edward, as perfect
as he is, sometimes forgets.”
Meredith nodded, hiding her smile. It seemed that more and more often, Cissie was making comments like that, and Meredith wondered just how perfect Edward actually was on a day-to-day, practical basis. But Cissie still had stars in her eyes when she talked about him, so Meredith supposed all was well.
“Meredith, may I ask you . . .”
Cissie’s voice trailed off, and Meredith turned to face her. “What is it, Cissie?”
Cissie looked down at her hands, where they twisted her apron on her lap. “Do you ever . . . I mean, I’m the one who introduced you to Alex. Do you ever . . . hate me for that?”
Meredith came to her side in a flash and wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “No, absolutely not! You had no way of knowing what would happen. Don’t even think that.”
“Are you sure? Because I can’t help but think . . . if I hadn’t brought Alex over here, maybe you’d have married someone else, and you’d be perfectly happy right now . . .”
“I am perfectly happy,” Meredith said. “It’s true that I had some experiences that weren’t exactly what I’d hoped for, but I’m here now, and I’m stronger and smarter, and I’m most certainly holding no grudges toward you whatsoever. Gracious, have you been carrying that burden around with you this whole time? We could have discussed this a long time ago and gotten it out in the open.”
“True, but I was afraid of your answer,” Cissie replied.
“Well, that’s ridiculous. If I was mad, and I’m not, I would have told you so as soon as I got back. Instead, I’m so grateful to be here and to have you in my life. Let go of the guilt, Cissie. You don’t need to carry it around with you any longer.”
Cissie wiped tears off her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said. “I really can’t tell you how much better that feels.”
“Well, next time, just talk to me,” Meredith said.
Meredith's Mistake (Grandma's Wedding Quilts Book 4) Page 9
