Chapter 16
Blackened scars ran through the little town of Unity. Perhaps it was fitting that she had wounds just like so many of the town’s inhabitants. Lucy considered this as she sat on Mrs. Odenkirk’s porch, wrapped in a blanket with a mug of hot cocoa beside her on a table.
“We were lucky we didn’t lose anything too important,” Robert said. “The bathhouse lost part of its roof, and the general store lost the back wall, but we can fix that.” He sipped his mug of hot cocoa.
“Who brought the farmers to our rescue?” Lucy asked.
Robert had told her the whole story of the battle, everything she’d missed, including Christopher’s death.
“Ben and the others who took the shipment to San Antonio,” Robert said. “Turns out they got the cart stuck in a muddy patch. It delayed them enough that they saw the column of bandits riding toward Unity. They knew it was trouble and quickly went to get help.”
“Thank the good Lord for that,” Lucy said. “I don’t think we could have held out much longer.”
“You’re not wrong,” Robert said, smiling.
Lucy let her gaze linger on him. For a while there, she had thought she would never see him again. The thought filled her with dread and also a deep thankfulness that things hadn’t turned out like that but that, once again, life and love had triumphed over darkness.
Just then, there were footsteps on the drive, crunching the stones underfoot, and she looked around to find Troy coming toward them. He looked tired, but then, most folks in Unity had been working very hard to repair the damage. Only those too injured to work were excused.
“I thought I would find you here,” Troy said with a grin. “Lizzy sent me to find you, Robert. She wants to show you the gate.”
“She’s fixed it already?” he asked, looking amazed.
Lucy was astounded too. It was only three days since the attack. How could a very pregnant Lizzy have found the time and the energy to be so productive?
Troy shrugged at the expressions on their faces. “My wife doesn’t know how to sit still,” he said. “Anyway, she had a whole lot of improvements just waiting to be installed. The remake of the gate seemed like the perfect time.”
“Of course,” Robert said. “Would you mind if I go?” he asked.
Lucy gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet. “Not at all, but I’d like to come too,” she said.
Robert looked skeptically at her. “You’re not well enough.”
“I’m supposed to go for walks,” Lucy said. “Julie said so. And since nothing vital was hit, I think all this sitting around isn’t doing me any good.”
“Luckily, I have a buckboard handy,” Troy said. “Jeff is just picking up supplies at the store. He’ll be here any moment.”
It took Jeff another five minutes to arrive and when he did, they all piled into the vehicle and rode to where Lizzy was working on the gate.
Lucy didn’t care much about the mechanical rundown of what Lizzy was doing, which quickly absorbed the men. She wanted to see it, the damage, the repairs, everything.
Having stared down Christopher’s gun and felt his bullet enter her body, Lucy needed to see.
Robert had taken her to see Christopher’s body laid on a slab in the sheriff’s office’s cellar.
There was no morgue. She had needed to see that the monster who had tried to bury her in heavy bolts of fabric and hoped she would die by scorpion sting was dead. It had helped with the nightmares.
However, the feeling of not being safe wouldn’t seem to go away, and that was why she needed to see the gate going back up, watching the people of Unity putting their lives and their town back together.
The gate had been dented and broken, but not beyond what Lizzy could fix, it seemed. The huge thing was back on its hinges, studded in more sheets of metal and looking heavier than ever.
Seeing this added security did something to help Lucy feel less exposed and vulnerable. Seeing the armed citizens on the platform patrolling also helped her make her feel more in control and that no one could just come in and hurt them.
She soon tired though, and Robert took her home.
Two weeks later, Unity was looking much better, and life had settled down. Also, it was almost Christmas.
The weeks of convalescence had done Lucy a world of good. She wasn’t back to normal, but she didn’t need to go and lie down every five minutes either. She was regaining her strength nicely and looking forward to the festive season in Unity.
All about her, the town was blossoming with decorations. Wreaths, which had been burned off or knocked off doors, were put back up, and colored paper chains, lanterns, and other decorations were popping up all over.
In the bakery window, gingerbread men and women lay on wax paper, smiling at passersby.
Fruit-filled Christmas puddings and cakes lined the shelves, giving the place the fruity smell of the holidays.
The mince pies and iced cookies seemed to fly off the shelves, and Mrs. Odenkirk had a constantly renewed supply of them that she kept feeding to Robert and Lucy.
Lucy watched, along with a whole lot of others, as Ben, Troy, Robert, and a few others brought a giant pine tree into town. It was easily fifteen feet tall. They had somehow dug it up and wrapped the roots in burlap sacks.
Lucy was well enough to join the procession of folks who followed them to the town square. There, they dug a huge hole in the rain-softened ground and proceeded to plant the tree.
Anita kissed her husband. “We’ll have to have a tree-decorating party.”
“That is a marvelous idea,” Andrew said with a smile. “Let’s say in two days? It gives us all time to find something to put on it.”
And so it was decided that in two days, everyone would bring something to put on the tree and welcome it to its new home in Unity.
Lucy found some packets of beads in the haberdashery section of the general store. She spent a couple of days stringing them on a thin ribbon. Robert helped her, and they decided the decorations would be from both of them.
When the tree-decorating party was due to start, they set off for the square. The square was mostly just a patch of open ground in front of the town hall, which was still under construction. It had been burned quite badly, so the construction had been set back quite a bit.
No one seemed particularly upset about it.
Tables had been set up, and Grace and Herman had made a feast for everyone to enjoy.
Bonnie and her uncle, Mr. Di Aventura, brought strings of popcorn as decorations as well as bags of the stuff, popped and salted, ready for folks to nibble on as they decorated the communal tree.
Troy, Jeff, and Kevin had been working on brewing some beer and cider and bottles of the stuff were on the table.
Lucy took a sip of the cider and found it to be sweet and delicious. It was also very strong, and about halfway through her bottle, she poured the rest of it out on a bush at the edge of the square.
Luckily, there was also hot cocoa and she and Robert got themselves mugs of that.
Emily had coached the schoolchildren to sing carols, and as everyone gathered and sampled the delicious food, the children sang.
Suddenly something pulled on her skirt. Looking down, Lucy found a little creature looking up at her with liquid brown eyes peering out of a mask of black fur.
“Hey there, little fellow,” she said, reaching down carefully for Critter. Her side was still nothing but agony if she moved too fast. “Why aren’t you with Timothy?”
Critter chirped and chittered as though telling her all his woes. Then he accepted her hand and climbed up to perch on her shoulder. She stroked his head.
“He likes you,” Robert said. “Critter doesn’t like too many folks.”
He tried to pat the little guy, but Critter snapped at him, and Robert withdrew his hand. “See.”
“I can’t think why he doesn’t like you,” Lucy said. “I think you’re wonderful.”
Robert beamed at her. “I think you’re wonderful too. Do you want some popcorn?”
She nodded, and Robert went to fetch some. Benches had been placed in the square, and they went to sit, placing the bag of beaded ribbons at their feet. Robert handed Lucy a paper bag of popcorn and she shared it with Critter.
Soon Mrs. Odenkirk arrived with Ben, Duncan, and Alistair. The hired gunmen had begun to find their feet in Unity. After arriving with the cavalry and essentially saving the day, they were welcomed more enthusiastically and many of the townsfolk waved them over.
Ben, however, came to sit with Lucy and Robert. He grinned at them as he placed a huge, thin rectangle on the ground. It was easily four feet by five and looked like a painting or something covered in brown paper.
“What is that?” she asked.
“It’s a gift from Duncan to the town,” Ben said, beaming.
Critter made a funny noise in his throat and quickly climbed onto Ben’s shoulder. “Hi there, little guy,” Ben said, stroking his fur.
“Traitor,” Lucy said with a chuckle. “You just came to eat my popcorn.”
Critter had the good sense to look chastised.
Soon, Andrew, Julie, their baby son, Michael, and Emily stepped forward, and the tree-decorating party was called to something like order.
Andrew made a little speech about how proud he and Michael were that everyone had pulled together to save their town once again.
“We couldn’t ask for a better group of people to call our friends, neighbors, and family.
That’s what we are here in Unity: a family.
We care for each other. We look out for each other; we support each other.
It’s only through uplifting our neighbors that we are enriched, loved, and made to feel whole and safe.
It’s only in caring about each other’s safety and well-being that we are safe and well cared for.
Each person here is vital to the prosperity and happiness of all.
We can never forget that. Because the moment we do, we risk losing everything.
And I am so grateful to have each and every one of you in my life.
To know each of you by name. To call you all my friends.
The Lord has truly blessed me. I hope you feel the same way. ”
Lucy was surprised to find that she felt the same way.
She felt as blessed as ever she could. Since she’d been shot and recuperating, she hadn’t wanted for visitors.
Even George from the platform had given up his seat in the guard tower a few times to come see how she was doing.
She hadn’t felt this level of concern for her well-being ever before.
It was beyond her wildest expectations, and she had Robert to thank.
Leaning her head on his shoulder, she took hold of his hand and held it. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
When Andrew and Michael were done, they each placed their decoration on the tree. Then Ben, Duncan, and Alistair stepped forward and made a little speech. It was Ben who did most of the speaking, thanking everyone for welcoming them to Unity. Then he presented Andrew and Michael with the rectangle.
Everyone watched as they ripped the paper away to reveal the present underneath.
“It’s on its side,” Duncan said. “Turn it this way, Ben.”
Ben did as instructed, and everyone could see what it was. An awed “Ahhhh” ran through the crowd.
It was a huge sketch of Unity as it was before the bandits tried to burn it down.
“There’s so much detail,” Michael said, peering at the picture.
“My goodness, Duncan, you have a real talent. This is amazing,” Andrew said.
“We’ll hang it for all to see in the town hall, assuming the bandits ever let us finish building it,” Michael said.
Duncan smiled, nodded, and shook everyone’s hands.
Then it was time, and everyone started to place their decorations on the tree. There were baubles, mistletoe, paper chains, and carved wooden ornaments.
Kevin and Kyle climbed ladders to help people place their decorations. Robert took the beaded ribbons and with Lucy directing him, he climbed a ladder and hung them over the branches of the tree.
The day was overcast again, and the light didn’t quite catch the beads properly, but they shimmered and shone anyway.
As they sat, sharing a plate of the excellent food that was on offer, Ethan walked over to them. He was wearing a broad grin.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
Robert and Lucy shook their heads.
Ethan sat on the bench beside Robert. “In all the madness lately, I forgot about something.” He pulled a little folded piece of pink paper from his pocket.
Robert bent and picked it up, handing it back to Ethan. “Is that from a lady?” he asked in a teasing tone.
Ethan’s cheeks went instantly red. He nodded. “No. But I have been corresponding with someone,” he confessed. “A nurse. Diane Hart. She’s been writing to me for a while now.” He chuckled. “She’s coming after Christmas. Probably in January, if there isn’t too much snow.” He seemed excited.
Holding out the paper to Lucy, Ethan said, “Anyway, this is for you.”
Lucy took it and unfolded it. She couldn’t help but gasp at the words typed there.
“What does it say?” Robert asked.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “They got them. There were three men stealing from the firm, and they got them all.”
Robert whooped and punched the air. “Yes! That’s great news.”
Lucy nodded. It certainly was. Simon was now completely avenged, and he could rest peacefully. She grinned as a weight seemed to lift off her shoulders.
“I think I could do with a bottle of that excellent cider now,” she said.
It was a wonderful party that lasted well into the evening. By then, lanterns and candles had been lit, and the whole square was alive with light and laughter.
Lucy had to sit for most of it. She was tired and sore but didn’t want to miss anything. So, Robert sat with her until she was ready to go.
Robert took her back to Mrs. Odenkirk’s house and walked her up to the porch.
“Thank you for a wonderful party,” Lucy said, smiling.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, you did,” she said. “You were there with me, and it meant the world.”
He smiled and leaned closer to her. Gently, his lips soft and warm, Robert kissed her. He tasted of cocoa and popcorn and sweet things, and Lucy let herself melt like chocolate into his arms.