Chapter 15 #2
The scene that met their eyes filled Kevin’s eyes with tears and his heart with dread.
Smoke rose in tendrils from the new church they had been building, the town store, and a couple of the houses.
In the distance, more smoke rose, but it was a thin column.
Kevin’s heart shot into his throat. That was the farm. Was Anita okay?
“Oh, there you are,” Troy said, emerging from the smoke. “A whole lot of these fellows have surrendered. Andrew’s over there now.”
Kevin nodded, and he marched Joe to the open area in front of the town storeroom.
One side was blackened, and part of the roof had caved in, but other than that, the storeroom was fine.
Andrew stood in front of it with about ten men on their knees in front of him.
Their hands were tied behind their backs, and they all looked as scared and lost as Joe did.
When they reached the group, Joe was shoved forward, and Robert and his volunteers took over.
“I’m going to find Anita,” Kevin said. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had done his duty to his town, trying to correct what was apparently a terrible mistake, and now he had to go and see if he still had a home. And, far more importantly, a wife.
He didn’t wait for anyone to say anything.
He set off running, pistol in hand. As he went through the town, he saw wounded men lying on the ground, moaning.
Thankfully, he realized none of them were townsfolk.
Even so, he sent up a prayer for forgiveness for what he and his friends and wife had inadvertently wrought.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the gate to the farm. There was something on fire, and two figures were working tirelessly to put it out. As he reached the spot where the smoke rose from, Kevin noticed that it was one of the little sheds that held their gardening tools.
Anita and Kyle were both there with buckets of water drawn from the well. They were sweating, and Anita was still covered in muck and dried mud. She smiled from ear to ear when she saw him.
“Thank goodness, Kevin! I was hoping they wouldn’t burn the bridge,” she said. “I couldn’t think how you would get across if they did!”
Kevin didn’t speak. He dropped the pistol and threw his arms around her, grateful beyond words when she wrapped her own arms around him and held on tightly. Thank you for keeping her safe, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, he whispered over and over.
Eventually, as the panic ebbed away, he felt her tapping his arm and he released her.
Anita took a step back and chuckled. “Gosh, I couldn’t breathe for a moment.”
“Sorry,” Kevin said. “I’m just so relieved that you’re okay. Anita, I love you,” he said urgently. “I know I told you earlier, but I mean it. When I thought you could possibly be hurt or worse?—”
Her gentle kiss cut him off, and she gazed into his eyes tenderly. “I love you,” she said softly, stroking his muddy cheek. And I’m fine, Kevin. But you’re bleeding. What happened?” Her tone became more urgent as she took in the state of him.
“Come on. Save all that for later, you two. We have to get this fire out,” Kyle urged them.
“It’s a scratch,” Kevin said. “I can use my arm and everything. It just hurts.”
Anita looked deep into his eyes, kissed him once more, and then, seemingly satisfied, she let him go.
They managed to put out the fire in the barn, and then all sat on the ground with their buckets, just breathing and enjoying being alive.
Soon there would be Andrew to deal with, and they would no doubt be in trouble again.
But at that moment, all Kevin could think about was how happy he was that he still had a wife and a home.
Even the cows all appeared to be all right.
Soon he would have to face the music because it was his and Troy’s fault that this attack had happened, and the loss of property, as well as the people injured in the attack, would be on their shoulders.
Kevin could accept that, and he would take whatever form his punishment took.
He would bear it with his chin held high, because it was the right thing to do.
Anita smiled and pulled him into a sitting position. “I suppose this was in retaliation for our blowing up the dam?”
Kevin nodded. “Only it’s worse than you think. I talked to a man, Joe, who swears they know nothing of El Aguila.”
Anita frowned. “What? Are you saying the dam wasn’t one of the bandits’ projects?”
He shrugged. “Apparently not. Joe said they were hired to build a dam by someone or other and that’s all he knew.”
“That doesn’t mean El Aguila isn’t still lurking in the shadows, funding the project,” she pointed out.
“After everything you’ve told me about how he wants to destroy this town and take over the mine, it’s too coincidental that someone else beside him would arbitrarily decide to build a dam upstream from us. I don’t believe it.”
Kevin absorbed that and nodded slowly. “That makes sense. So it could have been that El Aguila was behind the dam, even if the workers didn’t know anything about him or his criminal enterprise.” He almost hoped that would be the truth, as it would relieve some of his guilt.
Anita sighed. “Well, either way, hopefully we can bathe before Andrew strings us up from the nearest tree. I would like to be clean before I meet my maker.”
“He won’t do that,” Kevin said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “He’ll reprimand us and probably make us fix what’s broken. Or whatever we can fix, at least. We’ll never be able to atone for those injured.” He closed his eyes and prayed for forgiveness for a moment.
“We thought we were doing what was right,” Anita said quietly.
“Negotiating with the bandits wasn’t ever going to happen, and we had to take down that dam before it was built more sturdily.
This town would have ceased to exist without water.
It was impulsive but well-meant, Kevin. There really was no other way.
If we’d dawdled and come back to town, then it would’ve taken Andrew a month, like usual, to make what he felt was an informed decision, and by then, the dam would have been unbreachable. ”
Kyle nodded. “Anita’s right. Now, come on. I’ll help you two fetch water for those baths because I can’t stand the smell of you any longer.”