by lake, e a
“Almost two years to the date, I sat next to our bed where he laid, dying. I prayed so hard for a miracle, but none came. When he finally died, I asked several neighbors to help me bury him. They all thought we had the fever in our house. Even though they knew he had a bad heart, they all feared the worst. I can’t blame them, looking back. That was the start of the first epidemic.” Cara folded her hands to rest her weary chin upon. The story would take its toll, she knew.
“Well, two days later, Steven appears. He knew something bad was about to happen, just somehow knew it. He walked the 30 miles in two days to get to us. Thirty miles, right through the heart of the worst that humanity could throw his way. But he made it. He went out back and dug a deep hole. Carefully, he wrapped Kellen in a sheet and placed him in the ground. His own son, his only child – dead. He wept the whole time. He wept while digging, and he wept harder when he buried Kellen’s body. The next day, he said we had to leave Salt Lake. It wasn’t safe anymore. So we did.”
Chet leaned forward. “It’s a good thing you left when you did, Cara. The fever went through and killed almost half the population that winter.”
Cara agreed with a simple nod. “When we got here, I thought he had lost his mind. When I first saw this place, I wondered if we’d make it two weeks, much less a year. But he said we’d be fine, and we were. Until Jacob died and my world ended again. I laid in bed after that, hoping and praying to die. I refused to eat. Only drank sips of water. Emily was by my side day and night, begging me to live.” Her teary eyes rose to meet Chet’s. “But I wanted to die. I needed to die. Steven could take care of Joshua, I thought. Kellen was dead, and now, so was Jacob. How was I expected to survive after that?”
“But you did,” Chet added.
“Yes, I did. Because Steven took over my care. He forced little bits of fruits and vegetables into my mouth. Poured water into my throat when I was sleeping, forcing me to drink. He bathed me, he cleaned up after me, he loved me – just as Kellen always had.
“I had mentioned marriage to him several times after we had arrived. He was opposed to even hearing about it. It would sully his son’s memory in his mind. I’d bring it up every once in a while, when he was happy, when he smiled occasionally. But it was always the same answer. Until I was there wasting away, it was always the same answer: no.
“Then one day, in the middle of one of my better hunger strikes, he sat next to me on the bed, rubbing my hand. I can’t tell you what was different, but something in his touch, in his face, was so different. He spoke of this and that. What Joshua was doing, what the rest of the camp was up to. Then he looked at me and said, ‘I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s a good idea, getting married. I can’t live without you, so maybe we should…if you’re still interested.’ He fooled me, you know, fooled me well. I practically jumped out of bed. I would have a husband again, perhaps more children. We’d be happy.”
“I think you were, from what I could always tell,” Chet stated. “Cute couple at least.”
“He didn’t share my bed for over a year. Said we were married, just not like that. I wanted a child to replace my Jacob. I begged, I promised, I plotted. I always wished I had that yellow dress; then maybe that would have caught his eye.”
“But you have Rosie, so something must have changed.” Chet moved forward on his chair, waiting on Cara’s reply.
“Do you remember the harvest five years ago?” Cara asked.
Chet thought and finally nodded.
“It was one of our best ever,” Cara continued. “We had so much. Everyone was so happy. We gave some of our excess to those people up in Camp Four. Do you remember what they gave us in return?”
Chet grinned. “A big batch of corn mash. That was some good hooch. We all had hangovers for weeks after that.”
Cara laughed, letting her eyes dance with the happy memory. “Steven was never much of a drinker…social at best. But I helped him along that night, making sure his cup was always full. He may not have wanted to bring another Wake into this world, but that wasn’t about to stop me. That night, we enjoyed each other’s company, for the first time in our married life. Within six weeks I knew I was pregnant, and just over seven months later, Rosie arrived. I’m not sure he’s ever forgiven me for that. But that’s okay, right?”
Chet rubbed his dirty neck thinking of the child. “Steven loves her, Cara. Wouldn’t trade her for the world, regardless of how she was conceived.” Narrowing his eyes, he gave her a smile. “And he loves you, too.”
“He has to, right? I forced him into marriage; I tricked him into having a child. So now he’s stuck with me.” Cara’s mouth twitched, reconsidering the choices of her past.
“So what do you want to tell me that I don’t already know?” Chet answered. Cara’s eyes opened, unsure of what he meant. “Steven’s told most of this to me already. Wanted to confess his sins, I guess. I suppose he needed to tell someone.”
“Who else knows?” Cara asked.
“The details, just me and Carol. The rest of the people don’t care. They all got their own problems, their own secrets. At least they think they do. Like Dave Dillion has a daughter that blonde. Look at Dave and his wife, look at his other kids. They ain’t the same as Erica.”
“And you’ve never told anyone?”
“Cara,” he replied. “Do you know what I did before all of this?” A quick shake of her head told the answer. He grinned. “I had a bunch of strip clubs down in San Diego, just off that Marine Corps base there. Made a whole lot of money. I’d just moved back to south of Provo when all this shit came down. No one knew about my past. More importantly, no one cared, just like they don’t care about yours and Steven’s.”
“So you don’t think I owe the assembly, the whole camp, an apology then?” she whispered.
“We owe you so much, Cara. You’ve been the best leader and friend anyone could have ever wanted. You’ve made things happen that most folks didn’t think were possible.” Cara followed Chet’s lead and rose from her spot. After a long hug, he led her to the door. “Apology? Explanation? No. Just keep doing what it is you do best. And please, be happy, Cara. There’s so little left now. Be happy with all the blessings you’ve been given. They may be the last, Lord knows.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Willem paced in the dining room, watching as Betsi inspected her new family. Her happiness meant everything to him; her wrath would be his punishment. After speaking with each of the smaller children, she stood silently in front of Rachel. Moving behind the girl, she placed her hands on Rachel’s thin shoulders. “How old are you, dear?”
Willem cringed at her pointed question.
“Fourteen, ma’am,” Rachel replied, peeking back at Betsi.
Smiling, Betsi nodded. Willem was left unsure if it was a happy nod or sign of her consternation. “Fourteen,” she repeated the girl’s response. “Fourteen.” Tipping her head slightly, she shot him a glare.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” he asked too quickly, and he knew it.
“Fourteen, Willem. I expected more of you.”
Looking away, he scratched the back of his head. “She had an older sister. Seventeen or 18, I think.” Coming back to Betsi, his expression begged forgiveness. “But she was hideous, darling. No good genes for Tarlisch children there.”
Shaking away his reply, Betsi stepped in front of Willow. “And you’re 15, sweetie?”
Willow only nodded, apparently too afraid to speak.
“That’s a little better,” Betsi responded. “And this one, Suzanne. She’s a woman I see.” Betsi turned to face Willem again. “Have you been with her already?”
Willem rocked back, arms opening as he moved, his mouth dropping. “No, of course not. I waited to be with you first. Just like we planned.”
Betsi took two steps at him. “Just like we planned. Just like we planned? One is a child,” she spit, pointing back at the teens. “Another could pass for a young woman. What were you thinking?”
“We
discussed this,” Willem retorted through clenched teeth. “There was a point to be made in all of this. And my point has been made, loud and clear.”
Betsi shook her head and turned to the handmaidens. “Please take them back to their rooms for now. I’ll come and help tuck the little ones in shortly. The older ones,” she pondered her next move, “I’ll stop by and get to know them after that.”
After their exit, Willem rushed his love. “This was all according to plan, and you know that. Everything was planned out meticulously. Every last detail, every single move. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“My dear,” Betsi began, placing her hands on his shoulders. “You make your grand entry with a bloodbath, steal children from their mothers, threaten to bed a mere child. What were you thinking? Didn’t you look at Rachel before you took her? She has no shape, no breasts, no hips. It will be years before she’s ready.”
“I was too busy chasing someone up into the mountains to have time to consider other options,” he retorted. “That wasn’t part of the plan you know. You were supposed to wait here for me to arrive.”
“I wanted you to earn me,” she cooed. “I didn’t want you to think I’d be waiting for you, legs open all ready to jump in. You had to come and get me.” She rolled her eyes at his irritated leer. “I changed my plan. I wanted to find Father first.”
Willem sighed, leaning back on the cluttered table. “And I wasted two days, 150 boys and girls, chasing you to that Godforsaken place. Wonderful. I ought to punish you for that little move.”
Betsi pouted playfully at him. “But you came, how sweet.”
“Like I had a choice,” he spewed. “You’re my true prize. Without you…” He waved his long arms about. “…I don’t want any of this.”
“When did you know he was dead?” Betsi asked.
“A day or two after we attacked, one of my spies passed the word along. Otherwise, I could have gotten word to you and the whole mountain adventure could have been bypassed.” Moving closer, he reached for her touch. “I’m sure you were greatly disappointed when you discovered dear old Dad was dead.”
“I wanted to rip Cara’s throat out, I was so upset. I wanted to tear her stupid hair by the roots. It’s not fair, not at all.”
“Betsi,” he said, looking deep into her soul through her eyes. “He’s dead now. That’s good enough.”
Her eyes narrowed in rage. “Good enough? You consider that fair and just payment for what he did to me? I don’t think so, Willem. I wanted to stand over him with knife touching his chest while he confessed his sins. I wanted others to hear what he had done to his daughter, his own child. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to watch the life drain from his eyes as he admitted to what he never had to before.”
He patted her hand softly. “I understand.”
Betsi continued, lost somewhere in her past. “The things he did to me were so wrong. I was his child, his only child. And somehow, through some confusion, he blamed me for my mother’s death. The looks at first were awful, I felt so guilty. But then it worsened.”
Willem clutched her tightly, hoping to help chase away her demons. She returned a sad smile.
“The beatings started shortly after that. I was a 14-year-old girl, just like Rachel. He only hit me where it wouldn’t show at first, but after a few weeks, that all changed. He took me out of school to hide the damage, protect his image. I was so frightened, so alone. He hired a tutor who was just as rotten as he was. That man hit me worse than my father did.” Lost in her nightmare, Betsi rose and began to pace. “What happened for the next 12 years was unimaginable. Sometimes I still pretend it wasn’t me, that perhaps I saw it in a movie. But I know it was me…it was me.” Rubbing her forehead, she struggled to continue. “What kind of animal beats and mentally tortures his own daughter, his only child? And tells her she deserves it, that this is all she’s worth. Twelve years, Willem. Twelve years I endured that life. Even the night before he married me off to Jeremy, he tied me to his bed one last time to ruin my life forever. He almost killed me that night, hitting me in places I should have never been touched.”
Willem slid behind her. “He was a sick man, my love. He deserved to die.”
Betsi nodded several times. “Yes, but not like that. Not without one last confession. I didn’t get my vengeance, Willem, like you did.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, darling.”
She shook violently and then stopped. “I guess I’ll never know.” Turning to Willem, she laughed once. “He never let me see any of my friends. Just a few select cousins. And there, I found my soul mate. I told you everything, and you believed me. You promised me a day would come when I would have my revenge. You made it all possible, did all of this to help me.” Hugging him tightly, a small cry escaped her lips. “Thank you.”
“I told you I’d help. I told you I’d get you out of that arranged marriage to Uncle Talbot’s babysitter, the one he bought for you. And now you’re free.” Leaning to peek in her eye, he turned his head. “Will you miss him, your nanny? Did you…love him?”
“No,” she snorted. “Not like you. I was comfortable with him after 10 years. But now that father’s dead, he serves no purpose. I don’t need him any longer. I need you.”
Willem grinned. “And Salt Lake needs you, darling. A new royal couple is about to ascend to their throne. From now until eternity, a Tarlisch will sit on the seat of power here. We will rule forever.”
A concerned look fixed itself on Betsi’s otherwise happy face. “Are you sure, Willem? You have your secrets as well.”
“Betsi, the only people alive from that day are me and Howard, now that Uncle Talbot is dead. The others standing with us either died that day or in the dessert.”
“What about the rest of the militia that were there?” she asked, searching his face for any sign of concern.
“One died there, and the remaining six all went north with the militia to Brigham City. I doubt they knew anything.” Leaning closer, he whispered the rest. “It all happened so fast.”
Grinning, he stepped away, picking up a piece of cauliflower from a plate. “And when Salt Lake’s finest return to take back their community, they’ll be met by 2,000 of my finest and instantly slaughtered, like pigs. And then, my dear, it’ll all be over…forever.”
Clapping her hands softly in front of her face, Betsi smiled at her love. “Excellent. Very, very good. Now, I’d better go off and tuck those little buggers in so I can earn some respect around here.” Reaching for the closed door, she winked back. “Will you meet me in the master suite later?”
Willem beamed with joy and lust. “Of course. I’ll be the naked man spread out on the bed.”
Laughing, Betsi opened the door and discovered Howard standing in the doorway. Without looking away, she called back to Willem. “Your troll is here. Don’t let him waste too much of your time. I need you fresh tonight.”
Howard faked a toothless smile as Betsi skipped through the hallway. Stepping into the room, he shook his head at Willem. “Ain’t she all sweet tonight?”
Willem sat, his happiness unmoved by Howard’s comment. “Something up? I was just about to retire for the evening. Big night for me, you understand.”
Howard looked away. “Gonna have to put a hold on that, boss. We got a problem down at the jail, Andy says.”
Dropping his head to his hands, Willem screamed. “That boy is the largest pain in my ass, I swear! Can’t he take care of anything himself?”
“Come on,” Howard urged. “Shouldn’t take but a few minutes. Then you and Betsi Lou can get all kinky with one another.”
Rising from his chair, Willem grinned. “Howard, you must have read my thoughts for the night.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Sauntering slowly across the courtyard between the Temple and the makeshift jail, Willem and Howard enjoyed the temperate fall night. Willem smiled as he inhaled the clean, crisp air. Happy was an understatement he’d use to describe his mood. Elate
d, overjoyed, perhaps euphoric. He almost felt like skipping, if it wouldn’t have given the guards a lesser opinion of their leader.
“What do you think, Howard?” he asked as they neared the jail.
“Think about what?”
Willem stopped, facing his friend of more than 25 years. “How did the day go, in your opinion?”
Howard shrugged, wiping the last of dinner from his beige shirt. “Went fine. We rode up there to get Betsi, we came back with Betsi. No one got hurt.” He stopped and frowned. “Well, three of our people got killed under Landry’s watch. But all in all, it went off without a hitch.”
Poking at his friend’s chest, Willem winked. “See, that’s what I mean. Each day is getting better here. What’s it been, a week? Look at how things just keep falling into place.”
“Just hope we’re done killing for a while. I think we’ve shed enough blood, maybe more than we needed to.” Howard waved his head at the jail. “Come on, let’s get this over with so you can get back to the wife.”
Willem slapped Howard’s back, following him through the glass doors. “You know, that could have got messy up in the mountains. If Steven Wake hadn’t presented himself, well, I hate to think what might have happened.” Grabbing Howard’s shoulder, he stopped him again. “Can you believe that? Steven Wake, mountain man?”
Howard shrugged and stepped past the front guard with Willem on his heels.
“I never expected to find him there, gentleman farmer and all. I couldn’t have been more surprised if the Prophet Smith and Brigham Young themselves had stepped out of the gate. Steven Wake; once powerful, once wealthy. Now, just part of the fallen flock. Barely scratching out a life up there. At least he has a cute wife.”
Howard stopped abruptly and turned, jabbing his right index finger at his boss. “She was trouble, and you knew it. Steven was one thing, but the way her people stood behind her, and how she never gave an inch. She could have been a real problem.”
