Nordin, Ruth Ann - South Dakota Series 02 - Bid for a Bride (15 page)

They would see any children Phillip or Meredith had. She closed her eyes and fought the nagging sense of regret. She couldn’t go back. She couldn’t write. She couldn’t do anything. If only Meredith had been content to be who she was… Sighing, Lucy turned back to the cloths and decided to make one pink outfit. Maybe she’d have a boy, but she might have a girl next time. Given how quickly she got pregnant with Brian’s child, she had no reason to doubt they would have a large family. Surely, there would be a girl among one of their children. Then she chose a blue and green cloth for the boys they would have.

She knelt down and examined the contents of the lower shelf.

Her fingers brushed a rattle with a sun painted on it and she smiled. Well, considering the blanket would have a day theme on one side, she had to get this rattle. As she picked it up, a child ran over to the toy area next to her.

She glanced up and saw Annabelle’s son who’d just turned three a week ago. He picked up some wooden blocks and started stacking them. Her gaze went to Annabelle and her mother who were asking Frank and Addy a question. When she looked back at the boy, he stared at her.

"Hello," she shyly greeted.

Though she would soon be having a child, she had no idea how to relate to one, not like Eliza who was chatting with the other children as if she’d done it all of her life.

The boy studied her with unbridled interest, something which made her uneasy so she continued to speak.

"I’m Mrs. Evans. You’re Charlie Carter, correct?" He nodded and turned back to the blocks.

Figuring that was the end of it, she placed the rattle on the materials she’d selected.

"You marry blind man," he said.

She glanced at him and nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Ma says she sorry for you."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she pressed, "Oh?"

"No decent man marry you."

Her smile faltered. Is that what Annabelle told her son? She wasn’t sure exactly what made Annabelle say that so her child would repeat it, and for a moment, she couldn’t decide on the proper course of action. The comment seemed to be a double insult, one directed at her and another directed at Brian.

Considering other men didn’t want to marry her for fear of having to raise an illegitimate child, she wasn’t overly surprised Annabelle thought what she did about her, but considering Brian’s gentleness and how he once cared very much for Annabelle, the notion Annabelle thought so little of him made her flush with anger. Just how great was Tom, the man Annabelle chose to marry? Lucy’d seen Tom and wasn’t overly impressed with the potbellied scruffy man who didn’t appear to know what a washtub was for.

The boy stacked another block and added, "I like blocks."

"Uh…" Lucy stood and smoothed the cloth in her arms.

"Yes. Blocks are nice."

Annabelle ran over to her son and offered an apologetic smile in Lucy’s direction. "Charlie, honey, let’s not bother other people, alright? Now, put those blocks down and go to your grandmother." Once Charlie headed off, Annabelle let out an uneasy laugh. "Children have a habit of running all over the place and talking to everyone. I’m sorry. I hope he didn’t bother you."

"No, he didn’t," Lucy said, trying to decide how to word what she wanted to say. Finally, she hugged the woman. "Thank you."

Annabelle tentatively hugged her back and quickly pulled away.

"All I did was tell my son to leave you alone."

"No. I meant thank you for marrying Tom instead of Brian. I’m a fortunate woman to be Brian’s wife. I can’t think of a more giving and caring man."

Annabelle appeared uncertain as to what to say but managed a bewildered, "You’re welcome" before she offered an obligatory smile and rushed to her mother.

Feeling better for at least catching the woman off guard, Lucy went back to the shelves and gathered everything else she needed. Just as she got done, Eliza came up to her with a basket.

"Sorry I was delayed," Eliza said.

"I didn’t mind," Lucy replied and placed her items into the basket. "I decided to pick one pink cloth for a dress. Even if I don’t have a girl this time, I might next time."

Eliza clapped her hands together. "I know more than one child is a lot of work. Well, I suppose even one can be. But I can’t remember a time when I’ve been more excited. I was an only child, and Brian was the only child John and I had. It’ll be nice to have more than one child on the property. I’d like to hear lots of laughter."

Lucy picked up the basket, glad to see Annabelle had left with her mother and child. "I’d like to hear that too," she told Eliza, and the two women went to the counter to make their purchase.

September came and Lucy was surprised by how hard it was to see Brian leave for Sioux Falls with John. She knew he’d be back in a week, but she couldn’t recall a time when a week seemed like such a long time. John had hired additional men to help haul the furniture to the nearest train station, and before Brian left, she made sure to give him a hug and kiss good-bye.

As John and Brian slipped out of sight, Eliza put her arm around her shoulders and sighed. "We’ll have to make a couple of trips into town this week to make time pass faster."

Lucy nodded, fighting the urge to cry. She had no reason to cry. Not really. It wasn’t like Brian wasn’t coming back. And it was just a week.

She stayed at Eliza’s through supper, her mind drifting back to the place where Brian would sit, and she’d wonder how far he was from their town. Did he and John already reach the train station? She had no way of knowing. She wasn’t overly familiar with South Dakota. All she knew was that Sioux Falls was east of them.

When evening came, Eliza offered to let her stay the night, but Lucy wanted to sleep in the bed she and Brian shared so she could smell the scent of him on the sheets and pretend he was lying beside her. Eliza also offered to walk her to her home, but she declined, choosing instead to stroll along the property and recall the many walks she and Brian took together. She lit the kerosene lamp as soon as she entered the house and noticed how empty the place was.

Lucy scanned the house with its light colors, pretty curtains, nice tablecloth, and rugs. Even with all the creature comforts, it was a lonesome place without him there. She went to the bedroom, changed into her nightclothes, and curled up in the bed. After she turned the knob on the kerosene lamp so that the room was dark, she wrapped the blankets around her and pretended she was in Brian’s arms. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and smiled. If she pretended hard enough, she could almost feel him next to her.

She wondered if he was thinking of her. Did men dwell on such things or did they just focus on what they needed to do and that was it? She thought of their time together by the creek where they spent many summer late afternoons after supper with a book. He had enjoyed Treasure Island, as she thought he might. Though the weather would be turning too cold to go to the creek anymore, she figured she could curl up with him on the couch in the parlor by a crackling fire and read to him.

Anticipating being with him again, she soon fell asleep. At first, her dreams were of the ordinary sort.

There were images of white puffy clouds where she tried to guess which shapes she could see in them.

A few fish swam in a lake on an early spring day. Green leaves on the tree branches rustled in the breeze.

It took her awhile to figure out she was back at her childhood spot in Minnesota. This was her favorite spot, the one place she could go to whenever she wanted to be alone. No one ever bothered her here.

Except for one night.

In her sleep, Lucy frowned, willing the pleasant dream to remain pleasant. But it wouldn’t obey. It took on a form of its own, forcing her to relive a night she struggled to forget. The night before her wedding to Adam. The night that was a culmination of years of her sister’s antagonism. The night where her brother was off on his honeymoon, far from them and unable to intercede. Her brother regretted he could not be there for her wedding, but Lucy was anxious to marry Adam and leave Minnesota so she opted to marry him as soon as he proposed. She tried to describe Adam to her brother, to spur his memory since Adam had been at her brother’s engagement party, but her brother didn’t remember what Adam looked like.

Considering her brother was busy entertaining other guests, she wasn’t surprised.

The thought often occurred to Lucy that if her brother had been able to attend her wedding, he would have been there that night.

She’d been tired from all the wedding planning and chose to rest in her favorite spot after supper. The early April air was warm enough where she could stay out for a good length of time.

She chose to bring a book along to read, and at some point, she fell asleep. It wasn’t until she heard footsteps approaching that she realized she’d stayed out well past dark. She rubbed her eyes and struggled to wake up. Just as she sat up, a pair of hands clamped on her shoulders and pinned her back onto the grass.

Alarmed, her eyes flew open and she screamed. She screamed and slapped at her attacker, but no one heard. When she focused on her attacker, she found herself staring into eyes very much like her own.

Meredith brought her hands to Lucy’s throat and squeezed. Lucy tried to pry her sister’s hands off of her neck, but Meredith dug her fingers in harder and snarled at her.

Gasping, Lucy let go of Meredith’s hands and fumbled for anything she might use to force Meredith off of her. Finally, her hand settled on her book, and she whacked it across her sister’s head. It worked.

Meredith relaxed her hold on Lucy’s neck long enough for Lucy to push her aside. Lucy stumbled away from her, but her sister came up behind her and shoved her into the lake.

Lucy surfaced from the water in time for Meredith to leap on top of her and force her head back under it. Holding her breath, Lucy struggled, kicking and hitting any part of her sister that she could, in an effort to get away, but her sister’s hold was firm. Lucy finally reached out and grabbed Meredith’s hand and bit into it.

Meredith howled and, once again, Lucy was able to get away.

This time she kicked at Meredith’s backside so that she went toppling into the water. It gave her enough time to climb out of the lake and run to the house.

A loud boom through the night sky jolted Lucy awake. She brought her hands up to her throat and screamed, not realizing for a full minute that she was no longer by the lake or in the water. Gasping, she fumbled in the dark for a match to light the kerosene lamp. Lightning flashed and lit the room, making her jump. Rain pounded against the window and another round of terrible thunder shook the house.

Her hands trembled as she struck the match and lit the lamp.

She turned the knob for maximum light but found it wasn’t adequate. There were far too many shadows in the room and the open bedroom door revealed a sea of darkness, only lit up by another flash of lightning.

She grabbed the blanket and threw it over her head. It was too easy to imagine horrible things emerging out of the thick darkness that clung to the shadows in this house! Another rumble of thunder made her nearly jump out of her skin. How she wished Brian was here right now. There had been thunderstorms — many of them — during the summer, but with him right there beside her, she had no reason to fear anything.

Something rapped on the kitchen door and Lucy whimpered. It couldn’t be her sister! There was no reason for her sister to find her here. Her sister thought she went to Oregon with Adam.

Whatever was outside the house, banging on the kitchen door, had to be something else. A tree branch perhaps? But the porch protected the door from fallen branches.

It’s just my imagination. It’s not real.

Lucy huddled deeper into the blanket and recited a prayer she learned as a child. How she hated this!

Hated being alone and having to face her past without Brian there to comfort her. It never once occurred to her that her sister wanted to kill her, and she still didn’t understand why.

More thunder rumbled and Lucy could swear she heard something moving inside the house. Tears came to her eyes.

No. There isn’t anything there. It’s just my imagination. She had a nightmare, a memory from her past.

That was why she was thinking she heard things moving about in the house. That was all it was. It’s just my imagination!

She tucked the blanket closer around her body and squeezed her eyes shut tight. If she could pretend Brian was here, then she could get her nerves back. She tried to inhale, to smell him on the blanket, but the blanket was damp from her sweat. Through the pounding in her ears, she heard footsteps.

In her mind’s eye, she saw her sister standing above her, the same look of fury on her face that she had when she tried to kill her by the lake. Trembling, Lucy peeked through the blanket and screamed when she saw that someone really was standing by the bed.

Eliza leaned forward and touched her shoulder. "Lucy?" It took a long moment for Lucy to figure out it wasn’t Meredith hovering over her. She blinked several times, her mind grasping to separate her fears from reality.

"Lucy? Are you alright?" Eliza asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

As soon as Lucy understood it was Eliza, she cried out in relief and hugged her. "Oh, thank God."

Eliza sat by her on the bed and returned her hug. "Lucy? What happened? You’re shaking. Are you hurt?"

"I-I was scared. The thunderstorm and…" She clung tighter to Eliza, thinking she’d never been happier to see anyone in her entire life.

"I knocked on the door and called your name. You must not have heard me over the thunder."