Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Emily woke as the pink dawn touched the inside of the bedroom.
She stretched. “Ow.” A bruise on the side of her head stilled her movements.
Every part of her body hurt like someone had used a carpet beater on her.
The ceiling seemed whiter than she remembered.
The picture on the wall at the end of the bed was new.
She looked at the quilt on her bed. Was it new, as well?
She jerked upright. This wasn’t her room.
She groaned. “I remember what happened.” She’d been in an accident. A robbery. That’s what had caused the bump on her head. She sprang to the floor. Where was Mikey? She grabbed the robe someone had lent her and rushed across the hall.
The bed was empty.
Panic clawed at her throat, and she groaned.
“Emily?” The voice came from across the hall.
“If you’re looking for Mikey, he’s with me.”
Pressing a hand to her throat, she rushed back into the room where she’d awakened, closed the door, and sank to the edge of the bed. She was Emily. But Emily who? She rocked back and forth, willing her brain to clear, but nothing more came. Her memory had not returned.
She went to the window and looked out at the leafy willow tree, reviewing everything she could recall.
She was with the sheriff, Jesse Hill, and Gram.
She was safe with them, but she couldn’t still the fear that intermingled with her frustration.
She recalled one more thing. She was to deliver Mikey to the Newman family today.
There was nothing to be gained by staring out the window, and she chose a pink shirtwaist and brown skirt from the basket of clothes and quickly dressed.
She used the comb and brush that had been part of the basket’s contents, along with hairpins and a Bible.
She brushed her hair and rolled it into a loose bun, then examined herself in the mirror on the bureau. It would do.
Her hands clasped together, she paused at the closed door.
She might not be able to remember her name, but she remembered yesterday and how she had clung to Jesse.
Perhaps it was understandable, given what she’d been through, but it would not continue.
He didn’t need to be associated with the likes of her.
She stood motionless. The likes of her? Why did that thought come to mind? Was she a bad person? Someone decent people should avoid? But if that was the case, why was Mikey with her? Would someone entrust a child to her if she wasn’t a decent person?
If only she could find answers to her many questions.
Sucking in courage, she opened the door and stepped into the hall.
Jesse strode out of his room, Mikey perched in one arm and grinning at her over Jesse’s shoulder.
Her eyes stung. Mikey looked like he’d found a home. It was all Emily could do not to rush into the circle of Jesse’s other arm. Everything else was gone but the strength radiating from this man.
Mikey saw her. “Mem, mem, mem,” he babbled.
Jesse faced her. “I hope you slept well.”
“Yes, thank you.”
His eyes held a question.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“I’m sorry.” He reached out and took her hand. “It will come.”
“Maybe no one cares where I am.” She tried and failed to keep the tremor from her voice.
He pulled her close. “That simply doesn’t make sense. Someone is out there waiting for you to return from your errand with Mikey, expecting a letter from you to say you’ve arrived safely. I’m sure the Newmans will be able to help us.”
They descended the stairs into the kitchen, where Gram stirred a frying pan of potatoes. A pot of coffee filled the air with a delicious aroma.
Mikey saw Muffin and demanded to be put down. The dog and boy greeted each other with squirmy hugs.
“Do you drink coffee?” Jesse asked.
“I believe I do, and if I don’t, I’m about to start.”
He kissed Gram on the cheek. They exchanged a glance, and Jesse shook his head.
Emily knew he’d informed her that Emily’s memory had not returned.
He poured them each a cup of the hot liquid. They sat at the table, which Gram had already set.
“I’m feeling much better today.” She had no idea when Jesse would begin the trip to the Newmans.
Gram carried the potatoes, bacon, and eggs to the table and sat at her place. “I enjoy having company.”
Emily nodded, not knowing what else to do.
“Come to breakfast, Mikey,” Jesse called.
The boy climbed up beside the man, gazing at him with wide-eyed adoration.
Gram chuckled. “Seems someone has laid a claim to you.” She moved the little boy’s plate across the table so Mikey could sit by Jesse.
Looking at the pair, seeing the mutual admiration, filled Emily with such emptiness she wondered why she didn’t collapse like a lifeless paper doll.
Jesse looked at her, his gaze steady.
She shamelessly clung to his look, feeling much like Mikey. Keep me safe.
He nodded as if understanding...as if giving his promise.
He bowed his head and asked the blessing on the food and added a desire for Emily to remember who she was.
She silently agreed, ignoring the tremor that raced across her shoulders. She surely couldn’t be a bad person. That dark fear was only from not knowing.
After they finished breakfast, Jesse reached to the cupboard behind him and got a Bible. “We always read a portion before we begin our day.”
“I like that.”
“We are reading from John’s gospel, chapter fourteen.
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’” He stopped and met Emily’s gaze.
“I believe that is a word you need today. Don’t let your circumstances trouble you. ”
Tears escaped without forewarning. “Excuse me,” she managed and hurried from the room.
But where could she go? She stopped before the window in the living room and stared at the table and chairs beneath the tree.
If only she could find the sort of peace the view offered.
Of course, she wouldn’t find it in her circumstances.
Only in trusting God’s word. But it was so hard.
The canary sang cheerfully as if to point out that he was confined to a cage, and yet he could sing.
Yes, she realized, it could be so much worse.
She sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it along with her worries and fears.
Jesse touched her shoulder. She was glad she’d found a resting place for her heart before he came to her.
“What’s wrong?”
She smiled at him. “Momentary panic, I suppose, but then I realized how well God has taken care of me by having a good, noble man find me. A man who trusts God.”
He looked surprised. “I’m just doing my job.”
She was only a job to him? She had no reason to be hurt by the knowledge.
His eyes grew serious. “I don’t know much about you, but enough to know you’re a caring person and someone is frantically looking for you. Maybe not yet, but as soon as you fail to show up when expected.”
“I suppose that might be so. Thank you for making me feel better.”
“I’m off to Wolf Hollow this morning as soon as I make my rounds.” He hesitated as if wondering if she still meant to accompany him.
Part of her wished to stay here where she felt safe, but only by facing what lay ahead could she hope to learn the truth about herself.
“I want to come.”
Jesse made a circuit of the town. He stopped at several homes to check on the occupants—an older woman who lived alone and an elderly couple who were getting frail and often needed someone to take out ashes or get water for them.
He visited a home where the children had recently been sick.
The mother said they were on the mend, and she didn’t need him to fetch the doctor or get anything from the store.
Things were quiet in Bella Creek and should anything arise, Clarence could deal with it. He was only looking for excuses to delay leaving town with Emily and Mikey. He wasn’t in any hurry to deliver them to the Newman family. But she was no doubt anxious to get on the way.
He got a wagon from the livery barn and drove to the house. For a moment, he sat holding the slack reins in his hands. He could not, in all honesty, delay any longer, and he jumped down and went indoors.
Emily stood in the middle of the room, a bonnet on her head and a valise at her heels. Mikey sat on the floor and hugged Muffin.
Emily pulled in her lips. “I’ve told him several times that he’s going to meet his new mama and papa, but either he didn’t comprehend, or he didn’t want any more changes.”
Jesse suspected the latter.
Gram watched from nearby, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and a hankie twisted in her hands. “I won’t cry. I don’t want to upset the boy. But I hate to see you go.”
Jesse thought part of Gram’s emotion was due to the fact she didn’t know what lay ahead for them and wished she could keep them here safe and sound. Feelings not unlike Jesse’s. He caught up the bag filled with their few possessions. “Who’s ready to go for a ride?”
Mikey clung to Muffin. “Doggie go?”
Jesse squatted before him. “Muffin has to stay with Gram.”
Mikey’s arms tightened around Muffin’s neck enough that Jesse feared for the dog.
Gram hurried into the kitchen and brought out a basket. “Mikey, there are cookies in here to eat on your trip.”
Mikey looked from the offered treat to the dog and slowly released Muffin. He stood, his fists curled and his jaw set.
Jesse looked at Emily and saw that she, too, was fighting her emotions. If only he could change things for all of them, but the boy was spoken for, and Emily needed to find out who she was. He took Mikey’s hand and the picnic basket and settled them in the wagon before going back to get their bags.
Gram wrapped Emily in her arms. “I wish you nothing but the best. However, if things don’t work out, you are always welcome here.”
Emily sniffed. “Thank you for everything.” She clung to Gram a second longer, then headed for the door without glancing back.