He thinks I’m beautiful.
Smiling, I loosened my hair and ran my brush through the tangles as I gazed out the window. To the left were the remains of the charred barn. Except for faint smoke rising from the cinders, it lay lifeless and defeated.
To its side was the garden. Untouched by the heat from the fire, it was miraculously alive. Stalks of corn and sunflowers towered over clusters of lettuce, frilly carrot leaves, and tangles of tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants. Runner beans crawled up sticks, poking from the ground like teepees. Pumpkin and squash vines coiled in the dirt, silent snakes waiting for autumn.
As I slipped on my cotton dress, a rider approached beyond the garden and at the far edge of the field. Daniel? No, but the horse was vaguely familiar … although from where I couldn’t remember. The rider drew closer until he halted near the hitching post. The brim of the man’s hat was low and covered most of his face. My heart raced. Could this be the one making all the trouble? And to be so bold to return in the light of day? Before reaching for the rifle, something shiny on his shirt caught my eye.
The sheriff. Glad he decided to come today. Surely, Stanley had something do with that.
Quickly fastening the buttons on my dress, I hurried toward the door, but when it opened, I gasped and stepped back.
“Mary Roberts,” the man fairly purred as he twirled his hat in his hands. “It’s been too long. Much too long.”
My mouth hung open until I caught my breath. “Sheriff Murphy. What are you doing here?”
“Come on now, Mary, you promised to call me David, remember?” A sick feeling overcame me at the touch of his hand under my chin. “It’s mighty good to see you. You look wonderful. Good as ever.” His head jerked toward the smoldering wood. “Although your barn isn’t looking well. May I come in?”
I reluctantly stepped to the side and motioned him in, twisting my hands together, unsure what to say or do next. “Sorry. It’s just that you surprised me. I never expected to see—”
“Me out here?” He glanced around the room. “Got reassigned. Promoted, you might say. With the population growing such as it is in these parts, there’d been advertisements for more sheriffs and deputies. They figured a solid and qualified man like me would be a good fit for such a lawless place.” He was quiet for a moment as he surveyed every inch of the room. “Besides, it was time for a change of scenery. Not much happening these days around Adair.”
“But we already have a sheriff.”
He shot me a hard look, then his face relaxed. “I’ve been appointed to cover the areas around Enid and anywhere else that might need an extra lawman for the time being.” He looked out the window in the direction of the barn. “Looks like you might need help.”
“Happened yes … yesterday. Didn’t take long to destroy the entire thing.”
“Just the structure?” The expression on his face was unreadable.
“Our mule and cow barely got out. By the grace of God, Wesley wasn’t harmed. Daniel got them out just before it collapsed.”
His face darkened as he stepped closer. “Daniel?”
My skin crawled with the memory of the last time Sheriff Murphy had been this close—his strong hand digging into my arm. I moved to the other side of the table to put some distance between us and forced a grin. “A friend. Luckily, he was in the area and able to help.”
“At night?” He smirked and then shook his head back and forth as if he found it amusing. When he stopped, his body stiffened, and he had a crazed look in his eyes that scared me. How did he know the fire happened at night?
With that thought, like an unexpected flood crashing through the walls of a canyon, the mere presence of the man was suffocating … terrifying. I forced myself to breathe and blinked hard to make sure he was actually in front of me. But his giant-like stature beneath my low ceiling and in my modest home confirmed he was no apparition.
Suddenly, everything made sense. Noises outside the window, footprints in the dirt the next morning, overturned furniture, the smashed rocking chair, torn painting. And the growling dog. The dog who was at the creek with the children and would be of no use.
My eyes shifted to the rifle poised next to the door and the pistol on the nightstand. As usual, David’s gun rested on his hip.
He set the fire and almost killed my son. I was sure of it. As though bundling my nerves with a piece of twine, I willed myself to remain calm. “It might be best if you come back when my neighbors are here to help. I’m sure they’d like to meet you. Mr. Cooley has strong sons cleaning up the mess, but it will take more than them alone.”
He was silent as his eyes traveled the length of my body, forcing me to relive a putrid memory.
“Good day, David.” My words came with as much courage as I could muster.
“Wanting to get rid of me already?” His mustache twitched in an awkward way as if trying to control words waiting to spew from his mouth. “You’re not being hospitable, now are you?”
As he stepped even closer, the stench of whiskey gave me more reason to fear him. “I’ve come all this way.” He seized my hand. “The least you can do is—”
I pulled away, but his other hand grasped and dug into my arm. “You’re hurting me. Let me go!”
He forced his mouth onto mine, and his bristly face scratched my skin. I tried to shove him away, but he held me tighter. For a moment, I was back underwater, unable to breathe, yet my body demanded me to kick and claw my way to the surface. I broke free and stumbled against the stove.
“Please don’t do this.” I pushed my hair from my eyes. “I haven’t done anything to you.”
He cocked his head as though my words were absurd. “You haven’t? You’ve broken my heart. Isn’t that worth something? Am I not good enough for you?”
He paced the room and then kicked the wall with his heavy, leather boots. Small dirt clods loosened from the wall and tumbled onto the floor. I knew in an instant he could destroy everything I had left in this world. My fingers wrapped around the fire poker shaft, but I froze when he stopped at the nightstand and lifted the note from Daniel.
He raised his head and glowered. “You whore! Your husband hasn’t been in the ground a year, and you’re already in bed with another man.”
“That’s not true!” I shouted. “How dare you—”
His large fist slammed on the table. “You could have become my wife—a respectable woman. But now you aren’t worth more than spittle. I should have let you drown in that river.” His face contorted, and then he lunged at me.
With every thread of my being, I swung the poker. It cracked him across the forehead, making him stagger and fall to one knee. He held his face as blood oozed between his fingers. I stared for a moment, shocked at my action. Then, as if someone whispered in my ear to flee, I scooted around him, took the pistol from the table, and ran out the door.
In an effort to run as fast as possible, my legs were defiant as if in a nightmare. Stumbling and unable to catch myself, my palms drove into the dirt. Then my eyes caught the sheriff holding himself against the doorframe. He seemed dazed, trying to focus through the blood dripping into his eyes. I stood, but before my feet could move, he charged after me.
I fumbled with the pistol and tried to raise it—at least to scare him. But he overpowered me and threw me back to the ground. A searing pain cut through my arm, and my fingers went numb. The gun slipped from my hand and skidded across the hard ground into the weeds.
He stepped back. “I’ll show you what a man does to a woman who’s worth nothing.” He sneered and then let out an eerie cackle. “This is how you can pay me back for saving your life.”
I tried to hoist myself up, but the pain was so intense I collapsed. From the corner of my eye, something moved in the field. Anna. She was running toward the house from the direction of the creek, her mouth open and eyes wild.
“Run, Anna! Get help!” I cried out. She stopped, completely motionless. Only the browned grasses swayed around her legs.
“Who is that?” David growled and pulled out his gun.
“Leave her alone,” I begged.
“What are ya doing here, girl? Go on.” He raised his gun and shot into the air.
Anna remained still.
“What’s wrong with you? Get out of here.” This time, he pointed the gun in her direction.
I screamed and tried to kick him. “You’re scaring her. Surely you wouldn’t shoot a child. Besides, she can’t speak.”
“Good, she won’t be able to tell what I’m going to do to you.”
“No!” a small voice called out. Anna’s voice.
David waved the gun wildly in the air. “Thought she couldn’t talk. You’re a liar as well as a whore.”
With my last bit of resolve, I screamed again, “Get Nate! Run, Anna!” As she ran away, the only thing to do was pray. Oh, God, please let me live to hear that child’s voice again.
David stood over me, his long shadow casting darkness across my body as though I were already in the grave. “Now, like I was saying.” He rubbed his hands together and then tore the front of my dress.
Another voice I knew so well rang out, followed by the barking of a dog. “Leave her be!”
David turned. “Now, where did you come from? Sneaking around like that.”
Wesley stood in front of the house with the black dog at his side, the rifle raised and aimed.
“Son, don’t be stupid.” David took a step forward and stopped. “Put that gun down. You don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Leave my mama alone, or I’ll shoot you.”
David shook his head as if my son had totally misjudged his intentions. “Wesley, no one’s gonna harm your mama. Me and her are old friends. You and me too. Remember catching all those fish together?”
“I remember you teaching me how to shoot a gun, and I’m not afraid to do it.” His small body shook, but he held tightly, one hand on the barrel, the other resting on the trigger. “Get off our property right now, or I’ll have to kill you.”
“You know if you shoot me, they’ll put you in jail. It’s a serious offense to kill a lawman.” He nodded as though agreeing with himself. “They’d most likely hang you.”
The clicking of his tongue reminded me of the old clock in Mother’s kitchen, plodding on through the day. Could this be my son’s last day on earth, as well as my own?
“Horrible way to die, Son, horrible.” The dog snarled. “Now put that gun down. It would be a shame to have to shoot you or your dog in self-defense, now wouldn’t it?”
“Don’t listen to him, Wesley,” I called out. “He’s only trying to scare you. He won’t hurt the dog, and he certainly won’t shoot you.”
“You’re not in the best position to be saying much right now.” A wad of spittle landed on the ground right next to my face. “Are you, Mary?”
Over the rise, a plume of dust filled the air as five horses and riders raced down the hill.
David glanced at me, then addressed Wesley in a loud voice. “The scoundrel who did this to your mother was lucky to get away before I arrived. Ain’t that right, Wesley?” He turned back toward me. “Let me help you up.” He leaned close. “And you’d be smart to keep your mouth shut. I bet you have quite a reputation around here anyway. These men will believe my story over that of a loose woman.”
I pulled the fabric of my torn clothing together. “Don’t touch me,” I hissed. “And I’d never lie for the likes of you.”
As he leaned over me, the dog leapt from the porch. A shot rang out, followed by Wesley screaming and running to the side of the dog lying in the dirt.
For a brief moment, David stared at Wesley and then at me. Like a cornered animal, he backed away toward his horse. But before he could untether the reins and pull himself onto the saddle, he was surrounded by the Cooleys, the sheriff, and Daniel.
“Who are you?” The sheriff pointed at David’s badge. “And what in hades happened? Did the lady give you a beating?”
“She’s crazy for sure. Not making much sense of what she’s saying. Probably confused and scared. Looks like someone was out here right before I rode up.” He wiped his face with his sleeve. “I’d only arrived to take a look at the damage to the barn, and she went off on me.”
Daniel jumped from his horse and ran to my side. With one hand, I held the ripped pieces of my dress around me the best I could.
“Oh, my God. What happened?” He helped me stand as Ben ran over and steadied me. “I should never have left you alone.” Daniel took my face in his hands. “Who did this?”
Everything around me blurred as though looking through a rain-pelted window. I wanted to release the torrent of tears that had been dammed behind walls of fear and pride for so long. But all I could do was barely whisper, “Him.” I forced myself to look away from Daniel—a kind and good man—and toward Sheriff David Murphy—a cruel and evil being.
Daniel’s body tensed, and when I glanced back at him, it was as though a different person stood in front of me. His eyes appeared to have fire coming from them. He ran at David.
“Daniel, no!” I shrieked.
Shots split the air as Ben threw me to the ground and covered me with his body. Time stopped. My world was captured in a nightmare, and there was no escaping the dark hole into which I tumbled. I imagined calling for help, but no one could hear.
Ben raised himself up and helped me stand. That’s when I saw a body on the ground, a white shirt soaking up the puddle of blood. Sheriff Murphy.
Daniel and the sheriff stood over the lifeless body.
“Fool of a man.” The sheriff tapped the badge pinned to David’s shirt with the butt of his gun. “Heard tell of a lawman down by Enid impersonating a newly appointed sheriff. You can be sure he wasn’t sent here under my jurisdiction.” He shook his head. “Must be the same fellow. That badge he’s wearing says Missouri.” He knelt and laid his fingers to the side of David’s neck. “Wonder what brought him all the way out here?” He squinted at me, but I said nothing. “Too bad it had to end this way, but he pulled his gun first.”
The sheriff glanced at the gun in Daniel’s hand and then spoke firmly. “Good thing it was me who shot him. Ain’t that right? We wouldn’t want anyone being accused of murder, now would we?” He raised his eyebrows. “A man’s got to protect himself and others, especially out here.”
In the chaos, I hadn’t noticed Stanley supporting Nate’s arm. How long had he been here? And where was Anna?
Nate’s blood trickled down his fingers as Stanley motioned to Ben. “Ben, find Adam and bring him right away.” He looked at me as I held my limp arm as well. “Looks like there’s plenty to keep him busy.”
*****
As the sun fell over the Cooley ranch, we talked in quiet voices—all but Anna. She remained silent.
Daniel encouraged me to tell him what David had said and done. A few of the details I buried deep where horrible memories were supposed to eventually disappear. But the way Daniel held me and whispered words of love, he understood David’s cruelty and what would have occurred if Anna and Wesley hadn’t been near.
Before long, Ben returned with Adam. Stanley greeted him with an embrace.
“Adahy. My home welcomes you again, but I wish this time it wasn’t for healing.”
The Indian clutched his bag of herbs and miracles. “Lots of bad in world. Plenty of good.” He tucked his bag under his arm and lifted his palms, teetering his hands up and down. “Depends which side of scale you live.” He dug into his bag and produced a vial of red powder. “Cayenne. Slows blood and closes hole fast.”
Tears ran down Nate’s face as Adam rubbed the cayenne into his wound. And when he twisted my arm in various directions, my head spun, and I was sure I would faint. With his thumb and forefinger, he determined a bone was broken in two places. Once the rawhide splint was in place, my body was able to relax as I sipped on the willow bark tea he insisted would lessen the swelling.
“Could have been a lot worse.�
� Stanley carried a chair from the kitchen and plopped it next to Daniel. “The whole lot of you could have died, including me.”
I held my finger to my mouth, reminding Stanley the children were present. Wesley hadn’t left my side since we arrived in the wagon. Now, like a cat, he curled next to me on the sofa.
“You were a brave boy.” I wrapped my good arm around him and pulled him closer, looking around for Anna. “Anna …”
She sat alone by the window.
“Dear, will you come sit by us?” I patted the sofa seat.
She continued to look out the window, although there was nothing to see this time of night. I wondered what was going through her mind. How much did she see and hear today? Poor child. I wish I could do something to help her.
As though he read my mind, Daniel joined her by the window, sitting cross-legged like her. Stanley and Ben exchanged an odd look but kept quiet.
“You know, Anna, you were very brave too. Not many people would have been as courageous.” Daniel paused and seemed to study the young girl. “You saved Mary’s life … with your word.”
Anna gave him a sideways glance but said nothing.
“It’s the truth.” He looked out the window, and I wondered if that was the end of the one-sided conversation. But it wasn’t.
“And even though today was scary and nothing like that will happen again, it was a good day, don’t you think?”
Stanley shifted in his seat. “Don’t know if I’d call it that. It was a—”
“Special day,” Daniel interjected. “Yes. It was the day Anna found her voice again.” He winked at her as she turned toward him. “Do you know the best part?”
Anna propped her elbows on her knees and shook her head.
“Now that your voice isn’t missing any longer, you can bring it out as often as you like, even share it with others like you did today.”
As though they were the only people in the world, they huddled face to face. The rest of us listened as she began to utter words and then sentences. Stanley sobbed into his hands, but the most audible sound was Anna’s whispers.
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