Gold in the Fire and Light in the Storm

by Margaret Daley

  Darcy’s heart ached for the woman sitting across from her. She reached out and covered Tanya’s hand with hers. “All we can do is what we think is best. As long as I’m here, I’ll help you any way I can.”

  Tanya choked back a sob. “Thanks. I feel so alone lately. I’ve lost touch with my friends. After the accident I spent every waking moment with Crystal. I’m trying to get my old life back together but—” she cleared her throat “—it’s difficult sometimes, especially when I can’t seem to stay on top of things that I know I should.”

  Darcy could relate to this woman. Making changes in one’s life was never easy. “Remember, if you need help, I’m just a call away. Maybe Crystal can come visit the farm.”

  Horror flitted across Tanya’s features. “No. Tom would get so angry if I brought her out to your farm. I’m not even going to say anything to him about your visit.”

  “Well, then, we can always bring Lady over to see Crystal again if she wants.”

  “We’ll see—” They heard a noise coming from the front of the house, and Tanya jumped, fear widening her eyes. She shot to her feet and hurried from the kitchen, saying, “I’ll be back in a sec.”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Bolton. Lady got away from us.”

  Darcy followed the sound of her son’s voice and found him in the entry hall with Tanya. Crystal had wheeled herself down the hallway. A trash can lay on its side with crumpled papers scattered over the tile floor.

  “Mom, Lady likes trash cans. Isn’t that funny?” Crystal patted her lap and Sean put the puppy where she indicated. “Can we go outside? Sean says he’s gonna teach her to fetch.”

  “Crystal, you know we haven’t made the deck and backyard handicap accessible yet.”

  Crystal pouted. “But Dad promised he would last month.”

  “He’ll get around to it. For the time being you’ll have to be satisfied with the den. But no fetching in there.”

  As Sean walked behind Crystal toward the den, Tanya sighed, tears springing to her eyes again. “I hate disappointing her. But she needs several ramps built in order for her to go out back. And to tell you the truth, Tom’s always working. He’s rarely here anymore, so I don’t know when they’re going to be built.”

  “Maybe Joshua knows someone who can build them.”

  Tanya’s eyes grew round. “Oh, no. Tom would be furious if anyone else did it. He wants to do everything himself. He’ll get to it sometime.”

  When they were back in the kitchen, Tanya asked, “I understand from Reverend Collins that you’re just visiting for the summer, that you live in Panama City. What do you do down there?”

  Darcy told Tanya about her job and the purchase of her very first house not on a Navy base, while Tanya talked about her volunteer work before her daughter’s accident. The mention of the accident brought tears to Tanya’s eyes and again Darcy comforted the woman, not sure how to help her. Tanya’s emotions seemed so close to the surface.

  Suddenly Tanya glanced at the clock over the stove and stood. “I hate to end this, but Tom will be home in an hour and I need to start dinner. Thank you so much for bringing Sean and his puppy by. Maybe he can visit another time.”

  Five minutes later Sean and Darcy were ushered from the house. Sean spun back to wave goodbye to Crystal, who had wheeled herself to the glass door. The forlorn look on the child’s face tore at Darcy.

  After the summer horse auction at the fairgrounds, Darcy decided, she would make it a point to get more involved with Crystal and Tanya. Crystal needed a friend, and Tanya needed…Darcy wasn’t sure what, but the woman was close to falling apart. She intended to talk with Lizzy about Tanya Bolton. Maybe Lizzy had some suggestions to help her with the woman.

  On the ride back to the farm Sean held Lady in his arms and stared out the side window. His silence was so unusual that Darcy asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m thinking about Crystal. She doesn’t leave the house much and she misses her friends. She wants a puppy like Lady.”

  “You know what might be nice for Crystal is a therapy dog. I’ll do some research on them and say something to her mother.”

  “Mom, I’d like to visit again. When can I?”

  “Let me see after the horse auction. My time is going to be pretty filled with that coming up. We’ll be auctioning off fifteen horses.”

  “Can I help?”

  “Sure. The more we do, the less Grandpa will have to do. It’s at the end of next week.”

  When Darcy pulled into the farm, she headed the truck toward one of the broodmare barns. “I’ve got to check on the new mare. Why don’t you go on up to the house and tell Lizzy we’re back so she’ll start dinner?”

  “I’m hungry. Maybe I can get a snack.” Sean hopped from the truck and let Lady down.

  As he started running toward the house, Darcy shouted, “Don’t spoil your dinner. No cookies or sweets.”

  He turned and jogged backward, Lady at his heel. “Aw, Mom.”

  “You heard me, young man. You can have one piece of fruit.”

  “He reminds me of you when you were a child.”

  Darcy gasped, spinning around to face Jake.

  “You had quite a sweet tooth if I remember correctly.”

  “I still do. How’s the new mare adjusting to her new home?”

  “Fine. She’s out in the pasture right now.” Jake walked toward the barn. “I put her up next to Butterfly at the end.”

  “Dad thinks she’ll be a good breeder.”

  “Your father’s rarely wrong.”

  When it came to horses that was true, but when it came to people…She moved toward the back stall to check the mare, while Jake headed for the tack room. The scent of fresh hay gave her a feeling of having come home. She’d missed the horses and the farm—she hadn’t realized how much.

  “I like being a librarian,” she muttered to herself, closing the door to the stall. “I like working with children.”

  “Should I be worried about you talking to yourself?”

  Darcy peered toward the rafters, then slowly turned toward Joshua. “There are several mares within earshot.”

  “Oh. That makes all the difference.”

  She placed her hands on her waist and cocked her head. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “I won’t answer that. Not if I want you to do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “I need a date for next Thursday night.”

  A date? Oh, my! All her alarm bells sounded.

  Chapter Six

  “Yes, a date.” Joshua grinned, his blue eyes glinting. “With all that has been going on I forgot about the awards dinner.”

  “What awards dinner?” Darcy asked.

  Joshua actually turned a nice shade of red. “I’m being given an award for rescuing a woman and child from a burning house.”

  “What an honor!”

  The blush deepened. He looked away, his thumb rubbing across his fingers. “I shouldn’t have gone into the house, but I couldn’t let the woman and her toddler die. I was lucky. I got them and myself out without anyone being too seriously injured. My captain was not happy about the risk I took, but the governor is giving me an award.”

  There was that word again—risk. Darcy was beginning to hate it.

  “God was looking out for me that night.”

  “Well, I’m glad someone was.” Her mouth set in a taut line, she started for the entrance.

  Joshua fell into step next to her. “Why are you upset? Everything worked out okay.”

  “I’m not upset,” she said, then realized that wasn’t the truth. “One day it might not work out. Have you ever really stopped and thought about that?”

  Clasping her arm in the middle of the yard, he stopped and turned her to face him. “What would you have me do? Stand by and do nothing while someone was trapped in a burning building? I had to try and get them out.”

  Her anger deflated. “No.” Her gaze dropped to the ground. “I would have tried, too.”r />
  He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head. His gaze locked with hers. “You did do the same thing when your barn was burning. You went in to get the horses out because you couldn’t stand by and watch them burn.”

  She closed her eyes for a few seconds, the image of the frightened horses imprinted on her mind. When she stared into his eyes again, she felt lost in the vivid blue of his gaze. Time fell away, leaving only them.

  She didn’t want to care about Joshua Markham, but she did.

  “Yes, I’ll go. What time will you pick me up?”

  “Six. We have to drive to Lexington.”

  “How should I dress?”

  “I have to wear a suit.”

  “You make it sound like a sentence.”

  “I don’t particularly like to wear a suit and tie.”

  “Then I guess I won’t wear my jeans and boots.”

  His chuckle danced up her spine. “In horse country that wouldn’t be too far-fetched, but since the governor and other dignitaries are going to be there, you’d better don a dress.”

  “The governor? This must have been a big deal.”

  Joshua plowed his fingers through his hair and peered over her shoulder with a wry grin on his face. “The woman I rescued was a niece of the governor’s.”

  “So you have friends in high places.”

  “The only one that counts is God.”

  Darcy started again for the main house. She wished she had his strong faith. But doubts plagued her.

  “Dinner’s gonna be ready shortly. Do you want to stay?”

  “Sure. Why else do you think I waited until this time to ask?”

  She glanced at him, his face full of laughter. “You know, underneath it all, I think you’re serious.”

  “For a man who hates to cook and isn’t very good when he has to, you’re probably right.”

  “So I should expect you to appear on my doorstep around seven whenever you aren’t working?”

  “Is that an invitation?”

  The eagerness in his voice produced a laugh from Darcy. “I shouldn’t encourage you.”

  “But I’m so adorable when I’m begging.”

  She shook her head and entered the house through the kitchen. Lizzy glanced up from stirring something on the stove.

  “Dinner is in fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ve invited Joshua to join us again. Can I help you with anything?”

  “You can get another place setting down for him. Joshua, Shamus and Sean are in the den. Will you tell them dinner is almost ready?” After Joshua left, Lizzy added, “You can also get the salad out of the refrigerator.”

  Darcy took a deep breath, delicious aromas enticing her. “What are we having?”

  “Chicken stew. Nothing fancy, but something on your father’s diet.”

  Darcy removed the salad from the refrigerator along with some bottles of dressing, all low fat, she noticed. “Now that Joshua’s gone, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  Lizzy wiped her hands on a towel tucked into the waistband of her apron. “Tanya Bolton. We’ve known each other too long to beat around the bush on anything. Be careful, child. Tanya is dealing with a lot of issues.”

  Reaching for another plate, Darcy stopped and dropped her arm to her side, spinning about to look at Lizzy. “I know she has a lot of issues. Her husband for one, her daughter’s accident for another. What are you not telling me?”

  Lizzy sighed heavily, leaning back against the counter and folding her arms across her chest. “Tanya is bipolar.”

  The room seemed to tilt for a few seconds. Darcy gripped the edge of the counter and steadied herself.

  “She’s been on medication for several years and was doing fine until her daughter’s accident. Everything has turned upside down for Tanya. I’ve tried to help when I can, but her husband denies there’s a problem with his wife and prefers the family not be involved with the community.”

  “Not a nice man if you ask me, and I haven’t even met him.”

  “Tom has had a difficult road. A lot has happened to him in the past few years. He was doing all right until Crystal got hurt. He used to come to church regularly. He used to be involved in the community. Now he stays to himself.”

  “Crystal needs to be around friends. He doesn’t even want her and Tanya to come to church.”

  “Sound like someone we know?”

  “Dad.” The name was wrenched from Darcy’s soul, bringing back all kinds of memories of what happened after her mother died. She had so needed her father to help her to understand her loss. Her legs weakened, and Darcy slid to the floor, burying her face in her hands.

  The housekeeper squatted next to her. “Now you know why I needed to warn you to be careful. Maybe you shouldn’t help Tanya.”

  Tears stung Darcy’s eyes. Memories continued to flood her. She was a teenager again, desperately trying to figure out why her mother had killed herself, needing her father’s comfort. Instead, she’d received anger and coldness. He had rejected the Lord and turned away from the church, just like Tom. Tanya and her situation weren’t the same, but there was a connection. Her mother had suffered from manic depression too.

  “But she’s so alone, Lizzy.”

  “You’re going to be gone in a few months. Do you really want to get involved in something like that? I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you about Tanya because I knew how it would affect you.” Lizzy hugged her as she had when Darcy had been trying to make sense of her mother’s death.

  “I couldn’t help my mother, but maybe I can help Tanya now that I know what she’s going through.” Tears coursed down her cheeks. “I’ve got to try.”

  “I figured you would say that. It isn’t your battle, and you have more than enough to handle with your father right now.”

  Darcy shoved herself to her feet. “I can always count on you to look out for me.” Is God giving me a second chance through Tanya to understand what drove my mother to kill herself? Would understanding Tanya’s situation help me to understand my father? Questions bombarded her that she had no answers to.

  “Child, I’m here if you need to talk.”

  “I know.” Darcy turned back to the cabinet and retrieved a plate and glass for Joshua. “I’ve always been able to count on you.”

  “But not your father?”

  “Do I have to answer that question?” Darcy opened the drawer and selected a fork, spoon and knife.

  “No. Your father can be one of the stubbornest men I’ve known.”

  “And you still work for him.”

  “Someone’s got to watch out for him. He certainly isn’t doing a very good job of it.”

  Seeing the slight coloring in Lizzy’s cheeks made Darcy think back over the past few weeks to when the housekeeper and her father were together. Lizzy could get away with saying things to him that no one else could. He argued with her, but he also listened to what she had to say. Was there more going on between them? Lizzy had put up with him for as many years as her mother had.

  “Joshua has been spending a lot of time with you and Sean. Is there something you would like to tell me?”

  “Are you trying to change the subject?”

  “Yes, is it working?”

  Darcy laughed. “Joshua and I are friends. He’s wonderful with Sean, and Sean likes to be around him.”

  “Just Sean.” Lizzy sent her a sharp, appraising look.

  “Okay, I like to be around him, too, but as you just pointed out to me, I’ll be leaving in less than two months, so nothing is going to happen beyond friendship.”

  “If you say so.” Lizzy reached for the serving bowl and a spoon. “Please set the table.”

  Darcy went into the dining room and arranged a place setting for Joshua, then headed for the den to see what was keeping the guys. When she entered, she heard her father and Joshua talking about the fires. Stopping at the entrance, she searched the room for her son. He wasn’t there.

  “All four of
the fires are connected, sir. So far no one’s been injured, but several horses died and a great deal of property has been destroyed.”

  “If I get my hands on the person responsible for doing this, he’ll regret the day he was born.”

  “That’s not looking very promising right now, unless we catch him red-handed. Arson cases can be difficult to solve, and when there’s no obvious reason, it’s even harder. Sometimes we find the arsonist likes to watch the fire he sets, but in this case, because of the isolation of the barns, that isn’t happening. At least, where we can see him. The only crowds gathering are the people who live on the farms who are trying to rescue the horses and help put the fire out.”

  “What if he’s hiding?”

  “That’s possible. Everyone’s busy with the fire, so it would be hard to tell.” Joshua exhaled a deep breath. “At least everyone in the area has hired additional guards to protect their barns and horses. I think that’s one reason we haven’t seen another fire in several weeks since the Colemans’. Maybe there won’t be any more.”

  Her father shifted in his overstuffed chair, caught sight of her and waved her into the room. “Did you take a look at Angus Feehan? I heard he was fired from another stable a few weeks back. Pretty hotheaded man when riled.”

  “Riled enough to burn barns?”

  Her father rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. “The more I think about him, the more it seems a strong possibility.”

  “We have checked him out. He doesn’t have good alibis for the fires. He lives by himself and says he was home sleeping. No one to say one way or the other.”

  “You’d better keep an eye on him. He’s got shifty eyes if you ask me.”

  Joshua chuckled. “The police can’t arrest everyone who has shifty eyes.”

  “I know, but I never trusted him or Mike Reynolds. Both have reason to burn my barn.”

  “But the others?”

  “I know Mike worked for the Andersons before coming to work for me. So he’s worked for three of the four farms hit. A mighty big coincidence.”

  “Dad, where’s Sean? Dinner is ready.”

  Her father labored to stand. When he saw Darcy frowning at him, he said, “I probably should get another chair to sit in. That one is getting harder and harder for an old man to get out of.”