Chapter 3
Seeing the finished house had a profound effect on Emily. Even the children, who had been complaining about being dragged along during what was supposed to be their recess, grinned and whooped. The men who were moving on to the next house to work spotted the children, smiled, and waved.
Emily realized that some of them were these children’s fathers and soon, many of the folks who lived in tents and lean-to shacks made of whatever had drifted down the creek would be living in the houses across the creek.
“They will have to build a bridge,” she commented.
“The plans are in for Andrew and Michael and all of the others to approve,” Lizzy said. “I thought a covered bridge would be nice, maybe made of stone, but Troy thinks that’s more than we need.”
Emily considered that. “Well, wouldn’t a stone bridge be sturdier?”
“Much,” Lizzy said. “The only problem is that if the bandits attack, it’s harder to get rid of a well-built stone bridge than it is to simply torch a wooden one and rebuild it later.”
“Oh, I see. We’re still worried about them, are we?”
Lizzy nodded. “Aren’t you?”
“They haven’t come around in weeks,” Emily said. “And we gave them such a thrashing the last time they poked their noses around that I can’t think they would want to come back.”
Lizzy sighed. “I wish it was that easy. These are the men who chased us for weeks.”
“Right,” Emily said. She kept forgetting that.
Her natural state was to think that she was safe and that the world wasn’t such a terrible place.
When her folks had been alive, she’d never known fear.
That had only come later, when she was left with Uncle Felix.
Then she’d been forced to welcome that dreadful feeling into her life and make some sort of peace with it, whether she wanted to or not.
Because try as she might, there was no getting rid of constant worry when Felix was around.
“I thought, if you’re all right with it, that we could plan our houses to be either across the street from each other or next door,” Lizzy said.
“You want us to live close together?” Emily asked in surprise. “I didn’t think you liked me that much.”
“That’s not true,” Lizzy protested, shaking her head. “Okay, maybe it is. But we didn’t meet under the best circumstances, you have to admit.”
“Both of us vying for the same man’s affections? Yes, I would say that was a terrible way to meet,” Emily said. “Carl! Don’t you dare slide down that bank to the creek. We’re heading back now! Come on, all of you.”
She turned and began to herd the children back to class. Lizzy followed.
“Look, I feel really bad about that,” Lizzy said. “And I want to make it up to you, especially since you and Michael are getting along so well. I think we could at least be friends. And if the two of you do decide to make a go of it, so much the better.”
Emily considered this. It made sense. She needed friends, and it would be better than passing by each other in an awkward silence, not sure if they should acknowledge each other.
“All right,” Emily said. “But what happens if Michael and I don’t end up together?”
“Don’t you like him?” Lizzy asked, frowning. “I would have thought he was perfect for you. He’s kind, thoughtful, well-read, patient, and nowhere near as impulsive and full of nonsense as Troy.”
“Yes, Troy is a lot like a child in a man’s body, isn’t he?” Emily asked, realizing how she had dodged a bullet there.
“He is a bit of an overgrown boy some days,” Lizzy said with a smile. “But he’s smart, kind, and devoted. And that’s what counts.”
They had reached the school tent again, and the children were filing through the flap.
“So? Can I tell them to build our houses close together?” Lizzy asked.
Emily drew in a breath. “Oh, why not? It will be nice to have a friend close by.”
Lizzy smiled happily. “Good. I’ll get that done.” She looked around. “I’ll go and get Timothy. He’s probably planning to take his time getting back from the medical tent. He’ll stay there all day if you let him.”
“Thanks, please do send him back,” Emily said.
Lizzy left and Emily went back to teaching. It was five minutes before Timothy returned to class without the raccoon. Thank goodness. He was far more focused, and when it came time to answer the quiz questions, he did quite well.
They all did, and Emily ended school a little early that day, not wanting to push her luck with the children. They had worked hard and should be rewarded. Twenty minutes early was a definite bonus.
She, however, still had a lot of marking to do.
So, she stayed in her tent, working steadily until it was around the time when Michael and Walter should be back from town.
Then Emily went to the campfire, which was the central meeting place where everyone gathered for meals and helped out with making dinner.
The clouds were looking heavier overhead, and she hoped that Michael would make it back before it started to rain. It was unpleasant sitting in a cart in the rain. There was nowhere to escape, and a person had to just endure it.
Just when she was certain that Michael would be stuck in the coming storm, there was a thud and clatter of horse hooves and cartwheels as Michael and Walter came riding into the camp. She breathed a sigh of relief.
And then she saw him.
At first her mind refused to acknowledge him. He couldn’t be here. That was ludicrous! How could he be here? She had been purposefully vague in the note she’d left him and hadn’t said where she was headed. How had he found her?
It felt like a punch to the gut to see Felix sitting in the back of the cart, as large as death and twice as unwelcome.
What was he doing here?
“Are you all right?” Julie asked.
She was the camp’s apothecary.
“No … I think I might be sick,” Emily said and staggered to a stump near the fire. She sat down heavily and put her head in her hands.
“Did you forget to eat lunch today again?” Julie asked.
Emily realized she hadn’t eaten all day. She’d overslept that morning and rushed to school without thinking about food. There hadn’t been time during the day, and now she was quite lightheaded. The shock of her uncle arriving in town wasn’t helping at all.
“I seem to have missed all my meals today,” Emily said.
“I’ll get you something,” Julie said kindly. “We can’t have our teacher passing out on us.”
The cart had come to a halt, and Michael and the others were talking to Andrew. His expression was as dark as the sky that was beginning to glow with the sun setting behind the clouds. A fine rain began to fall.
She walked slowly, as though in a dream, over to the cart. It really was Felix. She had hoped beyond hope that perhaps it was just a man who looked like her uncle and wasn’t really him.
“Ah, there she is,” Uncle Felix said, beaming. He held out his arms to her.
Emily stared at him. “Felix,” she said, imbuing the words with as much chill as a snowstorm.
“Now, before you start to yell—” Felix said.
That was it. Emily folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “How dare you?” she said, shaking her head. “How dare you follow me! How did you find me? Why did you come here?”
“Emily,” Michael said, stepping close to her. “Is he really your uncle?”
She nodded. “Unfortunately.”
Michael looked over her head at someone, and then he put a hand on her arm. “I think we should go and sort this out in Andrew’s office.”
Suddenly aware of the eyes on her, Emily nodded. “Yes. It would be good to have privacy.”
A few moments later they were in Andrew’s office, which was still the tent he shared with Julie, his wife.
“All right, what is going on?” Andrew asked, a frown line creasing his brow. He looked very annoyed. This was the second time someone arrived in camp unannounced, causing chaos, and Emily was acutely aware of the fact that she had been the first.
“Look,” Uncle Felix began, but Michael stopped him with a gesture.
“Andrew, we came across this man in San Antonio, asking after you,” Walter explained. “He had one of Troy’s letters to Emily with him. We thought it best to bring him back here to answer some questions.”
Andrew nodded. “You’re her uncle?”
Felix nodded.
“The one she came here to get away from?” Andrew asked.
Emily was surprised to find that he knew about that. Well, she shouldn’t really have been surprised. Of course, Michael would have told him.
“She did?” Uncle Felix asked as though it was a shock to him.
Emily turned on him. “Yes, Uncle. I left everything because of you and your little habit. Didn’t you bother to read the letter I left explaining all of this?”
“What letter?” he asked. “I woke up the next day, or possibly the one after that, and you were just gone. There was no letter.”
“On your bedside table,” Emily said, her eyebrows raised. “Even you couldn’t have missed it.”
“It wasn’t there, I promise,” Felix said. He blinked. “You’re serious. You really left me a letter. What did it say? Did it tell me where you were going?”
She gave him a look.
“I suppose not,” Uncle Felix said. “That’s good because …” He seemed about to say something and then changed his mind. “It’s good.”
“You used Troy’s last letter to find us,” Andrew said. “You might have noticed we are quite remote out here. This camp is quite new, and we haven’t even agreed on a name yet.”
“Oh?” Uncle Felix asked. “Is there a bar anywhere nearby?”
Emily couldn’t believe her ears. He had come all this way, and he was going to slip right back into his nefarious ways. She shook her head. “Typical. Can’t wait a moment to get those cards in your hands, can you?”
“Bet you I can,” Felix said with a grin. “No, the reason I’m asking is that I vowed to myself that if I found my dearest niece again, I would swear off those things. No more! I’ve learned my lesson.” He spoke piously, but Emily had heard this before. She shook her head in disgust.
“Well, then you’re in luck because there isn’t a card game for miles, and no one leaves the camp at night,” Andrew said. “You’ll have to join us for dinner and stay here until the morning. Then you can go if you want to.”
“Why all the rules?” Felix asked. “Afraid folks might run off with your valuables?”
Emily wished that she wasn’t related to him by blood. That would be wonderful, but the family resemblance was strong. The blonde hair and green eyes, the full lips and the oval face were all from her father’s side and she had them all. So did Felix.
“We have the rules to keep our people safe,” Andrew said. “This isn’t an East Coast city. You won’t find sheriffs and policemen on every corner. Out here, we have to fend for ourselves, and we do. So please, don’t try anything silly.”
Now Andrew looked over at Emily. “I don’t suppose he could stay with you?”
Emily shook her head. “No. Definitely not.”
Andrew sighed. “It was too much to hope for.”
“He gambled away all of our money faster than I could earn it,” she snapped, “but the lying bothered me most.”
Michael was standing beside her, and he let his fingers brush hers.
For a moment he hooked his little finger with hers, and they stood for a heartbeat like that.
It had become a sign of affection between them over the weeks they had spent getting to know one another better after the Troy and Lizzy debacle had been sorted out.
“He can stay in my tent with me,” Michael said. “With Troy moved in with Lizzy, I have the space.” He leaned closer to Emily. “And then I can keep an eye on him.”
She nodded. She hated the idea of Felix anywhere near Michael, but what could she do? At least with Michael watching him, there was a limit to how much trouble Felix could get himself into.
They left Andrew’s tent and went to get food at the fire. The brief, light rain had only just dampened things, thankfully. Everyone sat around the fire, and to Emily’s great annoyance, Felix sat with her and Michael.
What was usually their time together was now their time together with Felix. This wasn’t fair. She had left her old life behind her and was building herself a new one. What right did her old life have to encroach on this bright new one?
“Don’t worry,” Michael said, leaning close to her. “We will sort this out.”
She nodded. Though she was ravenous, the stew seemed to have no taste. Julie sat on Emily’s other side and watched her.
“You have to eat,” she said. “I know how big a blow this is for you. We’ve spoken about your reasons for leaving home enough times, but you can’t let this get to you. If you do, then whether he is here or not, you will never be free of him.”
Emily nodded. Julie was right. “I know,” she said. “It’s the shock of seeing him in the back of the cart and finding him here. I never thought I would see him again.”
Julie looked past her and Michael to Felix, who sat beside him. Kyle was talking to him. Of course Kyle was. He was such a friendly person, always one of the first to greet and welcome someone new.
Felix seemed stunned in the face of Kyle’s good nature.
“You never know; perhaps by being exposed to people like Kyle, your uncle might truly turn over a new leaf,” Julie said. “He will have little opportunity here to indulge in those vices of his anyway.”
Emily nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be such a fatalist.” She sighed and whispered a prayer for forbearance.