by Emma Easter
His eyes roamed the rugged terrain upon which his new house had been built, and he reveled in the bare natural beauty outside his home. He loved everything about this new house. Maybe it was because of how different it was from his house in Fallow Creek. For one, there were no other houses anywhere around, unlike in Fallow Creek where he’d been surrounded by neighbors and couldn’t leave his house without someone calling to him, greeting him, or wanting something from him. This house was a true solace. When he wasn’t at work, he could be alone here with his kids. And fully alone in the mornings, before Joshua came rushing out to hug him and Bree’s cries sounded over the intercom.
He’d moved into this house a month after he’d left Fallow Creek. He’d been living in a rented house with Josh and Bree and had hired Felicia, a fifty-three-year-old, sour-faced woman, to be his housekeeper. She’d moved here with them. She also took care of his children when he went to his numerous business meetings, but she was not a nanny and was overworked.
He’d mentioned looking for a real home to one of his regular clients, and the man had laughed. “You own a construction company and you don’t have a real home?”
Taylor had told him that apart from the fact that he’d only moved to California months ago, he’d been too busy to actually start building his dream home. And that was partly true. But the main reason he’d not started doing so was because the thought of building a permanent home without Faye was excruciating.
“I have a house I’m looking to sell,” the client told him. “It’s rather old and a little far from everything… but you can come look at it if you want.”
Taylor had taken him up on his offer and had fallen in love immediately. It was a five-bedroom stone-and-wood house, and the rooms inside were large, like halls rather than living spaces. There was another, smaller building to the left side of the main house that he decided would be great for any house staff he hired. Since he was a builder, the worn state of the house had not bothered him at all. He had spent about three months renovating the house and had moved in with Josh and Bree after that. The housekeeper and driver lived in the smaller building.
He took a deep breath and stood up and went to the window, still looking out. Massive trees surrounded the house, shading it from the summer sun. The ocean stretched out before him. Hills stood like giants watching over the grounds. The house merged in with the landscape and the property looked slightly foreboding, which he liked. He’d gotten himself a small plane so he could get in and out of ‘civilization’ quickly.
He took another sip of coffee and sighed when his phone trilled in his pajama pocket. Plucking it out, he frowned when he saw a message on the screen. The serenity that had enveloped him a moment ago vanished. The message was from Rachel. Once again, she was probably asking him to come back to Fallow Creek because the place was changing and she needed his help. But he’d sworn never to go back there, no matter what. He wasn’t really interested in how changed Fallow Creek was or what was happening there. Besides, he knew a bit more than she thought he did about what had happened in Fallow Creek. Whatever he did not know was not his problem. There was nothing there for him anymore.
He deleted her message without reading it as the familiar pain swept through him again. The pain of losing Faye. It was one of the reasons why he’d made up his mind never to return there. It would remind him way too much of her, and of the person he’d been before he’d left. But Rachel kept sending these messages, insisting he return. He never read any of them, and he didn’t care to. He had given Rachel charge of his house and sent someone to bring him all the things that really mattered to him, like pictures of himself with Faye and Josh.
The man he’d sent to bring his things here had given him a picture he’d taken with Sarah Lowery and her father, Andrew. He had sucked in a sharp breath and torn the picture to shreds. Guilt had grabbed him by the throat for days after that. Maybe if he’d not been so busy planning to take another wife, he would have been more attentive to Faye and maybe brought her out of Fallow Creek for regular medical pre-natal check-ups when he was told that her pregnancy was high-risk.
He turned away from the window, his heart heavy. “I’m so sorry, Faye. Never again will I let that happen.” Of course, he couldn’t raise his wife from the dead, but he would make sure nothing and no one distracted him from the people he loved now. The people he had — his precious children. He’d let his heart be ensnared by Sarah’s youth and beauty, and even though he knew Faye had been upset by his decision to marry Sarah — though she’d never said so — he’d ignored her feelings. After all, he was a man. In Fallow Creek, men could marry as many women as they wanted. It was what he’d believed the scriptures had said. What was preached there.
But he did not believe in that stupid doctrine anymore. After Rachel had shared the true gospel with him, he’d given his heart completely to Christ and those beliefs had fallen away. But unfortunately, it hadn’t been soon enough to get him to his senses or move him to get Faye out of Fallow Creek before it was too late.
He sat on the sofa once more and stood up again when Bree’s cries filled the air. He chuckled. This was her usual way of telling him she was awake and ready to be attended to. Felicia would arrive at the house any moment now to care for Bree, but he liked to be the first person beside her bed when she woke up.
He began to head toward her room and then stopped and braced himself as Josh raced toward him. His six-year-old son jumped into his arms, and Taylor hugged him tightly. He put Josh down again and ruffled his wavy, light brown hair, so like Faye’s. “Hey, you’re up! How did you sleep?”
“Good.”
He took Josh’s hand, and they made their way to the front of Bree’s room. “What grand plans do you have for today, buddy?” he asked Josh.
“I still have three months before school starts,” Josh said, grinning.
Taylor chuckled. “That wasn’t what I asked. And you have three weeks before school starts. Are you excited about starting first grade?”
Josh didn’t answer, and Taylor looked down at him.
“I don’t want to leave you, Dad,” Josh said, his voice filled with fear.
Taylor blinked and then stooped down and looked into his son’s eyes. “You’re not going to leave me. At least, not for long. It would just be like when I go to work, Josh. You’ll be at school rather than in the house while I’m at work. You will love school. You’ll see.”
Josh said nothing more, but his eyes still showed he was afraid. It was the same look he had anytime Taylor had to go away on a business trip. Unfortunately, he had to leave for Tucson for another one today, and he wouldn’t be back until next week.
He hugged Josh again and then straightened. “Let’s go see your baby sister,” he said, trying to sound cheerful for Josh’s sake. He looked into the room. Bree had quietened down. She had pulled herself up, holding onto the bars of her crib, and was staring at him and Josh. The expression on her face made Taylor laugh. She had streaks of tears on her cheeks and she looked like she was wondering what on earth they were talking about that seemed more important than their coming to see to her. He lifted her from her crib and kissed her cheeks. “Good morning, baby girl.” She felt wet, and he scrunched his nose. “You need a bath.” He began to remove her pink onesie just as someone walked into the nursery.
“Morning,” Felicia grunted, her usual way of greeting him.
“Good morning, Felicia.” He smiled and shook his head when she edged him away and began to remove Bree’s onesie.
Josh tugged at Taylor’s pajama pants. When he bent down, Josh whispered in his ear, “She’s so strict. She doesn’t let me play with my toys in the mornings.”
Taylor’s smile faded and he sighed silently. It was not the first time Josh had told him Felicia was strict. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it now. Since Josh had never mentioned her being violent or abusive in any way, he would leave his kids with her as he’d done a couple of times. However, he probably needed to
start looking for a nanny as soon as possible. His children’s happiness was of the utmost importance to him.
Felicia held Bree in the crook of her arm and reached out with her other hand to take Josh’s. Taylor shook his head and looked up at her. “I want to talk to Josh for a minute. You can go and give Bree her bath.”
Felicia shrugged and left the nursery with Bree.
Taylor stooped again to look into Josh’s eyes. “Tell me, Josh, apart from not letting you play with your toys in the morning, is there any other thing Felicia does that you don’t like?”
“She doesn’t make my pancakes the way Mom does.” Tears filled Josh’s eyes. It had been really hard explaining to him that his mother had died and was in heaven, but Josh had finally accepted the explanation after months of constantly asking about her.
Pain squeezed Taylor’s heart, but he brushed it aside and focused on Josh. “I’m sorry about that.” He smiled. “No one will ever be able to make pancakes the way your mother does… did. But I think if you give Felicia time, you will come to like her pancakes.”
Josh shrugged.
Taylor ran his hand across Josh’s head. “I have to go on another business trip…”
“No, Dad. I don’t want you to go.”
“I know. I don’t want to leave you either, but I have to. I’ll be away for about five days, and then I’ll come back.”
“Five days?” Terror filled Josh’s face. “What if you don’t come back, like Mommy?”
“Shh… don’t say that. I will come back. That’s a promise.”
“I want to go with you.”
Sadness flooded Taylor’s heart. Josh looked so miserable. If only he could take Josh along. But he would be away for long business meetings daily and wouldn’t be back to his room until late in the evenings. “That won’t be possible,” he said softly. “And Bree needs you here.”
Josh sighed sadly, and Taylor hugged him, his heart aching. His business had flourished even more since he’d left Fallow Creek and the restrictions he’d had to work under in the community were gone. But he had to travel to different cities regularly, leaving his kids with the housekeeper. He always dreaded leaving them, but he had no choice for now.
He stood up straight before he could dissolve into tears and forced himself to smile at Josh. “I’ll get you your favorite trucks, Josh. Would you like that?” Great. Bribing your son.
Josh nodded, but he did not smile.
The doorbell sounded, and Taylor ruffled Josh’s hair and left the room. He went to the front door and opened it. His driver was standing there and greeted him.
“I’m going out of town today, Grant. Has Dave called to say he’s at the airport?”
“Yes,” Grant answered.
Taylor nodded. Dave, his efficient pilot, lived miles away and only needed to make the trip to the airport where Taylor’s private jet was parked. Taylor had called him the day before to tell him he was going out of town today and would need him to arrive at the airport early.
Taylor glanced at the clock on the wall. It was still a quarter to eight. He’d told Dave they would be leaving by nine o’clock but his pilot always arrived at the airport about an hour earlier. “Thank you, Grant,” Taylor said.
Grant nodded and left, and Taylor shut the door again. He went to shower and then dressed quickly. He left his bedroom with his duffel bag and walked to the living room. The time was a few minutes past eight now, but they had a long drive to the airport. He strode to the middle of the living room and waited for Felicia to bring Bree to him. Josh came first and hugged Taylor again. Felicia handed Bree to him, and he kissed her short wavy hair and soft cheeks.
Bree giggled and put her tiny arms around his neck. He rubbed her back and sighed. “I will miss you, little one.” He handed her back to Felicia and looked down at Josh. Once again, his heart ached at how sad Josh looked. He bent down and said to his son, “After this trip, I’ll take a long vacation until school starts so I can spend time with you and Bree.”
Josh’s eyes lit up. “Just us, Daddy?” He glanced at Felicia.
Taylor nodded. He whispered, “Felicia will take her own vacation, and you, me, and Bree will spend time alone. I promise. We’ll have so much fun together.”
“No one else? Just the three of us?”
For a long moment, Taylor couldn’t say anything, overcome with emotion. Josh was asking the same thing his mother had done when she was alive and well. Whenever he’d seemed too busy and refused to take Josh out to the only park in Fallow Creek, his mother had always comforted him by telling him they would go to the park on the weekend and spend time together, just the three of them. Bree had not been born yet.
Once again, guilt gripped Taylor. Thinking back to those days, he’d been busy not just with work, but also with Sarah and their wedding plans, which he’d had to stall when Faye had grown very ill. Faye had looked pointedly at him whenever she’d said those words to Josh, and now Taylor knew without a doubt that she’d meant more than what she was saying. Even though women were not really allowed to voice their disapproval over their husband’s choice to marry an additional wife, she was reminding him that he had two people that were the most important to him, and that just the three of them was, or should be, enough for each other. He’d been too blind to take note then, but not now.
He reiterated what he’d told Josh. “Just the three of us, Josh. No one will ever come between us again.” He’d promised himself that he would never remarry after his wife died because he never wanted to feel that pain again if anything happened, nor expose his kids to that kind of loss. He had done Faye wrong when they were married, carrying on with Sarah. He would honor her memory and stay single… which was as he wanted it, anyway. Josh had no need to worry about anyone coming between them.
It was why he’d hired a fifty-something-year-old plain woman as his housekeeper. He wanted to stay away from any kind of temptation. Not that he would actually feel tempted again. That part of him that wanted that kind of love was dead, buried with his late wife. It would just be him and his kids now.
He stood up again. Josh was beaming now, happier than Taylor had seen him in a long time. “I can’t wait for you to come back, Dad, so we can start our vacation together. Where will we go?” Josh began to hop.
Taylor laughed. “I don’t know yet. We’ll talk about it when I get back, okay?”
“Okay,” Josh said happily.
Bree reached out for him as he began to turn around, but Felicia held her tight in her arms. When she started to cry, Taylor smiled sadly, waved to her and Josh and quickly left the house. In his car, Taylor closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned back in his seat. Stop worrying, Taylor. They’re safe with Felicia.
But he couldn’t stop. Every time he was out of town, he worried about his children. Not just about their physical safety, but their emotional well-being. Especially Josh’s. But he was slightly less worried than he usually was. Josh had seemed happy after he’d told him he would take a vacation after this trip so they could spend time together. He would have to cancel any plans he’d made for the next month because his promise to Josh had been unplanned. But he would gladly do so. It was high time he took a vacation anyway. A family vacation sounded great. Maybe they didn’t even have to go anywhere. Just stay in the house and enjoy each other’s company.
A bittersweet feeling went through him as he recalled Josh’s words. “Just the three of us, Dad?” He smiled. Definitely just the three of them. He, Josh, and Bree. As it would always be.
Chapter 3
Rachel shut her eyes in despair and slowly sat down on the sofa. This was not good. This wasn’t good at all. She opened her eyes and looked at Sharon, the adolescent who had just brought the news of yet another departure from Fallow Creek. “You’re telling me Nathaniel Grover has left Fallow Creek with his wives? I thought he was one of the people who didn’t care if a woman was now the owner of this place?”
Sharon sighed, a morose look on her face. “He l
eft with my sister, Jane. That’s all I care about. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. My parents and other siblings are gone. Jane was the only one left. Now she’s gone too, and I don’t even know where because Nathaniel didn’t tell any of the wives where they were going.”
Rachel felt sick with guilt and worry. Since the events that had led to her to taking over Fallow Creek nine months ago, things had gone completely contrary to how she’d thought they would. She sighed. Maybe not completely. After she’d taken over, a few women from the community had felt emboldened and either left their polygamous lifestyles or left their families that were trying to force them into unwanted marriages. They all came to stay in the Restoration House, which Rachel had promptly renamed the House of Refuge. She and Keith lived there fully now and had since watched helplessly from the house as a mass of people left – or was it fled? – Fallow Creek. Sharon was not the only woman here with family members who had deserted the town. And it was all because of her.
No, Rachel. It’s not because of you. It’s because of their foolish pride.
She sighed sadly again. It didn’t matter. She had taken over from Dennis, and a mass exodus from the town had begun. And now, people like Sharon had no more family members here and didn’t know where they’d gone.
“Miss Rachel?” Sharon called, sounding concerned.
Rachel turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Sharon. I wish there was something I could have done to stop Nathaniel from taking your sister with him.”
Sharon nodded, and her eyes filled with tears. “Those stupid men and their pride. When I came here, I asked Jane to come with me, and she kept saying she would. But she never found an opportunity to escape Nathaniel’s ever-brooding presence. And now he’s taken her to…” Her voice choked up and she bit her lip.
